Matthew 4:1

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit,.... The Evangelist having finished his account of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ; of his ministry and baptism; and particularly of the baptism of

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Then , [ Tote (G5119)] - an indefinite note of sequence.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 4 Christ fasts forty days, is tempted of the devil, and ministered unto by angels. He dwelleth in Capernaum, begins to preach, calleth Peter and Andrew, ,22 James and John, teacheth in the synagogues, and healeth the diseased. This is mentioned by two of the other evangelists, . Luke saith that, being full of the Holy Ghost, he returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit, & c. Mark saith, immediately the Spirit drove him. Great manifestations of Divine love are commonly followed with great temptations. Others observe, that temptations usually follow baptism, the beginnings of spiritual life, and covenants made with God. He was led up: some think he was taken up; Mark useth the word ekballei, the Spirit thrust him out: we must not understand an act of compulsion, doubtless he went voluntarily. Of the Spirit; the Holy Spirit, that lighted upon him as a dove. Into the wilderness. Mark’ s saying, , that he was there with wild beasts, lets us know that it was not such a wilderness as John began to preach in, ; but a howling wilderness full of wild beasts. The end is expressed in the last words, to be tempted of the devil: thus his temptations are distinguished from Divine temptations, such as Abraham had, ; and by tempted here is meant solicited, or moved to sin, in which sense God tempteth no man, . The general notion of tempting is, making a trial; God makes a trial of his people for the proof and manifestation of their gracious habit. Satan, by moving to sin, makes a trial of corruption, which was the reason that, although Christ was tempted, that he might be able to succour those that are tempted, , and that he might taste all those evils to which we are exposed, and might overcome the devil; yet when the Prince of this world came, he could effect nothing against him, because he found nothing in him to comply with his motions.

1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Ver. 1. Then was Jesus led up] Lest haply the people, hearing that testimony from heaven, should come and take him by force to make him a king, as John 6:15; to try their love also to him, who was thus overclouded as the sun in his first rising. Led up of the Spirit] The better to fit him thereby for the ministry. Luther observed of himself, that when God was about to set him upon any special service, he either laid some fit of sickness upon him beforehand, or turned Satan loose upon him; who so buffeted him (again) by his temptations, ut nec calor, nec sanguis, nec sensus, nec vex superesset, that neither heat, nor blood, nor sense, nor voice remained: the very venom of the temptations drank up his spirit, and his body seemed dead, as Justus Jonas, that was by and saw it, reported of him in his epistle to Melancthon. Hence also it was that in his sermons God gave him such a grace, saith Mr. Foxe, that when he preached, they that heard him thought, every one, his own temptation to be severally touched and noted. Whereof when signification was given unto him by his friends, and he demanded how that could be? "Mine own manifold temptations," saith he, "and experiences are the cause thereof:" for from his tender years he was much beaten and exercised with spiritual conflicts, as Melancthon in his Life testifieth. Also Hieronymus Wellerus, scholar to the said Mr. Luther, recordeth, that he oftentimes heard Luther his master report of himself, that he had been assaulted and vexed with all kinds of temptations (saving only with that of covetousness), and was thereby fitted for the work of the Lord. Whence also he was wont to say that three things made a preacher, -meditation, prayer, and temptation. Into the wilderness] Likely the wilderness of Sinai, where Moses and Elias had fasted before. These three great fasters met afterwards in Mount Tabor, Matthew 17:3. God promiseth to turn his people’ s fasting into feasting, Zechariah 8:19. The devil took advantage of the place here, to assault our Saviour in the desert, but was beaten on his own dunghill, that we might overcome through him that loved us, Romans 8:37, the fiend being already foiled by Christ. To be tempted of the devil] No sooner was Christ out of the water of baptism than in the fire of temptation. So David, after his anointing, was hunted as a partridge upon the mountains. Israel is no sooner out of Egypt than Pharaoh pursues them. Hezekiah no sooner had kept that solemn passover, than Sennacherib comes up against him. St Paul is assaulted with vile temptations after the abundance of his revelations, 2 Corinthians 12:7. And Christ teacheth us, after forgiveness of sins obtained, to look for temptations and to pray against them, Matthew 6:13.

IV. (1) The narrative of the Temptation is confessedly one of the most mysterious in the Gospel records. In one respect it stands almost, if not altogether, alone. It could not have come, directly or indirectly, from an eye-witness. We are compelled to look on it either as a mythical after-growth; as a supernatural revelation of facts that could not otherwise be known; or, lastly, as having had its source in our Lord’s own report of what He had passed through. The first of these views is natural enough with those who apply the same theory to all that is marvellous and supernatural in our Lord’s life. As a theory generally applicable, however, to the interpretation of the Gospels, that view has not been adopted in this Commentary, and there are certainly no reasons why, rejecting it elsewhere, we should accept it here. Had it been based upon the narrative of the temptation of the first Adam, in Genesis 3, we should have expected the recurrence of the same symbolism, of the serpent and the trees. Nothing else in the Old Testament, nothing in the popular expectations of the Christ, could have suggested anything of the kind. The ideal Christ of those expectations would have been a great and mighty king, showing forth his wisdom and glory, as did the historical son of David; not a sufferer tried and tempted. The forms of the Temptation, still more the answers to them, have, it will be seen, a distinct individuality about them, just conceivable in the work of some consummate artist, but utterly unlike the imagery, beautiful or grand, which enters into most myths. Here, therefore, the narrative will be dealt with as the record of an actual experience. To assume that this record was miraculously revealed to St. Matthew and St. Luke is, however, to introduce an hypothesis which cannot be proved, and which is, at least, not in harmony with their general character as writers. They are, one by his own statement, the other by inference from the structure and contents of his Gospel, distinctly compilers from many different sources, with all the incidental variations to which such a process is liable. There is no reason to look on this narrative as an exception to the general rule. The very difference in the order of the temptations is, as far as it goes, against the idea of a supernatural revelation. There remains, then, the conclusion that we have here that which originated in some communication from our Lord’s own lips to one of His disciples, His own record of the experience of those forty days. So taken, it will be seen that all is coherent, and in some sense (marvellous as the whole is), natural, throwing light on our Lord’s past life, explaining much that followed in His teaching. Led up of the spirit.—Each narrator expresses the same fact in slightly different language. St. Luke (Luke 4:1) “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, was led in the wilderness.” St.

CHAPTER IV. Jesus, in the wilderness, is tempted by Satan, 1-11. He goes into Galilee, 12; and Capernaum, 13. The prophecy which was thus fulfilled, 14-16. He begins to preach publicly, 17. Calls Simon Peter, and his brother Andrew, 18-20. Calls also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, 21, 22. Preaches and works miracles throughout Galilee, 23. Becomes famous in Syria, and is followed by multitudes from various quarters, among whom he works a great variety of miracles, 24, 25. NOTES ON CHAP. IV. Verse 1. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit] This transaction appears to have taken place immediately after Christ's baptism; and this bringing up of Christ was through the influence of the Spirit of God; that Spirit which had rested upon him in his baptism. To be tempted] The first act of the ministry of Jesus Christ was a combat with Satan. Does not this receive light from Genesis 3:17. I will put enmity between the woman's seed and thy seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Ch. Matthew 4:1-11. The Temptation of Jesus. Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13 St Mark’s account is short; the various temptations are not specified; he adds the striking expression “he was with the wild beasts.” St Luke places the temptation of the Kingdoms of the World before that of the Pinnacle of the Temple. Generally it may be remarked the account can have come from no other than Jesus Himself. The words of the Evangelist describe an actual scene—not a dream. The devil really came to Jesus, but in what form he came is not stated. These were not isolated temptations in the life of Jesus. Cp. Luke 22:28, “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.” But they are typical temptations, comprehending all the forms of temptation by which human nature can be assailed. For, as it has often been said, the three temptations cover the same ground as “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16) in which St John sums up the evil of the world. Viewing the temptation in a personal reference to Jesus Christ we discern Him tempted (1) As the Son of Man—the representative of humanity—in whom human nature in its perfection triumphs over sin. An important element in the Atonement. (2) As the second Adam regaining for man what the first Adam lost for man. (3) As the Son of Abraham following the fortunes of his race, tempted in the wilderness as the Hebrews were tempted. A thought present implicitly in our Lord’s answers. (4) As the true Messiah or Christos rejecting the unreal greatness which was the aim of false Messiahs. The lesson of each and all of the temptations is trust in God and submission to God’s will—the result of Metanoia (repentance).

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit - Led up by the Spirit. Luke says Luke 4:1 that Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit;” and it was by his influence, therefore, that he went into the desert to be tempted.

1. Led up… into the wilderness — As the preposition up indicates that the wilderness was high ground, and the circumstances of the temptation suggest the nearness of the temple, we may accept the