Matthew 4 includes Jesus’ 40-day fast in the wilderness, where He was subjected to temptation by Satan. We also see Jesus begin His public preaching ministry, which called for repentance from sin due to the nearness of God’s kingdom, and call His first disciples from among the fishermen of Galilee. This chapter is foundational for Matthew’s explanation of Jesus’ identity, mission, and ministry. Let’s take a look.
1) V1-11 – 1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. 3The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” [Deuteronomy 8:3]. 5Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6“If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone’” [Psalm 91:11-12]. 7Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” [Deuteronomy 6:16]. 8Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9“All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will bow down and worship me.” 10Jesus said to him, “Away from Me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only’” [Deuteronomy 6:13]. 11Then the devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him.
Just after Jesus was baptized, He “was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil” (v1). That comes surprisingly to some wondering how or why the Holy Spirit would lead into temptation; after all, Jesus will later teach His disciples how to pray, including the familiar phrase, “Lead us not into temptation.” We read in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” Furthermore, we read in James 1:13-14, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.” So God allows – and even purposes for good (sanctification by suffering) – the temptations that come from the trinity of evil – the world, the flesh, and the devil; but God Himself does not tempt anyone. Hebrews 4:15 explains the purpose of Jesus’ temptation: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.” So Jesus was tempted by the devil in order that He could live the perfect and sinless life required by God to earn our place in heaven, all the while proving that He could also be the perfect sacrifice God required to pay our sin debt for the sake of justice. This entire passage, while only a brief historical narrative, goes much deeper in theology, revealing the details of the substitutionary atonement. Jesus traded His perfect life for our sins, and we gave Him our sins in exchange for His life.
But the temptation of Jesus didn’t come right away. It came after 40 days of fasting, when Jesus was weak and hungry. That’s when the devil tempts, when we are weak and hungry. And we often give in, failing to take the way out that God provides. But Jesus did not yield; He stood firm on God’s word, and won victory for us – not once or twice, but three times on this occasion. The first temptation was a direct attack on Jesus’ identity as the Son of God. The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” He preyed on Jesus’ extreme hunger and weakness, but the motive was to cause doubt, just as he had done to Eve with his question to her in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-6). At Jesus’ baptism, God the Father spoke audibly to Jesus, saying, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). 40 days later, extremely fatigued and hungry, would Jesus stand on those words of His Father? Yes! Jesus replied to the devil with God’s word from Deuteronomy 8:3, saying, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Jesus refused to yield to physical hunger, trusting God for His sustenance. He needed to prove His identity neither to the devil, nor to Himself. He didn’t add to God’s word (as Eve did in the Garden of Eden). He stood firm – for us. But the temptation wasn’t over yet.
Second, we read that the devil took Jesus to the top of the Temple in Jerusalem (v5) and said again, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down” (v6). Satan still encouraged Jesus to doubt His identity, urging Him to prove that He really was God’s Son. The devil even fought fire with fire, quoting the very same word of God that Jesus had just quoted, only this time from Psalm 91:11-12, which reads, “He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.” Satan is saying to Jesus, “You’re not really sure who You are, and this will be a way to prove it. If You are God’s Son, put the Scriptures to the test, for God will surely protect You.” But Jesus again replied with Scripture, saying, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” [Deuteronomy 6:16]. We learn here that Scripture explains Scripture, just as iron sharpens iron. While it might have been true that God the Father would not allow His Son to die prematurely or in any other way than by crucifixion – oftentimes the devil tempts by feeding us half-truths – the instruction not to put the Lord your God to the test overrides his statement. So Jesus again withstands Satan’s temptation.
Finally, Satan takes Jesus to a very high mountain, showing Him “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” (v8). The devil has been given some authority on the earth (John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2), and apparently he thinks he had the authority to give Jesus control of all the kingdoms of the earth (which Jesus already had by virtue of His identity as the Son of God); nevertheless, Satan offers the world to Jesus if He would only “bow down and worship” him (v9). This is his last chance, still appealing to Jesus’ identity, trying to get Him to doubt that He is the Son of God, hoping that He would settle for a merely earthly kingdom instead of pressing on to ultimately test the faithfulness of God the Father by submitting to His will in death on the cross (Philippians 2:8). But of course, Jesus again stands firm, resisting the devil with rebuke (James 4:7; Matthew 16:23) and replying with God’s word from Deuteronomy 6:13, saying, “Away from Me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” And we read in v11, “The devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him.” Most of us can easily grasp the departure of the devil, for hopefully, we have at least on occasion if not with consistency resisted his temptation in such a way that he flees from us like he left Jesus here. However, it is not likely that we have had the blessing of angelic attendees refreshing our physical and spiritual condition, as was likely the case with Jesus here, for He had been 40 days without nourishment; and with the spiritual torment added to the physical stress, Jesus was likely near death, in need of immediate rescue, which God provided as in Psalm 91:11-12, which ironically, the devil had unintentionally prophesied.
2) V12-17 – 12When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He returned to Galilee. 13Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali – 14to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles – 16the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” [Isaiah 9:1-2]. 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Having won a penultimate battle over Satan, Jesus was ready to preach to the public. He heard about John’s imprisonment and settled in Galilee, to the north of Judea. Matthew reveals to his audience here that this seemingly minor detail was in fact a fulfillment of prophecy, for Isaiah had hinted that “a great light” would dawn in Galilee, speaking of Jesus. Here again, we see Scripture interpret Scripture, for without Matthew’s explanation, the layman would not likely connect Isaiah 9:1-2 specifically to this moment of Jesus’ life.
We also see that Jesus’ message is identical to that of John the Baptist – “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (v17; cf Matthew 3:2; Mark 1). Matthew uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven” 31 times in his gospel, and yet we find it nowhere else in all of Scripture. What should we make of that? Quite simply, Matthew’s phrase is synonymous to the phrase “kingdom of God,” which is found 65 times in the Bible (4 uses by Matthew; 14 by Mark, 31 by Luke in his gospel and 6 by Luke in Acts, 2 by John, and 8 by Paul). Defining the Kingdom of God is not so simple, because it is multi-faceted. Graeme Goldsworthy says it is “God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule.” Anthony Hoekema has described God’s Kingdom as “the reign of God dynamically active in human history through Jesus Christ, the purpose of which is the redemption of His people from sin and from demonic powers, and the final establishment of the new heavens and the new earth.” George Eldon Ladd says, “The primary meaning of both the Hebrew word malkuth in the Old Testament and of the Greek word basileia in the New Testament is the rank, authority and sovereignty exercised by a king. A basileia may indeed be a realm over which a sovereign exercises his authority; and it may be the people who belong to that realm and over whom authority is exercised; but these are secondary and derived meanings. First of all, a kingdom is the authority to rule, the sovereignty of the king.”
With those concepts in mind, another scholar says, “The presence and coming of the Kingdom of God was the central message of Jesus. For example, His teaching was designed to show men how they might enter the Kingdom of God (Matthew 5:20; 7:21). His mighty works were intended to prove that the Kingdom of God had come upon them (Matthew 12: 28). His parables illustrated to His disciples the truth about the Kingdom of God (Matthew 13:11). And when He taught His followers to pray, at the heart of their petition were the words, ‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ (Matthew 6:10). On the eve of His death, He assured His disciples that He would yet share with them the happiness and the fellowship of the Kingdom (Luke 22:22-30). And He promised that He would appear again on the earth in glory to bring the blessedness of the Kingdom to those for whom it was prepared (Matthew 25:31,34).” It is the reign of God, primarily spiritual in nature, crossing into the physical realm because of the spiritual realm’s dominion over the physical realm, visibly manifested today in the Church, with both a present reality and a future consummation.
Finally, R.C. Sproul and Ligonier Ministries offers a great summary of Jesus’ message in Matthew’s gospel: “If we were to look for one single theme that seems to be the most central and most important theme of the entire gospel of Matthew, it would be the theme of the coming of the kingdom. We see in the first instance that the term gospel refers to the gospel of the kingdom – the good news of the announcement of the breakthrough of the kingdom of God. In Matthew’s case, he uses the phrase ‘kingdom of heaven’ rather than the terminology ‘kingdom of God’ [most of the time]. He does this not because he has a different view of the meaning or content of the kingdom of God; rather, out of sensitivity to his Jewish readers, he makes common use of what is called periphrasis, a certain type of circumlocution to avoid mentioning the sacred name of God. So for Matthew, the doctrine of the kingdom of heaven is the same kingdom that the other writers speak of as the kingdom of God. Matthew talks about the breakthrough of the kingdom and the arrival of Jesus in His incarnation. He announces the coming of the kingdom at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, and at the end of the book Matthew speaks about the final consummation of the coming of that kingdom in the Olivet Discourse. So from the first page of Matthew to the last page, we see the unifying theme of the coming of the kingdom of God in the appearance of the king Himself, who is the Messiah of Israel and the fulfillment of the kingdom given to Judah. The gospel of Matthew is rich in detailed information about the teaching of Jesus and particularly in His parables, which are not always included in the other gospels. Again, the central focus of the parables of Jesus is the kingdom, where He introduces parables by saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like unto this…’ or ‘the kingdom of heaven is like unto that….’ If we are to understand the significance of the appearance of Jesus in the fullness of time to inaugurate the kingdom and the whole meaning of redemptive history, we see that focus come into clear view in the Gospel According to Matthew.”
3) V18-25 – 18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19“Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 20At once they left their nets and followed Him. 21Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him. 23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and He healed them. 25Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed Him.
Preaching a message of repentance due to the nearness of the Kingdom of God, Jesus made His way throughout Galilee. Matthew recounts His calling of the first four disciples – Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, and James with his brother John. The instructions were simple: “Come, follow Me.” All four of them were fishermen, and they would become “fishers of men” (v19). “At once,” and “immediately,” the men left their boats and followed Jesus. This was no spontaneous and irresponsible decision. They had likely heard Jesus preaching for weeks or months, and maybe known Him, or least known of Him, even longer. They probably dreamed of following a Rabbi – something Jewish boys would have been encouraged to pursue. But they were not highly educated and wouldn’t likely be invited to follow a Rabbi. So when Jesus asked them, they responded quickly. Leaving their profession at this stage of their lives was also significant, especially given that they lacked thy typical training for Rabbinical understudies. This was not going to be a lucrative position, especially at first. We’ll find that at least one of them – Judas – had hopes, at least for a time, of becoming wealthy by following Jesus, expecting Him, in time, to overthrow the Roman oppressors and lead Israel back to a place of worldwide prominence, as it had in the days of David and Solomon.
V23 summarizes the early days of Jesus’ ministry. He traveled through Galilee, taught from God’s word in the synagogues, preached the gospel of God’s reign, and healed people from their diseases and infirmities. With this kind of ministry, accompanied by miraculous healings, it’s not surprising that “news about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed” (v24). The surprising thing is that “He healed them” (v24). His followers were learning that this Man was no ordinary Rabbi. And the number of His followers grew considerably as crowds from all around the region, an approximate 60-80 mile radius, swarmed around Jesus. And He would continue this style of ministry for about 3 years.
Bible text from
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