Matthew 4

The Temptation of Jesus

¹⁾ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. ²⁾ After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

Jesus is led to the place of temptation

After identifying with sinners in His baptism, Jesus now identifies with them in severe temptation - a necessary part of His ministry, so He truly was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness. Jesus did not need to be tempted to help Him "grow"; instead, He endured temptation both so He could identify with us (Hebrews 2:18, 4:15), and to demonstrate His own holy, sinless character. The Holy Spirit cannot tempt us (James 1:13); but we may be led by the Holy Spirit to a place where we are tempted - not to prove anything to God (who knows all things), but to prove something to us and to on looking spiritual beings.

Temptation is a certainty for all; yet Jesus' temptation was more severe for many reasons: He was tempted directly by Satan himself (we contend mainly with lesser demons); and since temptation is only "relieved" by giving in, and Jesus never did, He bore levels of temptation we will never know by experience.

“Led”: by the Spirit, Mark 1:12 - says “immediately” and “was driven” - Mark suggests necessity to go to the wilderness. Moses, David, etc. all went into the wilderness, typically for 40 days for a time of fasting and prayer.

Matthew points out both the barren desert (the Judean wilderness was just that), and Jesus' severe physical condition after such a long fast; it is said that when hunger pains return after such a fast (He was hungry); it is an indication that the subject is beginning to starve to death.

(Judean Wilderness today)

The period of forty days and forty nights is a familiar period of testing in the Bible - both in the days of Noah, and for Israel in the wilderness; Jesus is going to succeed where Israel as a nation failed.

“Fasting”: Many different kinds. Extended fasts, second and third days are tough, yet after third day, easier for about another 37 days.

Around 40th day you will be desperately in need of food in a medical sense.

³⁾ The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
⁴⁾ Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

The first temptation: an appeal to the lust of the flesh

Matthew tells us when the tempter came; in our lives, it is not a question of if the tempter will come, but when he will come.

The question asked by Satan is more literally since You are the Son of God, not if You are the Son of God; Satan is not questioning Jesus' deity, he is challenging Him to prove it.

This is a solicitation to use God's gifts for selfish purposes; Satan wants Jesus to use His miraculous powers to feed Himself. Who could fault Jesus for doing such a thing? Yet, He will not, especially at the instigation of Satan. Jesus lays out a system of priorities that challenges us: every word that proceeds from the mouth of God is to be more precious to us than food itself.

By relying on the power and truth of God's Word, Jesus was willing to fight this battle as a man; He could have easily rebuked Satan into another galaxy, but resisted Him in a way that we can imitate and identify with.

The Tempter: Satan, as a person, a knowledgeable, malevolent, powerful ruler. A personal Satan, your adversary. Two errors about Satan: we pretend he doesn’t exist or we become so conscious of him that he receives more credit than he deserves. He is a created being, he is not omnipresent; he has location. In Jude, the point is that Satan is a dignity, real, powerful, yet defeated. Christians need to balance the recognition of his existence and also that he is defeated; Jesus Christ has won. 

Different order between gospels: Matthew records in historical order, Luke records in moral order.

Three Dimensions to Being Tempted

1) The desire of the flesh (appeal to the appetite).

2) Lust of the eyes (appeal to our aesthetic nature).

3) The pride of life (appeal to our spiritual pride).

No different than Eden. 1Timothy 2:4 notes that Eve was deceived, but Adam was not; Adam knew what he was doing. First Adam tempted in Genesis 3; here, the last Adam tempted in Matthew 4. Everlasting covenant - between Father and Son before the foundations of the world were laid.

The Desire of the Flesh

“If” is not conditional, as in “prove you are.” Rather used in a rhetorical sense, “since you are.” What is wrong with turning rocks into bread? The fast is over and he is validity hungry. Is there anything wrong, morally, legally, levitically with being hungry? Jesus has used His supernatural power in other incidents to feed the multitudes, so why not use it now? The issue is not Him providing for His needs, but rather the Father’s Will. Jesus discerned that it was not the Father’s Will for Him to take this path. For us, we can’t turn rocks into bread so we are not tempted by this incident. However, you are never tempted to do something which you are not capable of doing. You won’t stumble in your weak suit; you will stumble in your strong suit. For example, Peter - his strongest capability was boldness and courage. Where did Peter fail? Lack of Courage, the night Jesus was betrayed he denied Jesus three times! The way we fall is through PRIDE.

“It is written”: In all three responses, Jesus counters by quoting the Scriptures. Incidentally, all responses were from the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 8:3 - Forty years in the wilderness was for testing. Not talking just about food, could be shelter, clothing...Not to live by any material substances alone. Bread here is taken from the literal bread, and yet he is talking about spiritual bread as being essential (even more important the physical food). One of the seven “I am” statements in John is “I am the Bread of Life,” which is linked to manna from the wilderness. Manna fell every day, it would not store (except for Sabbath’s portion), one had to get it every day. Also, one could not get the manna for anyone else, each had to pick his own; just like spiritual food. Psalms 119; Jeremiah 15:16 and John in Revelation 10:9: “Thy words are found and I did eat them.” There are several places in Scripture where we are to digest the word of Scripture. “Every word”: Not just New Testament, not just the Psalms... Every word. 

⁵⁾ Then 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."
⁷⁾ Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test."

The second temptation: an appeal to the pride of life

Satan is tempting Jesus to "force" the Father into a supernatural event; Satan is appealing to the desire within every man to sense approval from God and to have that approval publicly demonstrated. The pinnacle of the temple arose some 200 feet; a leap from there and the appearance of the promised angelic protection would be quite a show! Jesus just had such a spectacular demonstration at His baptism (Matthew 3:17); but that must have seemed far away after forty days and nights of fasting in the wilderness. 

“Pinnacle of the Temple”: Like a corner, a high point. Daniel 9, “wing” = pinnacle. One idea is that the coming world leader will also be faced with these temptations and he will accept the nations of the world from Satan.

(The Pinnacle of the Temple is identified, by many Jerusalem guides, in the southeastern corner of the Haram al-Sharif ("the noble precinct"). The lower portion of this corner is part of the Herodian Temple of Jerusalem (destroyed by the Roman army in 70 AD). Many stones of enormous size can be seen, some of them reach the estimated weight of 100 tons. At the times of the anonymous pilgrim of Bordeaux, two statues of the Emperor Hadrian were standing in the center of the sacred precinct.)

We notice that the devil quotes Scripture; he has memorized the Bible himself, and is an expert at quoting it out of its context to confuse and defeat the subjects of his temptation. Sadly, many are willing to believe anyone who quotes from the Bible today; you can say pretty much whatever you want, and if you quote a few "proof-texts," people will assume that you are really speaking from the Bible.

Jesus replies with Scripture, but applied correctly - "forcing" the Father into such a demonstration would be tempting God, which the Scriptures strictly forbid. This warns us against demanding something "spectacular" from God to "prove" His love or concern for us; He has already given the ultimate demonstration of His love for us at the cross (Romans 5:8), and He can do nothing more "spectacular" than that!

The Lust of the Eyes

Luke 4:5: In order to be tempted, one must believe that one can deliver what is offered; i.e., for Jesus to be tempted by Satan’s offer of all the nations of the world, Satan must really possess them!

Jesus Christ knew that He was destined to rule, so what is Satan really offering Him? A shortcut! (Bypassing the cross!) 

How does one find the Will of God? Not through nature as it is under the curse. Through the Word of God. 

Daniel 4:25: All kings are set up by God. He gives the kingdoms to whosoever He will (Dan 10 spiritual warfare!). “Hath God said” is what Satan first said to Eve. Satan continues today by casting doubt about the inspiration, inerrancy of God’s Word. Nowhere in Scripture do you find a servant of God reading the Scripture in anything other than a literal way. Psalm 2 describes and Revelation details a time when the kingdoms of this world will take up arms against God! “The god of this world” is a title of Satan.

 
⁸⁾ Again, 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."
¹⁰⁾ Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only."
¹¹⁾ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

The third temptation: an appeal to the lust of the eyes

Essentially, this vision was an invitation to shortcut the cross: Jesus came to win these things back from Satan's domain, and Satan offers them to Jesus, if He will only worship him. It again may seem a small thing; Jesus could lay claim to all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and do so without enduring the cross - all He would have to do is give Satan what he has been longing for ever since he fell: worship and recognition from God Himself. This is a revealing insight into Satan's heart; worship and recognition are far more precious to him than the possession of the kingdoms of the world and their glory; he is still the one who said I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. (Isaiah 14:13-14)

Evidently, Satan has authority over this world and its governments; the temptation could not have been real unless there is some real sense that Satan does "possess" all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. That authority was given to Satan by Adam and his descendants; God gave Adam the earth as a stewardship, and Adam willingly turned it over to Satan - and all Adam's descendants have "approved" of that decision in one manner or another! Of course, ultimately, all things belong to God; but God allows Satan to function as the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4) for a purpose - that is the reason the world is as it is!

Jesus replies with Scripture again, and commands the devil to leave - even as we can resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7).

Scripture says if you resist the devil, he will flee from you. Jesus here resists him three times and the devil fled. Satan does leave, thereby showing that he is NOT omnipresent. He can be bound, he has location.

God never forsakes those who endure through temptation; even as angels came and ministered to Jesus, God will find a way to minister to us and meet our needs as we endure temptation.

Observations:

Notice the mode of Satan's attack: the use of lies and deception; primarily, Satan is a deceiver, and for those who live in light of the cross, it is his only tool, having been disarmed at the cross of his "real" weapons and power (Colossians 2:15). But deception is extremely effective at leading us into sin, and at causing us to live lives of fear and unbelief.

Jesus showed the only effective counter to deception: God's truth, not man's wisdom.   

1) First, see temptation for what it is: a lie

2) Then, combat temptation with the word of God

3) Build yourself up in the truth - have it in your heart

Each passage Jesus quoted back to Satan in this section comes from Deuteronomy chapters 6 and 8; Jesus was probably meditating on those very passages, and He fought Satan with the "fresh bread" He had been feeding on - make sure that you always have some "fresh bread" to answer Satan with!

Jesus Begins to Preach

¹²⁾ When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. ¹³⁾ Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—¹⁴⁾ to 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--
    ¹⁶⁾ the people living in darkness
       have seen a great light;
   on those living in the land of the shadow of death
       a light has dawned."

(Sea of Galilee and Jordan Valley today)

The first Galilean ministry

As is his custom, Matthew sees Jesus' ministry in Galilee as a fulfillment of prophecy: light has come to this region, largely populated by Gentiles. 

Galilee was not some small, backward region; in an area of about 60 by 30 miles, Josephus says that there were some 204 villages with none having less than 15,000 people; that gives a population of more than 3 million for the region.

It was predominately Gentile in its population, but with a large number of Jewish cities and citizens.

Galilee was known as an incredibly fertile region; everywhere there were farms taking advantage of the good soil.

¹⁷⁾ From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

Jesus' message: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand

Jesus' gospel began the same place the gospel of John the Baptist did: repent! In fact, since Jesus waited until John had been put in prison (verse 12), He probably sees Himself as picking up where John left off - to go further than John ever could, for certain.

Some make elaborate distinctions between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God; there actually seems to be no difference at all, especially in light of the Jewish custom of often not even naming God directly, but referring to Him by the place where He lives (heaven) - a custom that Matthew, a Jew writing to Jews, often employs.
 

The Calling of the First Disciples

¹⁸⁾ As 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." ²⁰⁾ At once they left their nets and followed him.
²¹⁾ Going 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, ²²⁾ and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Four called as disciples

This was not the first time Jesus met these men; other gospels describe previous encounters - but this is when Jesus called them to leave their professions and follow Him "full-time".

It was customary for a rabbi to have disciples; there was nothing "cult-like" about Jesus asking these men to be with Him constantly; in effect, He is offering them scholarships in the best "seminary" imaginable. This is a good way to teach someone ministry, in an "apprentice" fashion rather than through formal schooling, and it was the customary method in Jesus' day.

The immediate response of these disciples is worthy of imitation; the disciples did then what disciples of Jesus do today: they followed Him.
 

Jesus Heals the Sick

²³⁾ Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. ²⁴⁾ 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, and he healed them. ²⁵⁾ Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.

A description of Jesus' ministry in Galilee 

Jesus was a teacher who did miraculous works; the emphasis was always on His teaching ministry, both to the inner circle of His disciples and to the multitudes who would listen to Him.

Jesus ability to heal those with all different kinds of diseases demonstrates that He has authentic power over the damage done by the fall of man; His authority over demons shows He has authentic power over all creation.

The following created by such dramatic miracles was for a purpose: to teach them, not simply to impress them.

Chapter 5

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