Satan Tempts Jesus(A)

Then (B)Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and (C)was led by the Spirit [a]into the wilderness, being [b]tempted for forty days by the devil. And (D)in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

And the devil said to Him, “If You are (E)the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, (F)‘Man shall not live by bread alone, [c]but by every word of God.’

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 4:1 NU in
  2. Luke 4:2 tested
  3. Luke 4:4 NU omits but by every word of God

Jesus is tested in the wilderness

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted[a] by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’

Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone.”[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 4:2 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested.
  2. Luke 4:4 Deut. 8:3

While genealogies may seem tedious, for people in many cultures (including Luke’s), genealogies are important and meaningful because they give a sense of identity and history. Luke places Jesus in the mainstream of biblical history, connected to King David, Abraham, Noah, and Adam. By connecting Jesus with Adam, and ultimately with God, Luke shows how Jesus is connected to and relevant for all people, and he may also be suggesting that in Jesus God is launching a new humanity, with Jesus as the new Adam. Unlike the first Adam, though, Jesus will be completely faithful to God, as the next episode makes clear. Perhaps echoing Adam and Eve being tempted by the serpent in the garden (Genesis 3:1–7), Luke moves from the stories of Jesus’ beginnings to His temptation.

When Jesus returned from the Jordan River, He was full of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit led Him away from the cities and towns and out into the desert.

For 40 days, the Spirit led Him from place to place in the desert, and while there, the devil tempted Jesus. Jesus was fasting, eating nothing during this time, and at the end, He was terribly hungry. At that point, the devil came to Him.

Devil: Since You’re the Son of God, You don’t need to be hungry. Just tell this stone to transform itself into bread.

Jesus: It is written in the Hebrew Scriptures, “People need more than bread to live.”[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 4:4 Deuteronomy 8:3