MATTHEW 4

READ MATTHEW 4:1

 Following His baptism, God (the Spirit) leads
Jesus out into the wilderness to be tempted.
 It is important to keep the context of chapter 3
in mind when you begin reading chapter 4
 Keep in mind that Jesus has just been

confirmed, by the word of God, to be God’s

Son… The Messiah
 The temptations Jesus is about to face are

going to call God’s word into question.

 Very similar tactic to what we see Satan

doing in Garden of Eden.

READ MATTHEW 4:2
 Before the temptation, Jesus fasts for 40 days,
seemingly in preparation for the temptation.
 The New Testament doesn’t give us any

specific commands to fast but it does tell

us of the benefits of fasting.
 Fasting and prayer are often coupled

together.
 We will do a separate study on fasting

 Notice how verse 2 specifically says that

Jesus was hungry (as if we couldn’t have

guessed)
 APPLICATION: Physical strength is not

equivalent to spiritual strength

  You see how Jesus sacrificed physical
health to prepare Himself spiritually for
what was coming.
 While I don’t think the Bible is calling
us to fast 40 days, I wonder how many
of us have even once made that
trade?
 We are all busy, and that busyness
often leaves us with little time in our
days for spiritual study, application,
prayer.
 We would be wise to skip a meal to

feed ourselves spiritually, we would

be wise to skip the gym to make
time for prayer.
 How often do our lives

acknowledge what Jesus’ life

acknowledged here? That provision
for the spiritual battle takes priority
over provision for the physical.
READ MATTHEW 4:2-4
 The very first things Satan does is question
God’s authority.
 God said Jesus was His Son

 Satan questions

 It is interesting that Satan doesn’t

directly contradict God by saying, “You

aren’t the Son of God.”
 He used this approach with Adam and

Eve.
 APPLICATION:
 Satan is subtle and we would be

wise to make note of that.

 Satan doesn’t attempt to destroy

people’s faith by busting in the

front door and announcing,
“Everything you’ve ever believed is
wrong!”
 He introduces one doubt at a

time… nice and slow.

 APPLICATION:
 It is also important to identify this

as a question attacking Jesus’

identity.
 Temptation is always a question of

identity
 Who do we serve?

 Ourselves? Like Satan

convinced Adam and Eve

 Or God? We are His children

and serve Him.

 Satan attacks identity effectively in

our culture
 If he can get a university

professor to convince a student

of the truth of evolutionary
biology, he doesn’t even need
to bother with the authority of
the words of God.
  That student has lost their true
identity.
 Jesus does not feel the need to prove God’s
word, instead He reaffirms His belief in its
validity by quoting it in rebuttal to Satan.
 The verse referenced by Jesus is

Deuteronomy 8:3
 Deu 8:3 - And he humbled you and let you

hunger and fed you with manna, which you

did not know, nor did your fathers know,
that he might make you know that man
does not live by bread alone, but man
lives by every word that comes from
the mouth of the LORD.
 APPLICATION:

 Satan would not have confessed Jesus,

even if He had turned the stones to

bread
 There are some people who aren’t

worth answering. Proof is of no interest

to them.
READ MATTHEW 4:5-7
 Again, Satan questions the word of God by
asking for proof of Jesus’ identity.
 He asks Him to throw Himself off the

pinnacle of the temple.

 He even quotes a scripture

 Psalm 91:11-12 - For he will command his

angels concerning you to guard you in all

your ways. On their hands they will bear
 you up, lest you strike your foot against a
stone.
 APPLICATION:

 Just because someone can quote some

Scripture, doesn’t mean they know

what they are talking about!
 Jesus responds to Satan by quoting God’s word
back to him.
 Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16

 Deu 6:16 - “You shall not put the LORD

your God to the test, as you tested him at

Massah.”
 Jesus’ quotation show the complete

hypocrisy and ridiculousness of Satan’s

request.
 Satan is asking Jesus to put God to the

test, while he is putting God (Jesus) to

the test.
 Twice now, Satan has called God’s word into
question. In his third temptation, he resorts to
his fallback strategy.
 Satan’s last temptation is not a challenge but
an offer
 Christ would be glorified in heaven with His

Father again in eternal glory, but only after

a three year ministry and significant
suffering.
 Satan offers Jesus something immediate.

 All of the kingdoms of the world could be

His if He bowed to Satan

 APPLICATION:
 For many years, I looked at this

temptation almost as if it wasn’t even a

temptation
 Jesus is literally the king of the

universe. Why would He ever be

tempted with such a lousy offer from
Satan.
 All the kingdoms of the earth were

only a small portion of what He

already possessed as universal
King.
 How is that even tempting? It isn’t

even a real temptation!

 But that is wrong!

 I know it is wrong because this is

the temptation I fall prey to on a

daily basis.
 I know who God says I am (my

identity)
 A child of His

 Justified through Christ to

spend eternity with Him.

 To be an heir with the universal

King
 2Tim 2:12 - if we endure, we

will also reign with Him

 It is an astounding reality.

 But Satan comes to me with a

small pleasure.
  He whispers in my ear, “You
aren’t glorified in Heaven yet!”
 “There is still a lifetime of

difficulty ahead!”
 “I’ve got a pleasure you can

have RIGHT NOW!”

 What is astounding is that Satan

can win us over with a much

weaker offer than what He offered
to the Lord.
 Have you ever been offered the

throne of the world?

 Me neither! It is usually

something a lot smaller.

 If Satan can’t convince us the word

of God is false, he may attempt to

win us over with immediate
pleasure.
 Like the first 2, Satan’s offer failed to shake
Jesus’ conviction.
 He once again denied Satan and affirmed

His contentment in the promise of God by

quoting the Scriptures
 After the third temptation, Satan departed
 In parallel, we are told, “resist the devil and he
will flee from you” (James 4:7).
READ MATTHEW 4:12-17
 John was arrested for opposing the immoral
divorce and remarriage of Herodias, Herod’s
wife (see the note on Matthew 2:19-23).
 When Jesus heard of the arrest, He left
Nazareth (His hometown) and went to live in
Capernaum by the sea (sea of Galilee)


 Capernaum was roughly 20 miles north

east.
 Jesus’ move brought about the fulfilment of
a prophecy (verses 15 and 16)
 The prophecy is taken from Isaiah 9:1-2

 Isaiah 9 contains several details about

the Messiah. The prophecy in verses 6-

7 are often quoted.
 Isaiah 9:6-7 – For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given; and the
government shall be upon His
shoulders and His name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of
the increase of His kingdom there will
be no end, on the throne of David and
over His kingdom, to establish it and to
uphold it with justice and with
righteousness from this time forth and
forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of
hosts will do this.
 

 Following John’s arrest, Jesus steps up to

preach the message of repentance and the
coming of the Kingdom of Heaven
(verse17)
READ MATTHEW 4:18-22
 In verse 18, Jesus begins to call people to
follow Him and learn from Him.
 12 men were specifically chosen to be in

Jesus’ inner circle

 They are known as the 12 Apostles
  From the map above, you can see that
Capernaum sits right on the coast of the Sea of
Galilee.
 While Jesus was walking by the sea, He saw

two sets of brothers.

 Simon (Peter) + Andrew

 John + James

 They were fisherman by profession.

 Jesus called the brothers to follow Him and

they did without hesitation
 We don’t know for sure what attracted the

brothers to Jesus
 Maybe it was His boldness in telling

them to follow
 Maybe Jesus spoke other words to

them that aren’t recorded

 Maybe they were just curious

 We don’t know all the details but the

example of the 4 brothers in immediately

dropping their occupations to following
Jesus is admirable and a pattern to follow.
 Nothing could possibly be more important

than following Jesus.

READ MATTHEW 4:23-25
 If you look at the map above, you will see the
region of Galilee in which Jesus preached.
 Jesus’ message consisted teaching in the
synagogues and preaching the gospel of the
Kingdom.
 Lets define 2 helpful terms
  Gospel
 Gospel comes from the Greek work

“euangelion,” meaning “good news.”

 Jesus was preaching good news to the

Jews. The Kingdom, which had been

prophesied about for generations, was
finally coming.
 Synagogues

 It is thought that synagogues

originated during or shortly after the

Jewish captivity in Babylon beginning
around 606 B.C.
 The center of Jewish worship and

sacrifice was the Temple in Jerusalem

where the priests ministered
 The synagogues arose as locations of

secondary worship. Prayer and reading

the Old Testament Scriptures were the
focus of synagogue devotion.
 They were also important places of

gathering for the Jewish community

outside of Jerusalem.
 Jesus’ public proclamation of the coming
Kingdom was confirmed by miracles.
 Multitudes of sick people were brought for

healing
 Jesus healed them

 APPLICATION:

 Compare this with modern day faith

healers
 As Jesus continued to heal and preach, His
popularity grew and larger and larger crowds
started following him
 The cities and areas mentioned in verse 25 can
be located on the included maps.
 APPLICATION:
 Although some people may find maps

really boring, they are an important tool to

understanding the Bible.
 Geography and topography help bring the

Bible to life when you read it. Neglecting to

appreciate the nuances of the land on
which the story of the Bible plays out will
leave the Scriptures feeling flat and
abstract