Matthew 4
- Who wrote it
- Traditionally Matthew
- Who it was for
- Jewish followers of Jesus
- What was happening
- Testing in the wilderness, then a new home in Galilee
What’s happening
The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness. After fasting forty days, he is tempted by the devil three times: to turn stones into bread, to throw himself down from the temple, and to take all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for worship. He answers each time with words from Deuteronomy. When John is arrested, Jesus leaves Nazareth for Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee, which Matthew links to Isaiah's "Galilee of the nations." He begins preaching, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near," and calls four fishermen: Peter and Andrew, then James and John, who leave their nets and their father. He teaches in synagogues and heals, and crowds follow from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
Why the setting matters
Forty days in the wilderness echo Israel's forty years there, and every answer Jesus gives comes from Moses' words about those years. Galilee was farther from Jerusalem and close to Gentile towns, and Capernaum sat on a trade route by the lake. Fishing was a family business, so leaving the boat meant leaving income and family duty.
Who’s in this chapter
Jesus
Tested where Israel was tested, then starts his work in Galilee.
The devil
Offers shortcuts: bread, a spectacle, and power without the cross.
Simon Peter
Called with his brother from their nets.
Andrew
Leaves his nets with Peter.
James
Leaves the boat and his father with his brother John.
John
Called with James from their father's boat.
Talk it through
- Each temptation offers something that isn't wrong in itself. What makes it a temptation?
- Jesus answers with Scripture about Israel's wilderness years. Why might those passages fit his moment?
- Why might Jesus start in Galilee rather than in Jerusalem?
- What did the fishermen leave behind, and what were they stepping into?
Read Matthew 4
World English Bible
1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward. 3The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth.’ ”
5Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6and 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.’ ”
7Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’ ”
8Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory. 9He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”
10Then 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.’ ”
11Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him. 12Now when Jesus heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee. 13Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
15“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, 16the 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.”
17From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
18Walking 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. 19He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men.”
20They immediately left their nets and followed him. 21Going 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. 22They immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.
23Jesus 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. 24The 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. 25Great multitudes from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and from beyond the Jordan followed him.
Text: World English Bible, Public domain. About our sources