Luke 4:1-4

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 4:1-13

The temptation in the wilderness. One of the most mysterious but most suggestive passages in the history of the Christ. Without attempting to indicate all the points presented for reflection (see homiletics on Matthew 4:1-25 .), observe— I. THE TEMPTATION IS NECESSARY TO THE PERFECTING OF JESUS AS THE SAVIOR OF SINNERS . He is led by the Spirit into the wilderness—led for the purpose of being tried by the devil. In the solitudes and simplicities of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 4:1-13

The temptation of Christ. From the baptism of Jesus we now pass to his temptation. In the baptism he received, as we have seen, three gifts from the Father—the guarantee of a perfect revelation of the Father's will, of a perfect inspiration to do that revealed will, and of an assurance of Sonship during the trying ordeal. We are now to notice three temptations, corresponding very accurately to these three gifts, and so presenting in most artistic fashion the great drama of Messiah's... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 4:2

Being forty days tempted of the devil. For some reason unknown to us, the number forty seems to possess some mystic significance. Moses was forty days alone with the Divine Presence on Horeb. Elijah fasted forty days in the wilderness before the vision and the voice came to him. Forty years was the period, too, of the wanderings of the chosen people. The existence of an evil power has been a favorite subject of discussion in those schools of thought who more or less question the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 4:2-4

The temptation of the flesh. There can be no question as to the reality of the temptation. Without contending for the strictly literal sense of the passage, we do maintain that the temptation was a very real thing to our Lord. It constituted a serious struggle through which he went, out of which he came forth victorious, by passing through which he was our Exemplar. We cannot afford to lose this aspect of his life, this view of our Lord himself; but we must beware lest we do; for "if we... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 4:3

And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread . It has been quaintly said of the tempter "that he had sped so successfully to his own mind by a temptation about a matter of eating with the first Adam, that he practiced the old manner of his trading with the second." These diabolical promptings have been spoken of already in this Commentary as "typical." They represent, indeed, some of the principal temptations to which different classes of... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Luke 4:1-14

On the temptation of Jesus, see the notes at Matthew 4:1-11.Luke 4:2Being forty days tempted - That is, through forty days he was “tried” in various ways by the devil. The temptations, however, which are recorded by Matthew and Luke did not take place until the forty days were finished. See Matthew 4:2-3.He did eat nothing - He was sustained by the power of God during this season of extraordinary fasting.Luke 4:13Departed for a season - For a time. From this it appears that our Saviour was... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Luke 4:1

Luke 4:1. And Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, &c., was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, &c. Supposed by some to have been in Judea; by others to have been the great desert of Horeb, or Sinai, where the children of Israel were tried for forty years, and Moses and Elijah fasted forty days. Here we see that our blessed Lord began his ministry immediately after his baptism, not by going directly to Jerusalem, the seat of power, preceded by the Baptist, and with the divine... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Luke 4:2

Luke 4:2. Being forty days tempted According to Luke here, and Mark 1:12, he was tempted of Satan during the whole of these forty days; but we are favoured with no account of the various subtle arts which that evil spirit used in the course of so long a temptation. Only the three assaults which he made at the expiration of the forty days are recorded; perhaps because they were more violent than the rest, or more for the instruction of mankind. In those days he did eat nothing And... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Luke 4:3-12

Luke 4:3-12. The devil said, If thou be the Son of God, &c. For an explanation of this whole paragraph, see notes on Matthew 4:3-10. The devil taketh him up into a high mountain, &c. This temptation, which stands here as the second, is by Matthew placed the last of the three. To reconcile the evangelists, it may be observed, that Matthew recites the temptations in the order in which they occurred; for he plainly affirms this order by the particle then, Luke 4:5, and again Luke... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Luke 4:1-13

17. Temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13)Immediately after being appointed to his messianic ministry, Jesus was tempted by Satan to use his messianic powers in the wrong way. (For the identification of the devil with Satan see Revelation 20:2.) Satan’s aim was to make Jesus act according to his own will instead of in obedience to his Father.Jesus had gone many weeks without eating and was obviously very hungry. Satan therefore used Jesus’ natural desire for food to... read more

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