Matthew 4
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · AD 27 – AD 29 · Life of Jesus · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
25 verses · 491 words · ~2 min read · ~3 min listen
The Temptation of Jesus
1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.
3The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4But Jesus answered, “It is written:
5Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple. 6“If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written:
7Jesus replied, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9“All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.”
10“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus told him. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
11Then the devil left Him, and angels came and ministered to Him.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
12When Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, He withdrew to Galilee. 13Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
17From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
The First Disciples
18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19“Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 20And at once they left their nets and followed Him.
21Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.
Jesus Heals the Multitudes
23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and He healed them.
25Large crowds followed Him, having come from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
Footnotes (6)
- a v4 Deuteronomy 8:3
- b v6 Psalm 91:11–12
- c v7 Deuteronomy 6:16
- d v10 Deuteronomy 6:13
- e v16 Isaiah 9:1–2
- f v25 That is, the Ten Cities
Study notes on this chapter · 2
Tested in the wilderness, answering from Deuteronomy
In each of the three temptations Jesus answers with a verse from Deuteronomy, the book that recalls Israel's forty years of testing in the wilderness. Many readers see a deliberate contrast: where Israel failed the tests of hunger, testing God and false worship, Jesus, as faithful Son, succeeds.
When: Deuteronomy's speeches are set on the plains of Moab (traditionally c. 1406 BC); the temptations came after Jesus' baptism, c. AD 27–29.
Ways people read this (2)
- The wording points to Jesus as the true Israel, the Son who does what Israel did not.
- Others emphasize the quotations as a model of how any believer answers temptation with Scripture.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
Light dawns in Galilee
Isaiah promises that the northern regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, first to be humbled, will see a great light. Matthew says Jesus' ministry in Galilee fulfilled this.
When: Spoken c. 732 BC; applied by Matthew to Jesus' Galilean ministry, c. AD 28–30.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.