Luke 4:1

The Temptation of Jesus

4:1 Then ¹  Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River ²  and was led by the Spirit ³  in ⁴  the wilderness, ⁵ 

Luke 8:30

8:30 Jesus then ⁶  asked him, “What is your name?” He ⁷  said, “Legion,” ⁸  because many demons had entered him.

Luke 9:34

9:34 As ⁹  he was saying this, a cloud ¹⁰  came ¹¹  and overshadowed ¹²  them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

Luke 10:8

10:8 Whenever ¹³  you enter a town ¹⁴  and the people ¹⁵  welcome you, eat what is set before you.

Luke 18:24

18:24 When Jesus noticed this, ¹⁶  he said, “How hard ¹⁷  it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! ¹⁸ 

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate continuity with the previous topic.

² tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

³ sn The double mention of the Spirit in this verse makes it clear that the temptation was neither the fault of Jesus nor an accident.

⁴ tc Most mss (A Θ Ξ Ψ 0102 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) read εἰς τὴν ἔρημον (ei" thn erhmon, “into the wilderness”), apparently motivated by the parallel in Matt 4:1. However, the reading behind the translation (ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, en th ejrhmw) is found in overall better witnesses (Ì^4vid,7,75vid א B D L W 579 892 1241 pc it).

⁵ tn Or “desert.”

⁶ tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to pick up the sequence of the narrative prior to the parenthetical note by the author.

⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸ sn The name Legion means “thousands,” a word taken from a Latin term for a large group of soldiers. The term not only suggests a multiple possession, but also adds a military feel to the account. This is a true battle.

¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹² sn This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.

¹³ tn Or “appeared.”

¹⁴ tn Or “surrounded.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “And whatever town you enter,” but this is more often expressed in English as “whenever you enter a town.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁷ tn Or “city.” Jesus now speaks of the town as a whole, as he will in vv. 10-12.

¹⁸ tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people who live in the town) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²¹ tc ‡ The phrase περίλυπον γενόμενον (perilupon genomenon, “[When Jesus saw him] becoming sad”) is found in the majority of mss (A [D] W Θ Ψ 078 ˹³ 33^vid Ï latt sy), and it is not unknown in Lukan style to repeat a word or phrase in adjacent passages (TCGNT 143). However, the phrase is lacking in some significant mss (א B L ˹ 579 1241 2542 co). The shorter reading is nevertheless difficult to explain if it is not original: It is possible that these witnesses omitted this phrase out of perceived redundancy from the preceding verse, although intentional omissions, especially by several and varied witnesses, are generally unlikely. NA²⁷ places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

²² sn For the rich it is hard for wealth not to be the point of focus, as the contrast in vv. 28-30 will show, and for rich people to trust God. Wealth was not an automatic sign of blessing as far as Jesus was concerned.

²³ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.