Luke 4–6

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

5TH CHAPTER

Calling of the First Disciples—Matthew 4:18–22; Mark 1:14–20

¹One day Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee. The people crowded around him as they listened to God’s word. ²Jesus saw two boats on the shore. The fishermen had stepped out of them and were washing their nets. ³So Jesus got into the boat that belonged to Simon and asked him to push off a little from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowd from the boat. 

⁴When he finished speaking, he told Simon, “Take the boat into deep water, and lower your nets to catch some fish.” 

⁵Simon answered, “Teacher, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if you say so, I’ll lower the nets.” 

⁶After the men had done this, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to tear. ⁷So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. Their partners came and filled both boats until the boats nearly sank. 

⁸When Simon Peter saw this, he knelt in front of Jesus and said, “Leave me, Lord! I’m a sinful person!” ⁹Simon and everyone who was with him were amazed to see the large number of fish they had caught. ¹⁰James and John, who were Zebedee’s sons and Simon’s partners, were also amazed. 

Jesus told Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will catch people instead of fish.” 

¹¹Simon and his partners brought the boats to shore, left everything, and followed Jesus. 

Jesus Cures a Man with a Skin Disease—Matthew 8:1–4; Mark 1:40–44

¹²One day Jesus was in a city where there was a man covered with a serious skin disease. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground. He begged Jesus, “Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean.”^a

¹³Jesus reached out, touched him, and said, “I want to. So be clean!” Immediately, his skin disease went away. 

¹⁴Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone. Instead, show yourself to the priest. Then offer the sacrifice as Moses commanded as proof to people that you are clean.” 

¹⁵The news about Jesus spread even more. Large crowds gathered to hear him and have their diseases cured. ¹⁶But he would go away to places where he could be alone for prayer. 

Jesus Forgives Sins—Matthew 9:1–8; Mark 2:1–12

¹⁷One day when Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and experts in Moses’ Teachings were present. They had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. Jesus had the power of the Lord to heal. 

¹⁸Some men brought a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They tried to take him into the house and put him in front of Jesus. ¹⁹But they could not find a way to get him into the house because of the crowd. So they went up on the roof. They made an opening in the tiles and let the man down on his stretcher among the people. (They lowered him in front of Jesus.) 

²⁰When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Sir, your sins are forgiven.” ²¹The experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees thought, “Who is this man? He’s dishonoring God! Who besides God can forgive sins?” 

²²Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “What are you thinking? ²³Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” 

²⁵The man immediately stood up in front of them and picked up the stretcher he had been lying on. Praising God, he went home. 

²⁶Everyone was amazed and praised God. They were filled with awe and said, “We’ve seen things today we can hardly believe!” 

Jesus Chooses Levi ^[Matthew^[ to Be a Disciple—Matthew 9:9–13; Mark 2:13–17

²⁷After that, Jesus left. He saw a tax collector named Levi sitting in a tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” ²⁸So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. 

²⁹Levi held a large reception at his home for Jesus. A huge crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 

³⁰The Pharisees and their experts in Moses’ Teachings complained to Jesus’ disciples. They asked, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 

³¹Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor; those who are sick do. ³²I’ve come to call sinners to change the way they think and act, not to call people who think they have God’s approval.” 

Jesus Is Questioned about Fasting—Matthew 9:14–17; Mark 2:18–22

³³They said to him, “John’s disciples frequently fast and say prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. But your disciples eat and drink.” 

³⁴Jesus asked them, “Can you force wedding guests to fast while the groom is still with them? ³⁵The time will come when the groom will be taken…