Matthew 4 (KJV)

Matthew 4:1–11

The temptation in the wilderness

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If 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. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Jesus fasts forty days. The devil tests him three times: to turn stones into bread, to throw himself from the temple's high point, and to worship the devil in exchange for the world's kingdoms. Jesus refuses each time, and angels come to serve him.

Scripture connection · Quotation

Matthew 4:4 quotes Deuteronomy 8:3

And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
Deuteronomy 8:3 · KJV

Moses reminds Israel that God fed them with manna in the wilderness. Jesus answers each temptation with a line from Deuteronomy.
Scripture connection · Quotation

Matthew 4:6 quotes Psalm 91:11–12

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Psalm 91:11–12 · KJV

Here the tempter quotes scripture, a psalm of trust in God's protection, to urge Jesus to test that protection.
Scripture connection · Quotation

Matthew 4:7 quotes Deuteronomy 6:16

Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
Deuteronomy 6:16 · KJV

Massah was where Israel demanded proof that God was with them (Exodus 17).
Scripture connection · Quotation

Matthew 4:10 quotes Deuteronomy 6:13

Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
Deuteronomy 6:13 · KJV

Matthew's wording ('worship') differs from the Hebrew and from most manuscripts of the Greek translation, which read 'fear'; it answers the devil's demand to be worshipped (verse 9).

What does this mean?

'Tempt' also means 'test'. 'If you are the Son of God' picks up the voice at the baptism: the tests probe what kind of Son he will be. 'Satan' is Hebrew for 'adversary'; 'devil' comes from the Greek for 'slanderer'. The 'pinnacle' was a high point of the temple complex whose exact location is unknown.

Why does it matter?

Forty days recalls Israel's forty years of testing in the wilderness and Moses' forty days on the mountain; where Israel is remembered as failing, Jesus stays faithful. The challenge 'if you are the Son of God' returns at the cross (27:40), and Jesus later rebukes Peter with words like those he uses here (16:23).

Editorial notes, not scripture.

Told in three Gospels

Mark 1:12–13

Jesus is tested in the wilderness

How Mark tells it

Mark's account is only two verses. He uses a forceful verb — the Spirit 'drove' Jesus out — and alone mentions the wild animals. He describes no fasting, no three temptations and no exchange of scripture quotations with the devil, all of which Matthew and Luke include.

Read Mark’s account in Mark 1

Continue reading in Mark →

Luke 4:1–13

The temptation in the wilderness

How Luke tells it

Luke reverses Matthew's order of the second and third temptations, so the sequence ends at the Jerusalem temple, where his story reaches its climax. Only Luke has the devil claim that the world's authority has been handed to him, and he ends with the devil leaving "until another time" rather than with angels serving Jesus. Mark gives no details.

Read Luke’s account in Luke 4

Continue reading in Luke →

How Matthew tells it

Matthew's order is bread, temple, mountain, ending with the offer of the world's kingdoms; Luke puts the temple last, ending in Jerusalem. Mark gives only two verses, with no individual tests, and mentions wild animals. Matthew says angels came and served Jesus once the devil left; Luke says the devil departed 'for a season'.

Matthew 4:12–17

Jesus begins preaching in Galilee

Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

After John is arrested, Jesus withdraws to Galilee, moves from Nazareth to Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee, and begins preaching the same message as John: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.

Scripture connection · Quotation · presented as fulfilled

Matthew 4:14–16 quotes Isaiah 9:1–2

Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Isaiah 9:1–2 · KJV

Isaiah promised light to the northern regions first devastated by Assyria. Matthew applies it to Jesus beginning his ministry in Galilee.

Historical context

Capernaum was a fishing town on the north-west shore of the Sea of Galilee, a freshwater lake, in the territory of Herod Antipas. It lay near a road and a border, which may explain the tax office there (9:9). Zebulun and Naphtali were tribal territories of ancient Israel in the north. 'Galilee of the Gentiles' reflects the region's mixed population.

Why does it matter?

'From that time' marks a turning point; Matthew uses the same phrase in 16:21, when Jesus begins to speak of his death, and many scholars treat the two as markers of the Gospel's structure. Jesus' public work begins only once John's has been cut short.

Editorial notes, not scripture.

Matthew 4:18–22

Fishers of men

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 fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

Walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus calls two pairs of fishermen brothers: Simon Peter and Andrew, then James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Each pair leaves nets, boat and family at once to follow him.

What does this mean?

'Fishers of men' (WEB 'fishers for men') plays on their trade: they will gather people rather than fish. 'Follow' was the language of discipleship, of attaching oneself to a teacher. 'Peter' is a nickname meaning 'rock'; Matthew returns to it in 16:18.

Historical context

Fishing on the lake was a substantial business involving boats, hired hands, nets and taxes on catches. It is often noted that students normally sought out a teacher; here Jesus takes the initiative. Leaving a father in the family trade was a striking break with expected family duty.

Editorial notes, not scripture.

Told in two Gospels

Mark 1:16–20

Jesus calls four fishermen

How Mark tells it

Mark's account is very close to Matthew's. Only Mark mentions the hired servants whom James and John leave in the boat with their father, a detail implying a business of some size. As often, Mark marks the response with 'immediately'. Luke tells a different calling story, with a miraculous catch of fish (Luke 5:1–11).

Read Mark’s account in Mark 1

Continue reading in Mark →

How Matthew tells it

Matthew's account is very close to Mark's. He introduces Simon as 'called Peter' from the outset, and stresses that James and John left both the boat and their father; Mark adds that Zebedee was left with the hired servants. Luke tells a different call story, with a miraculous catch of fish (Luke 5:1–11).

Matthew 4:23–25

Teaching and healing throughout Galilee

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 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 devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.

A summary of Jesus' early work: he travels around Galilee teaching in synagogues, announcing the good news of the kingdom and healing every kind of illness. His fame spreads and great crowds follow him from across the region.

What does this mean?

'Gospel' (KJV) and 'Good News' (WEB) translate the same Greek word, euangelion. 'Lunatick' (KJV) reflects the old belief that the moon caused seizures; WEB has 'epileptics'. 'Divers' means various; 'palsy' means paralysis.

Historical context

Synagogues were local gathering places for reading and teaching scripture and for community life. Syria was the Roman province to the north; the Decapolis was a league of Greek-style cities, mostly east of the Jordan.

Why does it matter?

Teaching, preaching and healing are Jesus' three activities in Matthew. This summary is repeated almost word for word in 9:35, framing the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5–7) and the healing stories (chapters 8–9); many scholars see the arrangement as deliberate, showing Jesus' authority first in word and then in deed.

Editorial notes, not scripture.