4
The Temptation of Jesus
1 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. He ate nothing in those days, and afterward, when they had ended, he was hungry.
3 Then the devil said to him, “If yoʋ are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
4 But Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
5 So the devil brought him up to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 Then the devil said to him, “To yoʋ I will give all this authority and glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I can give it to anyone I want.
7 If yoʋ, then, will worship me, it will all be yoʋrs.”
8 Jesus answered him, “Get behind me, Satan! It is written,
‘Yoʋ shall worship the Lord yoʋr God,
and him only shall yoʋ serve.’ ”
9 Then the devil brought him to Jerusalem, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If yoʋ are the Son of God, throw yoʋrself down from here,
10 for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning yoʋ,
to guard yoʋ,’
11 and,
‘In their hands they will lift yoʋ up,
so that yoʋ do not strike yoʋr foot against a stone.’ ”
12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Yoʋ shall not put the Lord yoʋr God to the test.’ ”
13 And when the devil had finished all these temptations, he left him until an opportune time.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread throughout the entire surrounding region.
15 And he was teaching in their synagogues, being praised by all.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom, and stood up to read.
17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, so he unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free the oppressed,
19 and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed upon him,
21 and he began speaking to them, saying, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 They were all speaking well of him and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They said, “Is this not Joseph's son?”
23 Then Jesus said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yoʋrself.’ Do here in yoʋr hometown what we have heard that yoʋ did in Capernaum.”
24 He also said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.
25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three years and six months and a severe famine came over all the land,
26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.
27 There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, yet not one of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”
28 When they heard this, all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage.
29 They rose up, drove him out of town, and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, to throw him down from the cliff.
30 But Jesus passed through the crowd and went away.
Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Spirit
31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and on the Sabbath he began teaching the people.
32 They were astonished at his teaching, because his message was spoken with authority.
33 Now in the synagogue there was a man who had an unclean demonic spirit, and he cried out with a loud voice,
34 “Leave us alone! What do yoʋ have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have yoʋ come to destroy us? I know who yoʋ are—the Holy One of God.”
35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out of him, having done him no harm.
36 Amazement came over all the people, and they said to one another, “What kind of message is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits and they come out!”
37 And news about him went out to every place in the surrounding region.
Jesus Heals Many
38 Then Jesus arose, left the synagogue, and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her.
39 So he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. At once she rose and began to serve them.
40 When the sun was setting, people brought to Jesus those who were sick with various diseases, and he laid his hands on each one of them and healed them.
41 Demons also came out of many, crying out, “Yoʋ are the Christ, the Son of God.” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
Jesus Preaches in Galilee
42 When daybreak came, Jesus departed and went to a desolate place. The crowds were seeking him, and they came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them.
43 But Jesus said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well, for that is why I was sent.”
44 So he continued preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.