Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness (the Old Testament called it Jeshimmon; devastation.) to be tempted by the devil.
This is the first of 33 appearances of 'the devil' in the New Testament. The last appearance is in Revelation when he is cast into the lake of fire to be tormented night and day for ever and ever.
2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
Just as the first Adam had to meet the devil and deal with him so the must the 2nd Adam. God had set Adam in a beautiful garden and provided for him in every way, yet Adam lost the battle to temptation and led the way for the fall of all humanity. Jesus, the second Adam met the enemy in the wilderness, he had no provision and instead fasted. And we know Jesus will win this battle over sin leading to the victory on the cross. There could be no victory on the cross if there were not first a victory over temptation.
Yet, these temptations or time of testing wasn't find out if Jesus is good enough to pass, this was a demonstration of the power of the Son of God. This was Jesus showing who he was and that no power was greater than His; he even stood up to the devil.
When we go to battle we strengthen ourselves to face the enemy and go to battle. Fasting might not seem like a very good way to prepare for testing. Yet this battle wasn't fought with strength of body. In fact, the flesh often interferes with the spiritual battles. The body can survive many days without food. It would be clear though, at the end of forty days, that Jesus wasn't going to win that battle by brute strength in the flesh. His strength was found in surrender to the will of the Father; obedience in the plan laid on for Him.
The obedience of Jesus during these 40 days in the wilderness stands in contrast to the 40 years that a disobedient Israel wandered in the wilderness. The temptations of Jesus follow a similar pattern to the disobedience of Israel; they demanded bread, doubted God's presence and often despaired when they thought God had led them to a bad situation.
3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."
4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' "
This is the first temptation. Imagine just how hungry you might be if you hadn't eaten in forty days. It seems that just the mention of bread would bring a physical and emotional response. Satan casts doubt about Jesus being the Son of God. It was as if he said, "God's not caring for you; He's not meeting your physical needs." There's a subtle implication that the Father doesn't love Him. Satan taunts Jesus to use His power an authority for His own needs; temping Him to put the needs of the flesh before the spirit and paring from the will and plan of God.
Jesus responds by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 to defeat Satan.
"Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
This was the lesson the Israelites were to have learned; man doesn't live by bread alone by the every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Every word is important and power and purposeful. Every word from God's mouth is good for us, even when we don't understand. The word of God is nourishment to the soul.
The very response of Jesus was a word from the mouth of God.
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
7 Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' "
The devil took Jesus to the holy city, which is Jerusalem. This might appear that the devil was in charge of this test, as if he were the authority. Jesus yielded to this out of obedience to the plan of God. The pinnacle of the temple is thought to be the SE corner of the temple. From the pinnacle the view would have been spectacular and the idea of falling mortifying. The highest point of the temple at this corner was 300 to 350 above the Kidron valley.
The devil took Jesus to this high place and taunted him to prove He was the Son of God by throwing himself down from that height. Satan even goes so far as to quote scripture, as if to say, "So you want to live by scripture, live by this one," and he quotes from Psalm 91:
Oops! Satan forgot a line. He forgot to mention the 'in all your ways'. Satan rips this out of context and tries to create a precept from a single passage. This precept is inconsistent with the whole of the bible. God doesn't allow us the freedom to test is grace and mercy. If we have to test God to believe He is with us, we are lacking in faith.
Jesus responds to this temptation by saying, "It is written, again...." Again, Jesus relied on the word quoting Deuteronomy 6:16:
16 "You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massah
This temptation of Massah is from Exodus 17 when the children grumbled at the Lord and contended with Moses about not having any water. They were testing God and to ascertain His nature or a trying to force an outcome. God would not deny water from a humble child approaching his Father asking for a drink. But demanding a drink and implying God wasn't doing enough to protect them was sin.
Matthew records Jesus' words in chapter 16:
4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."
Jesus would not deliver a sign to the devil. He would not doubt the providence of God. He would not be drawn to sin by tempting God. He simply uses the power of the word of God to end the temptation; it was concise and final.
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."
10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.' "
The kingdom would belong to Jesus. However, the devil offered the kingdom without going to the cross. This was a temptation to preserve Himself, take the easy way and gain the kingdom. The devil often shows us what appears to be an easy way; that way is always a compromise or a short term payoff that never ends well.
We don't know what mountain this was but from the vast creation that had fallen to sin was visible. Satan ruled the kingdom for a time but his defeat was imminent. He had authority in this world for a time and the kingdom was his to give to Jesus (John 12:31; 14:30). All Jesus had to do was yield to the devil's plan instead of the Father's plan. From the beginning the devil has wanted to be like God:
Jesus responds with a rebuke of the devil and quoting Deuteronomy 6:
13 You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him
There is no shortcut to the God's plan or will, even if there is suffering ahead. It is difficult for us to remain faithful when we see an easy way when there is a path of suffering before us. When we are in pain or affliction we are looking for a way out. Even in those times, we must remain a faithful servant of God.
It's fascinating to note that Satan offers it all to Jesus as if he is in control and has authority over Jesus. Jesus responds by rebuking the devil and showing his authority and sending him away.
There are a few lessons we can learn in dealing with the devil and temptation:
- Recognize the temptation for what it is and where it came from. The devil is crafty; he will exploit your weakness in every way. There won't be a label on the temptation, you must label it. The knowledge and discernment for this comes from trusting in God the Holy Spirit in you.
- Don't debate with the devil. Jesus didn't quote scripture and explain it discuss how that made the devil feel and see if the devil agreed with him. He simply spoke the word and held onto it. It was truth, not debatable; discussion ended!!
- Our words have no power. When we are weak and in temptation we may even struggle to put together a reasonable thought. But the Holy Spirit He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you (John 14:26).
- We can't be reminded of God's word if we aren't filled with it. This must happen every day, on the good days before we are in battle. When we stand before the powers of the devil we can't ask him to please hold on while you find an applicable passage. Be a student of the word of God.
- We have no power or authority of our own to stand before the devil, he would squash us like a bug. But filled with the Holy Spirit, we have the power of God. We too, can send the forces of the devil packing, "Away with you, Satan!"
11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
The devil left when Jesus sent him away. Luke said he departed only until a more opportune time. It is worth noting that the angels only came after the devil had departed.
12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.
John records the words of John the Baptist (John 3:30):
29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
The ministry and John the Baptist was complete pointing the way to Jesus. As the ministry of Jesus becomes more prominent, John's ministry becomes less; He must increase, I must decrease.
13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
So Jesus left Nazareth and went to Capernaum in Galilee. Capernaum was North of the Sea of Galilee, a long way from Jerusalem. This might seem odd to us and some may wonder why Jesus didn't just go to Jerusalem. But this area was densely populated. Josephus said there were over 200 villages all of 15,000 people or less. Caperaum was at a crossroads of the major trade routes. This brought the world to the doorstep and from Capernaum one could export to the world. It was said, 'Judaea is on the way to nowhere: Galilee is on the way to everywhere.
Zebulun and Naphtali were the tribes that were given these pieces of land. Zebulum to the South and West, including Nazareth; and Naphtali to the east of North including Capernaum.
The scripture quoted is from Isaiah 9. In context, Isaiah spoke in chapter 8 of a dark time for Israel; a time of famine, trouble, darkness, gloom and anguish. Then chapter 9 starts, "Nevertheless....." speaking of a future hope.
The judgment of God came from the north through Naphtali and Zebulun and brought this dark time on the land. But it wouldn't always be that way. This area was lightly esteemed, thought to be of no significance and a long way from Jerusalem, and a long way from the temple. But now the people of Naphtali and Zebulun will be the first to see the great light.
A few verses after the portion of scripture quoted by Matthew is says this:
(see also Luke 7:5; Matthew 11:23)
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
The word 'preach' is a little different than our understanding of preaching. The word means to herald; this was someone bringing news or bringing a message directly from the king. The message from the king was to repent. The 'kingdom of heaven' is a Jewish rendering of 'kingdom of God'. The terms were interchangeable.
18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
This probably wasn't the first time Jesus saw Peter and Andrew or the first time they saw Jesus. John tells us they were disciples of John the Baptist. But in this meeting Jesus calls them to follow Him to become fishers of men. This 'Fishers of men' term was a term born of the Greek philosophers drawing others to the philosophies. Andrew and Peter left their boats, their nets, their income and their way of life. The implication is they left their nets in the water and didn't even pull them up.
Over and over in the bible we see a similar thing played out; when we follow the Lord, the old life and all we once found trusted in must be left behind. This is not to say we quit our jobs and move when we at first come to follow the Lord, but it could mean that. It could mean you lose some friends, it could mean your family now shuns you, it could mean a lot of things. When we follow the Lord, we must come with, at the very least, a willingness to forsake all else and God will sort out the details.
21 Going 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, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Again, we see a similar picture; James and John walking away from all they knew and even leaving their father. We have to wonder if they truly considered this to be a lifelong change. Whatever the original intent, these men spent the rest of their serving Jesus, following Him and making others fishers of men.
Galilee was known for its fertile fields and the fishing on the sea of Galilee. Grain could be grown, animals could graze in the fields and fishing boats were at times crowded on the sea. People were not known for being well educated or having great wealth. They weren't fancy speakers and most wouldn't have known how to write. Galileans were known as hard-working and courageous people. The people of Galilee were just normal people. Jesus called normal people and He still does. He didn't build a ministry of the qualified, but he qualified those who willingly followed him. Jesus called the ordinary to do the extraordinary.
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him-from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
The fame of Jesus spread quickly going first, it seems, to Syria. This closely relates to modern day Syria. It would be to the east, northeast of Capernaum. It's unclear how many a multitude might be, but Matthew certainly makes it clear there were many people because they came from a large geographical area. Decapolis was a area of 10 cities to the east, southeast of the Sea of Galilee. Jerusalem was around 90 miles away in this area of Judea. Matthew describes a large number of people traveling great distances to hear Jesus, to be healed by Jesus of diseases, torments and possession.
Jesus is calling a world to repentance. He is ministering in the area and becoming famous. The last three verses are a summation or overview of what started to happen. Jesus called the disciples and they went out and preached the Kingdom of Heaven.
Now as we move into the Beatitudes we see this is a message to the disciples. It's an ethics lesson to those already following Him, not a message regarding salvation. We see these verses speak to four categories of our life: self, law, God and others. This serves as a opening to the Sermon on the Mount that goes across three chapters.
©2015 Doug Ford
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