Bible Commentary Forever คำอธิบายความเข้าใจในพระคัมภีร์ไทยสำหรับชีวิต

Luke 4

Summary. This chapter emphasizes that Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit, and He always goes to synagogues on the Sabbath day. Luke 4:1-13. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The Lord gave us an example of how to fight temptations by standing firm on the Word of God, and we must give our temptations to the Lord for help, because only the beloved Son of God has already won against all the temptations that the devil has tempted Him. Luke 4:14-16, 31-32, 41-44. Jesus' fame spreads to all regions around, and Jesus enters the synagogues on the Sabbath day, as His custom was, and teaches the people and heals the sick and delivers those oppressed by demons. Luke 4:16-30. Jesus goes to the synagogue in Nazareth, His hometown, and reads from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He tells those in the synagogue that the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1-2 refers to Him by saying "today has this Scripture been fulfilled in your ears". Luke 4:31-37. As Jesus traveled around to teach the people, Jesus and the disciples went together to a synagogue in Capernaum, a city in Galilee. In this place, the Lord has shown His authority above the dark side by healing a man with an unclean spirit. Luke 4:38-40. Jesus heals Simon's mother-in-law and many other people in that place with various diseases.
[1] And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,
Comments Luke 4:1 For verses 1-13, see Comments Matthew 4:1-11 and Comments Mark 1:12-13.
Q: What does the Bible want to show us through the temptation of Jesus? A: We can all see, the Bible itself has told us, the beloved Son of God in human form has taken all kinds of temptations that humans will face during life on this earth. He has taken it all upon Himself, so, men and women will not have to face temptations alone. God Himself knows entirely how humans feel. The temptation that the dark side has given us to face, that we can give it to the Lord because in Him He already has faced that temptation, the Lord has taken it upon Himself. But there are some temptations that we dare the dark side to do and those temptations the Lord will not take away. For example, you feel that you are capable enough, so you go to the liquor store and buy alcohol to consume and you believe in yourself that you will drink only this amount and stop, but the weakness in you will make you go back and get more, that is the dare you made, and the Lord will not help. And not just about alcohol, but sexual things as well. Many things in the Bible have told us not to do, but because of our own fault, we do it, knowing well that the Lord says no, do not do it, and that is the same way as dare.
For verse 1, see Comments Matthew 4:1. In this verse, it tells us that the temptation of the Lord Jesus happened after His baptism in water in the Jordan River. This temptation of the Lord Himself has told all humans, when the physical body is weak, the devil can tempt you easily but the beloved Son of God Himself in human form has shown to all humans how to strengthen our own spirit itself and fight back that weakness of body and be able to face all the challenges of the mind.
[2] forty days being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing in those days, and when they were accomplished, He was hungry.
Comments Luke 4:2 In this verse it does not tell us specifically that the Lord Jesus did not drink water. It specifies only that the Lord did not eat anything during these days and afterwards He hungered. It is assumed that this was only a food fast (See Comments Matthew 4:2).
Q: What is the difference between the Lord Jesus' fast here and the Moses' fast in Exodus 34:28? A: These two fasts, between the Lord and Moses, have different purposes. The Lord's fast is according to the meeting with the Father and it follows a specific command. The food itself makes the body work, but when the beloved Son of God fasted, His body needed only water, but no food, since food has taste. This is a different purpose for fasting with no food taken, only water. But Moses fasted to receive the written ten commandments, for a different purpose, different type of fast. And when the Lord fasted, we are not told all the details about His fasting either. In the Bible, when it talks about someone fasting, we can notice that each has a different purpose, and neither of them has all the details given.
[3] And the devil said to Him, If Thou are the Son of God, command this stone that it become bread.
Comments Luke 4:3 This is the temptation of the satisfaction of the flesh (see Comments Matthew 4:3).
Q: What is the difference between saying 'this stone' in Luke versus 'these stones' in Matthew? A: There is no difference. This is only the way the translations have put it down, but the meaning is the same.
[4] And Jesus answered to him, It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone. But by every word of God.
Comments Luke 4:4 Cited from Deuteronomy 8:3 (see Comments Matthew 4:4).
Note: "But by every word of God". This portion of the verse is part of the original Gospel of Luke.
[5] And the devil led Him up into a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Comments Luke 4:5 See Comments Matthew 4:9.
Note: "And the devil led Him up into a high mountain". This portion of the verse is part of the original Gospel of Luke.
[6] And the devil said to Him, To Thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of it; for it has been delivered to me; and to whom I will I give it.
[7] If Thou therefore will worship before me, will all be Thine.
Comments Luke 4:5-7 This is the temptation of an easy life and laziness (see Comments Matthew 4:9).
"showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time". By showing to the Lord of life and by claiming they have authority over all the kingdoms of the world, it is a dare from the devil to ask, "if Thou therefore will worship before me, will all be Thine". The devil does have authority, but only over those humans who reject the Lord of life. And on the earth itself, the devil can cause problems and suffering because from the beginning the Lord has given them a certain authority. The devil can break things on earth in the sense of destruction, but cannot make anything disappear, only God can.
[8] And Jesus answered and said to him, It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.
Comments Luke 4:8 Cited from Deuteronomy 6:13 and 1 Samuel 7:3 (see Comments Matthew 4:10). Here in this place, it shows to all humans clearly how merciful the Lord of life is. Even to the devil’s challenge, the Lord has given them the way to be saved, and we can see they have rejected His mercy. They should serve only God Almighty, not themselves.
The Lord has told the devil here the true way of salvation. The way of salvation applies to all the fallen angels as well that fall by trickery; those angels still have a chance to be saved the same way as the children of humans. These angels relate to those angels before the creation of the world. At that time, the heavenly was occupied with many levels of rulers, and these rulers had a duty to give work to the angels. And some rulers have betrayed the God Almighty and lifted themselves to be equal to the Creator and have tricked many angels into falling with them. When the Father had thrown them out from heaven, He also gave them a chance to repent as well, the same way as the children of man; all still have a chance to be saved.
[9] And he led Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, If Thou are the Son of God, cast Thyself down from here;
[10] for it is written,
He will give His angels charge concerning Thee, to guard Thee,
[11] and,
On their hands they will bear Thee,
Lest perhaps dash Thy foot against a stone.
Comments Luke 4:9-11 Cited from Psalm 91:11-12 (see Comments Matthew 4:6). This is the temptation of proving that you are somebody important. You can notice the importance of not even letting your feet be touched by a stone. That means lifting up which is higher than all and that is the temptation of being high above all, and important.
[12] And Jesus answering said to him, It is said, You shall not make trial of the Lord your God.
Comments Luke 4:12 Cited from Deuteronomy 6:16 and Isaiah 7:12 (see Comments Matthew 4:7). Also, in these verses, 9 to 11, it shows that the devil wants the beloved Son of God to show His power as well. That is one of the reasons why the Lord has said "you shall not make trial of the Lord your God".
[13] And having accomplished every temptation, the devil departed from Him until an opportune time.
Comments Luke 4:13 After the devil had tempted the Lord, they left Him, but they went in wait to take time and temp Him again. This verse also tells all humans, when you have been tempted it will never be once only, always the same temptation will come and tempt you again until you have given that temptation to the Lord for help, because only the beloved Son of God has already won against all the temptations that the devil has tempted Him.
[14] And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee; and a fame went out concerning Him through all the region around.
Comments Luke 4:14 When the beloved Son of God returned from being tempted, the Holy Spirit from within Him shined through, and all humans could notice. Speaking through the Holy Spirit, the Son has made known to all humans that He is One with the Father. This verse is a confirmation that the Holy Spirit also worked through Him. Imagine it in this way, the Father and the Son, when facing together, in between them the Holy Spirit links both ways, from the Father through the Holy Spirit to the Son, and also from the Son, though the Holy Spirit going back to the Father. Also, we can imagine the Trinity as a triangle with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all connected together as Three in One.
[15] And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Comments Luke 4:15 "And He taught in their synagogues". Here, the gospel says clearly, the beloved Son of God has been set apart even by humans themselves. By being a teacher in their synagogues, He is set above them all already.
"being glorified by all". Because the Living Word has worked in their hearts, all the people that heard the beloved Son of God's teaching have come to the same conclusion: glorify the beloved Son of God. Keep in your mind, in this place it is just the beginning of the beloved Son of God's ministry on earth.
[16] And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and He entered, as His custom was, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
Comments Luke 4:16 This event described in this gospel from verse 16 to 30 is similar to the one in Matthew 13:53-58 and Mark 6:1-6 but not the same; not the same time, place and people.
"And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up". In this verse it says clearly, Jesus came back to His hometown. The hometown where He grew up, and some people there know Him as well.
"and He entered, as His custom was, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day." We see plainly the way of life of the beloved Son of God; as His custom is, the beloved Son of God will always go to the synagogue.
"and stood up to read." And also, we can see certainly what the Lord is doing. He will read the Word of the Lord.
[17] And there was given to Him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. And He unrolled the scroll, and found the place where it was written,
Comments Luke 4:17 In this place, all humans have seen the work of the Father Himself. Humans forget to think the roll of the scroll is not small, just to open and find the right spot it is by the work of the Father Himself guiding.
[18] The Spirit of the Lord, upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to heal the broken in heart,
To proclaim pardon to the captives,
And recovering of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty them that are oppressed,
[19] To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.
Comments Luke 4:18-19 Cited from Isaiah 61:1-2.
"The Spirit of the Lord, upon Me." The saying of the prophet Isaiah refers to proclaiming that the beloved Son of God has the same Holy Spirit as the Father, which is confirmed here by saying "the Spirit of the Lord, upon Me".
"Because He anointed Me to preach good news to the poor." The Father Himself does not look to the earthly possessions of humans and that is why the beloved Son of God came here on earth and gave the good news to the poor.
"He has sent Me to heal the broken in heart". This portion of the verse, including 'to heal the broken in heart', is part of the original Gospel of Luke. The 'broken in heart' in this place is not the physical heart that is broken, but it is the spiritual heart that drifted away from the Lord's teaching and the beloved Son of God Himself becomes the bridge for those that drift away to have the path to walk back to the Father.
"To proclaim pardon to the captives". Here, first think about what the Lord wants to tell you, what it is to be captivated? Not the earthly body, but the soul itself that has turned away from the Lord after receiving Him as the Savior and has been captivated by the sinful nature of humans. This refers to after the Holy Spirit has been given to humans and does not refer only just to His own people, all humans are His people as well.
"And recovering of sight to the blind". It becomes a different thing in this place; the eye that used to look at the abominable things, that what is blind here, and the Lord comes to help them see the truth.
"To set at liberty them that are oppressed." All humans that come to accept the Lord, not only accept alone but stay firm under His protection, those the Lord will set free from being oppressed by human's sinful nature.
"To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." The beloved Son of God has come to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord since His birth, death and resurrection. From that point on, it becomes the favorable year of the Lord for all humans to come to be with the Lord.
[20] And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him.
[21] And He began to say to them, Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.
Comments Luke 4:21 This verse confirms that the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1-2 refers to the Lord Jesus Himself. Whoever hears this saying, verses 18 to 19, the Lord Himself has put in their hearts to think about this saying and it is all their fault if they ignore the saying and reject the beloved Son of God as their Savior.
[22] And all bore Him witness, and marveled at the words of grace which proceeded out of His mouth; and they said, Is not this Joseph's Son?
Comments Luke 4:22 "And all bore Him witness ... His mouth". In this verse, it confirms the wisdom of the beloved Son of God in human form. The word that He spoke out is alive, and all that heard the Word of life can feel it.
"and they said, Is not this Joseph's son?" The words that He has spoken made the hearts of people think, He cannot be the Son of this person, a common man cannot have this wisdom, and all people that heard His words were amazed by His words.
[23] And He said to them, Certainly you will say to Me this parable, Physician, heal Yourself! Whatsoever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in Your hometown.
Comments Luke 4:23 "Certainly ... heal yourself". In this place, because people know Him as the Son of Joseph, and with the wisdom that He has shown to all, it makes them wonder, and all that hear the words from Him want Him to explain about Himself to them.
"Whatsoever ... hometown". The people have heard about what He has done in another place, and they want Him to prove Himself by doing the same miracle things here as well.
[24] Then He said, Truly I say to you that no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
Comments Luke 4:24 The Lord has already sowed the seed in their hearts, and it is their duty to grow that seed. Because they have been wondering about His words, those are the words they needed to grow, the words He spoke to them. In this verse, the Lord has told all that are listening to Him that no prophet has been accepted in his hometown as they will not accept Him in His hometown as well. The Lord has told them ahead.
[25] But of a truth I say to you, There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there was a great famine over all the land;
Comments Luke 4:25 The widow's story with Elijah and the heaven being shut up is found in 1 Kings 17:1-16. In 1 Kings 18:1 we are told "after many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, ..." which can be interpreted as after the third year of Elijah staying with the widow. The length of time it did not rain on the land by the prayer of Elijah is also given in James 5:17 as three and a half years.
[26] and to none of them was Elijah sent, but only to Zarephath, of Sidon, to a widow woman.
Comments Luke 4:25-26 Here it refers only to the selection the Lord has already chosen. The Lord chooses to have mercy on whom He pleases. Because the Lord knows that not all of them will believe in Him, but only the ones that the Father has chosen will believe and the Father knows their hearts from the beginning. As in this verse, the Lord knows the heart of this person, and because of her heart, the Lord has sent Elijah to call her.
"of Sidon". Regardless of where the land is on this earth, all the land belongs to the Lord, the Lord created them all.
"to a widow woman". In many places in the Bible it talks about widows and this shows the mercy of the Lord, which is towards the widows. A woman that has no husband to protect and help is in the heart of the Lord to help.
[27] And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.
Comments Luke 4:27 The story of Naaman the Syrian is told in 2 Kings 5:1-14. As this verse says plainly, the Lord has mercy on whosoever He pleases. And, this is another example, Naaman the Syrian is the one that the Lord chose to have mercy.
Q: What is the link between these two stories and verse 24? A: The Lord told this story to his own birth town because of the hearts of the people. People knew the Lord's childhood and family. Everyone makes mistakes in the eyes of people judging by their own thoughts. But the Lord wants to let them know that God does not look at the outside appearance, the inner heart of the person has more importance than the outside appearance. The place of birth and appearance have made an impact on human thought, but the beloved Son of God in human form does not judge people according to what He sees, but He is judging them by the inner heart that they have. Humans will disagree with what the Lord is teaching, but this example will stir their hearts as well, do not judge with your own thoughts, but let the Lord be the one who judges.
[28] And they were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things;
Comments Luke 4:28 Mainly, they believe the Lord has compared them with the people He used as an example. As they were in the synagogue of God, they were filled with wrath. They felt against the Lord's mercy towards the ones that they believe are not worthy to be helped.
[29] and they rose up, and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, in order to throw Him over.
Comments Luke 4:29 When they think someone else did not do so according to their own judgment, even though the Lord is now sitting as a teacher, they have no respect and fight against Him. They are against the Lord's teaching forceful enough to the point of killing Him.
[30] But He passing through the midst of them went away.
Comments Luke 4:30 In this verse it says clearly, time and all living things froze, not by command, but just only by the will of the Lord, all things stopped. There could be a different way of saying as well, that time froze, or time stopped. But here only human time stopped, but the beloved Son of God's time did not stop; His time is above human time. That is why the verse says that He is "passing through the midst of them". They did not lay hands on Him; the Lord walked through the midst of them all.
See Joshua 10:12-14 for a similar event.
[31] And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And He was teaching them on the Sabbaths;
Comments Luke 4:31 For verses 31-37, see Comments Mark 1:21-28. In the Gospel of Mark, we are told that this account takes place after Jesus called His disciples, indicating that Jesus and the disciples went together to Capernaum (See Mark 1:21 saying "and they go into Capernaum"). At the beginning, when the Lord has called the disciples, He will always go with them and here in this verse the Lord already has the disciples with Him.
[32] and they were astonished at His teaching; for His word was with authority.
Comments Luke 4:32 See Comments Mark 1:21-22 and Comments Matthew 7:28-29.
In this verse it says certainly that the word of the Son of God was with authority. When His word goes out, it is alive, and it has power and all the people that hear His word can notice this.
[33] And in the synagogue there was a man, having a spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud voice,
[34] Ha! what have Thee to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? are Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou are, the Holy One of God.
Comments Luke 4:33-34 Here it says clearly, the dark side itself knows the Lord very well and fears Him. The dark side's knowledge of the Lord is clear about whom the Lord is, and all should notice in this place that the dark has told us that Jesus is the Holy One of God. Even the enemy of the light knows the Lord.
[35] And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent, and come out from him. And the demon having thrown him in the midst came out from him, having done him no hurt.
Comments Luke 4:35 See Comments Mark 1:23-27.
Give attention to the answer the Lord has given; the beloved Son of God used simple words to order the dark side, and they obeyed.
[36] And amazement came upon all, and they spoke to one another, saying, What this word that with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out?
Comments Luke 4:36 The Lord has shown His authority over the dark side in this place. All people in that place have seen clearly the power of the Lord Himself, by His order the dark obeyed. All that were there were amazed at His power, but it did not stick with them long.
[37] And there went out the report concerning Him into every place of the surrounding region.
Comments Luke 4:37 The Lord wants people to talk about His authority. All that witnessed this power will spread the report that God has come down and knows what humans are facing in order to fight against the dark side. And all will realize they cannot fight the dark side alone by themselves.
[38] And He rose up from the synagogue and entered into the house of Simon. And Simon's wife's mother was held with a great fever; and they begged Him for her.
Comments Luke 4:38 For verses 38-41, see Comments Matthew 8:14-16 and Comments Mark 1:29-34.
[39] And He stood over her and rebuked the fever; and it left her; and immediately she rose up and served to them.
Comments Luke 4:39 The complete message about this case comes from all three gospels. In Luke it says, "and He stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and the fever left her"; in Matthew it says, "and He touched her hand and the fever left her"; in Mark it says, "and He came and took her by the hand, and raised her up; and the fever left her". The entire message has been given in this case. The Lord stood over her, touched her hand and rebuked the fever and, at the same time, raised her up and the fever left her suddenly.
[40] And when the sun was setting, all that had any sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.
Comments Luke 4:40 See Comments Matthew 8:17 and Mark 1:34.
"and He laid His hands on every one of them". In this verse we will emphasize on: "every one of them". The Bible did not mention specific names of diseases, but at that time, various diseases and sicknesses were affecting people much more than now. The number of people that the Lord of life has touched in that time is large, but the beloved Son of God has healed them all, and it was because of His love towards humans.
[41] And demons also came out from many, crying out, and saying, Thou are the Son of God. And rebuking, He did not permit them to speak, because they knew that He is the Christ.
Comments Luke 4:41 See Comments Luke 4:33-34, Comments Matthew 8:17 and Comments Mark 1:34.
In this verse give notice that "He did not permit them to speak, because they knew that He is the Christ". The dark side has declared the truth about the beloved Son of God, but He Himself wants all humans to know Him with their own eyes and ears, because He was physically dwelling among them at this time. Human eyes and hearts should open to notice and realize that the beloved Son of God was there among them. The Lord did not want witnesses from the dark side, since the witnesses from them would create confusion. Because the dark side is the father of lie.
[42] And when it was day, having gone out, He went into a solitary place, and the multitudes sought after Him, and came to Him, and were detaining Him not to go from them.
[43] But He said to them, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; because for this I have been sent.
[44] And He was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Comments Luke 4:42-44 For verses 42-44, see Comments Mark 1:35-39. These are the same events in both gospels, but the Lord wants to emphasize in each gospel on different area; in this place it did not mention about His disciples, but most of the time all of His disciple will be beside Him in traveling.
In this portion of the Scripture, the Lord has told to all, about His duty; His duty is not in one place but in all.
Life and Faith Applications. 1) We need to give our temptations to the Lord for help, because only the beloved Son of God has power and authority to help us and He has won the fight already for us. 2) When the Bible tells not to do something then we should apply that command to ourselves and ask the Lord to help us to withstand the attacks, and the Lord will help us. 3) Pray to the Lord before you take any fast decision in your life and ask directions in regard to what fast you should give to the Lord. 4) Glorify the beloved Son of God always in your life. 5) The people in need are in the heart of the Lord for helping, so we as Christians should act and help those in need without passing judgement.