Mathew 4

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

·         He likely stayed in the region a day or two before going into the wilderness, then goes to the other side of the river into the wilderness.

·         Jesus must have been tempted and tried as we were in all things, yet be without sin, otherwise He could not be a faithful high priest.

·         Just as Israel was baptized in the red sea then went into the wilderness, so Jesus would do the same.

·         Adam, after his commission, faced temptation as well, but the Second Adam who enjoyed none of the other benefits, would not fail.

² And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.

·         Moses fasted 40 days (Deut 9:9, Ex 34:28), as did Elijah (1 Kings 19:8). But more to the point Israel wandered for 40 years in the wilderness.

·         This speaks to His humanity. It’s to be expected that after 40 days He would be hungry. He was true man.

³ Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

·         Since you are the beloved Son, then do not wander hungry in the desert, but eat and be comforted.

⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”^[a]

·         Quote is from Deut 8:3. In context the nation was to go hungry so they could see God’s amazing provision for them in the form of mana. The principle is that man is to live on God’s provision and blessing, that God would take care of everyone in time.

·         This sounds plausible to us, which is very cunning, which should make us fearful and dependent on God.

⁵ Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,

·         If this is in a vision then it eclipses the full power of the temptation. If it’s in reality, it’s somewhat hard to explain how Jesus lets Satan take him there.

·         Could be near the SE wall, because the temple roof had spikes to keep birds off.

·         This next challenge is to demonstrate that He is the messiah of His people, He is the one they were waiting for. God’s plan was to reveal this in His own way, at His own time, and Satan wanted Him to do the same, just do it sooner.

⁶ and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

·         Satan appeals to Scripture to tempt Jesus. If Jesus was the Son of God it would be evident to all in the Temple because those Scriptures would immediately come to the watchers mind.

·         (In Luke’s account this comes third.)

·         Satan is quoting from Ps 91:11-12. Notice however that Satan understands this principle of the Scriptures being about Jesus- his application of Ps 91 being to Christ and about Christ is actually on the money. We can’t even get that far!

·         In the Psalm the trust in God produces this confidence. Satan has taken it to mean test God, and wrest proof from Him.

⁷ Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”

·         This one comes from Deuteronomy 6:16. The idea is that Israel (men in general) were/are not to throw themselves headlong into danger and expect sovereign protection. They were not to arrange themselves against how God runs his natural world and then demand special exemption from it, because the created order itself brings God glory.

·         Putting God to the test is lunacy, there is no value in it, and it turns God into our servant.

⁸ Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

·         This is clearly a desperate gambit, as it makes little to no sense otherwise. The other two tests were to seize outside of God’s own timing something He would get anyway, this asks Him to completely toss all love for God away and worship Satan as God.

·         I’m of the opinion that this takes place in a vision, if Jesus can see the kingdoms of the world.

·         Satan is the ruler of this world, 1 John 5:19; John 12:31; Eph 2:2; 2 Cor 4:4.

¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”

·         This is a command here that Satan cannot disobey, and the reminder comes from Deut 6:13.

·         How much of our problem in society is as a result of not obeying this command?

·         It’s likely the Matthew account has the chronological order here, because it contains how Jesus banished Satan

·         The temptations of Satan are disguised as real and good things, except the last one which was a base appeal to a lust for power.

¹¹ Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

·         The angels having been withheld until Jesus stood or fell. Their only purpose is after all, as ministering spirits, Heb 1:6

·         Unlike Adam, and later Israel in the desert, Christ withstood the tests. In every other instance mankind is the unfaithful covenant partner, who ruined things, but here, there is a man who has not betrayed God.

¹² Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.

·         Barnes thinks that Jesus went to Galilee to start His ministry because of the unbelief in Judea and Jerusalem.

·         John’s ministry was: The messiah is coming. It only made sense that he could not say that anymore and would go to jail when the messiah did come.

¹³ And leaving Nazareth,

·         Luke has the account of how Nazareth rejected Him and tried to kill Him, Luke 4:16-30

He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

¹⁵ “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:

·         This is where Jesus lived, and spent most of His 3 years.

·         This quote comes from Isaiah 9:1-2. The prophecy was that the two northern tribes, past the Jordan river, all the way up to the Northern portion (Hence, Galilee of the Gentiles, as opposed to Galilee of the Jews on the Southern side). This area was first destroyed by the invading Assyrians and Syrians, but God has promised a recompense for this in the life of Christ.

¹⁶ The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned.”

·         The light refers to understanding. In the times of ignorance they walked in darkness, but now they will walk in the light of understanding. See Is 40:16-17, John 3:19, 1 Peter 3:19. “Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Ignorance is spoken of as darkness, ex: 1 Thess 5:5

·         The region of shadow of death probably speaks to how much worse off in ignorance they were in the north. Jesus makes His home amongst the most needy.

¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

·         Jesus gives the same message as John, demonstrating the continuance of the message- but Jesus is going to build on it and take it to a place John couldn’t

·         This message was the same given the Apostles in Luke 24:42, which Peter took up in Acts 2.

¹⁸ And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

·         Jesus had seen them before, as Andrew was a follower of John the Baptist, as was the Apostle John. They followed Jesus briefly then returned to fishing for a time (I suspect when He was in the wilderness and John the Baptist was imprisoned).

·         Andrew brought Peter to Christ (See John’s gospel)

¹⁹ Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰ They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

·         They left everything behind to become the disciples of Jesus.

·         They were fishers of fish, salt of the earth, sort of an everyman trade.

²¹ Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, ²² and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

·         James was a strong personality, and seemed to be the spokesman for Christianity, which is why Herod Agrippa had him killed first, Acts 12:2.

·         These were the sons of thunder, whose mother also went with them.

²³ And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

·         Jesus was well known in the region, teaching, preaching the Kingdom, healing diseases. For the next three years Jesus taught His disciples, preached to the crowds, and healed those who came to Him.

·         There were several synagogues that He visited. In Jerusalem there were apparently 480 synagogues before it was destroyed. These places were like our church service, Scripture was read, prayers were offered, a sermon was given on what had been read. This is where Jesus began His ministry.

²⁴ Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.

·         Syria is close and North East of Galilee

·         The demons afflicted the people with epilepsy, paralyzation, and the like. Having a demon then results in ill health effects.

²⁵ Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

·         The Decapolis were the 10 Gentile cities mostly east of the Jordan river.

·         Many people were coming up to hear and see Him, although the presence of the crowd and healing would prevent Him from being able to preach properly.

·         This ends the first division of Matthew- the introduction. Now he will move on to the real bulk of the Gospel account, the teaching.