New Testament Commentary - Matthew 4

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 4 Jesus fasts forty days and is tempted—He begins his ministry, calls disciples, and heals the sick.	Jesus went into the wilderness to be with God, to be administered to by angels and prepare himself for His formal ministry by fasting and praying—At the end of his fasting and preparation he is tempted by Satan—He then begins his ministry and calls various disciptles, and he heals the sick.
Matthew's Account of the Three Temptations
1 THEN was Jesus ^aled up of the Spirit into the wilderness ^bto be ^ctempted of the devil.		1^a TG Guidance, Divine ^b JST Matt. 4:1 ... to be with God. ^c TG Jesus Christ, Temptation of; TG Temptation; TG Test, Try, Prove
1. Physical Bodily Desires and Cravings
2 And when he had ^afasted ^bforty days and forty nights, ^che was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the ^atempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made ^bbread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, ^aMan shall not ^blive by ^cbread alone, but by every ^dword that proceedeth out of the ^emouth of God^a.	4^a but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God This was a strong counter and of a rebuke unto Lucifer, for in the pre-heaven Lucifer has stood opposed to God the Father's selection of Jehovah and had not conformed to 'every word of God'. And it was that rebellion against the word of God for which Lucifer was called by the name of Satan meaning accuser or adversary and then cast down out of heaven.	1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
2. Pride of Selfish Concernings
5 ^aThen the devil taketh him up into the ^bholy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 ^aAnd saith unto him, ^bIf thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not ^atempt the Lord thy God.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
3. Power of Authority Over Others
8 ^aAgain, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the ^bkingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 ^aAnd saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, ^aSatan: for it is written, Thou shalt ^bworship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, ^aand, behold, ^bangels came and ministered unto him.
12 ¶ Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into ^aGalilee; 13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14 That it might be ^afulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15 The land of ^aZabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16 The people which sat in ^adarkness saw great ^blight; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
17 ¶ From that time Jesus began to ^apreach, and to say, ^bRepent: for the ^ckingdom of heaven ^dis at hand.
18 ¶ And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were ^afishers. 19 And he saith unto them, ^aFollow me, and I will make you ^bfishers of men^a. 20 And they straightway left their nets, and ^afollowed him.	19^a Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men Now we need not suppose that Jesus and Andrew and Peter were stangers, for the Gospel of John sets out that Andrew and Peter were disciples of John previous and had been introduced to the fact that Jesus was the Messiah (John 1:40-42). But that should not detract from the manner with which Andrew and Peter responded immediately to Jesus' call.
21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of ^aZebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he ^bcalled them. 22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
23 ¶ And Jesus went about all ^aGalilee, ^bteaching in their synagogues, and ^cpreaching the gospel of the kingdom, and ^dhealing all manner of ^esickness and all manner of disease among the ^fpeople. 24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with ^adevils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the ^bpalsy; and he ^chealed them. 25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.