Lucas 4

VBL · Chapter 4/24

1Jesús, lleno del Espíritu Santo, regresó del Jordán y fue guiado por el Espíritu en el desierto,

2donde fue tentado por el diablo por cuarenta días. No comió nada durante todo ese tiempo, así que al final ya tenía mucha hambre.

3El diablo le dijo: “Si eres el hijo de Dios, ordena a esta piedra que se convierta en pan”.

4“Está escrito en la Escritura: ‘No vivirás solo de pan,’” respondió Jesús.

5El diablo lo llevó a un lugar alto, y en un abrir y cerrar de ojos le mostró todos los reinos del mundo.

6Entonces el diablo le dijo a Jesús: “Te daré autoridad sobre todos esos reinos y su gloria. Esta autoridad se me ha entregado a mí, y yo puedo dársela a quien yo quiera.

7Arrodíllate y adórame y podrás tenerlo todo”.

8“Está escrito en la Escritura: ‘Adorarás al Señor tu Dios, y solo a él servirás,’” respondió Jesús.

9El diablo llevó a Jesús a Jerusalén, lo puso en la parte más alta del Templo y le dijo: “Si eres el Hijo de Dios, ¡tírate!

10Porque está escrito en la Escritura: ‘Él mandará a sus ángeles para que cuiden de ti,

11para que te sostengan y tu pie no tropiece’”.

12“Está escrito en la Escritura: ‘No tentarás al Señor tu Dios,’” respondió Jesús.

13Y cuando el diablo no tuvo más tentaciones para él, se quedó esperando otra oportunidad.

14Entonces Jesús regresó a Galilea, lleno del poder del Espíritu. Y la noticia sobre él se difundió por todas partes.

15Jesús enseñaba en sus sinagogas, y todo el mundo lo alababa.

16Cuando llegó a Nazaret, la ciudad donde había crecido, entró el sábado a la sinagoga como de costumbre.

17Y le entregaron el rollo del profeta Isaías. Entonces Jesús lo desenrolló y encontró el lugar donde dice:

18“El Espíritu del Señor está sobre mí, porque me ha ungido para anunciar la buena noticia al menesteroso. Me ha enviado para proclamar que los prisioneros serán puestos en libertad, los ciegos verán, los oprimidos serán liberados,

19y para proclamar el tiempo del favor del Señor”.

20Volvió a enrollarlo y lo devolvió al encargado. Entonces se sentó. Y todos en la sinagoga lo miraban.

21“Esta Escritura que acaban de oír se ha cumplido hoy”, les dijo.

22Y todos expresaron su aprobación hacia él, asombrados por las palabras que salieron de sus labios. “¿Acaso no es este el hijo de José?” se preguntaban ellos.

23Jesús respondió: “Estoy seguro de que ustedes me repetirán este proverbio: ‘Médico, ¡cúrate a ti mismo!’ y preguntarán: ‘¿Por qué no haces aquí en tu propia ciudad lo que oímos que hiciste en Capernaúm?’

24Pero yo les digo la verdad, ningún profeta es aceptado en su propia ciudad.

25Les aseguro que hubo muchas viudas en Israel durante el tiempo de Elías, cuando hubo una sequía por tres años y medio que causó una gran hambruna por todo el país.

26Sin embargo, Elías no fue enviado donde ninguna de ellas. Sino que fue enviado a una viuda en Sarepta, ¡en la región de Sidón!

27Y aunque había muchos leprosos en Israel durante el tiempo de Eliseo, ¡el único que fue sanado fue Naamán, el sirio!”

28Cuando oyeron esto, todos los que estaban en la sinagoga se enfurecieron.

29De un salto se pusieron de pie y lo llevaron fuera de la ciudad. Entonces lo agarraron con violencia y lo llevaron hasta la cima de la montaña sobre la cual estaba construida la ciudad, para lanzarlo del peñasco.

30Pero él caminó en medio de ellos y siguió su camino.

31Entonces Jesús descendió a Capernaúm, una ciudad de Galilea. Y comenzó a enseñarles un sábado.

32Ellos estaban sorprendidos por lo que enseñaba porque hablaba con autoridad.

33En la sinagoga había un hombre que estaba poseído por un demonio. Y gritaba:

34“¿Qué quieres con nosotros, Jesús de Nazaret? ¿Has venido a destruirnos? Yo sé quién eres: ¡El Santo de Dios!”

35Jesús lo interrumpió, diciendo: “¡Cállate!” Entonces le ordenó al demonio: “¡Sal de él!” Y lanzándolo al piso delante de ellos, el demonio salió del hombre sin hacerle daño.

36Y todos estaban sorprendidos y se preguntaban unos a otros: “¿Qué enseñanza es esta? Pues con poder y autoridad da orden de salir a los espíritus malignos ¡y ellos lo hacen!”

37Y la noticia acerca de Jesús se extendía por toda la región.

38Después de marcharse de la sinagoga, Jesús fue a la casa de Simón. La suegra de Simón estaba enferma con una fiebre alta, y los que estaban allí le pidieron ayuda a Jesús.

39Entonces Jesús fue y se puso en pie junto a ella. Le ordenó a la fiebre que se fuera, y así sucedió. Entonces ella se levantó de inmediato y preparó una comida para ellos.

40Cuando el sol se puso, trajeron delante de él a todos los enfermos que sufrían de diversas enfermedades. Y Jesús ponía sus manos sobre ellos, uno tras otro, y los sanaba.

41Salieron demonios de muchas personas, gritando: “Tú eres el hijo de Dios”. Pero Jesús los interrumpía y no los dejaba hablar porque ellos sabían que él era el Cristo.

42Siendo temprano, a la mañana siguiente, Jesús salió para encontrar algún lugar tranquilo donde pudiera estar en paz. Pero las multitudes siguieron buscándolo, y finalmente lo encontraron. Trataron de detenerlo al salir porque no querían que se fuera.

43Pero él les dijo: “Tengo que ir a otras ciudades a contarles la buena noticia del reino de Dios también, porque para esto fui enviado”.

44Entonces Jesús siguió viajando, enseñando la buena noticia en las sinagogas de Judea.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jesus is tempted by Satan in the wilderness for 40 days and overcomes by quoting Scripture. He begins preaching in Galilee, reads Isaiah's prophecy about himself in the synagogue at Nazareth, and is rejected by his own townspeople. He then heals a demon-possessed man and many sick people in Capernaum.

Explanation

The three temptations strike at core areas: physical need (bread), power and recognition (kingdoms), and testing God's protection (the temple). Jesus always responds by quoting Deuteronomy, showing that knowing the Word is a weapon against temptation. In the synagogue at Nazareth, he declares himself the fulfillment of Isaiah 61, but is rejected — illustrating that 'no prophet is accepted in his hometown.' The healings in Capernaum reveal his authority over disease and evil spirits. The practical lesson is that knowing Scripture well helps us resist everyday pressures and temptations.

Fun facts

  • The passage from Isaiah 61:1-2 that Jesus reads (v.18-19) was historically linked to messianic expectations of deliverance, and Jesus stops reading before the mention of the 'day of vengeance,' emphasizing grace over judgment in that first moment.
  • Capernaum, a town on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, became something of a home base for Jesus during his public ministry, confirmed by archaeological excavations of a synagogue from the Roman period.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Lucas 4:1Jesus comes straight from the baptism scene at the end of the previous chapter, full of the Holy Spirit, and it is the Spirit Himself who leads Him into the wilderness — the temptation is not a detour, it is part of the plan.
  2. Lucas 4:2Forty days is no random number: it echoes the forty years Israel spent in the wilderness and Moses’s forty days on the mountain without eating. Jesus repeats, in miniature, the same test of faith the people faced, only this time without giving in.
  3. Lucas 4:3All three temptations begin with “If thou be the Son of God” — the devil is not only questioning Jesus’s hunger, he is questioning His identity, trying to make Him prove who He is through a shortcut.
  4. Lucas 4:4Jesus answers by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, a verse that originally spoke of the manna in the wilderness for the people of Israel — He faces the temptation using Israel’s own history and Scriptures.
  5. Lucas 4:5The vision of “all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time” is presented as something shown to Jesus, not an actual physical journey — the scope of power offered is deliberately exaggerated.
  6. Lucas 4:6The devil claims to have authority over this world’s power and glory and to be able to give them to whomever he wants — a claim of dominion that other New Testament texts also mention about him.
  7. Lucas 4:7The condition reveals the real aim of the temptation: it is not about possessions, it is about worship — trading loyalty to God for a shortcut to power.
  8. Lucas 4:8Jesus answers by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13, which commands worshiping the Lord alone — rejecting any shortcut to power that runs through idolatry.
  9. Lucas 4:9In the third temptation, the devil takes Jesus to the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem and dares Him to jump from there to prove He is the Son of God.
  10. Lucas 4:10This time it is the devil himself who quotes Scripture, using Psalm 91 out of its original context to try to justify a risky and unnecessary leap.
  11. Lucas 4:11The quotation continues with the promise that the angels would hold Him up — a general promise of protection being twisted to justify an artificial, reckless test.
  12. Lucas 4:12Jesus answers again with Deuteronomy, this time 6:16: one must not test God on purpose just to force a display of power.
  13. Lucas 4:13Luke makes clear that the devil withdraws only “for a season,” not forever — a warning that the confrontation will return later in the story, as it in fact does near Jesus’s arrest.
  14. Lucas 4:14Jesus returns to Galilee already with His fame spreading through the region — the text directly links the victory in the wilderness to the start of a public ministry full of power.
  15. Lucas 4:15Before the rejection in Nazareth, told right after, the text shows a well-received start to the ministry: Jesus teaches in the synagogues and is praised by everyone.
  16. Lucas 4:16Going to the synagogue every Sabbath was routine, and it was common for a man from the community to be invited to read a passage of Scripture and comment on it — there was no fixed clergy doing this alone. It is within this normal practice that Jesus asks for the scroll of Isaiah and delivers His first public sermon.
  17. Lucas 4:17Jesus is handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and He Himself finds the specific passage He will read — it was not unusual for a community member to be invited to read and comment on the Scriptures on the Sabbath.
  18. Lucas 4:18This quotation from Isaiah 61 works as a summary of Jesus’s mission: announcing good news to the poor, healing the brokenhearted, freeing captives — priorities that appear again and again throughout the rest of the gospel.
  19. Lucas 4:19This mention of the acceptable year of the Lord refers to the Year of Jubilee, which the law commanded be celebrated every fifty years: debts forgiven, slaves freed, land returned to the original families. By reading this passage from Isaiah and saying it was being fulfilled right then, Jesus is announcing that kind of general liberation, not just spiritual relief.
  20. Lucas 4:20Closing the book and handing it back to the attendant, then sitting down to speak, was the normal posture of someone about to comment on the passage read — except this time every eye stays fixed on Him, waiting for the comment.
  21. Lucas 4:21Jesus’s declaration is direct and bold: the ancient prophecy was fulfilled “this day,” right there in front of them — He is saying the text is about Him.
  22. Lucas 4:22The reaction is mixed: they marvel at His words, but also doubt, because they have known Jesus since He was a child as Joseph’s son — familiarity breeds suspicion, not faith.
  23. Lucas 4:23This was already a well-known saying at the time, something like solving your own problems before helping others. The people of Nazareth demand the same proof from Him: that He do there, in His own hometown, the miracles they had heard He did in Capernaum.
  24. Lucas 4:24Jesus applies to Himself a familiar saying about prophets not being well received in their own hometown, already foreseeing the rejection about to come from His own townspeople.
  25. Lucas 4:25The famine in Elijah’s days, with the sky shut for three and a half years, is a detail also cited in James 5:17, a Jewish tradition about the exact length of the drought, beyond what the text in Kings records directly.
  26. Lucas 4:26Elijah was sent specifically to a foreign widow, in Zarephath of Sidon, and not to any of the many widows of Israel — an example of God’s favor reaching people outside the chosen nation.
  27. Lucas 4:27Both the widow of Zarephath and Naaman were foreigners, not Israelites — and yet it was they, not the many needy Jews of the time, who received help through Elijah and Elisha. It is this reminder that God had already favored outsiders that leaves the synagogue crowd furious.
  28. Lucas 4:28Hearing these examples of foreigners receiving special favor from prophets strikes at the audience’s national pride, and the reaction turns into collective fury.
  29. Lucas 4:29The crowd drives Jesus out of the town and takes Him to the top of the hill Nazareth was built on, intending to throw Him off — a violent reaction that already foreshadows the hostility that will culminate in the crucifixion.
  30. Lucas 4:30Jesus simply walks through the middle of the crowd and goes on His way — the text does not explain how, it only records the fact that the attempt to kill Him failed.
  31. Lucas 4:31After being rejected in Nazareth, Jesus goes down to Capernaum, a town by the Sea of Galilee, which becomes His base for teaching on the Sabbath.
  32. Lucas 4:32What impresses the people is not just the content, but the manner of teaching: with direct authority, unlike the teachers of the time, who usually relied on the opinions of other rabbis.
  33. Lucas 4:33This is the first exorcism Luke narrates: a man in the synagogue itself, possessed by an unclean spirit, cries out in the middle of Jesus’s teaching.
  34. Lucas 4:34The demon recognizes Jesus as “the Holy One of God” — in the gospels, unclean spirits usually know exactly who Jesus is, even when the people around still do not understand.
  35. Lucas 4:35Jesus orders silence and commands the spirit to come out; the demon still throws the man to the ground, but leaves without causing any real harm — control of the situation rests entirely with Jesus.
  36. Lucas 4:36The crowd’s amazement centers on the authority of Jesus’s word: He performs no rituals and invokes no other names, He simply commands, and the spirits obey.
  37. Lucas 4:37News of this event spreads quickly through the whole region around Capernaum.
  38. Lucas 4:38Jesus enters Simon’s house, even before formally calling him as a disciple later on — Simon’s mother-in-law is in bed with a high fever, and they ask Jesus to do something for her.
  39. Lucas 4:39Jesus rebukes the fever as if it were something to be sent away, not just treated — and the healing is so complete that she gets up immediately and goes right back to serving.
  40. Lucas 4:40People wait for sunset to bring their sick because that marks the end of the Sabbath, when carrying someone or traveling distances no longer counted as forbidden work on the day of rest.
  41. Lucas 4:41The demons also cry out declaring that He is the Christ, but Jesus silences them — He does not want His identity announced by demonic sources, preferring to reveal it in His own time.
  42. Lucas 4:42Early in the morning, Jesus withdraws to a deserted place, but the crowds find Him and try to keep Him there, wanting to hold on to Him as if He belonged only to that town.
  43. Lucas 4:43Jesus explains that His mission cannot be confined to just one place: He was sent to announce the Kingdom of God to other towns as well.
  44. Lucas 4:44This verse sums up and closes this early phase: Jesus keeps preaching in synagogues throughout all of Galilee, not just in Capernaum or Nazareth.

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