Chapter Four

¹ And being full of the Holy Spirit, he returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing; and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said to him: If you are the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying: It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to him: All this power will I give you, and the glory of them; for that is delivered to me, and to whomever I will I give it. If you therefore will worship before me, all shall be yours. And Jesus answered and said to him: Get you behind me, Satan; for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said to him: If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from hence; for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you; and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said to him: It is said, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. The Lord was baptized in order to sanctify the waters, for our sake who were to enjoy the grace; and after being baptized, he is led up by the Spirit into a desert mountain. For the Holy Spirit was leading him into the contest against the devil. And he goes off into the wilderness, to give the devil occasion to attack him; for he attacks us especially when we are alone. And he fasts forty days, and does not exceed the measure of the fast of Moses and Elijah, lest he give Satan thereby a suspicion that he is greater than these; but the enemy assails him, thinking that he too is a man — and at the same time, that he might not seem to be made flesh in appearance only. And he is tempted after the baptism, showing us that after baptism temptations await us. And he fasts, because fasting is a great weapon in temptations, and because after baptism we too must give ourselves not to luxury but to fasting. The enemy, then, assails him first from gluttony, by which he assailed Adam too; then from love of money, showing him all the kingdoms. And how did he show them? Some say he set them before him in imagination; but I think not in imagination, but that he showed them to him perceptibly, making them appear in a phantasm — though the Lord himself was not deceived by the phantasm. Thirdly he assails him from love of glory: “For if you are the Son of God,” he says, “cast yourself down.” And flattering him, he babbled such things, in the hope that, deceived by the flattery, and wishing to show himself the Son of God, he might cast himself down, and so it might be discerned by him who he was. But see how the Lord repels him from Scripture: “You shall not tempt the Lord your God,” he says. For one ought not to cast himself into manifest dangers, testing whether God will help him. And note this too, that he repelled the great serpent, Satan, from the Scriptures — both the saying concerning the manna (for the manna was bread), and “You shall worship the Lord your God,” and “You shall not tempt.”

² And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee; and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. Luke says that the Lord ended “all the temptation,” although he was tempted with three temptations, because these three are the heads of all temptations: that of love of money, that of gluttony, and that of love of glory. The one of gluttony he repelled by saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone”; for he brought this temptation against him first, as against Adam too. For Adam he could overthrow neither from covetousness — for he had no one to be covetous of, being alone — nor from anger, for he had no one to be angry with, nor from envy; so it was from the belly that he overthrew him. And the one of love of money he repelled by not falling down and worshipping him. For when the devil showed him all the kingdoms perceptibly in a phantasm, he did not bow. Yet some understood this not of perceptible kingdoms, but of spiritual ones: that he showed him the kingdom of licentiousness, the kingdom of envy, and in short the kingdoms of all the sins; and as it were said to him such things as these: “If you will reign over these passions, and for this have come, to snatch away those held by me, fall down and worship me, and receive all those over whom I reign.” But the Lord indeed wills to reign, and for this has come, but to reign without sin, and not without struggle, but having wrestled and conquered. These things some understood; let whoever pleases accept them. But also the one of love of glory he repelled by quoting the scriptural saying. Deliver us also, then, O Lord, from these three heads of the dragon. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit; it seems to me that Jesus returned inspired — for this is the meaning of “in the power of the Spirit.” And perhaps note in the Scripture that, after he had conquered the tempter and shown his power, then it is written, “in the power of the Spirit.” And “he departed from him for a season” has this sense: the devil assails the Lord through two passions, pleasure and grief; and he departed from him for a season, that is, until he was to assail him through grief.

³ And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read. And there was delivered to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had unrolled the book, he found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he rolled up the book, and gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say to them: This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears. The Lord wished to make himself manifest to the Israelites, and to show that he had been anointed by God the Father to save those under heaven. And this too he arranges wondrously, manifesting himself before the rest to those in Nazareth, with whom he had been brought up; that he might teach us also first to do good to our own, and to instruct these, and then to pour out our love of mankind upon the rest as well. And when the book was delivered to him, he unrolled it, and found, not what chanced, but what he himself wished. For do not think that, when he opened the book at random, that place was found where the things concerning him were written; but it came to pass because he willed it. And what was written? That “the Spirit of the Lord has anointed me” — that is, has consecrated me, has appointed me — “to preach the gospel to the poor,” that is, to the Gentiles, who, having neither law nor prophets, were in truth in great poverty. And the brokenhearted were perhaps those of Israel, whose heart formerly was great and lofty and a house of God; but afterward, when they became idolaters and sinned in various ways, their heart was broken and dissolved, and, instead of being a house of God, became a den of robbers. The Lord came, then, to heal these too, and to give to the captives release, and to the blind recovery of sight — both to those of the Gentiles and to those of Israel; for both these parts were captive under Satan, and blind. And these things may also be understood of the dead; for these too, being captive and bruised, were released from the authority of Hades through the resurrection. And he preached the acceptable year. And what was the acceptable year? Perhaps the age to come, concerning which the Lord preached, saying, “In that day you shall ask me nothing,” and again, “The hour comes when the dead shall rise.” And that year is “acceptable,” that is, desirable and longed for by the righteous, which all who labor here look forward to. And the time of the Lord’s sojourn in the flesh is also an acceptable year, concerning which Paul says, “Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation.” “This Scripture is fulfilled in your ears,” manifestly declaring that these things were written concerning himself.

⁴ And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said: Is not this the son

⁵ of Joseph? And he said to them: You will surely say to me this proverb, Physician, heal yourself; whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in your country. And he said: Truly I say to you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent, save to Sarepta of Sidon, to a widow woman. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he, passing through the midst of them, went his way. Hearing the things said by Christ, the multitudes wondered at the gracious words; but while wondering, they ridiculed him, saying, “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” And yet what prevented him from being wonderful and worthy of worship? Do you not see how many things he does? Do you not hear how many things he says? And do you then ridicule his father? Truly may that be said of them: “Behold, a foolish and senseless people; eyes have they, and they see not; ears, and they hear not.” The Lord, then, what does he say to them? “You will surely say to me, Do in your own country the wonders that you did in Capernaum”; for this is the meaning of “Physician, heal yourself.” For this was a common saying among the Jews, applied to physicians who were themselves sick. “But I say to you, that I would have done many signs among you, my own countrymen, too; yet I know the common affliction that befalls all men — that even the most excellent of things are despised when they are not rare, but common and familiar, and all may enjoy them freely. For men are always wont to give heed to and admire what is strange and rare, but to despise what is common and familiar; and for this reason no prophet is honored in his own country, but if he come from somewhere else, they admire him.” So also the widows of Judaea did not receive Elijah, but the woman of Sarepta received him; and Eliseus cleansed the foreign leper, who showed faith in him, for his own familiar countrymen did not believe in him, and for this reason were not cleansed. “Likewise I too do not seem wonderful to you, my countrymen, but am despised; therefore I do no signs; but to those in Capernaum, who deem me wonderful, I both work signs and am acceptable.” Hearing these things in the synagogue, they were filled with wrath, when they ought to have marveled, and tried to cast him down headlong. But he, passing through the midst of them, went his way — not fleeing suffering, but awaiting the time. For he had come to suffer for us; but now, the preaching being only at its beginning, he ought not to give himself up to death, but, when he had taught sufficiently, then to be made perfect. So that from this it is plain that, even when he was crucified, he was not crucified unwillingly, but willingly gave himself to death. And know that the fatherland of the prophets is the synagogue of the Jews, in which the prophets are dishonored, for neither are they accepted; but we strangers received them. For the widow — I mean the Church of the Gentiles — received Elijah, that is, the prophetic word, when a spiritual famine had come upon Judaea, the famine of hearing the word of God; and concerning this widow the prophet says that the children of the desolate are many, that the barren bore seven, and she that had many children grew weak.

⁶ And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. And they were astonished at his teaching; for his word was with authority. And in the synagogue there was a man having a spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying: Let us alone; what have we to do with you, you Jesus of Nazareth? Are you come to destroy us? I know you who you are; the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying: Hold your peace, and come out of him. And when the demon had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. And they were all amazed, and spoke among themselves, saying: What a word is this! For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about. Since teaching does not draw unbelievers to faith, for this reason the Lord brings forward the working of miracles, as a most powerful medicine. He works a miracle, then, in Capernaum; for these were most unbelieving and in need of much to bring them to faith. When, therefore, he had taught sufficiently, and that as one having authority (for he did not say, “Thus says the Lord,” but “I say to you,” so that he was not even as one of the prophets, but the true Son of God), after this he adds the miracle also, and heals the demoniac. And the demon first confesses his enmity, that the testimony might be worthy of trust; then he adds the testimony: “I know you who you are, the Holy One of God.” First, then, he charges him: “Why have you come here to destroy us?” Then he flatters, thinking that the Lord, softened by the flattery, would spare him — so senseless is wickedness. But the Lord, teaching us not to need the testimony and recommendation of demons, says: “Hold your peace, and come out of him.” And he permits the demon to throw the man down, that the bystanders might learn that he truly had a demon, and that the words were the demon’s, even though the man’s tongue served. And so they all spoke among themselves, marveling at what had happened, and saying: “What is this word?” — that is, “What is this command which he commands, ‘Come out of him, and hold your peace’?” And know that even now many have demons, all who fulfill the desires of the demons; for instance, there is a man given to anger — this man has a demon of anger. But if Jesus comes into the synagogue — that is, when the mind is gathered and not scattered — then he will say to the demon of anger, which is unrestrained: “Hold your peace”; and immediately, having thrown the man into the midst, it will come out of him. And what it is to be thrown into the midst, learn: a man must be neither wholly given to anger and bitterness, for that is bestial, nor wholly without anger, for that is insensible, but must walk the middle way, and have anger against wickedness. When, then, the wicked spirit throws someone into the midst, it comes out of him.

⁷ And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. And Simon’s wife’s mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her. And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever, and it left her; and immediately she arose and ministered to them. Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying out

⁸ and saying, You are Christ the Son of God. And he, rebuking them, suffered them not to speak; for they knew that he was the Christ. And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place; and the multitudes sought him, and came to him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. But he said to them: I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for therefore am I sent. And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee. The Master of all was entertained and fed among his disciples; and so now, being entertained at Peter’s house, he heals his mother-in-law, that he may teach you also not to reject even the hospitalities of the humble. And he does not simply heal her of the disease, but also puts strength and power into her, for ministering. If we too, then, receive him, he will quench our fever — both that of anger and that of desire — and will raise us up to minister to him, that is, to do the things pleasing to him. And consider for me the faith of the multitude, how, even when the sun was setting, they brought the sick, not hindered even by the time. And he does not allow the demons to speak, partly because he needs not the praise of the unclean — for praise is not seemly in the mouth of sinners — and partly because he wished not to kindle the envy of the Hebrews by being praised among all. And the multitudes seek him even when he had gone off to a desert place, and hold him fast; but he does not confine himself to one place, but “to the other cities also,” he says — teaching us too not to be slothful, nor to shut ourselves up in one place.