Capernaum, Israel

 

Luke 4

[With various commentary following Scripture]

King James Version

 

1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days He did eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered.

3 And the devil said unto Him, “If Thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.”

4 And Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”

5 And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

6 And the devil said unto Him, “All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

7 If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be Thine.”

8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, “Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.”

9 And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him, “If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from hence:

10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee:

11 And in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.”

12 And Jesus answering said unto him, “It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Him for a season.

14 ¶ And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of Him through all the region round about.

15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.

16 ¶ And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

17 And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written,

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

20 And He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him.

21 And He began to say unto them, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

22 And all bare Him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”

23 And He said unto them, “Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.”

24 And He said, “Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;

26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.”

28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,

29 And rose up, and thrust Him out of the city, and led Him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast Him down headlong.

30 But He passing through the midst of them went His way,

31 And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.

32 And they were astonished at His doctrine: for His word was with power.

33 ¶ And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,

34 Saying, “Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? art Thou come to destroy us? I know thee who Thou art; the Holy One of God.”

35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Hold thy peace, and come out of him.” And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.

36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, “What a word is this! for with authority and power He commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.”

37 And the fame of Him went out into every place of the country round about.

38 ¶ And He arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. And Simon’s wife’s mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought Him for her.

39 And He stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them.

40 ¶ Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them, and healed them.

41 And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, “Thou art Christ the Son of God.” And He rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that He was Christ.

42 And when it was day, He departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought Him, and came unto Him, and stayed Him, that He should not depart from them.

43 And He said unto them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.”

44 And He preached in the synagogues of Galilee.

 

Luke 4

Complete Jewish Bible

1 Then Yeshua, filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, returned from the Yarden and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days of testing by the Adversary. During that time he ate nothing, and afterwards he was hungry. The Adversary said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order this stone to become bread.” Yeshua answered him, “The Tanakh says, ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’[a]

The Adversary took him up, showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world, and said to him, “I will give you all this power and glory. It has been handed over to me, and I can give it to whomever I choose. So if you will worship me, it will all be yours.” Yeshua answered him, “The Tanakh says, ‘Worship Adonai your God and serve him only.’”[b]

Then he took him to Yerushalayim, set him on the highest point of the Temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, jump from here! 10 For the Tanakh says,

‘He will order his angels
to be responsible for you and to protect you.
11 They will support you with their hands,
so that you will not hurt your feet on the stones.’”[c]

12 Yeshua answered him, “It also says, ‘Do not put Adonai your God to the test.’”[d] 13 When the Adversary had ended all his testings, he let him alone until an opportune time.

14 Yeshua returned to the Galil in the power of the Spirit, and reports about him spread throughout the countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone respected him.

16 Now when he went to Natzeret, where he had been brought up, on Shabbat he went to the synagogue as usual. He stood up to read, 17 and he was given the scroll of the prophet Yesha‘yahu. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,

18 “The Spirit of Adonai is upon me;
therefore he has anointed me
to announce Good News to the poor;
he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the imprisoned
and renewed sight for the blind,
to release those who have been crushed,
19 to proclaim a year of the favor of Adonai.”[e]

20 After closing the scroll and returning it to the shammash, he sat down; and the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 He started to speak to them: “Today, as you heard it read, this passage of the Tanakh was fulfilled!” 22 Everyone was speaking well of him and marvelling that such appealing words were coming from his mouth. They were even asking, “Can this be Yosef’s son?”

23 Then Yeshua said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me this proverb — ‘“Doctor, cure yourself!” We’ve heard about all the things that have been going on over in K’far-Nachum; now do them here in your home town!’ 24 Yes!” he said, “I tell you that no prophet is accepted in his home town. 25 It’s true, I’m telling you — when Eliyahu was in Isra’el, and the sky was sealed off for three-and-a-half years, so that all the Land suffered a severe famine, there were many widows; 26 but Eliyahu was sent to none of them, only to a widow in Tzarfat in the land of Tzidon. 27 Also there were many people with tzara‘at in Isra’el during the time of the prophet Elisha; but not one of them was healed, only Na‘aman the Syrian.”

28 On hearing this, everyone in the synagogue was filled with fury. 29 They rose up, drove him out of town and dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which their town was built, intending to throw him off. 30 But he walked right through the middle of the crowd and went away.

31 He went down to K’far-Nachum, a town in the Galil, and made a practice of teaching them on Shabbat. 32 They were amazed at the way he taught, because his word carried the ring of authority.

33 In the synagogue there was a man who had an unclean demonic spirit, who shouted in a loud voice, 34 “Yaah! What do you want with us, Yeshua from Natzeret? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!” 35 But Yeshua rebuked it: “Be quiet, and come out of him!” The demonic spirit threw the man down in the middle of the crowd and came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 They were all astounded and said to one another, “What kind of teaching is this? Why, he gives orders with power and authority to the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And reports about him went out through the whole surrounding district.

38 Leaving the synagogue, he went to Shim‘on’s house. Shim‘on’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him to do something for her. 39 So, standing over her, he rebuked the fever; and it left her. She immediately got up and began helping them.

40 After sunset, all those who had people sick with various diseases brought them to Yeshua, and he put his hands on each one of them and healed them; 41 also demons came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But, rebuking them, he did not permit them to say that they knew he was the Messiah.

42 When day had come, he left and went away to a lonely spot. The people looked for him, came to him and would have kept him from leaving them. 43 But he said to them, “I must announce the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the other towns too — this is why I was sent.” 44 He also spent time preaching in the synagogues of Y’hudah.

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 4:4 Deuteronomy 8:3
  2. Luke 4:8 Deuteronomy 6:13–14
  3. Luke 4:11 Psalm 91:11–12
  4. Luke 4:12 Deuteronomy 6:16
  5. Luke 4:19 Isaiah 61:1–2; 58:6

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

4:14-30 Christ taught in their synagogues, their places of public worship, where they met to read, expound, and apply the word, to pray and praise. All the gifts and graces of the Spirit were upon him and on him, without measure. By Christ, sinners may be loosed from the bonds of guilt, and by his Spirit and grace from the bondage of corruption. He came by the word of his gospel, to bring light to those that sat in the dark, and by the power of his grace, to give sight to those that were blind. And he preached the acceptable year of the Lord. Let sinners attend to the Saviour’s invitation when liberty is thus proclaimed. Christ’s name was Wonderful; in nothing was he more so than in the word of his grace, and the power that went along with it. We may well wonder that he should speak such words of grace to such graceless wretches as mankind. Some prejudice often furnishes an objection against the humbling doctrine of the cross; and while it is the word of God that stirs up men’s enmity, they will blame the conduct or manner of the speaker. The doctrine of God’s sovereignty, his right to do his will, provokes proud men. They will not seek his favour in his own way; and are angry when others have the favours they neglect. Still is Jesus rejected by multitudes who hear the same message from his words. While they crucify him afresh by their sins, may we honour him as the Son of God, the Saviour of men, and seek to show we do so by our obedience.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 23.Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself. “There is something interesting in our finding this proverb in the Gospel of the beloved physician. May we think of him as hearing the proverb casually, tracking out its application, and so coming on this history? It was, probably, so far as is known, a common Jewish proverb; but there is no trace of it in Greek writers, and it was therefore likely to attract his notice” (Dean Plumptre). Whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. Now, up to this time in Jesus’ public career no miracles are recorded as having been done in Capernaum. After the miracle at Cana we know that the Lord resided for some time in Capernaum (John 2:12); the miracles to which these men of Nazarath alluded were no doubt worked then. ‘The memory of these early miracles, as Godet well observes, would have been effaced by more remarkable later events, as that at Cana would have been had not John, who required it in the plan of his Gospel, rescued it from oblivion. The Jews of Nazareth, after the first moment of surprise and admiration at Jesus’ words, evidently looked at him with scorn and unbelief. That poor Carpenter their glorious expected Messiah! As for the marvellous deeds reported to have been done in Capernaum, they did not believe in them; at least why did he not here, in the neighborhood of his own home, something of the same kind? If they could see with their eyes marvels worked by him, then perhaps they might accept him as Messiah.

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

And he said unto them, ye will surely say unto me this proverb,…. Or “parable”; for any pithy sentence, or proverbial expression, was, by the Jews, called a parable:

physician heal thyself; and which was a proverb in use with the Jews; and which is sometimes expressed thus, , “go heal thyself” (m); and sometimes in this form, , “physician, heal thy lameness” (n): the meaning of which is, that a man ought to look at home, and take care of himself, and of those that belonged to him; and Christ was aware that his townsmen would object this to him, that if he was the person he was said to be, and could do the miracles and cures which were ascribed to him, he ought to do something of this kind at home, among them, who were his townsmen, neighbours, relations, and acquaintance; that is, heal their sick, lame, blind, leprous, deaf, and dumb: and that this is the sense of it, is manifest from what follows,

whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum: a place where Christ often was, and where he cured the centurion’s servant of the palsy, and Peter’s wife’s mother of a fever, and another man sick of a palsy, and the woman of her bloody issue, and a man that had a withered hand, and where he raised Jairus’s daughter from the dead:

do also here in thy country; or city, as the Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions render it: hence it appears, that this was not the first of our Lord’s ministry; he had preached elsewhere, and wrought miracles before he came to Nazareth, and of which his townsmen had heard; and therefore were desirous that he would do the like among them, if he was able, for they seem to be very incredulous, and to question the reports of him, and his ability to perform such things; however, if he could, they thought they had as good a right to his favours and benefits, as any, this being his native place.

(m) Zohar in Exod. fol. 31. 2.((n) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 23. fol. 20. 4.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

23. this proverb—like our “Charity begins at home.”

whatsoever, &c.—”Strange rumors have reached our ears of Thy doings at Capernaum; but if such power resides in Thee to cure the ills of humanity, why has none of it yet come nearer home, and why is all this alleged power reserved for strangers?” His choice of Capernaum as a place of residence since entering on public life was, it seems, already well known at Nazareth; and when He did come thither, to give no displays of His power when distant places were ringing with His fame, wounded their pride. He had indeed “laid his hands on a few sick folk and healed them” (Mr 6:5); but this seems to have been done quite privately the general unbelief precluding anything more open.

Luke 4:23 Additional Commentaries

 

The Temptation of Jesus

1Then Jesusa returned from the Jordan,b full of the Holy Spirit,c and was led by the Spiritd in the wilderness 2for 40 dayse to be tempted by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over,f He was hungry. 3The Devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

4But Jesus answered him, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone.”g,h,i

5So he took Him upj and showed Him all the kingdoms of the worldk in a moment of time. 6The Devil said to Him, “I will give You their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me,l and I can give it to anyone I want. 7If You, then, will worship me,m all will be Yours.”

8And Jesus answered him,n “It is written:

Worship the Lord your God,

and serveo Him only.”p

9So he took Him to Jerusalem, had Him stand 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 orders concerning you,

to protect you,q, r 11and

they will support you with their hands,

so that you will not strike

your foot against a stone.”s, t

12And Jesus answered him, “It is said: Do not test the Lord your God.”u,v

13After the Devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him for a time.

Ministry in Galilee

14Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,w and news about Him spread throughout the entire vicinity.x 15He was teaching in their synagogues,y being acclaimedz by everyone.

Rejection at Nazareth

16He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.aa As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath dayab and stood up to read.ac 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written:

18The Spirit of the Lord is on Me,

because He has anointed Me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent Mead

to proclaim freedomae to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to set free the oppressed,

19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.af,ag,ah

20He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.ai And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”aj

22They were all speaking well of Himak and were amazed by the gracious words that came from His mouth, yet they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son? ”al

23Then He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverbam to Me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. So all we’ve heard that took place in Capernaum,an do here in Your hometown also.’ ”

24He also said, I assure you: No prophet is accepted in his hometown.ao 25But I say to you, there were certainly many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days,ap when the sky was shut up for three years and six months while a great famine came over all the land. 26Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them — but to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.aq 27And in the prophet Elisha’s time, there were many in Israel who had serious skin diseases, yet not one of them was healedar — only Naaman the Syrian.”as

28When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was enraged. 29They got up, drove Him out of town,at and brought Him to the edgeau of the hill that their town was built on, intending to hurl Him over the cliff. 30But He passed right through the crowd and went on His way.av

Driving Out an Unclean Spirit

31Then He went down to Capernaum,aw a town in Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. 32They were astonished at His teaching because His message had authority.ax 33In the synagogue there was a man with an unclean demonic spirit who cried out with a loud voice,ay 34“Leave us alone!az What do You have to do with us,ba Jesus — Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are — the Holy One of God! ”bb

35But Jesus rebuked himbc and said, “Be quiet and come out of him! ”bd

And throwing him down before them, the demon came out of him without hurting him at all. 36Amazement came over them all, and they kept saying to one another, “What is this message? For He commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out! ” 37And news about Him began to go out to every place in the vicinity.

Healings at Capernaum

38After He left the synagogue, He entered Simon’s house.be Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him about her.bf 39So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediatelybg and began to serve them.

40When the sun was setting, all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to Him. As He laid His hands on each one of them, He would heal them.bh 41Also, demons were coming out of many, shouting and saying, “You are the Son of God! ”bi But He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew He was the Messiah.bj

Preaching in Galilee

42When it was day, He went out and made His way to a deserted place.bk But the crowds were searching for Him. They came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving them. 43But He said to them, “I must proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.” 44And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.bl, bm


Footnotes:
a. 4:1-13 Mt 4:1-11; Mk 1:12-13
b. 4:1 Lk 3:3
c. 4:1 Lk 1:15,41,67; Ac 2:4; 4:8,31; 9:17; 11:24; 13:9
d. 4:1 Gl 5:18
e. 4:2 Ex 24:18; 34:28; Dt 9:9,11,18,25; 10:10
f. 4:2 Lit were completed
g. 4:4 Other mss add but on every word of God
h. 4:4 Dt 8:3
i. 4:4 Dt 8:3
j. 4:5 Other mss read So the Devil took Him up on a high mountain
k. 4:5 Is 23:17; Jr 25:26
l. 4:6 1Jn 5:19
m. 4:7 Lit will fall down before me
n. 4:8 Other mss add “Get behind Me, Satan!
o. 4:8 Dt 6:13
p. 4:8 Dt 6:13
q. 4:10 Ps 91:11
r. 4:10 Ps 91:11
s. 4:11 Ps 91:12
t. 4:11 Ps 91:12
u. 4:12 Dt 6:16
v. 4:12 Dt 6:16
w. 4:14 Mt 4:12
x. 4:14 Mt 4:24; 9:26,31; Mk 1:28,45; Lk 4:37; 5:15; 9:60
y. 4:15 Mt 4:23; 9:35; Lk 4:44; 13:10; Ac 9:20; 13:5
z. 4:15 Or glorified
aa. 4:16 Lk 2:39,51
ab. 4:16 Mt 13:54; Mk 6:1-2
ac. 4:16 Ac 13:14-16
ad. 4:18 Other mss add to heal the brokenhearted,
ae. 4:18 Or release, or forgiveness
af. 4:19 The time of messianic grace
ag. 4:18-19 Is 61:1-2; Mt 11:5; 12:18; Jn 3:34
ah. 4:18-19 Is 61:1-2
ai. 4:20 Mt 26:55
aj. 4:21 Jn 13:18; 15:25; 17:12; 19:28,36; Ac 1:16; Jms 2:23
ak. 4:22 Or They were testifying against Him
al. 4:22 Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3; Jn 6:42
am. 4:23 Or parable
an. 4:23 Mt 11:23; Mk 2:1-12; Jn 4:46-53
ao. 4:24 Mt 13:57; Mk 6:4; Jn 4:44
ap. 4:25 1Kg 17:1; 18:1; Jms 5:17
aq. 4:26 1Kg 17:8-24
ar. 4:27 Lit cleansed
as. 4:27 2Kg 5:1-14
at. 4:29 Nm 15:35; Ac 7:58; Heb 13:12
au. 4:29 Lit brow
av. 4:30 Jn 10:39
aw. 4:31-37 Mk 1:21-28
ax. 4:32 Mt 7:28-29; Mk 1:22; Jn 7:46
ay. 4:33-37 Mk 1:23-28
az. 4:34 Or Ha!, or Ah!
ba. 4:34 Lit What to us and to You
bb. 4:34 Mk 1:24; Jn 6:69
bc. 4:35 Mt 8:26; Mk 4:39; Lk 4:39,41; 8:24
bd. 4:35 Mk 1:25; 9:25
be. 4:38-41 Mt 8:14-17; Mk 1:29-34
bf. 4:38 1Co 9:5
bg. 4:39 Mt 8:3; 14:31; 20:34; Mk 5:42; 10:52; Lk 1:64; 5:13,25; Ac 9:34
bh. 4:40 Mt 4:23; Mk 5:23
bi. 4:41 Mt 4:3; 8:29; Mk 3:11
bj. 4:41 Mt 8:16; Mk 1:34; 3:11-12
bk. 4:42-43 Mt 14:13; Mk 1:35,45; Mk 1:35-38; 6:31-32; Lk 9:12
bl. 4:44 Other mss read Judea
bm. 4:44 Mt 4:23; Mk 1:39