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
(Mk 1.12–13; Lk 4.1–13)
1 #
Heb 2.18; 4.15 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the Devil. 2After spending forty days and nights without food, Jesus was hungry. 3Then the Devil came to him and said, “If you are God's Son, order these stones to turn into bread.”
4 #
Deut 8.3
But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every word that God speaks.’ ”
5Then the Devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, the Holy City, set him on the highest point of the Temple, 6#Ps 91.11–12and said to him, “If you are God's Son, throw yourself down, for the scripture says:
‘God will give orders to his angels about you;
they will hold you up with their hands,
so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.’ ”
7 #
Deut 6.16
Jesus answered, “But the scripture also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
8Then the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their greatness. 9“All this I will give you,” the Devil said, “if you kneel down and worship me.”
10 #
Deut 6.13
Then Jesus answered, “Go away, Satan! The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’ ”
11Then the Devil left Jesus; and angels came and helped him.
Jesus Begins his Work in Galilee
(Mk 1.14–15; Lk 4.14–15)
12 #
Mt 14.3; Mk 6.17; Lk 3.19–20 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went away to Galilee. 13#Jn 2.12He did not stay in Nazareth, but went to live in Capernaum, a town by Lake Galilee, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14This was done to make what the prophet Isaiah had said come true:
15 #
Is 9.1–2
“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
on the road to the sea, on the other side of the Jordan,
Galilee, land of the Gentiles!
16The people who live in darkness
will see a great light.
On those who live in the dark land of death
the light will shine.”
17 #
Mt 3.2
From that time Jesus began to preach his message: “Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near!”
Jesus Calls Four Fishermen
(Mk 1.16–20; Lk 5.1–11)
18As Jesus walked along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers who were fishermen, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew, catching fish in the lake with a net. 19Jesus said to them, “Come with me, and I will teach you to catch people.” 20At once they left their nets and went with him.
21He went on and saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat with their father Zebedee, getting their nets ready. Jesus called them, 22and at once they left the boat and their father, and went with him.
Jesus Teaches, Preaches, and Heals
(Lk 6.17–19)
23 #
Mt 9.35; Mk 1.39 Jesus went all over Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the Good News about the Kingdom, and healing people who had all kinds of disease and sickness. 24The news about him spread through the whole country of Syria, so that people brought to him all those who were sick, suffering from all kinds of diseases and disorders: people with demons, and epileptics, and paralytics — and Jesus healed them all. 25Large crowds followed him from Galilee and the Ten Towns, from Jerusalem, Judea, and the land on the other side of the Jordan.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.