Luke 4–6

The Temptation of Jesus

4And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness ²forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days, and when^* they were completed, he was hungry. ³So the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order this stone that it become bread!” ⁴And Jesus replied to him, “It is written, ‘Man will not live on bread alone.’ ”^a

⁵And he led him up and^* showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶And the devil said to him, “I will give you all this domain and their glory, because it has been handed over to me, and I can give it to whomever I want. ⁷So if you will worship before me, all this will be yours.” ⁸And Jesus answered and^* said to him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ”^b

⁹And he brought him to Jerusalem, and had him stand on the highest point of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,

to protect you,’^c

¹¹and

‘on their hands they will lift you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”^d

¹²And Jesus answered and^* said to him, “It is said, ‘You are not to put to the test the Lord your God.’ ”^{e 13}And when^* the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a favorable time.^f

Public Ministry in Galilee

¹⁴And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news about him went out throughout all the surrounding region. ¹⁵And he began to teach^* in their synagogues, and^* was praised by all.

Rejected at Nazareth

¹⁶And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up,^g and according to his custom^h he entered into the synagogue on the day of the Sabbath and stood up to read. ¹⁷And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll he found the place where it was written,

¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because of which he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me

to proclaim release to the captives,

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to send out in freedom those who are oppressed,

¹⁹to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”ⁱ

²⁰And he rolled up the scroll and^* gave it^* back to the attendant and^* sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were looking intently at him. ²¹And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” ²²And they were all speaking well of him, and were astonished at the gracious words that were coming out of his mouth. And they were saying, “Is this man not the son of Joseph?” ²³And he said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this parable: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ Whatever we have heard that took place in Capernaum, do here in your hometown also!” ²⁴And he said, “Truly I say to you that no prophet is acceptable in his own hometown. ²⁵But in truth I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three years and six months while a great famine took place over all the land. ²⁶And Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was made clean except Naaman the Syrian.” ²⁸And all those in the synagogue were filled with anger when they^* heard these things. ²⁹And they stood up and^* forced him out of the town and brought him up to the edge of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. ³⁰But he passed through their midst and^* went on his way.

Jesus Teaches and Heals Many in Capernaum

³¹And he came down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. ³²And they were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke^j with authority.

³³And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon,^k and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴“Ha! Leave us alone,^l Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” ³⁵And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And after^* throwing him down in their midst, the demon came out of him without hurting him at all. ³⁶And amazement came upon them all, and they began to talk^* with one another, saying, “What word^m is this? For he commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!” ³⁷And news about him went out into every place of the surrounding region.

³⁸And after he^* set out from the synagogue, he went into Simon’s house. And Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a high fever, and they asked him on behalf of her. ³⁹And he stood over her and^* rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she got up and^* began to serve^* them.

⁴⁰Now as^* the sun was setting, all who had those who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and placing his^* hands on every one of them, he healed them. ⁴¹And demons also were coming out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Son of God!” And he rebuked them^* and did not permit them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.ⁿ

⁴²And when it^* was day, he departed and^* went to an isolated place. And the crowds were seeking him, and came to him and were trying to prevent him from departing from them. ⁴³But he said to them, “It is necessary for me to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose. ⁴⁴And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

5Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around him and hearing the word of God, he was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret,^{a 2}and he saw two boats there beside the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and^* were washing their nets. ³And he got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and^* asked him to put out from the land a little. And he sat down and^* began to teach^* the crowds from the boat. ⁴And when he stopped speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵And Simon answered and^* said, “Master, although we^* worked hard through the whole night, we caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.” ⁶And when they^* did this, they caught a very large number of fish, and their nets began to tear.^{* 7}And they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and^* help them, and they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink. ⁸And when he^* saw it,^* Simon Peter fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man!”^{b 9}For amazement had seized him and all those who were with him at the catch of fish that they had caught, ¹⁰and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were business partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid! From now on you will be catching people!” ¹¹And after they^* brought their^c boats to the land, they left everything and^* followed him.

A Leper Cleansed

¹²And it happened that while he was in one of the towns, there was^d a man covered with leprosy.^e And when he^* saw Jesus, he fell down on his face and^* begged him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you are able to make me clean.” ¹³And extending his^f hand he touched him, saying, “I am willing; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy went away from him. ¹⁴And he ordered him, “Tell no one, but go and^* show yourself to the priest and bring the offering^* for your cleansing just as Moses commanded, for a testimony to them. ¹⁵But the report about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering to hear him^* and to be healed of their illnesses. ¹⁶But he himself was withdrawing in the wilderness and praying.

A Paralytic Healed

¹⁷And it happened that on one of the days as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come^g from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was there in order for him to heal. ¹⁸And behold, men came carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and place him^hi before him. ¹⁹And when they^* did not find a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and^* let him down through the roof tiles with the stretcher into the midst of them, in front of Jesus. ²⁰And when he^* saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” ²¹And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who is able to forgive sins except God alone?” ²²But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, answered and^* said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? ²³Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’ ²⁴But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” he said to the one who was paralyzed, “I say to you, ‘Get up and pick up your stretcher and^* go to your home.’ ” ²⁵And immediately he stood up before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and^* went away to his home, glorifying God. ²⁶And amazement seized them all, and they began to glorify^* God. And they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen wonderful things today!”

Levi Called to Follow Jesus

²⁷And after these things, he went out and saw a tax collector named^j Levi sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me!” ²⁸And leaving everything behind, he got up and^* began to follow^* him.

²⁹And Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining for the meal with them. ³⁰And the Pharisees and their scribes began to complain^* to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” ³¹And Jesus answered and^* said to them, “Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those who are sick.^{k 32}I have not come to call…