Full text from http://www.blueletterbible.org/tools/printerFriendly.cfm?b=Luk&c=4&t=NLTP&x=1&y=9

The Temptation of Jesus
1 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, [fn1] 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
3 Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’ [fn2] ”
5 Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. 7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the LORD your God
and serve only him.’ [fn3] ”
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
11 And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ [fn4] ”
12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the LORD your God.’ [fn5] ”
13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. 15 He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:
18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
19 and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come. [fn6] ”
20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
22 Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
23 Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ 24 But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.
25 “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”
28 When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. 29 Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, 30 but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.
Jesus Casts Out a Demon
31 Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. 32 There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.
33 Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil [fn7] spirit—began shouting at Jesus, 34 “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
35 Jesus cut him short. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.
36 Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” 37 The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.
Jesus Heals Many People
38 After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged. 39 Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.
40 As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. 41 Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.
Jesus Continues to Preach
42 Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. 43 But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” 44 So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea. [fn8]


Footnotes:
4:1

Some manuscripts read into the wilderness.
4:4

Deut 8:3.
4:8

Deut 6:13.
4:10-11

Ps 91:11-12.
4:12

Deut 6:16.
4:18-19

Or and to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD. Isa 61:1-2 (Greek version); 58:6.
4:33

Greek unclean; also in 4:36.
4:44

Some manuscripts read Galilee.

1 Samuel 15:3

'Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.'

God supports genocide. full text available on the interwebbs.

@ Ora, yeah, God can wipe out a nation if he wants, and has done so.

It's pretty hard to understand.

^Enlighten us Mujus. I don't claim to be a morally superior being than your God, but I don't see myself wiping out a nation.

Unless I play England in Diplomacy and feel like a good convoy show.

Mujus, I think that pales in comparison to flooding the earth.

5 Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please.
7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the LORD your God
and serve only him.’"

Anyway, concerning the above, I don't understand why Jesus refuses Satan's offer. I understand that canonically, Jesus, as the so-called "son of God" and, according to some, the human incarnation of God, is incapable of sin, but if, canonically, Jesus is to have dominion over all of the kingdoms of the world and smite Satan and his forces anyway, what does he have to lose? What sort of punishment could he possibly incur upon himself (or would you consider it a punishment incurred upon humanity, since the only thing I can think of is that Jesus's status as man's savior is possibly rescinded if the offer is accepted, which would mean, according to the Christian worldview, that man is in effect screwed)?

Redhouse, I guess before you can understand that, you'd have to know something about God's character, and to know that, you'd have to search/seek for that knowledge and wisdom. I have read that at that time, the Amalakites were sacrificing babies to Dagon, an iron statue that they would stand in the fire with outstretched arms on which they would lay their sacrifices.

So I figure that God wanted to wipe out that practice and that nation as a signal to others not to do the same kind of thing.

Dominion over the earth might destory free will to be enforced, which clearly isn't part of God's plan. ie to grant free will and then punish us for using it - i don't know, are we taking a literal or symbolic reading of genesis? Or does it not matter?

@Mujus
Hmm... Why didn't God just turn some water into wine or walk on water to show that he was a lot more powerful than the statue and didn't ask for infants to be sacrificed in his honor (or at least, hadn't asked that for a long time).

Orathaic,obviously you are not seeking any truth other than what you already believe, since as you state, you already know God's plan: "God's plan. ie to grant free will and then punish us for using it." So why the continued dialogue?

Redhouse, even when Jesus came and was doing miracle after miracle, many people refused to believe, some believed the miracles but rejected who Jesus said he was, and others set out to destroy him. Also, if there's one thing I have learned from teaching, it's that some people don't learn until they have a failure experience.

@Mujus, perhaps i believe that it is only through dialogue that we can come to a better understanding of our different positions. I'm not claiming that this is definitely God's plan, but that is my understanding of Genesis. At least a fairly simplified version of it.

And this is the thread you created for discussing 'reading(s)' of the bible, right? If that is what i read into the meaning of Genesis, then perhaps that says a lot more about me than anything else. How and Ever, I believe you invited this conversation.

Orathaic, I'm glad to hear you're not claiming that is definitely God's plan and that dialogue is still possible. :-)

Hey, if i definitely knew Gods plan i think i'd be out on the streets selling it, not here talking about what i don't know... Unless of course i knew the plan and it required me to be here... Which i find highly suspect ;)

So... you'd be... telling others about it. :-)

@ orathaic

I believe that you are right we did invite this conversation, however, I'm curious. You seem to be ignoring the ongoing discussions in favor of quotes and stories that have one single theme. For instance you brought up Job, and I appreciate your apology, I really didn't attribute that attitude to you as much as the creator of that cartoon and I was using it as a springboard into a critique of the "better" interpretation that he was espousing of the story. I tend to like Job and I think we could shed a lot of light on the story if we contained a discussion to that one book that you suggested. Mujus tends to like the New Testament, but I don't mind the Old Testament stories that you're bringing up.

How about we discuss Job and save the Amalekites for the next discussion after that one? TO the best of my ability, I won't shy away or hedge my bets, but I'm a bit concerned as we're going now (so, far two stories Job [unfinished] and the introduction of Saul and the Amalekites) that I'm to be caught up in an endless defense of every verse that you might find suspect without being given much of an opportunity to really analyze and engage you in conversation about any of them. Basically if we're going to discuss Job, let's have the discussion and compare interpretaions side by side and see what we come up with. Are you game?

@ Mujus & Redhouse

The Temptaion of Jesus is a great story. I think it's a good observation redhouse that the consequences for Jesus gaining the kingdoms of the world in exchange for worshipping Satan may not be severe for Jesus (he's the Son of God) but they could be disastrous for humanity. I can't say that I ever thought of it that way. Luckily we don't have to find that out.

The thing that strikes me in the story is that Satan uses Scripture to back up his temptation. Christ, immediately responds with another Scripture to show the error in Satan's reasoning. So it is implied in the story that it's possible to base a spurious argument on Scripture and that the best way to counter that tactic is to study the Scripture. There is also the theme of Jesus rejecting earthly power when it is offered.

Today's Bible reading is Luke Chapter 5
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Luk&c=5&v=1&t=NLT#1
which includes miracles, teaching, forgiveness of sin, opposition, and a quiet time to pray.
One of my favorite parts is this one:
17 One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus.
18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, 19 but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”
21 But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 23 Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man [fn4] has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
25 And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”

"I think it's a good observation redhouse that the consequences for Jesus gaining the kingdoms of the world in exchange for worshipping Satan may not be severe for Jesus (he's the Son of God) but they could be disastrous for humanity. I can't say that I ever thought of it that way. Luckily we don't have to find that out."

Either there's some sort of glitch or some miscommunication, since the point was mine, not redhouse's.

Anyway, I'm not sure I understand this. Putting aside my biases toward this and other scenarios, Jesus heals a paralyzed man, and that's somehow proof that he can forgive sins (is the passage implying that paralysis is a product of sin)?

Mario, it's not implying that at all. The deal is that the miracle is evidence of who he is, namely, the promised Messiah of Israel. It's like saying, "Oh, so you don't believe I can forgive people? Watch me do something much more dramatic then." With his miracles giving him credibility, people were more likely to believe his message.

I see, but how does the performance of a complex action prove that one is capable of performing an unrelated, less complex action? After all, we don't assume that a person can sing, for example, after listening to him or her recite /The Iliad/ in Latin.

It's the impression of authority that went along with the miracle. It has nothing to do with skill required to forgive sins, but the right to forgive sins. Jesus was going around healing the sick, lame, and blind, in God's name, so it seems reasonable that he could forgive sins in God's name without blasphemeing.

kind of like, I plan, implement, and assess lessons for a middle school, therefore I can send someone to the principal.

or choose not to.

Today's Bible reading is Luke Chapter 6
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Luk&c=6&v=1&t=NLT#1
in which Jesus chooses the 12 apostles from among his disciples, teaches the disciples, heals many people, and makes enemies by doing so. It ends like this:
47 "I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. 48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. 49 But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

'Basically if we're going to discuss Job, let's have the discussion and compare interpretaions side by side and see what we come up with. Are you game?'

A fair game, i'm not sure i have the time or inclination. But if i do come back to you i will play by these rules.

"When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built."

That or the homeowner's confidence in the structure of the house blinds him or her to its inner flaws, causing him or her to thereby perceive it as well-built.

I'm a little confused, when the floodwaters rise and break against the house, it isn't the owner's confidence that keeps it standing frim.