Matthew chapter 4
Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus lives on the Word of God. He begins his public ministry. He calls his first disciples.
SATAN TEMPTS JESUS IN THE WILDERNESS
VERSE 1. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
led up by the Spirit. The Lord Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit.
Are you led by the Holy Spirit? How does that happen?
into the wilderness. The Holy Spirit led the Lord Jesus into a barren desert.
Has the Holy Spirit ever led you into a place that seemed like a barren desert?
To fast is to abstain from eating. And possibly drinking. Or to follow a restricted diet. It is a wonderful companion during special times in our lives. Read more »
VERSE 2. When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward.
fasted forty days and forty nights. Just before beginning his public ministry, Jesus went out into the desert. There, he fasted for 40 days and nights. Read more »
To fast is to abstain from eating. And possibly drinking. Or to follow a restricted diet. It is a wonderful companion during special times in our lives. Read more »
VERSE 3. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
The tempter came. During Jesus Christ’s days of fasting and praying, Satan appeared and tempted him.
command that these stones become bread. The first temptation was with food.
That would be a fantastic temptation for someone who had been fasting for weeks on end. But it wasn’t just a temptation to eat. It was a thinly veiled smokescreen for Satan’s real agenda.
Satan wanted Jesus to give up his ministry to be the Savior. How did the Lord Jesus respond to this temptation from Satan?
JESUS LIVES ON THE WORD OF GOD
VERSE 4. But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Gospel According to Matthew.
This verse seems like a command! Would you consider acting on it? More commands of Jesus Christ from the Gospel According to Matthew and from the entire Bible.
he answered. Jesus countered what Satan said. In essence, Jesus said no. And so can you. When you’re being tempted, when you’re under spiritual attack, the Christlike response is this: to say NO!
It is written. To deal with Satan and temptation, Jesus Christ turned to the Scriptures.
Jesus was obviously quite familiar with the Bible. The reading of the Bible was almost certainly a regular practice in the life of Jesus the Christ. He probably read the Bible every day.
Even though he was God the Son, and even though in his Divinity he knew all things, still, in his humanity, he subjected himself to the same limitations that we experience. To become familiar with the Bible, Jesus would have put himself through the same disciplines that we would need to practice.
Are you familiar with the Bible? Jesus was. Do you read it each day? Jesus almost certainly did. Do you have some plan for reading the Bible? Take a look at our Bible Reading Project. We read a chapter of the Bible each day. It is easy to get started, and easy to keep going.
Man shall not live by bread alone. Jesus Christ quotes from the Book of Deuteronomy:
Deuteronomy 8:3. He humbled you, allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know, that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the LORD’s mouth.
The Lord Jesus quotes from that verse directly. For Jesus to be able to quote any Bible verse, he would have memorized it.
Do you memorize Scripture verses? Do you have a plan for it? Jesus almost certainly did. Take a look at our Scripture Memory Project. We memorize a verse or so each week. It is easy to get started, and easy to keep going.
Reading and memorizing the Bible are powerful weapons in the arsenal of spiritual warfare. They are powerful tools of discipleship.
by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. We need the Scriptures each day of our lives, much more than we need physical food.
The Scripture texts have a human author. But that human author was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Read more »
VERSE 5. Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple,
VERSE 6. and 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, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
He will put his angels in charge of you. The devil tempts us with near-truths, and not with obvious falsehoods.
VERSE 7. Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’ ”
You shall not test the Lord. Many translations say “You shall not tempt the Lord.
VERSE 8. Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory.
VERSE 9. He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”
VERSE 10. Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’ ”
VERSE 11. Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.
JESUS HEARS THAT JOHN WAS ARRESTED
VERSE 12a. Now when Jesus heard that John was delivered up,
JESUS BEGINS HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY
VERSE 12b. he withdrew into Galilee.
VERSE 13. Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
VERSE 14. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
VERSE 15. “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,
VERSE 16. the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them light has dawned.”
light has dawned. Jesus Christ went to people who were in darkness. He went out of his way, up north to Zebulun and Naphtali, the so-called land of the Gentiles, to reach out to those who needed him the most.
Jesus is the light, and anyone can have him. He does not come with a price tag. He cannot to be earned. With Jesus, there is no price. He is joy beyond space and time.
The great light of Jesus has shone into your life. You are among the people that Isaiah prophesied.
VERSE 17. From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Gospel According to Matthew and from the entire Bible.
This verse seems like a command! Would you consider acting on it? More commands of Jesus Christ from the Gospel According to Matthew and from the entire Bible.
Repent! The Greek word means “to change your mind.” It does not mean “to feel sorry for.”
For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. This is almost the same message that John the Baptist preached. However, there is a difference.
When John the Baptist preached about the Kingdom of God, he was pointing to Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ preached about the kingdom of God, he was speaking of himself.
JESUS CALLS HIS FIRST DISCIPLES
VERSE 18. Walking by 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.
VERSE 19. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men.”
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Gospel According to Matthew and from the entire Bible.
This verse seems like a command! Would you consider acting on it? More commands of Jesus Christ from the Gospel According to Matthew and from the entire Bible.
to them. Jesus Christ selected ordinary people. He would make them fishers of men.
I will make you fishers for men. Being a follower of Jesus Christ means going fishing. We are to recruiting outsiders to Jesus. Being a Christian and doing the ministry of evangelism go hand-in-hand.
VERSE 20. They immediately left their nets and followed him.
VERSE 21. 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. He called them.
VERSE 22. They immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.
JESUS PREACHES GOOD NEWS
VERSE 23. Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.
healing every disease and every sickness. Does God desire that people be healed? This verse is a great answer.
VERSE 24. The report about him went out into all Syria. They brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, possessed with demons, epileptics, and paralytics; and he healed them.
VERSE 25. Great multitudes from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and from beyond the Jordan followed him.
beyond the Jordan. They may have been Gentiles.
MATTHEW
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, Commands, Spirituality, Miracles
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.