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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Luke 4:1-13

The last words of the foregoing chapter, that Jesus was the Son of Adam, bespeak him to be the seed of the woman; being so, we have here, according to the promise, breaking the serpent's head, baffling and foiling the devil in all his temptations, who by one temptation had baffled and foiled our first parents. Thus, in the beginning of the war, he made reprisals upon him, and conquered the conqueror. In this story of Christ's temptation, observe, I. How he was prepared and fitted for it. He... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Luke 4:1-13

4:1-13 Jesus came back from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, and for forty days he was tempted by the devil; and in those days he ate nothing, and when they were completed he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you really are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered him, "It stands written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'" He took him up and showed him in an instant of time all the kingdoms of the inhabited... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Luke 4:3

And the devil said unto him ,.... Who now visibly appeared, and spoke unto him with an articulate voice: if thou be the Son of God ; as has been just now declared by a voice from heaven; or seeing thou art in such a relation to God, and so equal to him, and possessed of all divine perfections, and among the rest, of almighty power; wherefore, since thou art hungry, and in a wilderness, where no food is to be had, command this stone that it be made bread ; say but the word, and this... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 4:1-13

THE TEMPTATION . The consecration of our Lord in his baptism was immediately followed by what is known as his temptation. It is, perhaps, the most mysterious and least understood of any of the scenes of the public ministry related by the evangelists. It is related at some length by SS . Matthew and Luke, with very slight difference of detail, the principal one being the order in which the three great temptations occurred. In St. Mark the notice of this strange episode in the life... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

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 4:2-4

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 4:3-12

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

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