Click link to the next study in my sequential chapter study through the Gospel of Matthew.
"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness"— "After the Red Sea crossing, the Israelites spend 40 years in the wilderness—led by the pillar of fire, God’s Spirit. Immediately after baptism, Jesus is ‘led up of the Spirit into the wilderness’ for 40 days (Matthew 4:1, 2). At the end of the 40 years, Moses writes Deuteronomy. At the end of Jesus’ 40 days, He resists Satan’s temptations by quoting three Scriptures—all from Deuteronomy!” (Spiritual Israel by Doug Batchelor)— "'to be tempted’ to expose its faults, that they may be mended. So in John 6:6, 'prove'; 1 Corinthians 13:5, 'examine'; Revelation 2:2, 'tried'; Genesis 22:1 (God 'did tempt' Abraham; Rev. Ver., 'prove'); Exodus 20:20, 'prove,' etc...“(John Broadus) "'by the devil.' (1)—"he, who vexed Job, deceived David, and gave Peter a heavy fall....." (Wayne S. Baxter) "The devil must not be reduced to impersonal 'forces' behind racism and pogroms (Schweizer)." (D. A. Carson)
"'And when He [Jesus] had fasted'- associated with humbling oneself (cf. Lev 16:29, 31; Num 29:7; Ps 35:13; Isa 58:3, 5), which is the very thing the Lord intended for Israel in the wilderness (Deut 8:23, 16)..." (Mosaic Imagery In The Gospel Of Matthew by Wayne S. Baxter) for "'forty days and forty nights'— A forty days' fast was accomplished by Moses (Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 9:18), and by Elijah (1 Kings 19:8)… The forty days' fast became a basis for the temptation." (J. W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton, The Fourfold Gospel)— “'afterward He was hungry.' (2) “It would seem that over the period Jesus was so taken up with His time with His Father that He was not conscious of weakness or hunger, and it was not therefore until He came out of that state that He ‘became hungry’. (Peter Pett) “Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, 'If You are the Son of God,’— This is not new to Jesus. We heard the voice at His baptism— ‘You are My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.’— ‘command that these stones become bread.' He answered: It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’ (4) He "concedes the usual order of things, the dependence of man upon food for the ordinary means to live. But He declares that God is not bound by these means but may support life by a word of His mouth.” (Paul E. Kretzmann)
"Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,' (5) At that very moment, the sacred light of Divine Presence was shining in its inner sanctuary.” (The Rev. James Vaughan)— "and said to Him: If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' (6) (Ps 91:11-12) Satan quoted Scripture. “The enemy knows how to do that; but he either leaves something out from the Word or he adds something to it. In quoting from Psalm 91, he omitted seven words, ‘to keep thee in all thy ways.’” (Arno Gaebelein) "Does Psalm 91 mean that those who trust God won't be snared, won't get a disease, won't fall in battle, won't experience evil, won't lose tent-mates to the plague, won't crash against a stone, but will always be delivered and protected? … Instead of following Satan's use of Psalm 91, Jesus embraced the path of suffering [‘in all your ways’]. The thorns penetrated His scalp. The whip lacerated His back. The rod struck on His head. The nails pierced His hands. The spear severed his side. And he was killed by his enemies.” (John Piper)— But kept by obedience thru the resurrection. "Jesus said to him, ‘you shall not tempt Yahweh your God as you tempted Him in Massah. (Deut. 6:16, Matt 4:7) So, in tempting Jesus, Satan was tempting God.
"'Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, 'All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.' (8-9) Here was presented the riches, the glories, and pleasures of the world in the aggregate; the glory for which the Sesostrises, the Nebuchadnezzars, the Alexanders, the Cæsars have waded through rivers of blood. The world has bowed to these fading glories and worshipped their gods.” (Joseph Sutcliffe) “What can be more impudent than for the creature to expect a homage to him from Him who was his Creator." (Matthew Poole)— even Christ. "Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” (10) (Deut 6:13) Jesus refused to give homage to "the prince of the power of the air." Jesus is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The first commandment "forbiddeth the denying, or not worshipping and glorifying the true God as God, and our God; and the giving of that worship and glory to any other, which is due to him alone." (Michael P.V. Barrett)
“Israel's wilderness temptations revealed their complete failure, whereas the temptation of our Lord was permitted in order to reveal His absolute perfection…. His life was one of perfect obedience to the Father's will in all things. We are ‘elect... through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience... of Jesus Christ’.” (F. B. Hole) “It is precisely at this point that the Son of God and servant themes intersect. These themes first converged in 3:17, where the heavenly voice doubly alluded to Ps 2:7 and Isa 42:1.24 Ps 2:7 refers to Jesus’ Sonship while Isa 42:1 refers to his servanthood. Jesus’ Sonship, then, is superior to Israel’s both ontologically... and functionally... Clearly for Matthew, then, the first son merely pointed to the last Son. The first exodus, led by Moses and ending in failure, anticipated the final exodus accomplished by Jesus, who never fails." (Mosaic Imagery in the Gospel of Matthew by Wayne Baxter)
"'Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.' (11) The angelic help of Psalm 91:11, which Jesus refused to call for illegitimately (vv. 6–7), is now appropriately given. Ministered implies particularly the provision of food, and again the experience of Elijah seems to be recalled (1 Kgs 19:5–8). (R. T. France)
"’Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.’) “The casting of John into prison, as verse Matthew 4:12 shows us, was the event which led the Lord to enter fully upon His public ministry.” (F. B. Hole) “The Assyrians' attack on the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, in the northern part of Israel, came in two waves. The first 'distress' resulted in the deportation of some Israelites. The second oppression was much heavier, resulting in the deportation of virtually everyone. Then, the Assyrians imported Gentile peoples to the area of Zebulon and Naphtali, the area of Galilee. Their descendants—the Samaritans—heavily populated Galilee in Christ's day.” (Forerunner Commentary) "That such an area should be the place of revelation of the Jewish Messiah needed to be justified (cf. 2:23), and that justification Matthew finds in Isaiah’s prediction of new light dawning in Galilee after the devastation caused by the Assyrian invasion." (R. T. France)
“And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned..” (Isaiah 9:2) (12- 16)"And Isaiah identifies that light with the child on whose shoulders will rest all authority. He will be named 'Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.' His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this (Isa. 9:6–7).” (Brazos Theological Commentary by Stanley Hauerwas)"From that time" —like the Baptist— "Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' (17) He announces that the Kingdom has drawn nigh in that He, the King, is standing in their midst to establish that Kingdom. He never said nor taught of a Kingdom within them. All spiritualizing on these lines of a Kingdom within, which our Lord is made to teach here in Matthew, is wrong. It is the Kingdom John had announced which He now preaches." (Gaebelein)
“And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them,’ ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ (18-19) “The Master needed men who could help Him communicate a life-or-death message to every country and in all the languages on earth. Suppose you had faced such a task. Where would you have looked for qualified spokesmen and personal representatives? I can’t answer for others, but I think I would have headed straight for the university centers where linguistics and communication skills were honed to perfection. Jesus didn’t do that. He passed by the great rabbinical schools of His day and went down by the seaside where men were casting their nets for fish. There He called His disciples from among those who were rough and crude and even vulgar. He chose some who could not speak properly, even in their own provincial dialect! How could those uneducated peasants from the lowest levels of society ever meet the requirements of His worldwide mission.” (The Riches of His Grace by Joe Crews) "They immediately left their nets and followed Him." "And how simple and refreshing the whole scene is! Their obedience is prompt. There is no excuse and no delay, for the King’s business requires haste." (Arno Gaebelein) “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, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.” (20-22)
Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.' Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. Great multitudes followed Him from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
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