Temptation in the Wilderness

4 Yeshua, now filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh, returned from the Jordan. He was led by the Ruach in the wilderness ² for forty days, being tested by the devil. Now He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.

³ The devil said to Him, “If You are Ben-Elohim, tell this stone to become bread.”

⁴ Yeshua answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”^[a]

⁵ And leading Him up, the devil showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant. ⁶ And the devil said to Him, “I’ll give to You all this authority along with its glory, because it has been handed over to me and I can give it to anyone I wish. ⁷ Therefore, if you will worship before me, all this shall be Yours.”

⁸ But answering, Yeshua told him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship Adonai your God, and Him only shall you serve.’”^[b]

⁹ Then he brought Yeshua to Jerusalem and placed Him on the highest point of the Temple. He said to Him, “If You are Ben-Elohim, throw Yourself down from here. ¹⁰ For it is written,

¹² But answering, Yeshua said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put Adonai your God to the test.’” ^{[e] 13} And when the devil had completed every test, he departed from Him until another occasion.

Isaiah’s Prophecy Fulfilled in Natzeret

¹⁴ Yeshua returned in the power of the Ruach to the Galilee, and news about Him went out through all the surrounding region. ¹⁵ He taught in their synagogues, and everyone was praising Him. ¹⁶ And He came to Natzeret, where He had been raised. As was His custom, He went into the synagogue on Shabbat, and He got up to read. ¹⁷ When the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him, He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

²⁰ He closed the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue were focused on Him. ²¹ Then He began to tell them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ears.”

²² All were speaking well of Him and marveling at the gracious words coming out of His mouth. And they were saying, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”

²³ But He said to them, “Doubtless you will say to Me this proverb, ‘Doctor, heal yourself!’ and ‘What we have heard was done at Capernaum, do as much here also in your hometown.’”

²⁴ But He said, “Truly, I tell you, ‘No prophet is accepted in his own hometown.’ ²⁵ But with all truthfulness I say to you, that there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when heaven was closed for three and a half years and there came a great famine over all the land. ²⁶ Elijah was not sent to any of them, but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon, to a widowed woman. ^{[h] 27} There were many with tzara’at in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them were purified apart from Naaman the Syrian.”^[i]

²⁸ Now all in the synagogue were filled with rage upon hearing these things. ²⁹ Rising up, they drove Him out of the town and brought Him as far as the edge of the mountain on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him off the cliff. ³⁰ But passing through the middle of them, He went on His way.

Healing and Deliverance in Capernaum and Beyond

³¹ Yeshua came down to Capernaum, a town in the Galilee. He was teaching them on Shabbat, ³² and they were astounded at His teaching because His message had authority. ³³ In the synagogue was a man who had an unclean demonic spirit, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ “Ah! What have we to do with You, Yeshua of Natzeret? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are! You are the Holy One of God!”

³⁵ Yeshua rebuked him, saying, “Quiet! Come out of him!” And when the demon threw him down in their midst, it came out without hurting him.

³⁶ They were all amazed, and they spoke to one another, saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” ³⁷ So His reputation grew, spreading to every place in that region.

³⁸ After He left the synagogue, Yeshua entered Simon’s home. Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they petitioned Him concerning her. ³⁹ Then standing over her, He rebuked the fever and it left her. Immediately she arose to wait on them.

⁴⁰ When the sun was setting, they brought to Yeshua all who were sick with various diseases. And He was laying hands on each one and healing them. ⁴¹ Even demons were coming out from many, shouting out and saying, “You are Ben-Elohim!”^[j] But He was rebuking them and not permitting them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Messiah.

⁴² Now when it was day, He left and went to a desert place. The crowds were searching for Him, and they came to Him and were trying to keep Him from leaving them. ⁴³ But He said to them, “I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God^[k] to the other towns also. It was for this purpose I was sent.” ⁴⁴ So He kept preaching in the synagogues of Judea.