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
1 THEN JESUS was led (guided) by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness (desert) to be tempted (tested and tried) by the devil.
2 And He went without food for forty days and forty nights, and later He was hungry. [Exod. 34:28; I Kings 19:8.]
3 And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are God's Son, command these stones to be made [loaves of] bread.
4 But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. [Deut. 8:3.]
5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city and placed Him on a turret (pinnacle, gable) of the temple sanctuary. [Neh. 11:1; Dan. 9:24.]
6 And he said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, He will give His angels charge over you, and they will bear you up on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone. [Ps. 91:11, 12.]
7 Jesus said to him, On the other hand, it is written also, You shall not tempt, test thoroughly, or try exceedingly the Lord your God. [Deut. 6:16.]
8 Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory (the splendor, magnificence, preeminence, and excellence) of them.
9 And he said to Him, These things, all taken together, I will give You, if You will prostrate Yourself before me and do homage and worship me.
10 Then Jesus said to him, Begone, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve. [Deut. 6:13.]
11 Then the devil departed from Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested and put in prison, He withdrew into Galilee.
13 And leaving Nazareth, He went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the country of Zebulun and Naphtali–
14 That what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be brought to pass:
15 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, in the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles [of the peoples who are not of Israel]–[Isa. 9:1-2.]
16 The people who sat (dwelt enveloped) in darkness have seen a great Light, and for those who sat in the land and shadow of death Light has dawned.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, crying out, Repent (change your mind for the better, heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
18 As He was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He noticed two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, throwing a dragnet into the sea, for they were fishermen.
19 And He said to them, Come after Me [as disciples–letting Me be your Guide], follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men!
20 At once they left their nets and became His disciples [sided with His party and followed Him].
21 And going on further from there He noticed two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets and putting them right; and He called them.
22 At once they left the boat and their father and joined Jesus as disciples [sided with His party and followed Him].
23 And He went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news (Gospel) of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every weakness and infirmity among the people.
24 So the report of Him spread throughout all Syria, and they brought Him all who were sick, those afflicted with various diseases and torments, those under the power of demons, and epileptics, and paralyzed people, and He healed them.
25 And great crowds joined and accompanied Him about, coming from Galilee and Decapolis [the district of the ten cities east of the Sea of Galilee] and Jerusalem and Judea and from the other [the east] side of the Jordan.
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1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation