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Matthew 4

4
Chapter 4
The Devil tries to cause Jesus to do wrong things
1Then the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. While he was there, the Devil came to him. He tried to cause Jesus to do wrong things. #4:1 The Devil is a bad angel. He was once a good angel but he refused to obey God. Now he is the leader of all the bad spirits. He is also called Satan. He tries to cause people to do wrong things. Jesus was alone when the Devil came to him. He told his friends about it later. 2Jesus did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of this time, he was very hungry.
3Then the Devil came to Jesus and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, speak to these stones. Tell them to become bread.’ 4But Jesus replied, ‘No! The Bible says that food alone cannot cause people to live. They need to hear every word that God speaks. That is what gives them true life.’ #4:4 Jesus was very hungry. The Devil knew that Jesus could make stones become bread. He also knew that Jesus was God's Son. God had not told Jesus to make bread, so he did not obey the Devil. Jesus used God's word from Deuteronomy 8:3 to answer the Devil.
5Then the Devil led Jesus to Jerusalem. He made him stand on the highest part of the temple. 6He said to Jesus, ‘If you are the Son of God, jump down from here to the ground. You know that the Bible says:
“God will tell his angels to keep you safe.
They will hold you safely in their hands.
They will not let you hurt your foot on a stone”.’ #4:6 The Devil was using the words from Psalms 91:12. But the Devil was using the words in a wrong way.
7Jesus replied, ‘No! The Bible also says, “Do not test the Lord God, to see if he will save you”.’ #4:7 Jesus was remembering God's words in Deuteronomy. Jesus was standing on the highest part of the temple. This place was 600 metres above the ground. God had not told Jesus to jump down. We must not do dangerous things if we do not need to. We must obey God. Then he will take care of us.
8Then the Devil led Jesus up a very high mountain. He showed Jesus all the countries in the whole world. They were very great and beautiful. 9The Devil said, ‘I will give you power over all these countries. Just go down on your knees in front of me. Worship me and I will give it all to you.’
10Jesus then said to him, ‘Satan, go away from me! The Bible says, “Only worship your Lord God. He is the only one that you should obey”.’
11Then the Devil left Jesus alone. Immediately angels came to Jesus and they took care of him.
Jesus starts his work in Galilee
12Then Jesus heard that Herod had put John the Baptist in prison. So Jesus returned to Galilee.
13But he did not stay in Nazareth. He went to live in Capernaum, which is a town on the shore of Lake Galilee. It was in the part of Israel called Zebulun and Naphtali. #4:13 Zebulun and Naphtali were the names of parts of Galilee. They were also the names of two of Jacob's sons. They lived in this land many years before.
14This caused God's message to become true. Long ago God had said through his prophet Isaiah: #4:14 See Isaiah 9:1-2
15‘I am speaking to you people who live in Zebulun and Naphtali. #4:15 These people did not know God or his book very well. Isaiah said that they were like people who are walking in the dark. God promised to send his Son Jesus to them. He would be like a light to show them what God was like.
Your part of this country is on the way to Lake Galilee.
It is across the Jordan River in the part of the country called Galilee.
Some people who are not Jews live there.
16They are like people who are living in the dark.
They live in the shadow which death brings.
God will send a light to shine on them.’
17Then Jesus began to speak God's message to people. He said, ‘You have done many wrong things. You must turn away from them and change how you live. Do this now, because the kingdom of heaven has come very near.’
Jesus asks some men to become his disciples
18One day, Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee. He saw two men who were brothers. One man was called Simon, and he was also called Peter. His brother's name was Andrew. #4:18 Simon and his brother lived in a town called Capernaum. This town is on the shore of Lake Galilee. Jesus had taught there. He had caused many people to become well again from their illnesses. So they knew that Jesus was a very powerful person. Their job was to catch fish. They were throwing their nets into the lake to catch fish. 19Jesus said to them, ‘Come with me and be my disciples. Then I will teach you how to catch people, instead of fish.’ #4:19 Jesus did not mean that Simon and Andrew would really catch people. He would teach Simon and Andrew how to tell other people the good news about himself. They had brought fish out of the water. But now they would bring people to Jesus, so that they could believe in him. These people would then be his disciples.
20Simon and Andrew immediately put their nets down and they went with Jesus.
21They continued to walk along the shore. Soon Jesus saw two more men who were brothers. They were called James and John. They were in their boat with their father, Zebedee. They were mending their nets. Jesus said to James and John, ‘Come with me.’ 22The brothers immediately left the boat and their father behind. They went with Jesus to be his disciples.
Jesus teaches about God and he makes sick people well again
23Jesus travelled everywhere in Galilee. He taught the people in the Jewish meeting places. He told them the good news about God's kingdom. He also caused sick people to become well again from all their different pains and illnesses. 24More and more people in all parts of Syria heard about Jesus. So they brought all the sick people to see him. These people had many different illnesses, and some of them had strong pains. Bad spirits were living inside some of them. Some people could not control their bodies, and some people could not walk. Jesus caused all these people to become well again. 25Because of this, large crowds of people followed him. They came from Galilee and from the region called ‘The ten cities’. Some of them came from Jerusalem, and other parts of Judea. And some came from the other side of the Jordan River. #4:25 Syria was a part of Israel that was on the east side of Galilee. ‘The Decapolis’ means 10 towns. The Decapolis was another part of Israel.

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Matthew 4: EASY

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