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4:1-4
It may well be that we often go wrong simply because we never try to be alone. There are certain things which a man has to work out alone. There are times when no one else’s advice is any good to him. There are times when a man has to stop acting and start thinking. It may be that we make many a mistake because we do not give ourselves a chance to be alone with God. (Barclay)
The same Spirit who brought Jesus into the world (1:20), and demonstrated God’s approval of Him (3:16), now led Him into the wilderness for tempting by Satan. (Constable)
“like Job, Jesus was placed into Satan’s power so that the latter might tempt him to the uttermost.”[329, Lenski, p. 148.]
“Just as God led Israel out of Egypt and through the waters and into the desert (Num 20.5; 1 Bas 12.6; Ps 80.1 LXX; etc., all using anagein [‘to lead up’]), so does the Spirit of God lead Jesus into the desert after he is baptized.”[331]1
It seems to be the law of life that just after our resistance power has been highest it nose-dives until it is at its lowest. The tempter carefully, subtly, and skillfully chose his time to attack Jesus–but Jesus conquered him. We will do well to be specially on our guard after every time life has brought us to the heights, for it is just then that we are in gravest danger of the depths. (Barclay)
Scripture consistently teaches that God does not “tempt” (Gr. peirazo) anyone in order to seduce them to sin (James 1:13). Nevertheless He does allow people to experience testing that comes from the world, the flesh, and the devil (1 John 2:15-17; Rom. 7:18-24; 1 Pet. 5:8).[333]2
This involved the love of God and the will of God. “Since You are God’s beloved Son, why doesn’t Your Father feed You? Why does He put You into this terrible wilderness?” This temptation sounded like Satan’s words to Eve in Genesis 3! It is a subtle suggestion that our Father does not love us. (Wiersbe, p 2:16)
It is important to note that Jesus faced the enemy as man, not as the Son of God. His first word was, “Man shall not live by bread alone.” We must not think that Jesus used His divine powers to overcome the enemy, because that is just what the enemy wanted Him to do! (Wiersbe, p 2:16)
Jesus used the spiritual resources that are available to us today: the power of the Holy Spirit of God (Matt. 4:1) and the power of the Word of God (“It is written”). Jesus had nothing in His nature that would give Satan a foothold (John 14:30), but His temptations were real just the same. Temptation involves the will, and Jesus came to do the Father’s will (Heb. 10:1–9). (Wiersbe, p 2:16)
But there was another suggestion: “Use Your divine powers to meet Your own needs.” When we put our physical needs ahead of our spiritual needs, we sin. When we allow circumstances to dictate our actions, instead of following God’s will, we sin. Jesus could have turned the stones into bread, but He would have been exercising His powers independently of the Father, and He came to obey the Father (John 5:30; 6:38). (Wiersbe, p 2:16)
The Lord quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 to defeat Satan. Feeding on and obeying God’s Word is more important than consuming physical food. In fact, it is our food (John 4:32–34). (Wiersbe, p 2:16)
This temptation was not for Jesus to doubt that He was God’s Son. It was to suggest that, as the Son of God, Jesus surely had the power and right to satisfy His own needs independent of His Father (cf. 2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 2:7). Satan urged Jesus to use His Sonship in a way that was inconsistent with His mission (cf. 26:53-54; 27:40). God had intended Israel’s hunger in the wilderness to teach her that hearing and obeying God’s Word is the most important thing in life (Deut. 8:2-3). Israel demanded bread in the wilderness but died. Jesus forewent bread in submission to His Father’s will and lived. (Constable)
“The impact of Satan’s temptation is that Jesus, like Adam first and Israel later, had a justifiable grievance against God and therefore ought to voice His complaint by ‘murmuring’ (Exod. 16; Num. 11) and ought to provide for Himself the basic necessity of life, namely, bread. Satan, in other words, sought to make Jesus groundlessly anxious about His physical needs and thus to provoke Him to demand the food He craved (cf. Ps. 78:18). In short, the devil’s aim was to persuade Jesus to repeat the apostasy of Adam and Israel. Satan wanted to break Jesus’ perfect trust in His Father’s good care and thereby to alter the course of salvation-history.”[339, Garlington, p. 297. Cf. Davies and Allison, 1:362]
Jesus faced Satan as a man, not as God. He did not use His own divine powers to overcome the enemy, which is just what Satan tempted Him to do. Rather, He used the spiritual resources that are available to all people, including us, namely, the Word of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit (v. 1).[340]3 It is for this reason that He is an example for us of one who successfully endured temptation, and it is this victory that qualified Him to become our great high priest (Heb. 2:10; 3:1-2).
4:5-7
The second temptation was even more subtle. This time Satan also used the Word of God. “So You intend to live by the Scriptures,” he implied. “Then let me quote You a verse of Scripture and see if You will obey it!” Satan took the Lord Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple, probably five hundred feet above the Kidron Valley. Satan then quoted from Psalm 91:11–12, where God promised to care for His own. “If You really believe the Scriptures, then jump! Let’s see if the Father cares for You!” ¶ Note carefully our Lord’s reply: “It is written again” (Matt. 4:7, emphasis mine). We must never divorce one part of Scripture from another, but we must always “compare spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Cor. 2:13). ¶ We can prove almost anything by the Bible if we isolate texts from the contexts and turn them into pretexts. Satan had cleverly omitted the phrase “in all thy ways” when he quoted from Psalm 91. When the child of God is in the will of God, the Father will protect him. He watches over those who are “in His ways.” (Wiersbe, p 2:16 f)
Jesus replied with Deuteronomy 6:16: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” We tempt God when we put ourselves into circumstances that force Him to work miracles on our behalf. (Wiersbe, p 2:17)
Satan took Jesus to a high point of the temple complex (Gr. hieron), not necessarily the topmost peak of the sanctuary. The Greek word translated “pinnacle” is pterygion, which can be translated “little wing” or “high corner.” The temple complex towered over the Kidron Valley 170 feet below.[344] Some of the Jewish rabbis taught that when Messiah came to deliver Israel, He would appear on the temple roof (cf. Mal. 3:1; John 6:30).[345, Edersheim, The Life …, 1:293]
Jesus refused to allow Satan to apply a valid promise so that it contradicted another teaching in God’s Word. “On the other hand” or “also” (Gr. palin) has the sense of “not contradicting but qualifying.”[349, Bruce, 1:90] Jesus, as a man, voluntarily under the authority of God’s Word, proved to be faithful to its spirit as well as to its letter. (Constable)
God expects a man to take risks in order to be true to him, but he does not expect him to take risks to enhance his own prestige. The very faith which is dependent on signs and wonder is not faith. If faith cannot believe without sensations it is not really faith, it is doubt looking for proof and looking in the wrong place. God’s rescuing power is not something to be played and experimented with, it is something to be quietly trusted in the life of every day. (Barclay)
4:8-11
Many have observed that Satan followed the same pattern of temptation with Jesus that he had used with Eve (Gen. 3). First, he appealed to the lust of the flesh, the desire to do something apart from God’s will. Second, he appealed to the lust of the eyes, the desire to have something apart from God’s will. Third, he appealed to the pride of life, the desire to be something apart from God’s will (cf. 1 John 2:16). Leander Keyser described Satan’s three appeals as to appetite (the desire to enjoy things), to ambition (the desire to achieve things), and to avarice (the desire to obtain things).[356] McGee believed that Jesus’ first temptation was physical, the second spiritual, and the third psychological.[357] (Constable)
The devil offered Jesus a shortcut to His kingdom. Jesus knew that He would suffer and die before He entered into His glory (Luke 24:26; 1 Peter 1:11; 5:1). If He bowed down and worshipped Satan just once (this is the force of the Greek verb), He could enjoy all the glory without enduring the suffering. Satan has always wanted worship, because Satan has always wanted to be God (Isa. 14:12–14). Worshipping the creature instead of the Creator is the lie that rules our world today (Rom. 1:24–25). ¶ There are no shortcuts to the will of God. If we want to share in the glory, we must also share in the suffering (1 Peter 5:10). As the prince of this world, Satan could offer these kingdoms to Christ (John 12:31; 14:30). But Jesus did not need Satan’s offer. The Father had already promised Jesus the kingdom! “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen [nations] for thine inheritance” (Ps. 2:8). You find the same promise in Psalm 22:22–31, and this is the psalm of the cross. ¶ Our Lord replied with Deuteronomy 6:13: “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Satan had said nothing about service, but Jesus knew that whatever we worship, we will serve. Worship and service must go together. (Wiersbe, p 2:17)
So the tempter tried his third avenue of attack. It was the world that Jesus came to save, and into his mind there came a picture of the world. The tempting voice said: “Fall down and worship me, and I will give you all the kingdoms of this world.” Had not God himself said to his chosen one, “Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession”? ( Psalms 2:8 ). (Barclay)
What the tempter was saying was, “Compromise! Come to terms with me! Don’t pitch your demands quite so high! Wink just a little at evil and questionable things–and then people will follow you in their hordes.” This was the temptation to come to terms with the world, instead of uncompromisingly presenting God’s demands to it. It was the temptation to try to advance by retreating, to try to change the world by becoming like the world. (Barclay)
After Jesus Christ had defeated Satan, He was ready to begin His ministry. No man has a right to call others to obey who has not obeyed himself. Our Lord proved Himself to be the perfect King whose sovereignty is worthy of our respect and obedience. But, true to his purpose, Matthew had one more witness to call to prove the kingship of Jesus Christ. (Wiersbe, p 2:17)
“The placement of Jesus on the mountain of temptation, where He refused to acknowledge the devil’s ‘authority,’ is deliberately juxtaposed to the mountain (Matt. 28:16) of ‘the great commission,’ on which He later affirmed that all ‘authority’ in heaven and on earth had been granted to Him (28:18).”[350, Garlington, pp. 301-2] (Constable)
Satan offered to give Jesus immediate dominion and control over all the kingdoms of the world and the glory connected with reigning over them (v. 9)—something that God would give Him eventually as the Messiah.[351, Garlington, pp. 290] In the will of God, Jesus would achieve universal rule (Ps. 2), but only as the Suffering Servant who would have to endure the Cross first. (Constable)
God’s divine authentication of His Son (3:16-17) drew attention to both Jesus’ Davidic messiahship and His Suffering Servant role. This temptation consisted of an opportunity for Jesus to obtain the benefits of messiahship without having to experience its unpleasant elements. To get this, however, Jesus would have to change His allegiance from God to Satan. This involved idolatry, which is putting someone or something in the place that God deserves. Later, Peter suggested the same shortcut to Jesus, and received a sharp rebuke as Satan’s spokesman for doing so (16:23). (Constable)
“Jesus was in effect tempted to subscribe to the diabolical doctrine that the end justifies the means; that, so long as He obtained universal sovereignty in the end, it mattered not how that sovereignty was reached …”[352, Tasker, p. 54]
For a third time, Jesus responded by quoting Scripture to His adversary (v. 10; cf. Ps. 17:4). He banished Satan with the divine command to worship and to serve God alone (Deut. 6:13). (Constable)
“It is not by debate the victory is won, but by the Word itself.”[353, Ironside, Expository Notes …, p. 38]
When Satan tempts us to doubt, deny, disobey, or disregard God’s Word, we should do what Jesus did. Instead of listening to Satan, we should speak to him, reiterating what God has said (cf. James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:9). (Constable)
No one can ever read this story without remembering that its source must have been Jesus himself. In the wilderness he was alone. No one was with him when this struggle was being fought out. And we know about it only because Jesus himself must have told his men about it. It is Jesus telling us his own spiritual autobiography. (Barclay)
Now here is a great and uplifting truth. What we call temptation is not meant to make us sin; it is meant to enable us to conquer sin. It is not meant to make us bad, it is meant to make us good. It is not meant to weaken us, it is meant to make us emerge stronger and finer and purer from the ordeal. Temptation is not the penalty of being a man, temptation is the glory of being a man. It is the test which comes to a man whom God wishes to use. So, then, we must think of this whole incident, not so much the tempting, as the testing of Jesus. (Barclay)
We must always approach this story with a unique and special reverence, for in it Jesus is laying bare his inmost heart and soul. He is telling men what he went through. It is the most sacred of all stories, for in it Jesus is saying to us that he can help others who are tempted because he himself was tempted. He draws the veil from his own struggles to help us in our struggle. (Barclay)
The Jews had a saying, “The Holy One, blessed be his name, does not elevate a man to dignity till he has first tried and searched him; and if he stands in temptation, then he raises him to dignity.” (Barclay)
Back came Jesus’ answer: “You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve him and swear by his name” ( Deuteronomy 6:13 ). Jesus was quite certain that we can never defeat evil by compromising with evil. He laid down the uncompromisingness of the Christian faith. Christianity cannot stoop to the level of the world; it must lift the world to its own level. Nothing less will do. (Barclay)
So Jesus made his decision. He decided that he must never bribe men into following him; he decided that the way of sensations was not for him; he decided that there could be no compromise in the message he preached and in the faith he demanded. That choice inevitably meant the Cross–but the Cross just as inevitably meant the final victory. (Barclay)
4:12-15
We must not think that John the Baptist was thrown into prison immediately after our Lord’s temptation. Matthew wrote his book topically rather than chronologically. Consult a good harmony of the Gospels to study the sequence of events. (Wiersbe, p 2:17)
In Matthew 4:16, Matthew quoted Isaiah (see Isa. 9:1–2). The prophet wrote about people who “walked” in darkness, but by the time Matthew quoted the passage, the situation was so discouraging that the people were sitting in darkness! Jesus Christ brought the Light to them. He made His headquarters in Capernaum in “Galilee of the Gentiles,” another reference to the universal outreach of the gospel’s message. In Galilee there was a mixed population that was somewhat despised by the racially “pure” citizens of Judea. (Wiersbe, p 2:17)
Jesus had four and possibly seven men in the band of disciples who were professional fishermen (see John 21:1–3). Why would Jesus call so many fishermen to His side? For one thing, fishermen were busy people; usually professional fishermen did not sit around doing nothing. They either sorted their catch, prepared for a catch, or mended their equipment. The Lord needs busy people who are not afraid to work. (Wiersbe, p 2:18)
Fishermen have to be courageous and patient people. It certainly takes patience and courage to win others to Christ. Fishermen must have skill; they must learn from others where to find the fish and how to catch them. Soul-winning demands skill too. These men had to work together, and the work of the Lord demands cooperation. But most of all, fishing demands faith: fishermen cannot see the fish and are not sure their nets will enclose them. Soul-winning requires faith and alertness too, or we will fail. (Wiersbe, p 2:18)
1 W. D. Davies and D. C. Allison, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, 1:354. Cf. Deut. 8:2, 16. As cited in Constable.
2 See Sydney H. T. Page, “Satan: God’s Servant,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 50:3 (September 2007):449-65. As cited in Constable.
3 See John W. Wenham, “Christ’s View of Scripture,” in Inerrancy, pp. 3-36; Pierre Ch. Marcel, “Our Lord’s Use of Scripture,” in Revelation and the Bible, pp. 121-34; Robert L. Saucy, “How Did Christ View the Scriptures?” ch. 8 in Scripture, pp. 109-23. As cited in Constable.
Scripture quotations [unless otherwise noted] are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Click here to access the works cited web-page for this document, save those marked as “Notes” or “Other Works Cited”–if any. Most of these cited works correspond to the verses they are outlined with. In the case of general background information and references, one will find cited material with the Bible books the citations are associated with. ¶ Furthermore, there may be numbered notes that are URL linked; these are usually retained numbered notes from Thomas Constable’s, “Dr. Constable’s Expository (Bible Study) Notes.” These links are preserved “as is” at the time of this work’s formation and sometimes include other citation information from Constable.
Blomberg, Craig L. Matthew. New American Commentary, vol. 22, ed. David S. Dockery, et al., Broadman Press, 1992. Sourced from archive.org.
(https://archive.org/details/matthew0000blom)
________. Preaching the Parables: From Responsible Interpretation to Powerful Proclamation. Baker Academic, 2004. Sourced from archive.org.
(https://archive.org/details/preachingparable0000blom/page/82/mode/2up)
Bradley, Marshell C. Matthew: Poet, Historian, Dialectician. Studies in Biblical Literature, ed. Hemchand Gossai, vol. 103, Peter Lang, 2007.
Evans, Craig A. The Bible Knowledge Background Commentary: Matthew-Luke. Victor, 2003. Sourced from archive.org.
(https://archive.org/details/bibleknowledgeba00crai/mode/2up)
Hendriksen, William. New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke. Baker Book House, 1984.
Phillips, John. Exploring the Gospels: John. Loizeaux Brothers, 1988.
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