The Devil Tempts Jesus
41Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2where he was tempted by the Devil for forty days. He did not eat anything during those days. When they came to an end, he was hungry. 3The Devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4Jesus answered him, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”[] 5The Devil led him up to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6The Devil told him, “I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms, because it has been entrusted to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. 7So, if you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8Jesus answered him, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”[] 9The Devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here, 10because it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,
11and they will lift you up with their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”[] 12Jesus answered him, “It says: ‘You shall not test the Lord your God.’”[] 13When the Devil had finished every temptation, he left him until an opportune time.
A Prophet in His Hometown
14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through all the surrounding area. 15He was teaching in their synagogues and being honored by everyone.
16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
18The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free those who are oppressed,
19and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.[] 20He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22They all spoke well of him and were impressed by the words of grace that came from his mouth. And they kept saying, “Isn't this Joseph's son?”
23He told them, “Certainly you will quote this proverb to me, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ Do here in your hometown everything we heard you did in Capernaum.” 24And he said, “Amen[] I tell you: No prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25But truly I tell you: There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three years and six months, while a great famine came over all the land. 26Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in Sidon. 27And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was healed except Naaman the Syrian.” 28All those who were in the synagogue were filled with rage when they heard these things. 29They got up and drove him out of the town. They led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30But he passed through the middle of them and went on his way.
Jesus Drives Out a Demon
31He went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. 32They were amazed by his teaching, because his message had authority. 33In the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the unclean spirit of a demon. He cried out with a loud voice, 34“Leave us alone! What do you have to do with us, Jesus the Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God!”
35Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” The demon threw him down in front of them and came out of him without harming him.
36They were all filled with awe and began to say to one another, “What is this message? With authority and power he commands unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37News about him spread to every place in the surrounding area.
Jesus Heals Many
38Jesus got up, left the synagogue, and went into Simon's house. Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever. They asked him to help her. 39He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them. 40As the sun was setting, they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases. He laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41Demons also came out of many people, crying out, “You are the Son of God!” He rebuked them and did not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
42When it was day, he went out to a deserted place. The crowds were looking for him. They went up to him and were trying to prevent him from leaving them. 43But he told them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is why I was sent.” 44And he continued to preach in the synagogues in the land of the Jews.[]