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Luke

About this book
Chapter 4

1 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he endured temptations from the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone.’” 5 Then the devil led him up to a high place and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “To you I will grant this whole realm—and the glory that goes along with it, for it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. 7 So then, if you will worship me, all this will be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” 9 Then the devil brought him to Jerusalem, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ 11 and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 So when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a more opportune time. 14 Then Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and news about him spread throughout the surrounding countryside. 15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by all. 16 Now Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,⁠ 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “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 release to the captives⁠ and the regaining of sight to the blind,⁠ to set free those who are oppressed,⁠ 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to tell them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.” 22 All were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”⁠ 23 Jesus said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ and say, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, do here in your hometown too.’” 24 And he added, “I tell you the truth, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.⁠ 25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, when the sky was shut up three and a half years and there was a great famine over all the land. 26 Yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, yet none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard this, all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29 They got up, forced him out of the town, and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But he passed through the crowd and went on his way. 31 So he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he began to teach the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching because he spoke with authority. 33 Now in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him: “Silence! Come out of him!” Then, after the demon threw the man down in their midst, he came out of him without hurting him. 36 They were all amazed and began to say to one another, “What’s happening here? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 So the news about him spread into all areas of the region. 38 After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he stood over her, commanded the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them. 40 As the sun was setting, all those who had any relatives sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus. He placed his hands on every one of them and healed them.⁠ 41 Demons also came out of many, crying out, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ. 42 The next morning Jesus departed and went to a deserted place. Yet the crowds were seeking him, and they came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But Jesus said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, for that is what I was sent to do.” 44 So he continued to preach in the synagogues of Judea.

Texts in conversation

Compare Luke 4:23 and Genesis Rabbah 23:4

New Testament · Rabbinic

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Summary

In Luke 4, Jesus quotes the saying “Physician, heal yourself,” also found in Rabbinic texts like Genesis Rabbah and Greek works such as Euripides. Its presence in all of these traditions shows how it was a popular expression used in many cultures.

Passages

Luke 4:23

New Testament
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to tell them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.” 22 All were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” 23 Jesus said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ and say, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, do here in your hometown too.’” 24 And he added, “I tell you the truth, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, when the sky was shut up three and a half years and there was a great famine over all the land. 26 Yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.
75–85 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Luke

Genesis Rabbah 23:4

Rabbinic · Aggadah
“Lemekh said to his wives, Ada and Tzila: Hear my voice, wives of Lemekh, listen to my speech, for have I slain a man for my wound or a child for my injury?” (Genesis 4:23) “Lemekh said to his wives, Ada and Tzila: Hear my voice.” Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: He propositioned them for intercourse, but they said to him: ‘Tomorrow the Flood is coming [to destroy all mankind]. Shall we heed you and bring forth children only to be cursed?’ He said to them: ‘“Have I slain a man for my wound,” that wounds should befall me on his account? “[Have I slain] a child for my injury,” that injuries should befall me on his account?’ This was a rhetorical question: Cain committed murder and yet [his punishment] was suspended for him for seven generations; I, who did not kill anyone, all the more so [punishment] should be suspended for me for that. Rabbi says: This is a flawed a fortiori argument: If so, from whom would the Holy One blessed be He ever collect His promissory note? Rabbi Yaakov bar Idi asked before Rabbi Yoḥanan: If “a man,” why “a child”; if “a child,” why “a man”? He said to him: He [Abel] was a man in terms of his limbs, but a child in terms of years. He [Lemekh] said to them: ‘Let us go to Adam.’ They went to Adam [for consultation]. He said to them: ‘You do yours and the Holy One blessed be He will do His.’ They said to him: ‘Doctor, heal your own lameness. Have you yourself not separated from Eve for a hundred and thirty years so that you should not produce a son from her?’ This was a rhetorical question. When he heard this, he consorted [with Eve] to produce offspring.
500 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis Rabbah

References

"... because Jesus began his ministry at about the age of thirty, it is also at least possible that he had acquired a higher level of education, given the span of time that would allow him to gain further education prior to his public ministry. Indeed, some Jewish boys attended the ephebeia (see above), if they had the financial means to do so. His use of parables may also suggest that he had learning beyond that of the primary, since only learned Jewish teachers would have known how to use this type of genre. Additionally, Jesus’ statement, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician heal yourself’ (Πάντως ἐρεῖτέ μοι τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην· Ἰατρέ, θεράπευσον σεαυτόν)” (Luke 4:23), may also suggest that he had some acquaintance with both Jewish and Greek literature. (This proverb is found in Greek literature, “A physician for others, but himself teeming with sores”, Euripides [480–406 BCE], Incertarum Fabularum Fragmenta 1086, as well as in Jewish literature, “Physician, physician heal thine own limp!”, Genesis Rabbah 23:4) The only thing that would mitigate us from considering this possibility that Jesus did attend an education beyond the primary is if he did not have the financial means to do so ..."
Hughson T. Ong, The Multilingual Jesus and the Sociolinguistic World of the New Testament, LBS 12 (Leiden: Brill, 2016), 254.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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  • Since almost all the memes and stories in the New Testament are rewrites of those in the Old Testament (the Jewish Torah) we should not be surprised to find that this one, commonly attributed to Jesus, actually comes from Genesis, written 500 years before Jesus was said to have been born. However i ...

    Kynszch Didales, October 25, 2024

Luke 4:23 and Genesis Rabbah 23:4

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