Luke 3–4

3RD CHAPTER

John Prepares the Way—Matthew 3:1–12; Mark 1:1–8; John 1:19–28

¹It was the fifteenth year in the reign of the Emperor Tiberius. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea. Herod ruled Galilee, and his brother Philip ruled Iturea and Trachonitis. Lysanias was the ruler of Abilene. ²It was at the time when Annas and Caiaphas were chief priests that God spoke to John, son of Zechariah, in the desert. ³John traveled throughout the region around the Jordan River. He told people about a baptism of repentance^afor the forgiveness of sins. ⁴As the prophet Isaiah wrote in his book, 

“A voice cries out in the desert: 

‘Prepare the way for the Lord! 

Make his paths straight! 

⁵Every valley will be filled. 

Every mountain and hill will be leveled. 

The crooked ways will be made straight. 

The rough roads will be made smooth. 

⁶All people will see the salvation that God gives.’ ” 

⁷Crowds of people were coming to be baptized by John. He would say to them, “You poisonous snakes! Who showed you how to flee from God’s coming anger? ⁸Do those things that prove that you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act. Don’t say, ‘Abraham is our ancestor.’ I guarantee that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones. ⁹The ax is now ready to cut the roots of the trees. Any tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.” 

¹⁰The crowds asked him, “What should we do?” 

¹¹He answered them, “Whoever has two shirts should share with the person who doesn’t have any. Whoever has food should share it too.” 

¹²Some tax collectors came to be baptized. They asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 

¹³He told them, “Don’t collect more money than you are ordered to collect.” 

¹⁴Some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” 

He told them, “Be satisfied with your pay, and never use threats or blackmail to get money from anyone.” 

¹⁵People’s hopes were rising as they all wondered whether John was the Messiah. ¹⁶John replied to all of them, “I baptize you with water. But the one who is more powerful than I is coming. I am not worthy to untie his sandal straps. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing^bshovel is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor.^cHe will gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn the husks in a fire that can never be put out.” 

¹⁸With many other encouraging words, he told the Good News to the people. 

¹⁹John spoke out against the ruler Herod because Herod had married his own sister-in-law, Herodias. He also spoke out against Herod for all the evil things he had done. ²⁰So Herod added one more evil to all the others; he locked John in prison. 

The Baptism of Jesus—Matthew 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11

²¹When all the people were baptized, Jesus, too, was baptized. While he was praying, heaven opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit came down to him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven said, “You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you.” 

²³Jesus was about 30 years old when he began ⸤his ministry⸥. 

The Ancestors of Jesus

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

4TH CHAPTER

The Devil Tempts Jesus—Matthew 4:1–11; Mark 1:12–13

¹Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit as he left the Jordan River. The Spirit led him while he was in the desert, ²where he was tempted by the devil for 40 days. During those days Jesus ate nothing, so when they were over, he was hungry. 

³The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 

⁴Jesus answered him, “Scripture says, ‘A person cannot live on bread alone.’ ”^a

⁵The devil took him to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant. ⁶The devil said to him, “I will give you all the power and glory of these kingdoms. All of it has been given to me, and I give it to anyone I please. ⁷So if you will worship me, all this will be yours.” 

⁸Jesus answered him, “Scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ” 

⁹Then the devil took him into Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest part of the temple. He said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, jump from here! ¹⁰Scripture says, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you to watch over you carefully. ¹¹They will carry you in their hands so that you never hit your foot against a rock.’ ” 

¹²Jesus answered him, “It has been said, ‘Never tempt the Lord your God.’ ”^b

¹³After the devil had finished tempting Jesus in every possible way, the devil left him until another time. 

Nazareth Rejects Jesus—Matthew 13:54–58; Mark 6:1–6

¹⁴Jesus returned to Galilee. The power of the Spirit was with him, and the news about him spread throughout the surrounding country. ¹⁵He taught in the synagogues, and everyone praised him. 

¹⁶Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As usual he went into the synagogue on the day of rest—a holy day. He stood up to read the lesson. ¹⁷The attendant gave him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened it and found the place where it read: 

¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is with me. 

He has anointed me 

to tell the Good News to the poor. 

He has sent me^c

to announce forgiveness to the prisoners of sin 

and the restoring of sight to the blind, 

to forgive those who have been shattered by sin, 

¹⁹to announce the year of the Lord’s favor.” 

²⁰Jesus closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue watched him closely. ²¹Then he said to them, “This passage came true today when you heard me read it.” 

²²All the people spoke well of him. They were amazed to hear the gracious words flowing from his lips. They said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” 

²³So he said to them, “You’ll probably quote this proverb to me, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ and then say to me, ‘Do all the things in your hometown that we’ve heard you’ve done in Capernaum.’ ” ²⁴Then Jesus added, “I can guarantee this truth: A prophet isn’t accepted in his hometown. 

²⁵“I can guarantee this truth: There were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time. It had not rained for three-and-a-half years, and the famine was severe everywhere in the country. ²⁶But God didn’t send Elijah to anyone except a widow at Zarephath in the territory of Sidon. ²⁷There were also many people with skin diseases in Israel in the prophet Elisha’s time. But God cured no one except Naaman from Syria.” 

²⁸Everyone in the synagogue became furious when they heard this. ²⁹Their city was built on a hill with a cliff. So they got up, forced Jesus out of the city, and led him to the cliff. They intended to throw him off of it. ³⁰But Jesus walked right by them and went away. 

Jesus Forces an Evil Spirit out of a Man—Mark 1:21–28

³¹Jesus went to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and taught them on a day of rest—a holy day. ³²The people were amazed at his teachings because he spoke with authority. 

³³In the synagogue was a man possessed by a spirit, an evil demon. He shouted very loudly, ³⁴“Oh, no! What do you want with us, Jesus from Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 

³⁵Jesus ordered the spirit, “Keep quiet, and come out of him!” The demon threw the man down in the middle of the synagogue and came out without hurting him. 

³⁶Everyone was stunned. They said to one another, “What kind of command is this? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits, and they come out.” 

³⁷So news about him spread to every place throughout the surrounding region. 

Jesus Cures Simon’s Mother-in-Law and Many Others—Matthew 8:14–18; Mark 1:29–34

³⁸Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a high fever. They asked Jesus to help her. ³⁹He bent over her, ordered the fever to leave, and it went away. She got up immediately and prepared a meal for them. 

⁴⁰When the sun was setting, everyone who had friends suffering from various diseases brought them to him. He placed his hands on each of them and cured them. ⁴¹Demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus ordered them not to speak. After all, they knew he was the Messiah. 

Spreading the Good News—Matthew 4:23–25; Mark 1:35–39

⁴²In the morning he went to a place where he could be alone. The crowds searched for him. When they came to him, they tried to keep him from leaving. ⁴³But he said to them, “I have to tell the Good News about God’s kingdom in other cities also. That’s what I was sent to do.” 

⁴⁴So he spread his message in the synagogues of Judea.^a