Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Introduction to Interpretation of the Bible

What I believe

I believe that the Bible is the inspired and only infallible and authoritative
written word of God, see Misconceptions and Objections and 
How can I know the Bible is reliable and authoritative?

I also believe in:

The Blog

This Blog contains interpretations of the entire Bible, based on the authority of God's word in the Bible and not on my own opinions about how
I think it should be, see time 3:53–6:45 in 1 Peter 3 (Part 2) :8-22. 

The focus of this Blog is on the following:

  1. Apologetics:
    Defense of the truth of Christianity through 
    reasoned and logical arguments based on the Bible.     
  2. Exegesis:
    Methodological interpretation of the     Bible (John 10:24–25, 37–38). 
  3. Eschatology:
    The doctrine of end times; the ultimate destiny of mankind,
    with a focus on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
  4. Science:
    Give scientific proofs that support the Christian Bible    .
When I read or listen to teachings in my research, I try to do what the Jews in Berea did when they heard the gospel (Acts 17:10–12). I review the teachings according to the Bible, letting Scripture interpret Scripture. Then when I write the articles, I try to make them easy to read and understand, while at the same time giving instruction in the wisdom and truth of God's word with clarity and insight. 

I see the verses in the Bible as a puzzle where every piece has to fit. When interpreting a text in the Bible it must be seen in its context. This means reading the verses before and after a verse being interpreted and also parallel verses in the Bible
that talk about similar things. It's only OK to use a verse out of context when the context is universal. For example, when something is said about God or about his nature, because God never changes. Examples of universal texts are the following:

  • Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
    No one comes to the Father except through me.    " (John 14:6).
  • "No one is good except God alone." (Mark 10:18b, Luke 18:19b).
  • "No one can serve two masters . . ." (Mat 6:24a).
  • "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16). 
    God's love is always part of his nature, see God's Attributes.
  •  "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
    (Heb 4:12). God's word never goes out of time. It affects people.
We must also not draw conclusions based on the silence of the Bible, see time
16:40–18:41 in May 2024 Bible Q&A. 

Apostle Paul says the following about the Old Testament: "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
(Rom 15:4). This is also applicable for the New Testament.

Before I write in the Blog, I do a lot of research from other people who have studied the Bible for many years, and who in turn have done their own research from other people. I'm not trying to "reinvent the wheel". 

I use the tool Blue Letter Bible and several Bible translations such as the 
English Standard Version (ESV), New King James Version (NKJV),
New International Version (NIV), and New American Standard Bible (NASB). 
The Swedish Bible translation I mostly use is Svenska Folkbibeln. 

Information on how to use the Blog:

  • By clicking on a link (marked as a red underlined text) in an article,
    you will come to the called article or to an explanation of some kind.
    Return by clicking on the return sign (arrow top left).
  • Clicking on an image will make it larger. Return by clicking the <ESC> button.
  • The "Blog Archive" to the right can be used as an index to find a specific article. This can be done by clicking on an arrow to the right. Clicking on the article will open it. 

Comments

I welcome constructive criticism and comments which can be sent to the address:
bibletextinterpretation@gmail.com 
I try to answer all emails I receive. I live south of Stockholm, Sweden's capital,
and can give the answers in English or Swedish.

How to proceed

Continue by clicking on one of the following links:

For information on the Intertestamental period, which is the time between
Old Testament and New Testament, see the following videos:
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Saturday, June 11, 2022

Misconceptions and Objections

Misconceptions about the Bible

A misconception is a view or opinion that is incorrect because it's based on faulty thinking or understanding, sometimes born out of a desire to reject Christianity.

See the following common misconceptions:

1. The Bible was written by men and is therefore not reliable. 
As Christians, we believe that the Christian Bible is inspired by God the Holy Spirit
in its first writings by its original writers, see this explained at the times 7:33–12:07 and 13:58–16:39 in DAVID GUZIK SERMON ON GENESIS 1:1 IN THE BEGINNING. 
This means that God is the source behind the writings of the Bible and that it's God's self-revelation to man where God used people to write down that revelation:
  • "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Tim 3:16).
  • "For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Pet 1:21).
  • "You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for 'All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.' And this word is the good news that was preached to you." (1 Pet 1:23–25, Isaiah 40:6–8).
  • "Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away" 
    (Mat 24:35), see A New Heaven and a New Earth.
  • "Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar." (Proverbs 30:5–6).
When the body of Christ was inaugurated by Jesus, the books in the Old Testament
were already established and Jesus confirmed them by quoting verses in many of them. Most of the books of the New Testament were written either by the apostles or by those who worked very closely with the apostles. 

For details on how we got the New Testament, see Lecture: Text and Canon.

It means that the Bible is the word of God. God supervised the process of writing the Bible by those who wrote it so that we can say that these people were carried along. God breathed into their lives the details, wisdom, and information that they imparted, wrote down, and recorded in the Bible.

I don't think that the Apocrypha should be part of the Bible because its books were written without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Book of Jude quotes in
Jude 1:14–15 The Book of Enoch which is part of the Apocrypha, but that doesn't mean that The Book of Enoch is inspired by God and would be part of the Bible even if it contains some true statements. Over the years, the body of believers has recognized which of the books are inspired by God and which aren't. It happened over a period of time. The books that are inspired by God are found in the Christian Bibles that exclude the Apocrypha. We don't need to read the Apocrypha because
everything God wants us to know about him is already in the Christian Bibles that exclude the Apocrypha. See this further explained at these times in these videos: 

2. The Bible is full of contradictions.
A true contradiction must say the opposite of something else and isn't the same as a problem passage that can be difficult to understand. Problem passages exist in the Bible but not true contradictions in the first original versions of the texts, see time 4:49–7:54 in DEBATE: Atheist LEFT SPEECHLESS On Errors In The Gospels Argument!

Jesus claimed: "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30). This is a declaration of his deity, that Jesus is equal in his deity to God the Father.

Jesus also said: "You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I." (John 14:28).

We can look at these two verses with our cultural understanding, with a different mindset than the writers had, judge them accordingly, and therefore interpret them as contradictions, but they aren't.

It's not feasible that apostle John who has written both verses in the same gospel has introduced such a contradiction. The focus of John's gospel is to proclaim the deity of Jesus Christ. There is a theological explanation for this,
see it explained in The Order between Jesus and the Father in the Trinity.

3. The Bible is filled with errors/
    The Bible has been corrupted over years and years of copying.
I believe the Bible is the inspired and only infallible and authoritative written word of God in its first writings, by its original writers. What they wrote is therefore correct. We don't have the original manuscripts but reliable copies of these manuscripts. I don't believe inerrancy applies to different translations of the Bible.
Translations are made by men, by translation committees. They work hard but aren't inspired in the same way that the original writers were, see for example:
However, the differences can be seen as small without theological significance.

Today in our day and age, we have many different Bible translations available, and it's easy to compare the content between them, especially online. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls was of incredible value for the contents of the Old Testament. There are also so many ancient manuscripts available for the New Testament, that it's feasible to argue that what we have in the New Testament is very close to what the original authors wrote, except that they are translated into other languages.

See also Bible Translations.
See also common misconceptions about Christianity and the short video:
Is The Bible Filled with Fake Stories? | Myths about Christianity.

Objections to Christianity

An objection is an expression or feeling of disapproval or opposition; a reason to disagree. Some are as follows::

  1. Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites.
    We can find hypocrites everywhere in our society even in churches and in our workplaces. Humans aren't perfect and make mistakes all the time. Jesus never challenged us to follow men, he challenged us to follow him. The real question is whether Jesus was a     hypocrite. It's always about Jesus. The Bible claims that he was perfect without sin (1 John 3:5), which means that he was not (and is not) a hypocrite.

  2. Christianity is a crutch.
    Some people like to say that they have no need of a crutch like Christianity in their lives. Indicating that everything about Christianity is false, that it's just a crutch for people to lean on. The reality is that we all need assistance of some kind in our lives. Most people lean towards something.

  3. It's narrow-minded to believe that Jesus is the only way to God.
    It's Jesus who claims that he is the only way to God (John 14:6), see 
    Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life. It's a quote made by Jesus himself and found in the Bible. Jesus didn't say that he is a way, he said that he is the way. It's either completely true or completely false. We must either believe it or reject it. It's not arrogant or narrow minded of a Christian believer to believe what Jesus said and to claim what Jesus claims to be true statements.

  4. What about those who have never heard about Jesus?
    See this explained in What Happens to Those Who Have Never Heard About Jesus? People who ask this kind of questions may be implying that God lacks compassion. But compassion is part of who God is, see God's Attributes. 
    See also Ask, and it will be given to you in The Sermon on the Mount    .

  5. If God is good, why is there suffering and evil?/
    Why doesn't God stop the suffering and evil in the world?/
    What is he waiting for?     
    Sin, suffering, and evil weren't created by God. God is completely pure and without sin, so sin doesn't originate with him. God is the source of everything, and one of the creatures he created was a guardian cherub that we now call Satan or the devil and it's from him that all sin and evil originate. He was blameless from the day he was created, until iniquity was found in him 
    (Ezekiel 28:14–15). Satan had the power to create sin through his free will. Satan became a murderer and there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks from his own character, for he is a liar and the originator/starting point of lies. (John 8:44). Lies and deception originate with Satan. 

    Satan deceived man in the Garden of Eden, and sin came into the world, see The Biblical Creation and the Fall of Man. With sin came death. Physical death wasn't part of God's original creation. He never intended man to suffer the ravages of old age and disease. Man created these things through his choice to fall into sin. Apostle Paul wrote: "just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned" (Rom 5:12). God wants to stop suffering and evil and has a plan to do it. The plan began with him sending his Son to bear the penalty of our sin on the cross. One day God will wipe out all sin and evil. The reason he waits to do so is that he wants people to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ
    (2 Pet 3:9), see Salvation. God responds with love and patience. Suffering and evil will eventually end when Jesus returns. See this explained at time
    5:07–9:15 in 1 John 3 • Beloved, we are God’s children.

    Also watch the following short animated videos explaining suffering:
  6. How can a loving God send people to Hell?
    Some people don't want to go to God's Heaven. Some people want nothing to do with God. They want him out of their lives. One day they will have their wish granted, not because they are sent to Hell, but because they have chosen it for themselves by rejecting God. People choose to reject God's only plan of Salvation. By doing so, they choose the alternative, which is Hell. If they won't let Jesus pay for their sins, they have to do it themselves. Jesus has come with the best offer we can get. But we have a choice and God will honor that choice. God has no desire to send anyone to Hell:
    "Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God,
    and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?    " (Ezekiel 18:23).
    But God will send people to Hell if we reject his plan of Salvation.

  7. No religion can contain the fullness of spiritual truth, therefore all religions are valid. It's arrogant to say otherwise.
    These people believe that all religions have partial truths but none have the whole truth. This is an example of a self-refuting idea. It's a contradiction. To be able to claim this, they themselves must have all the truth about this, but they say no one has all the truth. Jesus is the fullness of truth. He is the truth (John 14:6). See time 12:19–19:50 in Math And The Bible. The Bible says: "it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment" (Heb 9:27). This makes reincarnation wrong. See Why the Quran is wrong about Jesus.
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Friday, June 10, 2022

How can I know the Bible is reliable and authoritative?

The Bible was written by about 40 different authors, spread out over a period of more than 1,500 years. Many of the books of the Bible reveal their authorship, but others don't. This applies to both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The writers we know of include kings, prophets, church leaders, and a doctor (Luke).

Our best claim to the authority of the Old Testament is that Jesus himself often quoted from these scriptures and clearly accepted them as having a divine origin.

The books of the New Testament are largely the writings of the original apostles or those who lived and ministered with them. These letters circulated among the early churches and were early assumed to be of equal importance to the Old Testament.

For many people, all truth is relative. That's not the case for us Christians. For us, the truth is what we find in the Bible. Jesus is the personification of truth. He said of himself: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6), see Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life.
He also said: "Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." (Mat 24:35). Jesus quoted from 24 different books of the Old Testament as if they were the last word of truth. He saw them as absolute reliable sources and as the word of God. If we believe in Jesus, see Historical Facts that Jesus Rose from the Dead, it follows that we must believe that the Old Testament is from God.

See also Misconceptions and Objections.

We have the following witnesses that the Bible is trustworthy and authoritative:

  • Unity:
    The Bible conveys a unique message with a thread of unity throughout
    the course of Scripture, despite it's written by 40 different authors over a period of 1,500+ years and covers topics such as God, humanity, sin, 
    death, and salvation. It's the most amazing document of consistency.

  • Prophesy:
    The accuracy of predicting the future is astounding. There are approx
    2,500 prophesies that appear in the Bible. About 2,000 of these have already been met with great accuracy. For example in Isaiah 44:24a, 28: "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb:
    "I am the Lord ... who says of     Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose'; saying of Jerusalem, 'She shall be built,'
    and of the temple, 'Your foundation shall be laid.'"    " This was written 
    150 years before     Cyrus even was born, see The Prophecies of Isaiah.
    For the fulfillment of this prophesy, see The Book of Ezra. See also 
    Prophecies that Jesus Fulfilled and Prophecies of Jesus' Second Coming.

  • Archaeology:
    Large numbers of archaeological excavations support the Bible, see 
    Evidence that the Jews were in Egypt and that King David has Existed.

  • Science:
    Although the purpose of the Bible isn't to be a scientific book, it provides accurate scientific information about the Earth and the universe,
    see     Scientific Proofs of the Bible.

  • History:
    The historical accounts in the Bible are confirmed by external historical evidence that has been discovered, see New Egyptian Chronology.

  • Changed lives:
    There are many examples of changed lives. The disciples' lives changed after The Resurrection of Jesus.

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Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Bible Translations

Content:

  • The Meaning of Translation
  • Methods of Translations
  • The Word-for-Word Approach
  • The Thought-for-Thought Approach
  • Summary
  • Glossary

The Meaning of Translation

If a Bible is called a translation, it means that a translating committee poured
over the original language manuscripts to translate them. Different original manuscripts are then used.

(A translation is different than a paraphrase. A paraphrase doesn't involve a translating committee or even the original languages. It's just a rewording of the text, but they are always clearly marked such as MSG and TLB.)

The wording may differ between different translations, but not the message. There are no variations on the doctrines and teachings of the Bible, regardless of which version is read (with the exception of Bibles that have been edited specifically for cultic groups such as Jehovah's Witnesses). One reason for the differences in wording between the translations is that many times a single English word can't accurately describe a Greek or Hebrew word. It may take three, four, or even five English words to convey the full meaning of the original words. Different committees sometimes land on different words, but the meaning is the same. For example:

  1. Let love be without hypocrisy (Rom 12:9a (NKJV, NASB)).
  2. Let love be genuine (Rom 12:9a (ESV)). 
  3. Love must be sincere (Rom 12:9a (NIV)).  

Without hypocrisy, genuine, and sincere are all renderings of the same Greek word. They are different words, but mean the same thing.

Methods of Translations

There are Bible versions that sound much like how we speak in everyday conversation, and other versions that are more formal. The reason for that difference depends on the translation method each group decides to use. Essentially, we have the following methods:

  1. The "Formal Equivalence" or "Word-for-Word" approach:
    Every effort is made to maintain both word order and sentence structure in the original Hebrew and Greek. Bibles that use this method include ESV, NKJV, NASB, LSB, and AMP. These are the Bibles that tend to sound formal and often contain words that we don’t use in normal everyday conversation.
  2. The "Functional Equivalence" or "Thought-for-Thought" approach:
    The goal is to produce the most natural and readable style as possible
    in the reader’s language. This is also called  'Dynamic Equivalence'.
    Examples are ICB, NCV, and NEB.
  3. The approach to balance the two approaches above:
    Examples are translations like NIV, NLT, and NRSV. They are trying to balance the concepts of "Word-for-Word" and "Thought-for-Thought" in a translation.

The Word-for-Word Approach


Hebrew and Greek words may require several English words to properly convey their meaning. Each translating committee has to decide which words to use, and sometimes they are very different from one translation to another.

Greek and Hebrew words may have variations of definition depending on the context of the passage. It’s up to the translators to determine the context and then choose the English word (or words) that they think best expresses the original meaning. Obviously, different translations choose different words.

The Word-for-Word approach is therefore not always the most effective way to convey the meaning of a passage.

For example the translation of 1 Kings 2:10:
  • "So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David." (KJV).
  • "So David rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David." (NKJV).
  • "So David lay down with his fathers [in death] and was buried in the City of David." (AMP).
  • "Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David." (NIV1984).
  • "Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David." (NIV2011).
  • "Then David died and was buried in the City of David." (NLT).
The challenging phrase here is "slept with his fathers", which is the most
Word-for-Word accurate rendering of the original Hebrew. It was used at the time to refer to someone who died and was buried in the same area as his deceased relatives. In our culture it has taken on a different meaning. What the verse essential say is: "Then David died and was buried alongside his ancestors in Jerusalem, the City of David." This contains everything the author wanted us to know in a way that is clearly understood by a modern English-speaking reader.

The Thought-for-Thought Approach


The thought-for-thought approach often does a better job of conveying the meaning of a text. But the method has its own problems. It's possible to go too far to make a passage easy to understand, and then the passage doesn't provide clarity.

Summary


    When you read the Bible, it is important to read from several different Bible translations, see the times in these videos:

    Glossary

    For further information about LSB, see time 32:06–35:02 in
    Bible Q&A with Pastor Paul │February 2024.

    For further information about NLT, see time 26:57–30:51 in
    Bible Q&A With Pastor Paul │March 2024.

    For further information about KJV, see time 26:01–27:33 in
    May 2024 Bible Q&A.

    For further information about AMP, see time 27:34–28:27 in
    May 2024 Bible Q&A.

    Posted by at

    Thursday, June 2, 2022

    The Virgin Birth

    Sin fell into the world in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:16–17, 3:3), see The Fall of Man in The Biblical Creation and the Fall of Man. Eve then ate from the tree and gave to Adam who also ate. The woman was deceived, but the man's sin was willful disobedience. God held the man responsible for what happened.
    This original sin is inherited from Adam from generation to generation through a father to his children     (Rom 5:12–14, Gen 3:17–19). 

    Jesus Christ who is the Son of God took on flesh when he was born as a man so that he could die physically. God can’t die spiritually. Jesus shed his blood on the cross for our sin. He took the punishment (1 Pet 3:18, Heb 2:9, Mat 27:46, Mark 15:34), see
    Psalm 22: the Crucifixion Psalm. Jesus is the only one who could do that (Acts 4:12), because he had no sin (John 8:46, Heb 4:15,     1 Pet 2:22, 2 Cor 5:21). If there had been sin in Jesus' life, he could only have died for his own sin but not qualified to die for mankind. That is why the virgin birth is so important to prevent original sin from Adam from being passed on to him. This qualifies Jesus to be our substitute.

    Man wasn't involved in the conception of Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was conceived by the Holy Spirit in a supernatural way (Luk 1:26–27, 31, 34–35). 
    Jesus was born of a virgin (Mat 1:18–25). This has been prophesied by Isaiah: 

    • "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). (Mat 1:23). 
    • "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin 
      (or young woman) shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14).

    Many English translations use the word virgin (NKJV, ESV) in Isaiah 7:14,
    as used in     Septuagint. Some have a note that it could also be a young woman 
    (    NASB, NIV), based on the Masoretic Text. See these versions of the Old Testament explained in Which Version of the Old Testament did Jesus Use?

    Also see why Septuagint is many times more accurate and reliable than the Masoretic Text at time 43:51–46:04 in Why You Should Use the Septuagint.

    The Old Testament was translated into Greek in Septuagint based on proto-Hebrew texts around 250 BC. The Greek word that is used is "parthénos", which means "virgin". It's interesting that they used the word for "virgin" so long before Jesus was born. The same Greek word "parthénos" is also used in Mat 1:23 above. 
    It was a blessing to have the Old Testament in Greek in the first century when the gospel was presented to the Gentiles, because Greek was a common language at that time in that area and is comparable to where English is today.

    The Hebrew word that is used in the Masoretic Text is "almá", which means
    "    young woman". There is no case where it can be proven that "almá" denotes a young woman who isn't a virgin. The fact of virginity is evident in Gen 24:43 where "almá" is used of one who was sought as a bride for Isaac. 

    For more detailed information; see time 0–2:26, 7:30–9:57, and 20:34–22:24 in 
    Why You Should Use the Septuagint, and time 11:25–12:35 in The Septuagint (LXX).
    See also time 47:36–50:55 in Matthew 1 – Genealogy, Origins, History.

    We should refer to Jesus as "God with us" (Immanuel) (Mat 1:18–23). Immanuel is a declaration, a statement about the deity of Jesus Christ, see Jesus is God. Every time we say Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of a virgin, God came as a man, we declare him Immanuel, that is "God with us".

    See also Some stories in the gospels at the end of The Four Gospels.

    Posted by at

    Wednesday, June 1, 2022

    The Temptations of Jesus

    Jesus was baptized by John the the Baptist, see John the Baptist at Messiah's First Coming in The Prophecies of Isaiah. After Jesus had been baptized by John,
    he was immediately led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days     to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days. And when they ran out, he was hungry. (Mat 4:1–2, Mark 1:12–13a, Luk 4:1–2).

    Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to fast for 40 days. This is by far the longest time to go without food. Doing it even longer is very dangerous physiology for the body.
    To say that he was hungry is probably a huge understatement.

    Then the tempter (devil) came and said to him: "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." (Mat 4:3, Luk 4:3).

    Jesus answered: "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Mat 4:4, Luk 4:4, Deu (5 Mos) 8:3).

    Then the devil took him to the holy city (Jerusalem) and set him on the height of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" 
    (Mat 4:5–6, Luk 4:9–11, Psalm 91:11–12).

    Jesus said to him: "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" (Mat 4:7, Luk 4:12, Deu (5 Mos) 6:16).

    And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment, and said to him: "To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." (Mat 4:8–9, Luk 4:5–7).

    Then Jesus said to him: "Be gone, Satan! For it is written:
    'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'    " 
    (Mat 4:10, Luk 4:8, Deu (5 Mos) 6:13a).

    Then the devil left him and angels came and ministered him (Mat 4:11, 
    Mark 1:13b). He left Jesus until an opportune time (Luk 4:13).

    Jesus began his ministry first after he had been baptized by John, which was a baptism of repentance in which he identified himself with us in our sin. He began his ministry by being tempted by the devil in the wilderness.

    Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden of Eden. At that time they didn't have a sinful nature, they had been created perfectly, but they were deceived by the devil and fell, see The Fall of Man in The Biblical Creation and the Fall of Man. 
    Their temptation was to eat from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It contained these categories of temptations (1 John 2:16), see The Book of John    :

    1. Good for food – the lust of the flesh.
    2. Desire to make one wise – the pride of life.
    3. A delight for the eyes – the lust of the eyes.

    All of Satan's temptations fall into these three categories. After the Fall, all people are born with a sinful nature with the exception of Jesus Christ, see the Virgin Birth. 
    In the case of Jesus, the temptations can be categorized as follows:

    1. Turn stones into bread – the lust of the flesh.
    2. Throwing himself down from the temple – the pride of life.
    3. Showed him all the kingdoms of the world – the lust of the eyes.

    Adam and Eve who were born without a sinful nature, found themselves in the 
    Garden of Eden and had everything they needed, but still fell and then got a sinful nature.     Jesus who was also born without a sinful nature, was in the wilderness and hadn't eaten for 40 days. Yet he conquered the enemy's works. He didn't succumb to the temptations.

    Jesus didn't need to be tempted to help him grow. Instead, he endorsed temptations so that he could identify with us so that he could know what we go through when we are tempted. Another reason was to show his own holy and sinless character.
    Jesus shows us that he stands and has victory, that he is uniquely qualified to represent us on the cross. As the "last Adam" he was victorious (1 Cor 15:45–49). 

    It was to teach Jesus how to depend on God the Father (Heb 5:8). He also came to model for us how to submit to God and do his will. He didn't come to do anything that we can't do. He answered all the temptations of the devil by quoting Scripture. We can do the same. By the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in all of us who are in Christ, we can overcome.

    The enemy doesn't come to strike us where we are strong, but where we are weak.
    He waited 40 days until Jesus was really hungry before he came with his first temptation. Satan will always question things, especially God's promises. He makes us focus on our problems. He plants a proposal on how to solve them. It's     always based on solving the matter in our own strength, apart from God and not relying on God's provision.

    The statement 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God' means that Jesus refused to see this problem only as the most important issue or concern of his life. He would listen to the word of God and not to Satan, be obedient to God the Father and trust in him. That is, rest in him and wait for the provision of God the Father. Not solving the problem in one's own power apart from God the Father. It's easy to start compromising to ease the pressure.

    In the second temptation, Satan quoted Scripture to legitimize his proposition. There was a belief in some parts of Judaism that this was how Messiah would come into the picture; throwing himself down from the temple. It was based on a misinterpretation of "And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple" (Malachi 3:1b). 
    The temptation was to become instantly popular with the people. Floating down from the temple, gently reaching the ground, would impress them. But that wasn't what     God the Father had in mind. God the Father had in mind that Jesus would introduce himself slowly, step by step, quietly. The statement 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test' means that when walking in disobedience it isn't a time to arbitrarily expect that God is simply going to take care of you. It wasn't
    God the Father's will to do according to Satan's suggestion.

    Satan had the right to make the third temptation, because he had gained power over the world, see The Fall of Man in The Biblical Creation and the Fall of Man. Jesus didn't question that, see time 6:37–9:15 in Bible Q&A With Pastor Paul │April 2024 |. But Satan wanted worship and recognition from God himself.
    Jesus answered him that we must worship only God (Psalm 95:6    –7). 
    Focusing on things in this world is also a kind of worship of something that can become our God, see the 1st commandment in The Ten Commandments.

    God's way is always the best way in the long term, but maybe not the easiest way,
    see The Narrow Gate. It's important not to give the devil a foothold (Eph 4:27 (NIV)). He takes advantage of the opportunities he gets.     "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7). We must accept that God may test us as Christians, see the first part of The Book of James. We can respond with the word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit (Eph 6:11–18). We aren't tempted beyond our ability, and God gives us a way to escape it
    (1 Cor 10:13).

    See also Some stories in the gospels at the end of The Four Gospels.

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    Jesus in the Synagogue of Nazareth

    After Jesus had been tempted in the wilderness, see The Temptations of Jesus, he returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit, and the news about him spread throughout the countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and all praised him. He went to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and on the Sabbath day he entered the synagogue, as was his custom. 
    He got up to read. (Luk 4:14–16). This occurred
    during a visit to his hometown.

    According to tradition, seven of those present in the synagogue read from the Tora (Pentateuch or the five books of Moses), that is, the five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They stood up and read at least three verses each based on a Bible study plan that read the entire Law over the course of a year. Then someone was called forward to read from the prophets; often someone who was visiting was asked to do this. The person who read from the prophets then sat in front of the assembled and made some explanations about the text just read.

    The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He unrolled it and found the place where it's written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." (Luk 4:17–19). 
    These verses were known by the Jews to be a messianic prophecy:

    • "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." (Isaiah 61:1–2a (ESV)).
    • "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken in heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind;
      to declare the acceptable year of the Lord.      " (Isaiah 61:1–2a (LXX)).

    Only the Septuagint (LXX) mentions "recovery of sight for the blind", see 
    Which Version of the Old Testament did Jesus Use? Jesus spoke Aramaic, 
    the language spoken in Israel at that time, and probably also Hebrew, which
    was used in the synagogues where it was interpreted into     Aramaic. If he read from the Septuagint (LXX), which was written in Greek, he must also have known Greek.
    However, it's more likely that this sentence was part of a Proto-Masoretic text in use at the time. That would mean that Jesus was reading from a text in Hebrew.

    Jesus read aloud from the prophet Isaiah. The passage in question (Isaiah 61:1–2a) foretells the earthly ministry of Messiah "the anointed one". It talks about:

    Jesus stops reading after the first phrase of Isaiah 61:2. This relates to his interpretation that this part of the prophecy is being fulfilled at that very moment. Isaiah's prophecy also speaks of Messiah coming with God's righteous vengeance (Isaiah 61:2b), but that prophecy will wait until Christ's second coming 
    (Rev 19:11–16), see Prophecies of Jesus' Second Coming. 

    Then he rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down.
    All eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. He began by saying to them:
    "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Everyone spoke well of him
    and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.
    But     they asked: "Isn’t this Joseph’s son?" (Luk 4:20–22, Mark 6:1–3).

    The local people were skeptical to Jesus' claim to be Messiah. They wondered how a simple local whose family they knew could make such a claim. (Mat 13:54–57a).

    Jesus said to them: "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself!' And you will tell me: 'Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.'" He continued: "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown." (Luk 4:23–24, Mat 13:57b–58, Mark 6:4–6). Jesus then said:

    1. "I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon." (Luk 4:25–26, 1 Kings 17:8–24).
      S      ee Ahab of Israel in Elijah the Prophet.
    2. "And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian." 
      (Luk 4:27, 2 Kings 5:1–14). See Jehoram of Israel in Elisha the Prophet.
    All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the city, and brought him to the edge of the hill on which the city was built, to throw him off the cliff. But he went straight through the crowd and continued on his way. (Luk 4:28–30). It was a miracle that Jesus could do that.

    At first the audience received Jesus' teaching with optimism. But when Jesus spoke of God giving grace to the Gentiles, they became violent. Most Jews at the time of Jesus were raised with the belief that God only loves the Jews and that the Gentiles weren't part of the salvation, however see Peter Sent to the Gentiles.

    See also Some stories in the gospels at the end of The Four Gospels.

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