Matthew 4
4
The Temptation of Jesus. 1#Jesus, proclaimed Son of God at his baptism, is subjected to a triple temptation. Obedience to the Father is a characteristic of true sonship, and Jesus is tempted by the devil to rebel against God, overtly in the third case, more subtly in the first two. Each refusal of Jesus is expressed in language taken from the Book of Deuteronomy (Dt 8:3; 6:13, 16). The testings of Jesus resemble those of Israel during the wandering in the desert and later in Canaan, and the victory of Jesus, the true Israel and the true Son, contrasts with the failure of the ancient and disobedient “son,” the old Israel. In the temptation account Matthew is almost identical with Luke; both seem to have drawn upon the same source. #Mk 1:12–13; Lk 4:1–13. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2#Ex 24:18; Dt 8:2. He fasted for forty days and forty nights,#Forty days and forty nights: the same time as that during which Moses remained on Sinai (Ex 24:18). The time reference, however, seems primarily intended to recall the forty years during which Israel was tempted in the desert (Dt 8:2). and afterwards he was hungry. 3The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” 4#Cf. Dt 8:3. Jesus refuses to use his power for his own benefit and accepts whatever God wills. He said in reply, “It is written:#Dt 8:3.
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’”
5#The devil supports his proposal by an appeal to the scriptures, Ps 91:11a, 12. Unlike Israel (Dt 6:16), Jesus refuses to “test” God by demanding from him an extraordinary show of power. Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, 6and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:
‘He will command his angels concerning you’
and ‘with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”#Ps 91:11–12.
7Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’”#Dt 6:16. 8Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, 9and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”#The worship of Satan to which Jesus is tempted is probably intended to recall Israel’s worship of false gods. His refusal is expressed in the words of Dt 6:13. 10At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written:
‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.’”#16:23; Dt 6:13.
11Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.
The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry.#Isaiah’s prophecy of the light rising upon Zebulun and Naphtali (Is 8:22–9:1) is fulfilled in Jesus’ residence at Capernaum. The territory of these two tribes was the first to be devastated (733–32 B.C.) at the time of the Assyrian invasion. In order to accommodate Jesus’ move to Capernaum to the prophecy, Matthew speaks of that town as being “in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali” (Mt 4:13), whereas it was only in the territory of the latter, and he understands the sea of the prophecy, the Mediterranean, as the sea of Galilee. 12#Mk 1:14–15; Lk 4:14, 31. When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,#Jn 2:12. 14that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:
15“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,#Is 8:23 LXX; 9:1.
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
16the people who sit in darkness
have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.”#Lk 1:79.
17#At the beginning of his preaching Jesus takes up the words of John the Baptist (Mt 3:2) although with a different meaning; in his ministry the kingdom of heaven has already begun to be present (Mt 12:28). From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,#3:2. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
The Call of the First Disciples.#The call of the first disciples promises them a share in Jesus’ work and entails abandonment of family and former way of life. Three of the four, Simon, James, and John, are distinguished among the disciples by a closer relation with Jesus (Mt 17:1; 26:37). 18#Mk 1:16–20; Lk 5:1–11. As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. 19He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20#Here and in Mt 4:22, as in Mark (Mk 1:16–20) and unlike the Lucan account (Lk 5:1–11), the disciples’ response is motivated only by Jesus’ invitation, an element that emphasizes his mysterious power. At once they left their nets and followed him. 21He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, 22and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.
Ministering to a Great Multitude.#This summary of Jesus’ ministry concludes the narrative part of the first book of Matthew’s gospel (Mt 3–4). The activities of his ministry are teaching, proclaiming the gospel, and healing; cf. Mt 9:35. 23He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,#Their synagogues: Matthew usually designates the Jewish synagogues as their synagogue(s) (Mt 9:35; 10:17; 12:9; 13:54) or, in address to Jews, your synagogues (Mt 23:34), an indication that he wrote after the break between church and synagogue. proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.#9:35; Mk 1:39; Lk 4:15, 44. 24#Syria: the Roman province to which Palestine belonged. His fame spread to all of Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them. 25#Mk 3:7–8; Lk 6:17–19. And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,#The Decapolis: a federation of Greek cities in Palestine, originally ten in number, all but one east of the Jordan. Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Matthew 4
4
The Temptation of Jesus
1Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2Jesus fasted for forty days and nights. After this, he was very hungry. 3The devil came to Jesus to tempt him, saying, “If you are the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread.”
4Jesus answered, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘A person lives not on bread alone, but by everything God says.’ ”
5Then the devil led Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem and put him on a high place of the Temple. 6The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, jump down, because it is written in the Scriptures:
‘He has put his angels in charge of you.
They will catch you in their hands
so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.’ ”#Psalm 91:11–12
7Jesus answered him, “It also says in the Scriptures, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’ ”
8Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all their splendor. 9The devil said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.”
10Jesus said to the devil, “Go away from me, Satan! It is written in the Scriptures, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ”
11So the devil left Jesus, and angels came and took care of him.
Jesus Begins Work in Galilee
12When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went back to Galilee. 13He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, a town near Lake Galilee, in the area near Zebulun and Naphtali. 14Jesus did this to bring about what the prophet Isaiah had said:
15“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali
along the sea,
beyond the Jordan River.
This is Galilee where the non-Jewish people live.
16These people who live in darkness
will see a great light.
They live in a place covered with the shadows of death,
but a light will shine on them.”#Isaiah 9:1–2
Jesus Chooses Some Followers
17From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Change your hearts and lives, because the kingdom of heaven is near.”
18As Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the lake because they were fishermen. 19Jesus said, “Come follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20So Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.
21As Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee, he saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus told them to come with him. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father, and they followed Jesus.
Jesus Teaches and Heals People
23Jesus went everywhere in Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the Good News about the kingdom of heaven, and healing all the people’s diseases and sicknesses. 24The news about Jesus spread all over Syria, and people brought all the sick to him. They were suffering from different kinds of diseases. Some were in great pain, some had demons, some were epileptics, and some were paralyzed. Jesus healed all of them. 25Many people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, Judea, and the land across the Jordan River followed him.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.