Luke 4:42

But when the day came, he went out to a deserted place, and the crowds sought him, and came to him. If the death of the Lord is expressed by the setting sun, why is not his resurrection indicated by the returning day? The light …

But if the sun-setting mystically expresses the death of our Lord, the returning day denotes His resurrection, (the light of which being made manifest, He is sought for by the multitudes of believers, and being found in the desert of the Gentiles He is held back by them, lest He should depart;) especially as this took place on the first day of the week, on which day the Resurrection was celebrated.

(Victor Antiochenus.) He went also into the desert, as Mark says, and prayed; not that he needed prayer, but as an example to us of good works.

6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture

And when it was day,.... The "day after", as the Persic version renders it; at the dawning, or "break of day", as the Syriac.

And the people sought him - Rather, Sought him earnestly. Instead of εζητουν, sought, I read, επεζητουν, earnestly sought. This reading is supported by ABCDFLMS - V, and more than seventy others. Wetstein and Griesbach have both received it into the text. The people had tasted the good word of God, and now they cleave to Christ with their whole heart. Hearing the words of Christ, and feeling the influence of his Spirit upon the soul, will attract and influence the heart; and indeed nothing else can do it.

We should notice, in this passage — the clear religious knowledge possessed by the devil and his agents. Twice in these verses we have proof of this. "I know you who you are — the holy one of God!" was the language of an demon in one case. "You are Christ the son of God," was the language of many demons in another case. Yet this knowledge was a knowledge unaccompanied by faith, or hope, or charity. Those who possessed it were miserable evil beings — full of bitter hatred both against God and man.

We should notice, in this passage — the clear religious knowledge possessed by the devil and his agents. Twice in these verses we have proof of this. "I know you who you are — the holy one of God!" was the language of an demon in one case. "You are Christ the son of God," was the language of many demons in another case. Yet this knowledge was a knowledge unaccompanied by faith, or hope, or charity. Those who possessed it were miserable evil beings — full of bitter hatred both against God and man. Let us beware of an unsanctified knowledge of Christianity. It is a dangerous possession, but a fearfully common one in these latter days. We may know the Bible intellectually, and have no doubt about the truth of its contents. We may have our memories well stored with its leading texts — and be able to talk glibly about its leading doctrines. And all this time the Bible may have no influence over our hearts, and wills, and consciences. We may, in reality, be nothing better than the demons! Let it never content us to know religion with our heads only. We may go on all our lives saying, "I know this — and I know that," and sink at last into Hell, with the words upon our lips. Let us see that our knowledge bears fruit in our lives. Does our knowledge of sin make us hate it? Does our knowledge of Christ make us trust and love Him? Does our knowledge of God's will make us strive to do it? Does our knowledge of the fruits of the Spirit make us labor to show them in our daily behavior? Knowledge of this kind is really profitable. Any other religious knowledge will only add to our condemnation at the last day. We should notice, secondly, in this passage — the almighty power of our Lord Jesus Christ. We see sicknesses and devils alike yielding to His command. He rebukes evil spirits — and they come forth from the unhappy people whom they had possessed.