Lukas 3:21--4:13

The Baptism of Jesus

3:21 Now when ¹  all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. And while he was praying, ²  the heavens ³  opened, 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. ⁴  And a voice came from heaven, “You are my one dear Son; ⁵  in you I take great delight.” ⁶ 

The Genealogy of Jesus

3:23 So ⁷  Jesus, when he began his ministry, ⁸  was about thirty years old. He was ⁹  the son (as was supposed) ¹⁰  of Joseph, the son ¹¹  of Heli, 3:24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 3:25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 3:26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 3:27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, ¹²  the son of Shealtiel, ¹³  the son of Neri, ¹⁴  3:28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 3:29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 3:30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 3:31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, ¹⁵  the son of David, ¹⁶  3:32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, ¹⁷  the son of Nahshon, 3:33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, ¹⁸  the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 3:34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, ¹⁹  the son of Nahor, 3:35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 3:36 the son of Cainan, ²⁰  the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 3:37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, ²¹  the son of Kenan, ²²  3:38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. ²³ 

The Temptation of Jesus

4:1 Then ²⁴  Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River ²⁵  and was led by the Spirit ²⁶  in ²⁷  the wilderness, ²⁸  4:2 where for forty days he endured temptations ²⁹  from the devil. He ³⁰  ate nothing ³¹  during those days, and when they were completed, ³²  he was famished. 4:3 The devil said to him, “If ³³  you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” ³⁴  4:4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man ³⁵  does not live by bread alone.’” ³⁶ 

4:5 Then ³⁷  the devil ³⁸  led him up ³⁹  to a high place ⁴⁰  and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world. 4:6 And he ⁴¹  said to him, “To you ⁴²  I will grant this whole realm ⁴³  – and the glory that goes along with it, ⁴⁴  for it has been relinquished ⁴⁵  to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. 4:7 So then, if ⁴⁶  you will worship ⁴⁷  me, all this will be ⁴⁸  yours.” 4:8 Jesus ⁴⁹  answered him, ⁵⁰  “It is written, ‘You are to worship ⁵¹  the Lord ⁵²  your God and serve only him.’” ⁵³ 

4:9 Then ⁵⁴  the devil ⁵⁵  brought him to Jerusalem, ⁵⁶  had him stand ⁵⁷  on the highest point of the temple, ⁵⁸  and said to him, “If ⁵⁹  you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 4:10 for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ ⁶⁰  4:11 and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” ⁶¹  4:12 Jesus ⁶²  answered him, ⁶³  “It is said, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’” ⁶⁴  4:13 So ⁶⁵  when the devil ⁶⁶  had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a more opportune time. ⁶⁷ 

[3:21]  ¹ tn Grk “Now it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[3:21]  ² tn Grk “and while Jesus was being baptized and praying.” The first of these participles has been translated as a finite verb to be more consistent with English style.

[3:21]  ³ tn Or “the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. In this context, although the word is singular, the English plural “heavens” connotes the Greek better than the singular “heaven” would, for the singular does not normally refer to the sky.

[3:22]  ⁴ tn This phrase is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descends like one in some type of bodily representation.

[3:22]  ⁵ tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).

[3:22]  ⁶ tc Instead of “You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight,” one Greek ms and several Latin mss and church fathers (D it Ju [Cl] Meth Hil Aug) quote Ps 2:7 outright with “You are my Son; today I have fathered you.” But the weight of the ms testimony is against this reading.

[3:22]  tn Or “with you I am well pleased.”

[3:22]  sn The allusions in the remarks of the text recall Ps 2:7a; Isa 42:1 and either Isa 41:8 or, less likely, Gen 22:12,16. God is marking out Jesus as his chosen one (the meaning of “[in you I take] great delight”), but it may well be that this was a private experience that only Jesus and John saw and heard (cf. John 1:32-33).

[3:23]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the summary nature of the statement.

[3:23]  ⁸ tn The words “his ministry” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the contemporary English reader.

[3:23]  ⁹ tn Grk “of age, being.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle ὤν (wn) has been translated as a finite verb with the pronoun “he” supplied as subject, and a new sentence begun in the translation at this point.

[3:23]  ¹⁰ sn The parenthetical remark as was supposed makes it clear that Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus. But a question still remains whose genealogy this is. Mary is nowhere mentioned, so this may simply refer to the line of Joseph, who would have functioned as Jesus’ legal father, much like stepchildren can have when they are adopted by a second parent.

[3:23]  ¹¹ tc Several of the names in the list have alternate spellings in the ms tradition, but most of these are limited to a few mss. Only significant differences are considered in the notes through v. 38.

[3:23]  tn The construction of the genealogy is consistent throughout as a genitive article (τοῦ, tou) marks sonship. Unlike Matthew’s genealogy, this one runs from Jesus down. It also goes all the way to Adam, not stopping at Abraham as Matthew’s does. Jesus has come for all races of humanity. Both genealogies go through David.

[3:27]  ¹² sn On Zerubbabel see Ezra 2:2.

[3:27]  ¹³ sn Grk and KJV Salathiel. Most modern English translations use the OT form of the name (Shealtiel, Ezra 3:2).

[3:27]  ¹⁴ sn Shealtiel, the son of Neri. 1 Chr 3:17 identifies Jeconiah as the father of Shealtiel. The judgment on Jeconiah’s line (Jer 22:30) may be reflected here.

[3:31]  ¹⁵ sn The use of Nathan here as the son of David is different than Matthew, where Solomon is named. Nathan was David’s third son. It is not entirely clear what causes the difference. Some argue Nathan stresses a prophetic connection, but it is not clear how (through confusion with the prophet Nathan?). Others note the absence of a reference to Jeconiah later, so that here there is a difference to show the canceling out of this line. The differences appear to mean that Matthew’s line is a “royal and physical” line, while Luke has a “royal and legal” line.

[3:31]  ¹⁶ sn The mention of David begins a series of agreements with Matthew’s line. The OT background is 1 Chr 2:1-15 and Ruth 4:18-22.

[3:32]  ¹⁷ tc The reading Σαλά (Sala, “Sala”) is found in the best and earliest witnesses (Ì⁴ א* B sy^s sa). Almost all the rest of the mss (א² A D L Θ Ψ 0102 [Ë^1,13] 33 Ï latt sy^p,h bo) have Σαλμών (Salmwn, “Salmon”), an assimilation to Matt 1:4-5 and 1 Chr 2:11 (LXX). “In view of the early tradition that Luke was a Syrian of Antioch it is perhaps significant that the form Σαλά appears to embody a Syriac tradition” (TCGNT 113).

[3:33]  ¹⁸ tc The number and order of the first few names in this verse varies greatly in the mss. The variants which are most likely to be original based upon external evidence are Amminadab, Aram (A D 33 565 [1424] pm lat); Amminadab, Aram, Joram (K Δ Ψ 700 2542 pm); Adam, Admin, Arni (Ì^4vid א* 1241 pc sa); and Amminadab, Admin, Arni (א² L X [Γ] ˹³ pc). Deciding between these variants is quite difficult. The reading “Amminadab, Aram” is the strongest externally since it is represented by Alexandrian, Western, and Byzantine witnesses, although it is significantly weaker internally because it disrupts the artistic balance of the number of generations and their groups that three names would preserve (see TCGNT 113, fn. 1 for discussion). In this case, the subtle intrinsic arguments that would most likely be overlooked by scribes argues for the reading “Amminadab, Admin, Arni,” although a decision is quite difficult because of the lack of strong external support.

[3:34]  ¹⁹ sn The list now picks up names from Gen 11:10-26; 5:1-32; 1 Chr 1:1-26, especially 1:24-26.

[3:36]  ²⁰ tc It is possible that the name Καϊνάμ (Kainam) should be omitted, since two key mss, Ì^75vid and D, lack it. But the omission may be a motivated reading: This name is not found in the editions of the Hebrew OT, though it is in the LXX, at Gen 11:12 and 10:24. But the witnesses with this reading (or a variation of it) are substantial: א B L ˹ 33 (Καϊνάμ), A Θ Ψ 0102 ˹³ Ï (Καϊνάν, Kainan). The translation above has adopted the more common spelling “Cainan,” although it is based on the reading Καϊνάμ.

[3:37]  ²¹ sn Here the Greek text reads Mahalaleel. Some modern English translations follow the Greek spelling (NASB, NRSV) while others (NIV) use the OT form of the name (Gen 5:12, 15).

[3:37]  ²² sn The Greek text has Kainam here. Some modern English translations follow the Greek spelling more closely (NASB, NRSV Cainan) while others (NIV) use the OT form of the name (Kenan in Gen 5:9, 12).

[3:38]  ²³ sn The reference to the son of God here is not to a divine being, but to one directly formed by the hand of God. He is made in God’s image, so this phrase could be read as appositional (“Adam, that is, the son of God”). See Acts 17:28-29.

[4:1]  ²⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate continuity with the previous topic.

[4:1]  ²⁵ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[4:1]  ²⁶ 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.

[4:1]  ²⁷ 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).

[4:1]  ²⁸ tn Or “desert.”

[4:2]  ²⁹ tn Grk “in the desert, for forty days being tempted.” The participle πειραζόμενος (peirazomeno") has been translated as an adverbial clause in English to avoid a run-on sentence with a second “and.” Here the present participle suggests a period of forty days of testing. Three samples of the end of the testing are given in the following verses.

[4:2]  ³⁰ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[4:2]  ³¹ sn The reference to Jesus eating nothing could well be an idiom meaning that he ate only what the desert provided; see Exod 34:28. A desert fast simply meant eating only what one could obtain in the desert. The parallel in Matt 4:2 speaks only of Jesus fasting.

[4:2]  ³² tn The Greek word here is συντελεσθείσων (suntelesqeiswn) from the verb συντελέω (suntelew).

[4:2]  sn This verb and its cognate noun, sunteleia, usually implies not just the end of an event, but its completion or fulfillment. The noun is always used in the NT in eschatological contexts; the verb is often so used (cf. Matt 13:39, 40; 24:3; 28:20; Mark 13:4; Rom 9:28; Heb 8:8; 9:26). The idea here may be that the forty-day period of temptation was designed for a particular purpose in the life of Christ (the same verb is used in v. 13). The cognate verb teleiow is a key NT term for the completion of God’s plan: See Luke 12:50; 22:37; John 19:30; and (where it has the additional component of meaning “to perfect”) Heb 2:10; 5:8-9; 7:28.

[4:3]  ³³ tn This is a first class condition: “If (and let’s assume that you are) the Son of God…”

[4:3]  ³⁴ tn Grk “say to this stone that it should become bread.”

[4:4]  ³⁵ tn Or “a person.” The Greek word ὁ ἄνθρωπος (Jo anqrwpo") is used generically for humanity. The translation “man” is used because the emphasis in Jesus’ response seems to be on his dependence on God as a man.

[4:4]  ³⁶ tc Most mss (A [D] Θ Ψ [0102] Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt) complete the citation with ἀλλ᾿ ἐπὶ παντὶ ῥήματι θεοῦ (ajll’ ejpi panti rJhmati qeou, “but by every word from God”), an assimilation to Matt 4:4 (which is a quotation of Deut 8:3). The shorter reading is found in א B L W 1241 pc sa. There is no good reason why scribes would omit the rest of the quotation here. The shorter reading, on both internal and external grounds, should be considered the original wording in Luke.

[4:4]  sn A quotation from Deut 8:3. Jesus will live by doing God’s will, and will take no shortcuts.

[4:5]  ³⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[4:5]  sn The order of Luke’s temptations differs from Matthew’s at this point as numbers two and three are reversed. It is slightly more likely that Luke has made the change to put the Jerusalem temptation last, as Jerusalem is so important to Luke’s later account. The temporal markers in Matthew’s account are also slightly more specific.

[4:5]  ³⁸ tn Grk “he.”

[4:5]  ³⁹ tc Most mss (א¹ A [D W] Θ Ψ 0102 Ë^1,[13] 33 700 2542 Ï it) refer to Jesus being taken up “to a high mountain” (with many of these also explicitly adding “the devil”) here in parallel with Matt 4:8, but both scribal harmonization to that text and the pedigree of the witnesses for the shorter reading (א* B L 1241 pc) is the reason it should be omitted from Luke.

[4:5]  ⁴⁰ tn “A high place” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied for clarity.

[4:6]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “And the devil.”

[4:6]  ⁴² sn In Greek, this phrase is in an emphatic position. In effect, the devil is tempting Jesus by saying, “Look what you can have!”

[4:6]  ⁴³ tn Or “authority.” BDAG 353 s.v. ἐξουσία 6 suggests, concerning this passage, that the term means “the sphere in which the power is exercised, domain.” Cf. also Luke 22:53; 23:7; Acts 26:18; Eph 2:2.

[4:6]  ⁴⁴ tn The addendum referring to the glory of the kingdoms of the world forms something of an afterthought, as the following pronoun (“it”) makes clear, for the singular refers to the realm itself.

[4:6]  ⁴⁵ tn For the translation of παραδέδοται (paradedotai) see L&N 57.77. The devil is erroneously implying that God has given him such authority with the additional capability of sharing the honor.

[4:7]  ⁴⁶ tn This is a third class condition: “If you worship me (and I am not saying whether you will or will not)…”

[4:7]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “will prostrate yourself in worship before…” The verb προσκυνέω (proskunew) can allude not only to the act of worship but the position of the worshiper. See L&N 53.56.

[4:7]  ⁴⁸ tn One could translate this phrase “it will all be yours.” The sense is the same, but the translation given is a touch more emphatic and more likely to catch the force of the offer.

[4:8]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[4:8]  ⁵⁰ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A Θ Ψ 0102 ˹³ Ï it), have “Get behind me, Satan!” at the beginning of the quotation. This roughly parallels Matt 4:10 (though the Lukan mss add ὀπίσω μου to read ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου, σατανᾶ [{upage opisw mou, satana]); for this reason the words are suspect as a later addition to make the two accounts agree more precisely. A similar situation occurred in v. 5.

[4:8]  ⁵¹ tn Or “You will prostrate yourself in worship before…” The verb προσκυνέω (proskunew) can allude not only to the act of worship but the position of the worshiper. See L&N 53.56.

[4:8]  ⁵² tc Most later mss (A Θ 0102 Ï) alter the word order by moving the verb forward in the quotation. This alteration removes the emphasis from “the Lord your God” as the one to receive worship (as opposed to Satan) by moving it away from the beginning of the quotation.

[4:8]  sn In the form of the quotation in the Greek text found in the best mss, it is the unique sovereignty of the Lord that has the emphatic position.

[4:8]  ⁵³ sn A quotation from Deut 6:13. The word “only” is an interpretive expansion not found in either the Hebrew or Greek (LXX) text of the OT.

[4:9]  ⁵⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[4:9]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the devil) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:9]  ⁵⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “and stood him.”

[4:9]  ⁵⁸ sn The reference to the highest point of the temple probably refers to the one point on the temple’s southeast corner where the site looms directly over a cliff some 450 feet (135 m) high. However, some have suggested the reference could be to the temple’s high gate.

[4:9]  ⁵⁹ tn This is another first class condition, as in v. 3.

[4:10]  ⁶⁰ sn A quotation from Ps 91:11 by the devil. This was not so much an incorrect citation as a use in a wrong context (a misapplication of the passage).

[4:11]  ⁶¹ sn A quotation from Ps 91:12.

[4:12]  ⁶² tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[4:12]  ⁶³ tn Grk “Jesus, answering, said to him.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified to “Jesus answered him.”

[4:12]  ⁶⁴ sn A quotation from Deut 6:16 used by Jesus in reply to the devil. The point is that God’s faithfulness should not be put to the test, but is rather a given.

[4:13]  ⁶⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate a summary.

[4:13]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the devil) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:13]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “until a favorable time.”

[4:13]  sn Until a more opportune time. Though some have argued that the devil disappears until Luke 22:3, this is unlikely since the cosmic battle with Satan and all the evil angels is consistently mentioned throughout Luke (8:26-39; 11:14-23).