ESV Study Bible | English Standard Version
Matthew 4
The Temptation of Jesus
4 s Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness t to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting u forty days and forty nights, he v was hungry. 3 And w the tempter came and said to him, “If you are x the Son of God, command y these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, z “It is written,
a “‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 b Then the devil took him to c the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
d “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again e it is written, f ‘You shall not g put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 h Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, i Satan! For j it is written,
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, m angels came and were ministering to him.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
12 Now when he heard that n John had been arrested, o he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving p Nazareth he went and lived in q Capernaum by r the sea, in the territory of s Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 t so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 u “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 v the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and w shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”
17 x From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, z “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
18 a While walking by b the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you c fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds
23 d And he went throughout all Galilee, e teaching in their synagogues and f proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and g healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all h Syria, and g they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and i pains, j those oppressed by demons, k epileptics, and l paralytics, and he healed them. 25 m And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the n Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
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Matt. 4:1–25 Jesus the Messiah Begins to Advance the Messianic Kingdom. Jesus triumphs over the devil in the wilderness (vv. 1–11), proclaims the kingdom of God (vv. 12–17), and calls disciples to follow him (vv. 18–22).
Matt. 4:1–11 Temptations of the Messiah. The temptations are a diabolical attempt to subvert God's plan for human redemption by causing Jesus to fall into sin and disobedience, thus disqualifying him as the sinless Savior.
Matt. 4:1 Jesus was led up by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit guided Jesus in his earthly life, providing a pattern for Jesus' followers to be empowered and led by the Holy Spirit (cf. notes on Gal. 5:16; 5:17; 5:18). The Greek for tempted (peirazō) can also mean “test.” While God clearly never tempts anyone to do evil (see note on James 1:13), he does use circumstances to test a person's character (e.g., Heb. 11:17). by the devil. Diabolos (Gk. “slanderer, accuser”) is here preceded by the definite article to indicate that this one who tempts Jesus is uniquely “the devil” (see also Matt. 4:5, 8, 11; 13:39; 25:41). Although the devil intends to thwart God's plan and purposes, the Father uses his evil intention for the good purpose of strengthening Jesus in his messianic role.
Matt. 4:2 fasting forty days and forty nights. Jesus' experience of 40 days of fasting in the wilderness corresponds to Israel's experience of 40 years of testing in the wilderness (Deut. 8:2–3). Jesus endured his testing victoriously and obediently. Moses also fasted and prayed for 40 days and nights on two occasions (Ex. 24:18; 34:28; Deut. 9:9, 11, 18, 25; 10:10; cf. Elijah in 1 Kings 19:8). Fasting was a means of focusing intently on prayer. Forty days is about the longest a human can fast without permanent bodily harm.
Matt. 4:3 If you are the Son of God. Jesus, of course, was (and is) the Son of God, but he refused to be tricked by the devil into using his divine prerogatives to make the trial any easier for himself. Jesus obeyed as a man, as the representative for all who believe, so as to “fulfill all righteousness” (3:15) on behalf of his people.
Matt. 4:4 It is written. Jesus responds to each temptation by quoting from Deuteronomy, linking his experience to Israel's in the desert. In Deut. 8:2 Moses reminds the Israelites of God's testing through hunger and his miraculous provision of manna.
Matt. 4:5 The holy city is Jerusalem, and the pinnacle of the temple is probably the southeast corner of the temple area, the top of which was some 300 feet (91 m) above the floor of the Kidron Valley (cf. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 15.411–412). See The Temple Mount in the Time of Jesus.
Matt. 4:6–7 for it is written. The devil's quotation of Psalm 91 is a blatant misuse of Scripture in an effort to manipulate Jesus. Such a spectacular display as jumping from this great height unharmed would have gained him an enthusiastic following, but it would not have followed the Father's messianic and redemptive plan of suffering and proclaiming the kingdom of heaven.
Matt. 4:9 fall down and worship me. The devil offers a shortcut to Jesus' future reign in God's kingdom—a shortcut that side-steps Jesus' redemptive work on the cross and comes at the cost of exchanging the love of the Father for the worship of Satan. All these I will give you was a lie (see note on Luke 4:5–8; cf. John 8:44.)
Matt. 4:11 Then the devil left him. Jesus resisted the devil by standing firm on God's Word, setting an example for his followers (cf. James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:9). angels came and were ministering to him. Their ministering probably included much needed physical sustenance. All of heaven knew the significance of Jesus' initial victory in this cosmic battle.
Matt. 4:12–25 Jesus the Messiah Begins His Galilean Ministry. The duration of Jesus' ministry has traditionally been thought to have been three years: a year of obscurity, a year of popularity, and a year of increasing rejection. Matthew and the other Synoptic Gospels (Mark and Luke) largely omit discussing the first, obscure year, but it is recounted in John's Gospel (cf. John 1–4).
Matt. 4:12 John had been arrested. Jesus returns to Galilee amid a gathering storm over the imprisonment of John the Baptist by Herod Antipas, one of the sons of Herod the Great (cf. 11:2; 14:1–12; see Jewish and Roman Rulers).
Matt. 4:13 Capernaum, on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee (see note on Mark 1:21), will remain Jesus' base of operations and his new hometown for the duration of his ministry in Galilee.
Matt. 4:16 darkness . . . light. The region of Zebulun and Naphtali (v. 13) had experienced turmoil under Assyrian domination (2 Kings 15:29) and the Jewish inhabitants had longed for liberation from Gentile rule. They are now the first to see the great light of God's deliverance in Jesus.
Matt. 4:17 From that time marks a significant turning point in Matthew's narrative (cf. 16:21), indicating that the preparations for Jesus' messianic ministry are complete. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus' message builds on that of John the Baptist (see note on 3:2).
Matt. 4:18–22 Peter, James, and John will become the inner circle among Jesus' 12 disciples.
Matt. 4:18–19 two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew. These brothers had been followers of Jesus for about a year (cf. John 1:35–42) but apparently had returned for a time to their normal work. casting a net into the sea. A circular cast net, 20–25 feet (6.1–7.6 m) in diameter with lead sinkers attached to the outer edge, enveloped fish as it sank. Follow me. Jesus calls them to abandon their ordinary occupations (Matt. 4:20) and accompany him full-time.
Matt. 4:21 A boat, dated from around or before the first century a.d. by radiocarbon analysis and associated pottery, was found in the Sea of Galilee south of Kibbutz Ginnosar in 1986 (see Galilean Fishing Boat). It is consistent with boat representations in mosaics from Migdal/Magdala (also on the Sea of Galilee). Approximately 26.5 feet long and 7.5 feet wide (8 by 2.3 m), it could hold about 15 people (including four rowers and a helmsman). It probably had both fore and aft decks and a central mast and sail, with positions for two sets of oars on both sides.
Matt. 4:22 left the boat and their father. They relinquished commitment to the family business and their livelihood to join Jesus' messianic mission.
Matt. 4:23 The Galilee region had a population of about 300,000 in 200 or more villages and towns, with no major cities in the area. Jesus' ministry included teaching disciples and those already familiar with his message, proclaiming truth to those unfamiliar with the message, and healing physical, emotional, and spiritual infirmities. Healing of every disease and every affliction gives an amazing foretaste of the age to come, where there will be no more disease (1 Cor. 15:42–43; Phil. 3:21; Rev. 21:4). Jesus combined ministry that met people's physical needs with ministry to their minds and hearts (proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom). On synagogues, see note on Luke 4:16 and The Synagogue and Jewish Worship.
Matt. 4:24 Syria. A Gentile region north of Galilee, between Damascus and the Mediterranean Sea.
Matt. 4:25 The great crowds that followed Jesus had responded in some sense to his teaching and healing ministry but had not yet become his disciples (cf. 5:1). Decapolis (Gk. “ten cities”) is the Roman and generally Gentile district to the south and east of the Sea of Galilee. Beyond the Jordan commonly referred to the region of Perea, or more generally the territory east of the Jordan River.
