College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Luke 4 - Introduction
Butler's Comments
Chapter Four
TESTING THE SON OF MAN
IDEAS TO INVESTIGATE:
1.
What was the point in Jesus going forty days and nights without food (Luke 4:1-2)?
2.
Since Jesus was Divine, perhaps temptation was not really a problem for Him (Luke 4:1-13)?
3.
Isn-'t it too simplistic to deal with temptation by only quoting scripture (Luke 4:1-13)?
4.
Why did the people of Nazareth become enraged enough to kill Jesus over a couple of stories about old prophets (Luke 4:16-30)?
5.
How did Jesus get away from this enraged mob (Luke 4:30)?
6.
Isn-'t it possible that demon possession was just mental illness (Luke 4:31-43)?
7.
Why didn-'t Jesus let the demons continue to say who He was (Luke 4:41)?
Applebury's Comments
CHAPTER FOUR
Outline
A.
Luke told about Christ's victory over the devil's temptations (Luke 4:1-13).
1.
The circumstances under which the temptations were presented (Luke 4:1-2).
a)
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan. He had just been baptized; the Spirit had descended upon Him; and God had said, This is my Son.
b)
He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness during forty days.
c)
He was tempted by the devil.
d)
He ate nothing during the forty days and was hungry at the end of the period.
2.
The three temptations (Luke 4:3-12).
a)
The temptation to change the stone into bread (Luke 4:3-4).
(1)
The devil's challenge: If you are the Son of God.
(2)
The devil's proposition: Command the stone to become bread.
(3)
Jesus-' answer based on what is written in the Word of God, Man shall not live by bread alone.
b)
The temptation to worship the devil (Luke 4:5-8).
(1)
The devil's offer: He showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and offered their authority and glory to Him.
(2)
The devil's terms: If thou wilt worship before me, it shall all be thine.
(3)
Jesus-' answer: It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.
c)
The temptation to cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple (Luke 4:9-12).
(1)
The devil's challenge: If you are the son of God.
(a)
The devil had led Him to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple.
(b)
The devil quoted from the Psalms about the care exercised by the angels (Psalms 91:11-12).
(2)
The devil's proposition: Cast yourself down.
(3)
Jesus-' answer: It is said, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.
3.
The devil's activity after Jesus-' victory over him ((Luke 4:13).
a)
He had completed every temptation.
b)
He departed from Jesus for a season.
B.
Luke told about the beginning of Jesus ministry in Galilee (Luke 4:14-30).
1.
A general statement about the Galilean ministry (Luke 4:14-15).
a)
He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.
b)
His fame spread throughout the whole region.
c)
He taught in the synagogues and was glorified by all.
2.
The rejection at Nazareth (Luke 4:16-30).
a)
Jesus went to the synagogue at Nazareth ((Luke 4:16).
(1)
He had been reared at Nazareth.
(2)
His custom was to go to the synagogue on the sabbath.
(3)
He stood up and read from the book of Isaiah.
b)
It was the passage that told about His ministry (Luke 4:17-19).
(1)
The Spirit of the Lord was upon Him.
(2)
The Lord had anointed Him to preach good tidings to the poor.
(3)
He had sent Him to:
(a)
Proclaim release to the captives.
(b)
Recovering of sight to the blind.
(c)
Set at liberty them that are bruised.
(d)
Proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
c) He explained that the prophecy was fulfilled that day in their hearing (Luke 4:20-21).
d)
He answered their objections (Luke 4:22-27).
(1)
They wondered at His words and asked, Is not this Joseph's son?
(2)
His answer:
(a)
Physician, heal thyselfreferring to what had been done in Capernaum.
(b)
No prophet is acceptable in His own country.
i)
He reminded them of Elijah and the widow at Zarephath.
ii)
He reminded them of Elisha and the healing of Naaman the Syrian.
e)
He escaped from the mob that tried to kill Him (Luke 4:28-30).
(1)
They were filled with anger at His words.
(2)
They led Him to the brow of the hill, intending to cast Him down to His death.
(3)
Luke says, But he passing through the midst of them went his way.
C.
Luke told about His ministry in Capernaum and other parts of Galilee (Luke 4:31-44).
1.
A general statement about Jesus going down to Capernaum (Luke 4:31-32).
a)
Capernaum was a city of Galilee.
b)
Jesus taught the people on the sabbath day.
c)
They were astonished at the authority with which He taught them.
2.
Healing the man with the spirit of an unclean demon (Luke 4:33-37).
a)
The demon possessed man said:
(1)
What have we to do with thee, Jesus thou Nazarene?
(2)
Are you come to destroy us?
(3)
I know who you are, the Holy One of God.
b)
Jesus commanded the demon to come out of him.
c)
People were amazed at what happened, and the report of Jesus-' work spread to all the region.
3.
The healing of Simon's mother-in-law (Luke 4:38-39).
4.
The healing of many sick and demon possessed people as the sun was setting at the close of the sabbath day (Luke 4:40-41).
5.
The plea of the people for Him to remain with them (Luke 4:42-44).
a)
Jesus had gone to a desert place; the crowds came and asked Him to remain with them.
b)
He explained that He had been sent to preach good tidings of the kingdom of God to other cities also.
c)
He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
Summary
The chapter begins with the account of the complete victory of Jesus over the devil. With it, Luke completes the first part of his Life of Christ. In it he gives sufficient evidence to prove that Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of Man. Not even the devil with his three-fold temptation could destroy this evidence.
The temptations presented a choice between God's instructions and the propositions of the devil. Jesus could have turned the stone into bread, but without hesitation He said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.
When the devil had completed every temptation, he left Jesus for a season. But it is quite evident that he returned many times during Jesus-' ministry to renew his efforts to defeat Him. One such instance may be seen in the effort of the people to make Him king after the feeding of the five thousand.
God had led Jesus through the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where He was tempted. Then Jesus returned to Nazareth to begin His public ministry in the little village where He grew up. He came with power performing miracles through the Holy Spirit to prove that His message came from God.
In the synagogue at Nazareth, He read from the prophet Isaiah the passage that outlined the ministry He was to undertake. When He finished reading, He said to the people, Today this Scripture is fulfilled before you. But they said, This is Joseph's son, for they didn-'t know the facts in the case. It was for people like them that Luke made a careful research of the facts and reported them to Theophilus that no one may ever need to fall into that error again.
The irate people of Nazareth would not let this One, whom they had known since He was a boy, compare them unfavorably with Gentiles. They took Him to the cliff at the edge of the city to hurl Him down to His death. But He walked through that mob as one would swim through a turbulent stream and went on His way.
Jesus went down to Capernaum which became the center of His activity for the greater part of His ministry. There He taught the people. They were astonished at the authority of His words. There He healed a demon possessed man. The report of His work spread throughout the whole district, He healed Peter's wife's mother. The people brought their demon possessed and sick to Him and He healed them all.
He withdrew to a lonely place, but the crowds followed and begged Him to stay with them. But He said, I must preach good tidings of the kingdom of God to other cities also, for it was for that purpose that I was sent. He continued preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
Questions
1.
What is meant by full of the Holy Spirit when it refers to John? to Jesus?
2.
What is meant by led in the Spirit?
3.
What is temptation?
4.
What is the difference between temptation and sin?
5.
What did Jesus say about the longing desire for the thing God has forbidden?
6.
Why was changing a stone into bread a temptation to Jesus?
7.
Why did the devil say, If you are the Son of God?
8.
What proof is given to show that Jesus overcame temptations as a man?
9.
What did He use to defeat the devil?
10.
How is the Christian equipped to defeat the devil?
11.
Were other temptations presented to Jesus later?
12.
What does John say about all that is in the world?
13.
What are the three temptations in the wilderness?
14.
What does Matthew say about the ministry of angels after the temptation of Jesus?
15.
What is the significance of the fact that the temptation followed immediately after the baptism of Jesus?
16.
What is the significance of the evidence presented in the first section of Luke's Gospel?
17.
What is meant by in the power of the Spirit as it relates to Jesus-' ministry?
18.
What does Luke say about the fame of Jesus at this point?
19.
Why did Jesus and the apostles preach in the synagogues?
20.
What was the order of service in the synagogue?
21.
Why did He read from Isaiah?
22.
What was the response of the people to His reading? to His explanation?
23.
Why did they say, This is Joseph's son?
24.
Why did they try to kill Him?
25.
How did He escape from the violence of the mob?
26.
What place did Capernaum have in the ministry of Jesus?
27.
What was the response of the people of Capernaum?
28.
What is a demon?
29.
What distinction does Luke show between the technique used by Jesus in casting out a demon and in healing a sick person?
30.
What forms did demon possession take?
31.
Is there demon possession today?
32.
Why is there no record of a demon possessed person confessing that Jesus is the Christ?
33.
What was the response of the people to the reports of His healing ministry?
34.
Why did Jesus withdraw to a lonely place?
35.
What did He say when the people begged Him to stay with them?
Butler's Comments
SECTION 1
Victory of the Son of Man over Temptation (Luke 4:1-13)
4 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit 2for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he was hungry. 3The devil said to him, If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread. 4And Jesus answered him, It is written, -Man shall not live by bread alone.-' 5And the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6and said to him, To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours. 8And Jesus answered him, It is written, -You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.-'
9And he took him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle 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 give his angels charge of you, to guard you,-'
11and
-On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone,-'
12And Jesus answered him, It is said, -You shall not tempt the Lord your God.-' 13And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:1-8 Over Appetite and Ambition: The Son of Man came to defeat the devil. He came to do so in a fleshly body, subject to the tests and trials all men know. He not only defeated the devil in the flesh, He also established forever the strategy that will enable mankind to defeat the devil. First, one must realize the devil is a real being. The devil is not a creation of man's imagination. We must trust only what the Bible says about the devil, To trust any other data about him is to risk being deceived by the very one we are trying to escape:
a.
He fell from heaven (Luke 10:18).
b.
He pretends to rule the world (2 Corinthians 4:4).
c.
He rules a kingdom of rebellious demons (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6).
d.
He is called tempter, adversary, accuser.
e.
He may fashion himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).
f.
He is able to work lying signs and wonders through human helpers (2 Thessalonians 2:9; Revelation 13:13-14).
g.
He is bound to some limitations by God and Christ (Job 1:12; Job 2:6; Matthew 12:29).
h.
He is feared by angels of God (Jude 1:6).
i.
He seeks to destroy the church of Christ (Revelation 12:13-17).
j.
Pride was his snare (1 Timothy 3:6).
k.
He is the father of liars and murderers (John 8:44).
l.
He prowls around like a roaring lion seeking those who will stray so that he may devour them (1 Peter 5:8).
This is some of the biblical data which keeps us from being ignorant of his devices (2 Corinthians 2:11). Here in the temptations of Jesus we have an exposé of the devil's basic strategems. There are three fundamental vulnerabilities of man which Satan attacks. Man was created by God to have these vulnerabilities, If man had no vulnerability between right and wrong, he could not believe, love, enjoy or be in the image of his Creator, The first of these is human appetite. All men need food, clothing, shelter, sex, rest, work, life and health. Satan takes advantage of these needs and tries to get men to make these human needs first in priority.
Jesus had a human body. His body needed food. He had fasted for forty days and nights. Fasting was not dietingit was for the specific purpose of clearing the mind and concentrating it wholly on spiritual matters. Jesus had His priorities right. Food was secondary to His communion with the Father. But the devil attacked the physical part of Him which undoubtedly cried out for satisfaction after forty days of deprivation. But Jesus trusted in the Father's word: Man shall not live by bread alone. In other words, a man's life does not consist in the things he possesses (cf. Luke 12:15). There is a food which perishes (cf. John 6:27); those who trust God are to labor for the food which does not perish. Jesus was tempted to distrust the Father's promise to provide everything necessary. Jesus had the power to provide for Himself. Why didn-'t He? Had He done so He would have provided no way for victory for uswe do not have such power. We may think we do, but we don-'t. We must trust God. It is through trust in His very great promises that we escape the corruption in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). There is no other escape than to trust God's Word; which means to put itto practice in our daily living. Temptations must come (Matthew 18:7; Luke 17:1); they come through man's own desires (James 1:14); God will not allow any man to be tested beyond his strength to overcome (1 Corinthians 10:13); God provides the way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Peter 2:9); self-control helps guard against temptation (1 Corinthians 7:5) and so does prayer (Matthew 6:13; Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38; Luke 11:4; Luke 22:40; Luke 22:46). Remember, the next time you are tempted to satisfy a God-given physical appetite above and beyond the guidelines of the Scriptures that you do not have to. God's Word has given man principles and precepts within which he may satisfy his physical nature to its greatest potential and most profitable use. The body is a means to an end. Man should use it to glorify God for in glorifying God man lives! Jesus proved the flesh did not have to have first priority! Jesus proved there was something higher. Jesus proved that by trusting God's Word, the flesh need not be vulnerable to Satan's attempts to control it. The life of the Christian does not consist in making provisions to gratify the desires of the flesh (Romans 13:14).
The next attack of the devil was upon ambition or the vulnerability of the human ego. Now human ego is God-given but it is intended to be held in check. Man needs an ego to give the initiative, creativity, correct amounts of ambition and the drive to find satisfaction in a job well done. Without the drive to do and be man would be a listless, lethargic driftertotally passive. The crucial issue is whether man will surrender that God-given ego or ambition to divinely revealed goals. God has a purpose for all the drives and aspirations of the human ego. That purpose is to aspire to goodness, righteousness, truth, faithfulness and love. God's great ambition for all men is that they be conformed to the image of His Son (cf. Romans 8:28-30; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 3:8-16). He wants us to have the drive and ambition to seek after that. But the devil will attack us at this point and try to convince us that our ambitions should be for ourselves and not for God. The devil will tempt us with human fame and human power to get us to direct our loyalty toward him and away from God. The devil will try to convince us that we can be kings of certain areas or portions of that which God created. He tempts us into believing that we can actually usurp God's sovereignty in some areas where we seem to have special expertise or charisma. What the devil really means is that he will help us deceive ourselves that we can be kings if we will follow his way and do obeisance to him. Of course, it was a great temptation to Jesus. He knew He was a king, but He knew most of His subjects would not acknowledge His kingship because they were looking for a king of power, fame and political-mindedness. The devil was tempting Jesus to establish God's kingdom on the same basis as worldly kingdoms. The enticement was to conduct God's business like the world conducts its business. This is still a strong temptation for leaders in the church today. The way of God's kingdom is servanthood, suffering and persuasionnot in being served in ease and comfort and worldly fame. Once again, Jesus overcame the temptation by trusting in God's Word. The greatest of all must be servant of all. If we are faithful and suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him. For the glory that was set before Him, Jesus endured defamation, persecutions, misunderstanding and the cross. There is nothing physical, incomprehensible, emotional, esoteric or impossible in Jesus-' parry of the devil's thrust. He simply said, It is written.. Only total commitment to God's Word will furnish the power to survive the deceitful power of the devil.
Luke 4:9-13 Over Audacity: The devil's final attack was upon the tendency of man to be audacious. Audacity is a daring that shows contempt for restraints of common sense and law; it is effrontery. It is the tendency to be proud and arrogant. The devil took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and dared Him to throw Himself down. The devil even quoted Scripture to Jesus (see Psalms 91:11). Satan is urging Jesus to do what seems to be the quickest, most spectacular way to accomplish His purpose. Jesus wants to be recognized as the Messiah. Jewish tradition said the Messiah would come suddenly in a spectacular way, to the temple. This would seem to be a plausible (at least spectacular) way to get the attention of the masses. Furthermore, says the devil, God's word says, ... He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone (Psalms 91:11-12). But Satan misquoted Scripture by omitting one very important phrase, ... to keep thee in all thy ways. Jesus-' way was God's way. To have done what Satan suggested would have put Him out of the Messiah'S way into the devil's way. The Messiah's way was the humble, serving, slow, painstaking way. For Jesus to have cast Himself down from the temple would have been to show contempt for the will of God concerning His mission. This was the old end justifies the means temptation. To do as Satan suggested would have been to audaciously go beyond the guidelines of God's way and put Him on trial. The way of the Messiah was to be suffering (Isaiah 53:1-12).
Human beings are still vulnerable to such a suggestion by the devil today. Man is constantly enticed with the idea that he can fulfill God's purpose in his life by doing it his own way. Men still do not want the humble, serving, painstakingly slow way of God. Jesus warned that His kingdom must be built slowly and gradually like the planting of a seed and bringing it painstakingly to fruition first through the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear (Mark 4:28). The devil tempted Jesus to audaciously circumvent the way of the Cross and take matters into His own hands and gain His following by the quick, spectacular, showy way. Followers of Christ are vulnerable to the same temptation. The only defense against it is to know what God has revealed about His way, trust God that His way is the only way to life, and walk in it. To walk any other way is to go beyond the patience of God. Luke quotes Jesus-' reply to the devil and uses the Greek word ekpeiraseis which literally means, overtempt. This is the same Greek word used in the Septuagint version of Deuteronomy 6:16. God wants us to trust His goodness, but He does not want us to overtempt Him and go beyond His goodness. God's patience is not inexhaustible (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:6-13; Hebrews 3:7-19, etc.). Because God is patient and long-suffering, not wishing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), man grows audacious and arrogant. Jesus, in the flesh, tempted strongly to dare God's way, resisted. We can resist that temptation too!
Jesus-' temptations were strong. They were stronger than any other human will know. A shrewd man once said: The man who has no problems with temptations is the man who always yields! Temptation in the Lord's case was strengthened from the very fact that He possessed the supernatural powers the devil tried to get Him to misuse. Having failed to seduce Jesus into sinning against God, the devil left Him. Luke notes that the devil's intention was to resume his attack. The Greek word kairou means literally season but is translated in the RSV, an opportune time. In season means opportune time. Jesus was constantly tempted throughout His human existence. One of the most crucial hours of temptation came in the Garden of Gethsemane (cf. Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:35; Luke 22:41). His own disciples became channels through which the devil tempted Him (cf. Matthew 16:23).
The devil is malicious, hateful, evil and murderous. He will use our emotions, our physical nature, our friends, even our sub-consciousness to tempt us to disobey or distrust God. The only protection we have is to deeply engrave the word of God on our thresholds (our conscious minds), so that he cannot slip inside our houses (our hearts, our subconscious minds) and rob us of our souls.