Matthew 4
BolesMatthew 4:1-4
- THE OF JESUS
[John came baptizing, that in the baptism God might declare him his Son. This was an example and assurance he owns those who trust him.]
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.—The temptation of Jesus concludes Matthew’s account of events connected with Jesus’ entrance upon his public work; that work was now beginning. Modern scholars have speculated on whether the temptation of Jesus was real or whether it was only allegorical, there is nothing in the record of Matthew, Mark, or Luke that would lead one to think otherwise than that his temptation was as real as was his baptism. Immediately after his baptism and after God had publicly acknowledged him as his Son, and at the very beginning of his public work, the temptation of Jesus came. Satan begins his work in an active way as never before so soon as the Son of God begins his active work in the redemption of man.
“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit”; this shows that Jesus was subjected to temptation according to the will of God; a deliberate purpose of the will of God, and not a purpose of his own, was carried out in his temptation, for he was “led up of the Spirit”; the Spirit carried him away, “the Spirit driveth him forth” (Mark 1:12), he “was led in the Spirit” (Luke 4:1); it seems that Jesus was led up from the river Jordan to the mountainous range adjacent. Tradition locates the place as a rugged desolate region between Jerusalem and Jericho, and about four miles from the place of baptism and about twenty miles from Jerusalem; the divine record describes the place as “the wilderness.” Jesus was not “driven” against his own will; he voluntarily yielded to the powerful influence of the Spirit as it led him to do the will of God. In order to be the Savior of tempted mankind, it was necessary that he himself should be tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15.)
The express purpose of his being led into the wilderness was “to be tempted of the devil.” He was to be tried by the strongest solicitations to sin. “To be tempted” literally means “to be stretched out” or tried to the full strength; “tempt” is from the Latin “tento, tempto” and is an intensive form of “tendo” which means to stretch. Jesus was to be “tempted,” enticed to do wrong by the devil, in order that he might be proved and tested for God’s work.
It was the will and plan of God for Jesus to be “tempted of the devil.” The original Greek for “devil” means “calumniator, slanderer”; it is sometimes applied to men, as to Judas (John 6:70); in 1 Timothy 3:11 (slanderers);and in 2 Timothy 3:3 and Titus 2:3 (false accusers). The devil, Satan, the god of this world, is always singular, never plural; it is not the same in the original as “demon,” which means an unclean spirit which possessed men and was cast out by Jesus and his apostles. The Greek word for devil conveys the idea of deceiving, accusing, calumniating; the term is never used in the Bible to signify an evil spirit and is never used to personify the evil in man or in the world. The devil is represented in the New Testament as an adversary of human souls, endeavoring by various snares to take us captive, suggesting evil thoughts to our minds, or erasing good impressions which have been produced there, or putting hindrances in the way of good work, or inspiring persecutors of the faithful, and as certain at last to be bound in chains, and finally cast into torment. (Matthew 13:19; Luke 22:31; John 13:2; 2 Corinthians 2:11; 2 Corinthians 11:3; 2 Corinthians 11:14; Ephesians 6:11; 1 Thessalonians 2:18; 2 Timothy 2:26; 1 Peter 5:8-9; Rev. 2:10; 12 9; 20:1-3, 7-10.) It seems that the devil is a created being of the higher order than man who has fallen from his first estate. (Jude 1:6.) He cannot understand the wisdom of God or the deep purposes of God unless he has revealed them to us; it is not recorded why Jesus “fasted forty days and forty nights.” He did not fast in the ecclesiastical sense of that word, but in its strictest meaning of abstaining from all food whatsoever; Luke says that “he did eat nothing in those days.” (Luke 4:2.) Moses (Exodus 34:28 and Elijah (1 Kings 19:8) fasted the same length of time; such a fast is possible only during intense mental absorption. Moses was a representative of the law and Elijah was a representative of the prophets. Jesus was wholly absorbed by spiritual realities;this was a state which rendered him for a time independent of the common necessaries of life; we are not to understand that he was miraculously sustained during this time.
“He afterward hungered”; this became the occasion for the supreme assault of the tempter; he afterward hungered, or desired food, having eaten nothing during the forty days, his appetite probably being held in abeyance by a spiritual ecstasy, which drew his attention from his physical needs. The records of Mark and Luke lead us to believe that Jesus was tempted during the forty days, while Matthew implies that the temptation came at the close of the forty days; these records all agree, as Mark and Luke refer to the temptation as it began with his fasting, while Matthew describes the supreme effort of Satan at the conclusion of the forty days; Satan at the conclusion of the forty days summoned all of his power and made the final assault on Jesus; it is to this that Matthew directs attention.
3 And the tempter came and said unto him.—The tempter was the devil. Sometimes the temptation of Jesus has been viewed as one temptation with a threefold nature and application; again it has been viewed as three different temptations. The purpose of the devil was to get Jesus to obey him, and he makes the appeal to him in his strongest, most alluring, and most enticing way. From the words of both Mark and Luke it appears that Jesus was tempted all the time during the forty days Mark says that “he was with the wild beasts.” The words “the tempter came” need not be understood to mean the first approach, but the first recorded approach of the tempter, or at a certain time of the temptation. We do not know in what form the devil approached Jesus. He approached Eve in the Garden of Eden in the form of a serpent, and presented the same temptations to her; she yielded to the temptation.
If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.—Much discussion has been had as to whether the devil meant to cast a doubt on Jesus’ being the Son of God; some have understood “if” to have the force of “since”; this would imply no doubt; others have said that there is couched in the form of speech a doubt, and that the devil wished to incite Jesus to prove himself as the Son of God. It is claimed that three things are implied, first, that if the Son of God had come, he must be the expected Messiah; second, that the Messiah could not be any lower personage than the Son of God in a metaphysical use of that term; third, that the greatest miracles might be expected to be wrought by him if he is the Son of God. The Greek is not subjunctive but indicative; therefore the tempter puts the matter in this form and challenges Jesus to prove his claim by a miracle, and intimates that Jesus certainly has the right to do this in order to satisfy his hunger. God’s ordinary creatures may suffer, they cannot help it; but if Jesus is the Son of God, he can help it and there is no use in his suffering hunger. Here a good motive is suggested to Jesus and the sinfulness of it is an attempted skillful disguise of the motive.
“Command that these stones become bread”; stones were lying around him in the wilderness and some of them may have had the shape of loaves. This resemblance between a stone and a loaf is noted in Matthew 7:9. Luke has “stone” in the singular, while Matthew uses the plural, “stones.” Since Jesus was the Son of God, it would be easy for him to command the stones to become bread. This first temptation appears to be twofold in its nature; he is tempted to satisfy hunger and to prove himself to be the Son of God. Jesus will not use his divine power to satisfy himself or his bodily appetite, nor to demonstrate to the devil his claim as the Son of God.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.—Jesus is ready with the word of God to answer this temptation; “it is written” in Deuteronomy 8:3; these words, “it is written,” are the first upon record that were spoken by our Lord after his entrance into his public ministry; it is significant that the first word spoken by Jesus is a declaration of the authority of the scriptures. Jesus made the word of God his rule of authority; he alleged the scriptures as things undeniable even by the devil himself. It stands written and our Lord met every temptation by a quotation of scripture. The Israelites had lived by the word of God when they subsisted on the manna which was produced by his word. Jesus was hungry, and in a desert; the devil tempts him to work a miracle to supply his wants; Jesus repels the temptation to distrust God by giving the word of God. There are other things which sustain the life than bread; bread will sustain the physical body, but it cannot sustain the spiritual part of man’s nature.
But by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.—Jesus does not deny the place and value of “bread” in sustaining physical life; but he emphasizes that there is something else even more important. Man shall not live by ordinary visible food alone; other things are far more necessary to true living. This quotation was originally applied to the Israelites when they had bitterly complained of hunger in the wilderness; even they were taught that there is something more in true living than sustaining the physical part of man. God by his word can supply food out of the ordinary way; he did this in giving Israel manna to eat. God could give Jesus food from heaven; he could turn the stones into bread; but this was not God’s will. In sending the manna to the hungry Israelites, God taught them that the true bread was the bread from heaven. (Deuteronomy 8:2-3.) Jesus applies this truth to himself; his true bread was to do the will of his Father. To create bread out of stones contrary to God’s will and in obedience to Satan would be to die, not to live, and it was for this reason that the devil tempted him to do it; Jesus chose the true life, trusting God to supply his temporal wants; he honored God’s word and it sustained him.
Matthew 4:5-11
- Temptation of Jesus
5 Then the devil taketh him into the holy city.—Luke puts this temptation last, without saying that it occurred last. “Taketh him” need not be understood that the devil transported Jesus through the air; literally means “takes him with him,” or “along with him.” We have no means of knowing the manner of going; we are left to suppose that Jesus went as men usually go, and that the devil did likewise. It is a question of no practical value as to how Jesus went from the wilderness to the “holy city,” which refers to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is regarded as the holy city because the seat of the temple and its worship were located there.
And he set him on the pinnacle of the temple.—This was probably Herod’s royal portico. Jesus did not belong to the Levitical priesthood, and never entered the temple proper; he only entered the court and porches of the temple. There were the long porticoes which were covered and some of these were built up above the wall to a great height; the outer battlement of such a roof, rising above the outer wall, is probably what is here called “the pinnacle of the temple.” “The pinnacle” was some very high point of the temple building. The word translated pinnacle means literally a “little wing.” The high point was such that a fall from it would be fatal, and especially if one “cast” himself from it.
6 And saith unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down.—This temptation also seems to have a twofold meaning, appealing to the natural feeling and to the Messianic aspiration; since Jesus is the Son of God and is now upon the high pinnacle of the temple and can do nothing up there for the salvation of man, he is commanded to cast himself down. The temptation is for him to cast himself down in faith and prove that he was God’s Son. Jesus would have full proof of his divine Sonship and others would have the proof of his Messiahship if he would but just spectacularly cast himself from the pinnacle of the temple. Again this was not God’s way; although some good might result from this act as it would show how completely he trusted in God and might convince some Jews that he was under special divine protection, yet to leap from the pinnacle would not establish faith in God unless God had commanded it.
For it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee.—This time the devil imitates Jesus and quotes scripture; he quotes Psalms 91:11. He quoted verbatim from the Septuagint, but perverted the meaning of the scripture. This was written to encourage faith, but not to encourage presumption. The devil plainly makes the inference that this was a promise made to all pious men, and it must apply all the more forcibly to Jesus if he is the Son of God; this application of the promise was false. There is a general watch care of God over his people; but he has not promised to protect them from danger while they are violating his will; neither does this mean that God will put forth any extraordinary means for the protection of those who trust him. It means that man must comply with the will of God and trust in the ordinary means that God has provided for his well-being.
7 Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.—Jesus did not, as some have, accuse the devil of misquoting the scriptures; neither did he deny the promise referred to in the scripture quoted; he simply replied by giving another quotation. The quotation that Jesus gave did not contradict the quotation the devil gave; all scriptures harmonize. He who quotes scripture must understand that it harmonizes with all other statements of God; and if one quotes scripture as the authority of God, one must obey all scripture, as it represents the authority of God. Jesus quoted “Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.” This was found in Deuteronomy 6:16; the devil was violating this scripture. It is not pleasing to God to quote one scripture while trying to pervert the meaning of another scripture. A figurative expression must not be construed to mean that which it was not intended to mean neither should a promise or statement be given an unlimited application, unless the context so justifies.
The quotation that Jesus here used qualifies and interprets the one quoted by the devil, but does not refute that quotation of the devil. Jesus meant to say that the quotation of the devil was a scriptural quotation and applicable to himself and would be fulfilled in due time, but to throw oneself into unnecessary danger in order to “tempt” or test God would be a sin, and especially when it was done at the command of the devil.
8 Again, the devil taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain.—Again we have the expression “the devil taketh him”; we must understand that Jesus was not forced, but that he submitted to this tempation as it was in God’s plan a better or literal meaning is that he “takes him along with him,” or led him up or directed him to this mountain. We do not know what this “high mountain” was it is impossible for us to determine; some have thought that this was an allegorical expression or at least not a literal mountain there is nothing in the context to show that it was not literal, neither is there anything to be gained by assuming that it was figurative.
And showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.—Some think that the devil showed him all the districts of Palestine; there is no authority for rendering “world” to mean the districts of Palestine. The devil may have had supernatural power and presented to Jesus a mental vision of “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them”; again these could have been presented to Jesus by a vivid description of the kingdoms of the world; we cannot tell from the context whether Jesus saw literally the territory of the kingdom of the world or the power, authority, and glory of them;this would have to be done through a vivid imagination. It is very likely that Satan described before Jesus the kingdoms of the world and all of their glory, and in this way tempted him. Luke adds that he showed him all of these “in a moment of time” (Luke 4:5), which strengthens the idea that the vision that Jesus got was that of a supernatural conception of the kingdoms of this world.
9 All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.—Luke adds, “For it bath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.” (Luke 4:6.) Some have argued that the “kingdoms of the world” did not belong to the devil, and that he could not give them to Jesus. Wherein then is the temptation? Surely Jesus knew as much about these as did the devil. This promise of the devil implied that Jesus must unite his own efforts with those of the devil; the devil promises here to relinquish his hold on them, provided Jesus would now “fall down and worship” him. The devil is asking Jesus to transfer his allegiance from God to the devil; Jesus must acknowledge the supremacy and sovereignty of the devil. To do this would be to acknowledge a falsehood; the devil was not supreme, neither was he a sovereign; he had only such power as had been granted to him by God.
His temptation is for Jesus to make the devil a god. Reward for this is that Jesus will be second or subordinate only to the devil. The real temptation to Jesus is that he can become a king over the kingdoms of the world by falling down and worshiping the devil, whereas, if he carries out God’s plan, he must be crucified upon the cross; the way of the cross is the way to the crown with God. Will Jesus accept the proposition? Is there enough in “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them” to entice Jesus to worship the devil? Or will the vision of the cross with its humiliation and suffering with intense agony be sufficient to turn him from God’s way to that of the devil?
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan.—Jesus at once repelled Satan; in righteous indignation he denounces Satan with abhorrence as the archenemy of the Father The devil had now thrown off the mask and appeared to Jesus in his real character, so Jesus treated him accordingly. Hitherto Jesus had dealt with him according to his assumed character, although Jesus had understood the motives of the devil. The original for “get thee hence” means “begone, get out of my sight”; “Get thee hence, Satan,” is the first exclamation of which we have a record of Jesus uttering.
For it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.—This quotation is from Deuteronomy 6:13; the dismissal of Satan the tempter is made with the scripture, “it is written.” Jesus puts the emphasis on “only” when he said “and him only shalt thou serve”; Satan had asked Jesus to “fall down and worship” him, and Jesus promptly and emphatically repelled Satan by telling him that there is only one God to be worshiped, and he quotes the scriptures that prove this point. The devil is designated as “Satan” because in this temptation he displayed his real character as the enemy of God; he would take the worship and service of God’s Son and appropriate them to his own diabolical ends; in revealing himself as the enemy of God, he also reveals himself as the adversary of Jesus.
11 Then the devil leaveth him.—Luke adds “he departed from him for a season.” (Luke 4:13.) Jesus had triumphed; later he taught through James “resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7.) It is probable that the temptations were frequently renewed during the ministry of Jesus, and especially when it was about to close. (John 14:30.) The temptations mentioned here are samples of the whole life of Jesus during his personal ministry; he was subject to temptations as we are during his entire earthly life; “for we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that bath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15.)
And behold, angels came and ministered unto him.—Some think that angels brought him food; we have no evidence as to the exact nature of their ministration. Elijah was fed by angels and afterward fasted forty days. (1 Kings 19:5.) The original from which we get “ministered” means “were ministering”; it signifies to attend as a servant, wait on; angels waited on him as human friends might have waited on one whom they found hungry, weary, lonely. Jesus had refused to relieve his hunger by turning stones into bread; he had refused to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple with the promise that angels would help him; so with the baffled tempter expelled from his presence, angels ministered to him; he fought the battle with Satan alone.
We can see in these temptations a progressive attack on Jesus by the devil; the tempter appealed to his bodily appetite, to his feeling of security, and to his ambition; these belong entirely to the mind. Next, he proposed a useful miracle, turning stones into bread, and then a useless miracle, that of casting himself down from the pinnacle, and last a gross sin in Jesus’ worshiping and serving him. He sought to excite distrust in God, a presumptuous reliance on God, and finally an abandonment of God.
Someone has affirmed that “the devil is a liar and the truth is not in him; that he did not and does not own a foot of soil”; therefore he did not tell the truth when he stated to Jesus that all the kingdoms of the world belonged to him. The devil is a liar and the father of lies, but he should be accredited with the truth when he speaks the truth, and especially when corroborated by one so truthful as the Son of God. Does the Son of God corroborate the statement that the kingdoms of the world belong to the devil? Matthew says that he was “tempted.” Paul says, “For in that he himself bath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18.) Now in order to its being a temptation, it must have been a veritable offer of something to the Son of God, which he very intently desired, yet could not take upon the terms offered; it must have been an offer of an object or possession ardently desired, by one having the right or power to bestow it. Jesus knew the possessor of these kingdoms. It could be no temptation to an individual for me to offer him a title to a tract of land which he knew that I did not have the shadow of a right to do, or the power to obtain that right.
In order for the offer to be a temptation to the Son of God, he must have thought the devil had the power to give what he proposed to bestow. Then if the Son of God was tempted by the devil, all the kingdoms of this world were the devil’s kingdoms. The object of the mission of the Son of God into this world was to rescue this world from the dominion of the devil and bring it back to a primeval allegiance to his Father. If the kingdoms of this world were not under the dominion of the devil, they could not be rescued from his power. Whatever rule or authority was exercised over the earth was exercised through these kingdoms.
There are but two sources of power in the universe, God and his great enemy, the devil. Every kingdom not originating from God must receive its power and authority from the wicked one. These earthly kingdoms originated in the rebellion of the human family against God, live today by virtue of that rebellion, and must die when that rebellion ceases. Jesus came into this world to strive and wrestle with the devil for the dominion of this world, to rescue and redeem it from the power of the devil. He came as the “sent” of his Father. He came to conquer this world, destroy all dominion and principality, he came to put down “all rule and all authority and power.” When this is accomplished he will deliver up the kingdom to the Father and himself be subject unto the Father. (1 Corinthians 15:24; 1 Corinthians 15:28.) He knew that the conquest would cost him suffering, sorrow, maltreatment, indignities, excruciating torments, the very anticipation of which made him draw back with the entreaty, “let this cup pass from me,” and brought great drops of blood from his soul of anguish; he knew the strife for the conquest of the world must bring him down to the humiliation of death, the degradation of the grave.
The devil, with his subtlety, proposed at the very threshold of his mission, “You are to be a subordinate in this kingdom unto your Father, after all your sorrows and sufferings. Now worship me, or recognize me as head instead of God, and I will deliver them all into your hand with all their glory, without a struggle, a sorrow, a pang upon your part.” There was the point of the temptation, to let him rule the earth through the devil’s kingdoms, without suffering, without death, without the grave, instead of through God’s will, with all of these.
How came the kingdom or dominion of the earth the devil’s? “They were delivered into my hand,” says the wicked one. What says the divine record? God made man ruler over the whole undercreation; he was its head; he had the power and authority from God to use and control it as he desired. God having once delegated authority to man never resumed it to himself. Man in refusing to obey God, but rather in following the dictates of the serpent, rebelled against God, and transferred his allegiance to the devil. Man, as the God appointed head and rightful ruler of the world, and the founder of the kingdoms of the world, transferred, with his allegiance, the rule of the world from God to God’s greatest enemy, the devil.
Jesus came into this world to rescue the world from the dominion of the wicked one, and bring it back to its allegiance to his Father. How will he effect this? He will destroy the kingdoms of the wicked one in the establishing and maintaining in their stead a kingdom of his own. Man has no power to rule himself; all power and rule must come from God or the devil. Every institution on earth, intended to control man, not founded of God, must look back through man, the agent of the wicked one, the prince of the world, as the source from which it sprang. Every institution that exercises authority, rule or power over man is a rival of Christ who claims sole authority over man and all these must be put down. (Daniel 2:44; 1 Corinthians 15:24-25.)
Matthew 4:12-17
SECTION THREE
OF JESUS’ ; THE
OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Matthew 4:12 to 7:29
- JESUS RETIRES TO GALILEE
12 Now when he heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee.—Matthew passes over a number of intervening events; he records nothing about another visit of Jesus to Galilee (John 1:43), the marriage in Cana and the turning of water into wine, the journey to Capernaum in company with his relatives and disciples, and that to Jerusalem to the Passover (John 2), the stay of Jesus at Jerusalem and in the land of Judea previous to the imprisonment of John (John 3), the return of Jesus by way of Samaria, and his stay there (John 4:1-42.) The occasion of John’s imprisonment is stated by Matthew, but not the time. (Matthew 14:1-13.) Jesus departed into Galilee or “withdrew into Galilee”; he had lived there before his baptism and temptation. As Herod Antipas lived at Machaerus in Perea, near the lower Jordan, where John was imprisoned as is supposed, and Nazareth was an obscure town in Galilee, Jesus would be comparatively safe in this retreat. John’s reason for Jesus’ going to Galilee (John 4:1-3) harmonizes with Matthew’s account. The Pharisees were jealous of Jesus’ growing popularity and they would seek occasion to deliver him over to Herod, that he might share the fate of John the Baptist; Jesus prevented this by retiring to Galilee, as his hour was not yet come.
Jesus went up into Galilee when he heard “that John was delivered up”; we need not conclude that the imprisonment of John and the return of Jesus to Galilee occurred immediately after the temptation of Jesus, as other writers of the gospel record numerous events that occurred between these events. It is very likely that all which is recorded in the first three chapters of John, if arranged chronologically, would come between the eleventh and twelfth verses of Matthew 4; perhaps the time that elapsed between verses eleven and twelve would be about one year.
13 Leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum.— This shows that when he returned to Galilee he went to Nazareth his old home; we do not know how long he sojourned there; probably his mother (perhaps a widow) still resided there; she was present at the marriage in Cana which was about nine miles northeast of Nazareth. Some think that this sojourn in Nazareth is identical with that mentioned in Luke 4:16-30; perhaps Luke records his reason for leaving Nazareth; if this be true, he did not leave Nazareth for some time; he began teaching in Galilee with great acceptance (Luke 4:15); and then was rejected at Nazareth; he then went to Capernaum.
Capernaum was on the Sea of Galilee “in the borders of Zebulon and Naphtali.” It was located on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee within the territory of Zebulun, not far from the line of division between Zebulun and Naphtali; the exact location of Capernaum cannot now be identified. Capernaum was afterward called “his own city” (Matthew 9:1) where he paid taxes (Matthew 17:24). Capernaum was one of the chief cities of Galilee at that time; it bad a synagogue in which Jesus often taught; a Roman garrison and custom station was located there; it was the home of Peter and Andrew and James and John and probably Matthew made his home there. (Matthew 9:1-9; Mark 1:21; Luke 5:27; Luke 7:1; Luke 7:8; John 6 59.) Later Capernaum was denounced by Jesus for its rejection of him. (Matthew 11:23.)
Matthew very accurately describes the situation at Capernaum, yet it has been destroyed and no trace of it can be found today.
14-16 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet.—Jesus had a program before him; this he carried out; his earthly life was ordered in such a way as to fulfill the divine will concerning him as was predicted by the prophet; the prophets merely announced beforehand what would be the program of Jesus. Here is a fulfillment of Isa 8:22; Isaiah 9:1-2; the quotation as recorded by Matthew does not follow literally that which is recorded in Isaiah; in fact, the quotations from the Old Testament in the New are seldom verbally exact.
“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali” refer to the territories which were allotted to these tribes; they embraced the territory west of the Sea of Galilee and constituted one of the most important fields of Jesus’ ministry. This territory extended north and east of Asher and west of the Jordan; the land of Zebulun extended along the west side of the Sea of Galilee, while the land of Naphtali extended north of Zebulun to the northern boundary of the land of Canaan. Isaiah did not use the phrase as it was used during the captivity to denote the country west of the Jordan, but east. “Galilee of the Gentiles” included all the northern part of Palestine, lying between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea and between Samaria and Phoenicia. Some think that it was called “Galilee of the Gentiles” because so many foreigners from Phoenicia, Arabia, and Egypt had settled there.
The people that sat in darkness saw a great light.—This means the people who abode in the darkness of ignorance and sin and misery; the Galileans who lived far from the temple, and who did not attend temple worship regularly, were considered a benighted as heathens. The language expresses a symbol of hopeless gloom; it signifies more than “walked in darkness”; they “sat in darkness.” They “saw a great light”; this light was the gospel which brought to them the joy of salvation. Isaiah had prophesied that this people would see this light and now it is being fulfilled in the teachings and work of Jesus. They are represented as those who “sat in the region and shadow of death”; to these “did light spring up.” “Shadow of death” is a common figure in the Old Testament. (Job 10:21; Psalms 23:4; Jeremiah 2:6.) The figure seems to be that of a person who had lost his way in the dense darkness, and upon whom arose the great light of the morning. All the Jews were in spiritual darkness, and the Galileans were inferior in religious privileges to the Judeans and despised by them. (John 7:41; John 7:49; John 7:52.) The meaning of this prophecy seems to be that the territories of Zebulun and Naphtali, the region about the Sea of Galilee, the country beyond the Jordan, the whole of Galilee, which was contemptuously designated as “Galilee of the Gentiles,” whose inhabitants sat in the darkness of ignorance and under the gloom of impending death, from which there was no one to deliver, these should be the first to see the light the Messiah brought to earth. In their simplicity and possibly in their ignorance, they were not blinded by the prejudice of bigoted religious leaders. So Jesus fulfilled the prophecy with this people.
17 From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say, Repent ye.–Jesus began his ministry at Jerusalem by casting out the traders and his conversation with Nicodemus (John 2:13; John 3:1-8), but as Matthew does not record those events, the account of Matthew begins with his work in Galilee; Matthew was an eyewitness to that which occurred in Galilee, but was not a disciple of Jesus when his work began in Judea. “From that time” means the time from which Matthew proceeds to give a record of the public ministry of Jesus. This is the time that Jesus began to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah in Galilee; his regular ministry dates from the time of his removal from Nazareth to Capernaum. (Acts 10:36-37.)
“Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The substance of Jesus’ preaching was the same as that of John. (See Matthew 3:1-2.) Jesus never ceased to preach repentance; he kept before the people the fact that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”; repentance was necessary to prepare the people for the reception of the kingdom. There was no cessation of Jesus on insisting that people should repent; he kept it before them from the beginning of his public ministry to the time of his death; after his death he incorporated repentance in the worldwide commission that he gave to his disciples. His preaching at first was only the preaching of repentance, like that of John the Baptist, but he grew more explicit in developing the principles and nature of the kingdom of heaven as he advanced in his public ministry. We learn from Mark that along with his exhortation to the people to repent he called upon them to “believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15.) The people were not only to repent of their sins as a preparation for their entrance into his kingdom, but they were to have faith in the Messiah and his gospel. Jesus at this time does not designate himself as the Messiah, yet the kingdom which was approaching was the kingdom of the Messiah, and in this indirect way they were to see in him the promised Messiah.
Matthew 4:18-22
- CALL OF PETER, ANDREW, JAMES AND JOHN
18 And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brethren, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother.—The account of Luke is fuller than that of Matthew. (Luke 5:1-11.) “Walking by the sea of Galilee” does not mean that Jesus was idly strolling along; he is still carrying out his program of ministry and redemption. “Sea of Galilee” is also called Lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1), Sea of Chinnereth (Numbers 34:11), Chinneroth (Joshua 11:2; 1 Kings 15:20), and Tiberias (John 6:1; John 21:1). The most common name of this body of water is here mentioned by Matthew; this body of water is formed by the waters of the Jordan and is about twelve miles long and six miles broad. It is an expanse of the river Jordan; its most remarkable feature is its deep depression, being no less than seven hundred feet below the level of the sea.
“Simon who is called Peter” (John 1:42); Jesus gave him the name of Peter; it is a designation with a historical anticipation; it means “rock” or “stone.” Simon is contracted from Simeon and means hearing or favorable hearing. This is the first mention that Matthew makes of this disciple. “Andrew his brother” is mentioned here with Peter. Peter and Andrew, and probably John, had accepted Jesus as the Messiah nearly a year before this event (John 1:35-42), and had accompanied him to Cana of Galilee (John 2:2) as his disciple. They did not receive a formal call at that time to leave all and follow Jesus permanently, and probably they had returned for a time to their occupation as fishermen, till they were called expressly to be fishers of men. Peter had another name “Cephas” which means rock or piece of rock. “Andrew” is a Greek word meaning manly we do not know whether he was older or younger than his brother Simon; they had formerly lived in Bethsaida (John 1:44), but had afterward gone to Carpernaum to live. (Luke 4:31; Luke 4:38.)
These brothers were busy; God or Jesus never called one while that one was in idleness. These brothers were “casting a net into the sea” as they were fishers by occupation. There may be a distinction between “casting a net” and the hauling in of a net the one is smaller than the other and may be handled by one man. Fishing was a humble but respectable occupation one who follows that occupation is usually vigorous of body.
19, 20 And he saith unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you fishers of men.—The meaning evidently is that they were to gain souls for the kingdom of heaven from the sea of the world; the figure that Jesus employed connects their former occupation with the work that he now has for them to do. Their secular employment served as an emblem of their spiritual calling; again they are now catching fish merely to feed men, but their occupation is to be that of catching men. This was a glorious work for them and elevated them to the highest calling on earth. In order to do this they were to “come ye after me”; they were to follow Jesus and he would make them fishers of men. In their present condition they were not as yet ready for this great work. It is commendable in Peter and Andrew that “they straightway left the nets, and followed him.” They immediately, without delay, obeyed his command; they recognized Jesus as the Messiah, and they were willing to follow him; they did not hesitate nor falter in indecision; their minds were made up so soon as the call came.
Their nets were the means of their living, but they left these; they were willing to forsake all for the sake of Jesus to follow him wherever he should lead. Their faith in the Messiah and their prompt obedience to his call revealed marks of qualifications for the great work.
21, 22 And going on from thence he saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother.—A little time seems to have intervened which Jesus occupied in conversing with Simon and Andrew; the brief words of Matthew’s record are an epitome of the conversation that Jesus had with Simon and Andrew. He saw after going further along the coast of the Sea of Galilee “two other brethren”; these also are named as James and John; they were partners of Peter and Andrew in the business of fishing (Luke 5:10), and probably John was the disciple not named, who accompanied Andrew in his first visit to Jesus on his return from the temptation of Jesus (John 1:37-40). James and John were sons of Zebedee; their father was with them in the boat at this time. James is probably the elder of the two brothers; his name is the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Jacob”; he is usually called the greater or elder to distinguish him from James the less. He was beheaded by order of Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:2) about A.D. 44 and was the first martyr among the apostles. John means “the grace of God” he is designated as the disciple “whom Jesus loved.” He was the writer of the gospel that bears his name, three epistles, and Revelation.
He was among the first disciples of Jesus, and followed him faithfully through a long life of service and was the last of the apostles to die. He lived nearly seventy years after this call by Jesus. Zebedee means “Jehovah’s gift”; he was the husband of Salome, the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus (John 19:25); she ministered to Jesus (Matthew 27:56). James and John were cousins of Jesus. Zebedee is not mentioned among the disciples of Jesus. The mention of hired servants (Mark 1:20), of the two vessels employed (Luke 5:7), and the subsequent allusion of John’s acquaintance with a person in so high a position as the high priest (John 18:15) seem to indicate that Zebedee, if not a wealthy man, was at any rate of some position at Capernaum.
And they straightway left the boat and their father, and followed him.—They were mending their nets at the time Jesus came along; the nets were broken by the great draught of fishes. (Luke 5:6.) Jesus called them to become fishers of men as he had called Peter and Andrew. They immediately “left the boat and their father” and followed Jesus. Some think that they probably got the consent of their father before they accepted the call; they were men and not boys; it is likely that they would make some arrangement with their father about their business before giving up everything and following Jesus. The call of God is above all earthly demands.’ (Matthew 10:37.) The hired servants were there with the father, hence he was not left without some provision. God’s call does not bid us leave our parents to suffer, but rather to make provision for them. (Mark 7:10-13.) This call of these disciples was their call to be his disciples or constant companions and not the formal call to be his apostles; this came at a later period. (Luke 6:12-13.) These disciples not only left their property and their business, but left their homes and their families in order to follow Jesus.
Matthew 4:23-25
- THE THEME OF HIS :
GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM
23 And Jesus went about in all Galilee.—Here we have Jesus making a circuit of Galilee; he did this on two other occasions later. (Matthew 9:35 to Matthew 11:1; Luke 8:1-3.) Matthew does not give the details of this circuit here but does later. It may be that “Galilee” as used here implied only “Upper Galilee”; some so think; others think that all Galilee was included in this circuit. Galilee formed the northernmost part of Palestine; it was about ten miles long and four to five miles broad, bounded on the west by the Mediterranean Sea and Phoenicia, on the north by Coelesyria, on the east by the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee, and on the south by Samaria. It was considered mountainous and rugged, yet it was the most fertile part of the country, being well adapted to pasturage and agriculture. It is claimed that it contained 404 towns and villages.
Teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom.—Jesus “taught” in the synagogues and “preached” the gospel of the kingdom. Jesus is called the “Great Teacher” because he instructed people who frequented the synagogue; he interpreted the law of Moses to them and gave them information as to the facts of God’s word and instructed them with respect to its principles. “Synagogues” were common at that time; much of the teaching of the Jews was received in the synagogue; Jews were commanded to teach their children at home on all occasions (Deuteronomy 6:4-10), but at this time many homes neglected the teaching and sent their children to the synagogue. The Greek word which is designated by “synagogue” signifies a collection of objects or persons; the synagogue came into use during the Babylonian captivity and became very common by the time of the advent of the Messiah. To preach means to proclaim; not necessarily to proclaim for the first time, but it includes the first proclamation of the gospel.
Much of the Jewish worship was carried on in the synagogue; this gave Jesus an opportunity to preach “the gospel of the kingdom.” The “gospel of the kingdom” was the good news of the approaching reign of the Messiah; his kingdom was “at hand,” “it drew nigh.” The word “gospel” is composed of two words, “god” and “spell,” which means good tidings and corresponds to the Greek word which means “good news.” The Jews associated the idea of joy with the coming of the Messiah; now Jesus proclaimed “the good news” that the kingdom or the reign of the Messiah was near. The gospel as preached by Jesus here does not have the same content that the word “gospel” later had.
Healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness among the people.—Jesus confirmed his teaching and his preaching by miracles; the ultimate aim of these miracles was the manifestation of Jesus himself, and of the kingdom of heaven; while the diseased were blessed in that they were healed, yet Jesus had a higher motive than merely curing the ailments of the physical body. Matthew is general in narrating the miracles of Jesus; he healed “all manner of disease” and “all manner of sickness”; the word for “disease” seems to denote infirmity or such diseases as produce feebleness rather than positive suffering, while the word for “sickness” includes those severe, violent, and dangerous ailments. “Disease” expresses something stronger than “sickness.” The miracles of Jesus cannot be separated from his teaching and preaching. The spiritual teachings, the perfect character, and the miracles of Jesus all support each other, and together form the foundation of our faith and hope.
24 And the report of him went forth into all Syria.—Such miracles which brought healing to the people naturally would attract the attention; hence the fame of Jesus passed to the north and east, rather than to the south. Galilee was connected by trade with Damascus, rather than with Jerusalem; however “Syria” was a name of variable extent, denoting in general a country east of .the Mediterranean, between Asia Minor and Arabia. We are to understand Matthew to mean that the report of Jesus’ miracles of healing passed beyond the bounds of Galilee and went far away into the districts northward. Mark says “the report of him went out straightway everywhere into all the region of Galilee round about.” (Mark 1:28.)
And they brought unto him all that were sick.—In consequence of what they had heard of his great power to heal, all others who were afflicted were anxious to be healed. Those who could not come of their own strength were brought by relatives and friends. It seems that they had not heard so much of the teachings of Jesus as his power to heal; naturally people would be more interested in the physical comfort and ease than they would in the good news of the approaching kingdom. There were many kinds of diseases then and Jesus healed them; some of these diseases were attended with excruciating pain; others were “possessed with demons” and were healed. It seems that the difference between this and other diseases was in its cause and not its symptoms. We find violent madness (Mark 5:4; Luke 8:29), epilepsy (Mark 9:18; Luke 9:39), dumbness (Matthew 9:32; Luke 11:14), blindness (Matthew 12:22), all ascribed to persons who were possessed with demons.
There were diseases among them which were not caused by evil spirits. There seems to have been certain moral and physical conditions in which demons gained possession both of the body and of the mind, bringing disease upon the body, and insanity to the mind. All these were brought to Jesus for his help.
25 And there followed him great multitudes from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judaea and from beyond the Jordan.—Great crowds followed him; possibly a confused crowd or throng of people followed Jesus wherever he went. “Multitudes” means “crowds” without designating the number; this should be understood throughout the record of Matthew. The miracles of Jesus for a season attracted such crowds and excited so many that they saw and heard but little else than the power of Jesus to cure diseases many did not appreciate his teaching, neither did they look forward with great anxiety to the coming kingdom. The miracles of Jesus, if properly understood, would mean that he who wrought the miracle had the power of God, and if he had the power of God in working miracles, God was with him in his teachings. God was manifested in the teaching and preaching of Jesus as much as he was in the healing of all manner of diseases.
Great crowds came from “Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judaea and from beyond the Jordan.” It seems that the crowds were drawn first from Galilee, where Jesus was teaching then the crowds were increased by others coming from Decapolis, which was a section of country with ten cities these “ten cities” very likely varied at different times it was a region in the northeastern part of Palestine, on the east and southeast of the Sea of Galilee. The crowds also came from Jerusalem and Judea and “from beyond the Jordan”; this means the other side of the Jordan from Jerusalem, and it was usually called Perea. Syria was north of Galilee, Decapolis southeast of the Sea of Galilee, “beyond the Jordan” or Perea was east of the Jordan and Judea was the southern division of Palestine. Jesus had retired from Judea to Galilee, but many followed him to Galilee.