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Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
Luke 4:1 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness
  • KJV And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
  • NKJV Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
  • NASB Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness
  • NLT Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Filled with the Spirit, Jesus is led into the wilderness. The Spirit who anointed Him at baptism now leads Him into testing.

Overview

Immediately after His baptism and anointing, Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit and led by that same Spirit into the wilderness. The testing is not outside God's plan but within it, as the Spirit-led Son is prepared for His mission. Where Israel and Adam failed in their testing, Jesus, the true Son, will prove faithful.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Matt 4:1–11Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
  • Acts 10:38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
  • Mark 1:12–13At once the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness,
  • Luke 4:18“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,
  • Isa 61:1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
  • John 3:34For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
  • Matt 3:16As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him.
  • John 1:32Then John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and resting on Him.
  • Ezek 3:14So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.
  • Luke 4:14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and the news about Him spread throughout the surrounding region.
  • Isa 11:2–4The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
  • Luke 3:21–22When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as He was praying, heaven was opened,
  • Acts 8:39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.
  • Luke 2:27Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for Him what was customary under the Law,
  • 1 Kgs 19:4while he himself traveled on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
  • Acts 1:2until the day He was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.
  • Luke 3:3He went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
  • 1 Kgs 18:12I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 4:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.

How Luke 4:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.