Luke 3–4

The Preaching of John the Baptist

3It was the fifteenth year of the rule of the Emperor Tiberius; Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip was ruler of the territory of Iturea and Trachonitis; Lysanias was ruler of Abilene, ²and Annas and Caiaphas were high priests. At that time the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. ³So John went throughout the whole territory of the River Jordan, preaching, “Turn away from your sins and be baptized, and God will forgive your sins.” ^4*As it is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah:

“Someone is shouting in the desert:

‘Get the road ready for the Lord;

make a straight path for him to travel!

^5*Every valley must be filled up,

every hill and mountain levelled off.

The winding roads must be made straight,

and the rough paths made smooth.

^6*The whole human race will see God’s salvation!’ ”

^7*Crowds of people came out to John to be baptized by him. “You snakes!” he said to them. “Who told you that you could escape from the punishment God is about to send? ^8*Do those things that will show that you have turned from your sins. And don’t start saying among yourselves that Abraham is your ancestor. I tell you that God can take these stones and make descendants for Abraham! ^9*The axe is ready to cut down the trees at the roots; every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire.”

¹⁰The people asked him, “What are we to do, then?”

¹¹He answered, “Whoever has two shirts must give one to the man who has none, and whoever has food must share it.”

^12*Some tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what are we to do?”

¹³“Don’t collect more than is legal,” he told them.

¹⁴Some soldiers also asked him, “What about us? What are we to do?”

He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or accuse anyone falsely. Be content with your pay.”

¹⁵People’s hopes began to rise, and they began to wonder whether John perhaps might be the Messiah. ¹⁶So John said to all of them, “I baptize you with water, but someone is coming who is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷He has his winnowing shovel with him, to thresh out all the grain and gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out.”

¹⁸In many different ways John preached the Good News to the people and urged them to change their ways. ^19*But John reprimanded Herod, the governor, because he had married Herodias, his brother’s wife, and had done many other evil things. ^20*Then Herod did an even worse thing by putting John in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus

²¹After all the people had been baptized, Jesus also was baptized. While he was praying, heaven was opened, ^22*and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you.”

The Ancestors of Jesus

²³When Jesus began his work, he was about 30 years old. He was the son, so people thought, of Joseph, who was the son of Heli, ²⁴the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, ²⁸the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, ³²the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, ³³the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, ³⁶the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Kenan, ³⁸the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

The Temptation

4Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the desert, ²where he was tempted by the Devil for 40 days. In all that time he ate nothing, so that he was hungry when it was over.

³The Devil said to him, “If you are God’s Son, order this stone to turn into bread.”

^4*But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone.’ ”

⁵Then the Devil took him up and showed him in a second all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶“I will give you all this power and all this wealth,” the Devil told him. “It has all been handed over to me, and I can give it to anyone I choose. ⁷All this will be yours, then, if you worship me.”

^8*Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’ ”

⁹Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem and set him on the highest point of the Temple, and said to him, “If you are God’s Son, throw yourself down from here. ^10*For the scripture says, ‘God will order his angels to take good care of you.’ ^11*It also says, ‘They will hold you up with their hands so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.’ ”

^12*But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

¹³When the Devil finished tempting Jesus in every way, he left him for a while.

Jesus Begins His Work in Galilee

¹⁴Then Jesus returned to Galilee, and the power of the Holy Spirit was with him. The news about him spread throughout all that territory. ¹⁵He taught in the synagogues and was praised by everyone.

Jesus Is Rejected at Nazareth

¹⁶Then Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath he went as usual to the synagogue. He stood up to read the Scriptures ¹⁷and was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written:

^18*“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind;

to set free the oppressed

^19*and announce that the time has come

when the Lord will save his people.”

²⁰Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. All the people in the synagogue had their eyes fixed on him, ²¹as he said to them, “This passage of scripture has come true today, as you heard it being read.”

²²They were all well impressed with him and marvelled at the eloquent words that he spoke. They said, “Isn’t he the son of Joseph?”

²³He said to them, “I am sure that you will quote this proverb to me, ‘Doctor, heal yourself.’ You will also tell me to do here in my home town the same things you heard were done in Capernaum. ^24*I tell you this,” Jesus added, “prophets are never welcomed in their home town.

^25*“Listen to me: it is true that there were many widows in Israel during the time of Elijah, when there was no rain for three and a half years and a severe famine spread throughout the whole land. ^26*Yet Elijah was not sent to anyone in Israel, but only to a widow living in Zarephath in the territory of Sidon. ^27*And there were many people suffering from a dreaded skin disease who lived in Israel during the time of the prophet Elisha; yet not one of them was healed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were filled with anger. ²⁹They rose up, dragged Jesus out of the town, and took him to the top of the hill on which their town was built. They meant to throw him over the cliff, ³⁰but he walked through the middle of the crowd and went his way.

A Man with An Evil Spirit

³¹Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, where he taught the people on the Sabbath. ^32*They were all amazed at the way he taught, because he spoke with authority. ³³In the synagogue was a man who had the spirit of an evil demon in him; he screamed out in a loud voice, ³⁴“Ah! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you here to destroy us? I know who you are: you are God’s holy messenger!”

³⁵Jesus ordered the spirit, “Be quiet and come out of the man!” The demon threw the man down in front of them and went out of him without doing him any harm.

³⁶The people were all amazed and said to one another, “What kind of words are these? With authority and power this man gives orders to the evil spirits, and they come out!” ³⁷And the report about Jesus spread everywhere in that region.

Jesus Heals Many People

³⁸Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a high fever, and they spoke to Jesus about her. ³⁹He went and stood at her bedside and ordered the fever to leave her. The fever left her, and she got up at once and began to wait on them.

⁴⁰After sunset all who had friends who were sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus; he placed his hands on every one of them and healed them all. ⁴¹Demons also went out from many people, screaming, “You are the Son of God!”

Jesus gave the demons an order and would not let them speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.

Jesus Preaches in the Synagogues

⁴²At daybreak Jesus left the town and went off to a lonely place. The people started looking for him, and when they found him, they tried to keep him from leaving. ⁴³But he said to them, “I must preach the Good News about the Kingdom of God in other towns also, because that is what God sent me to do.”

⁴⁴So he preached in the synagogues throughout the country.