The end of chapter 3 states: .16But Jesus having been baptized ascended straight from the water, and look!, the heavens were opened and he saw the spirit of God descending as-though a dove coming on him, .17and look!, a sound out-from the heavens saying, "This is My son, the loved1 (son) in whom I consider-it-good."
Matthew 4:1-4:
4:1Then Jesus was led-up by the spirit into the desert-place to be tempted by the devil .2and having fasted forty days and forty nights afterwards he hungered .3and the (one) tempting having come-towards (him) said to him, "If you are son of God you must say (words) in order that these stones may be caused-to-become breads." .4But the (one) having answered said, "It was written2: 'The man will not live on only bread but on every spoken-matter journeying-out by means of (the) mouth of God'."
At that time Jesus was led-up by the spirit (the holy spirit that Jesus had just received directed, conducted or conveyed him up) from the Jordan valley into the desert or desolate place to be tempted by the devil. The verb "to be tempted" means: to be made trial-of or tried in the bad sense of being put to the test with evil and ill-intent being enticed to do wrong, try to cause to fall-aside from the truth of God's Word, being enticed to disbelieve what God says during that specific situation. The devil is the one who tempts with/by evil.
The word translated "devil" comes from the words: "through" and "throw" or "cast" – the devil throws or casts things through people, like stabbing a person from outside through the person and out the other side with an accusation or slander, etc. "Satan" is the name that emphasizes the devil's opposing and adversarial attributes being in total opposition to the only true God. There are many names used in the Bible to describe his characteristics, qualities, etc. The devil is the chief of the devil-spirits (demons), which are the other evil-spirits in subordination to the devil.
After Jesus had been fasting (not eating) for forty days and forty nights (40 x 24-hours) he was hungry. The number 40 is significant in that from God's point of view it is the period of probation and trial in order to prove something. Also, 'fasting' literally refers to abstaining from physical eating, but figuratively refers to doing the will of God; doing the will of God includes praying to Him, listening to Him, doing what He says (Isaiah 58:3-8).
And, the one tempting (again referring to the devil, but with another name that emphasizes the fact that he presently and actively tempts), having come-towards (approached) Jesus, said to him, "If you are son of God you must say (words) in order that these stones may be caused-to-become breads." The word "if" could also be translated "since" from the Greek sentence structure – the one tempting is not doubting that Jesus is truly the son of God. God had made this very clear when Jesus received holy spirit from God.
From an unaware viewpoint, it could seem that the tempter/devil was offering Jesus help by giving him advice on what to do in order to keep himself alive without having to rely on someone else nor on God to get what is needed to live. This was as the serpent/devil did to Adam (the first man) and Eve (the first woman) recorded in Genesis chapter 3 (you may read my study of Appendix to Romans, the fall of Adam for further information).
The one tempting said to Jesus: if/since you are God's son you must say definite words for the purpose and result that these stones would be caused to become (come to pass to be) loaves of bread for you to eat so you won't be hungry and you will live.
But the one answering said (Jesus judicially replied to the questioning statement made by the one tempting by saying): "It was written2: 'The man will not live on only bread but on every spoken-matter journeying-out by means of (the) mouth of God'." Jesus did not respond by saying, "Of course I'm the son of God!" – because this was not in question. Nor did Jesus argue or deliberate on what the one tempting said as to how to use what God had made available to him. But Jesus answered by referring to what was previously written as part of God's Word, and had not changed, in the Book of Deuteronomy that Moses spoke and wrote.
Deuteronomy 8:1-3:
All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers.
And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
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.
Jesus answered saying: it was written and is still written: 'The man (mankind) will not live (will not have life, not be alive) resting or based upon only bread (bread alone), but on the contrary, man will live resting or based upon every spoken-matter journeying-out by means of the mouth of God (all/every portion of the whole of God's Word, each containing a specific discourse making its journey, proceeding, being passed out to mankind by means of/through God's mouth – figuratively emphasizing that what is spoken must originate from God in order to give life to the man)'.
Jesus Christ is the second man, as opposed to the first man Adam who succumbed to the devil's temptation. Also, we should note that the record here in Matthew was not written while this was going on, nor is it the same as what Luke records about the time when Jesus was in the desert (Luke 4:1-13). Of course, the information God gave to Matthew was accurate and the information He gave to Luke was also accurate – therefore let us endeavor to learn from these records and not argue about what goes where or what comes next, etc.
Some say that there were three temptations, some say four, and some say that the temptations in Luke took place first, then a little space of time, and then the devil tempts Jesus again in a slightly different manner but the same basic principles that culminated in the temptation of direct worship of the devil/satan himself. This would make six temptations. Let us learn from Jesus' handling of these temptations, and the truth that even though he was tempted in different ways and in different places, he continued to believe and stand on God's Word.
[Reference: Genesis 3:1-24; Exodus 24:18, and 34:28; I Kings 19:8; the Book of Job; Mark 1:12; Luke 4:1 and 2; Acts 1:3; I Corinthians 15:20-57; I Thessalonians 3:5; I John 2:16.]
Verses 5-7:
.5Then the devil takes him beside (himself) into the holy city and caused him to-stand on the pinnacle of the temple, .6and he says to him, "If you are son of God you must throw yourself below for it was written2 that 'He will command His angels concerning you and they will lift you on (their) hands lest-perhaps you may stumble your foot against a stone.'" .7Jesus said to him, "Again it was written2, 'You will not tempt-out (the) Lord your God.'"
Then the devil (here referring to him as 'the devil') takes or receives Jesus beside himself into Jerusalem and made him stand on the pinnacle (little wing) of the main Temple, and he says to Jesus: if/since you are God's son (same usage as verse 3 above) you must cast yourself downwards from where you are standing, in truth it was written and is still written that 'He will command (enjoin, charge) His angels about you and they will lift you (take you up and carry you away) on their hands (a figure emphasizing their powerful protection over him and treating him with dignity and respect) lest-perhaps (whether or not, whether it may happen at any time or not that) you would stumble/beat your foot against a stone.'
Here we see that the devil referenced what is written as part of God's Word! The fact that he spoke part of the Book of Psalms did not make what he was doing and implying right!
Was Jesus tricked or deceived by the misquoted and misused verses from Psalms? No. Jesus said (brought to light by speaking) to him: again it was written and is still written (it has not changed), 'You will not tempt-out the Lord your God.' Singular individual you will not intensely tempt, make trial-of or try-out, in the bad sense of putting to the test with evil and ill-intent enticing, provoking and endeavoring to force the Lord (Jehovah) your God (Elohim) to do something during that specific situation, but which would be contrary to His intention regarding which these words were originally spoken. The future tense was used in the command because it must be obeyed from the time it was commanded onwards.
Jesus references what is written in Deuteronomy 6:16, which refers to what the children of Israel did as recorded in Exodus 17 (where the rock was a type of the coming Christ) tempting God as to whether He was present with them or not, and if He was present then whether He would take care of them by doing what He said He would do for them or not.
[Reference: Exodus 17:1-7; Deuteronomy 6:16; Nehemiah 11:1; Psalm 91:11 and 12; John 7:37-39; Acts chapter 2; I Corinthians 10:9.]
Verses 8-11:
.8Again the devil takes him beside (himself) into a very high mountain and points-out to him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, .9and said to him, "All these-things I will give to you if-ever having fallen you may worship me." .10Then Jesus says to him, "You must go, satan, for it was written2, 'You will worship (the) Lord your God and you will render-service only to Him." .11Then the devil leaves him; and look!, angels came-towards (Jesus) and used-to minister to him.
Again the devil takes or receives Jesus beside himself into a very elevated hill and indicated to him (as pointing out with the finger) all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. The kingdoms of the world and their glory = all the sovereignties, kingly or royal dominions and governments and rulers and territories and powers, etc, of the ordered-arrangement that God created, including the importance, splendor, renown of these worldly kingdoms. The devil had, of course, received these from the first man Adam recorded in Genesis chapter 3 (you may read my study of Appendix to Romans, the fall of Adam for more information).
After the devil had pointed-out these-things to Jesus, he said to him: all these-things I will give (willingly present to you, no-one is forcing me to give) to you if it should happen that after you fall down in the position of homage you would worship me (pay homage to me).
This was the condition in which the devil offered Jesus his way for him to gain back what Adam had lost regarding dominion over what God had originally given to him but which he had willingly given to the devil. All he would have to do was to fall down in the position of homage and directly worship the devil/satan. However, this way of doing things was contrary to the way that the only true God wanted Jesus to accomplish this task. What was Jesus' reaction – did he tell the devil that he was lying or bluffing? No. Jesus knew it was true that the devil now had control over the kingdoms of the world.
Then Jesus says to the devil: you must go, satan…. Notice that Jesus uses the name "satan" here, not "devil" or "tempter." The name "satan" emphasizes his adversarial attributes. Jesus commanded satan to go.
Then Jesus says to him: you must go (actively lead yourself under, in the sense of going without any argument, under cover, as animals go because they are under a yoke without going from side to side or intentionally stopping to do something else, go and cease being near me), satan, for it was written and is still written, 'You will worship the Lord your God (singular individual you will pay homage to, be obeisant toward, Jehovah your Elohim) and you will render service only to Him (you will perform or carry-out service to Him alone, nobody or nothing else).
Then the devil leaves Jesus (in the sense of that he let Jesus go from his concern as to what Jesus wanted to do, he dismissed him and thereby permitted Jesus to do what he wanted to do at that moment following Jesus' imperative command to go). The devil didn't argue with Jesus, nor did he say "no" to him, but he did what Jesus wanted him to do. He obeyed him and went away from Jesus.
And look (behold, see)! – angels came-towards Jesus and spent time ministering to him (these spirit-beings served to benefit Jesus, they were doing work to bring him profit, taking care of him as regards what he needed at that time).
[Reference: Deuteronomy 6:13, 10:20; I Kings 19:5-8; I Chronicles 21:1; Matthew 26:53; Mark 1:13; Hebrews 1:14.]
Verses 12-17:
.12But having heard that John was given-over, (Jesus) departed into Galilee, .13and having left-down Nazareth, having come he dwelt-down into Capernaum the seaside in (the) boundaries of Zebulon and Nephthalim, .14in order that the-thing may be fulfilled having been said by means of Isaiah the prophet saying, .15"Land of Zebulon and land of Nephthalim, way of (the) sea, other-side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, .16the people, the (people) sitting-down in darkness, saw great light, and to the (people) sitting-down in (the) country and shadow of death light arose to them." .17From then Jesus began to herald-forth and to say, "You must repent, for the kingdom of the heavens came-near2."
When Jesus heard that John, the baptizer, was given-over (had been given along, handed-over or delivered beside or alongside others), Jesus departed (moved up/back, put space between where he was and his destination) into Galilee. After he had left Nazareth, where he had been living previously, down from him as he continued traveling northwards within the area of Galilee, he came and dwelt-down (permanently settled down, housed or inhabited) into Capernaum beside the Sea of Galilee in the boundaries or limits of Zebulun and Naphtali.
Jesus now dwelt in Capernaum for the purpose and result that the matter, which had been spoken by definite words being uttered by means of Isaiah the prophet, would be fulfilled (filled-up, made-full, accomplished) saying: land of Zebulon and land of Nephthalim, way/road of the sea, other-side of (across, beyond) the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles (nations other-than Israel/Judah), the people who are presently sitting-down within darkness saw/perceived great light, and to the people sitting-down in the country (surrounding area) and shadow/shade of death light arose (rose up) to them.
Normally when someone is sitting down in a particular place (here it is in darkness and the surrounding area and shade of death) he is not going anywhere – unless another would come and give him the opportunity to get out of what he is in, and Jesus gives mankind the opportunity to be in light – God's light, which includes God's life which is holy spirit.
From that time onwards Jesus began to herald-forth (proclaim) and to say, "You must repent, for the kingdom of the heavens came-near2" – this is the same as what John had been heralding-forth (refer to Matthew 3:1 and 2). You must change your minds from bad to good regarding God and the things of God after re-thinking what God says, in truth the kingdom of the heavens has actively come near and is still near you.
The kingdom of the heavens = the kingdom of God / God's kingdom. The word "kingdom" refers to all that is contained within God's sovereignty, His kingly or royal dominion and government and rule and territory and power, etc. The words "the heavens" literally refer to the areas above the earth, but figuratively refer to God's spirit realm. The usage of the plural form "heavens" gives great emphasis and expansive greatness to God's kingdom.
[Reference: Psalm 107:10-14; Isaiah 9:1 and 2; Mark 1:15; Luke 4:14.]
Verses 18-22:
.18But walking beside the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon the (one) being said (as) Peter and Andrew his brother, throwing a throwing-net into the sea, for they used-to-be fishermen, .19and he says to them, "Come-this-way behind me and I will make you fishermen of men," .20and the (brothers) immediately having left the nets followed him. .21And having advanced from-there he saw two other brothers, James the (son) of Zebedee and John his brother, in the ship with Zebedee their father fully-equipping their nets, and he called them, .22and the (brothers) immediately having left the ship and their father followed him.
While Jesus was walking alongside the Sea of Galilee he saw (perceived) two brothers – Simon who was also called Peter, and Andrew his brother – who were casting a large net thrown around with/by their hands into the sea. In truth, their occupation at that time was that they worked on the sea being fishermen. Jesus said to them: come this way (come here) after me and I will make you fishers of men (mankind). And, the brothers immediately (straightaway, directly) left their fishing nets (let them go from their concern) and they followed Jesus coming after him.
And having advanced (gone before, ahead or in-front) out from there, he saw two other brothers – James (Jacob) the son of Zebedee and John his brother – in the ship with Zebedee their father fully-equipping their nets (putting their fishing nets in a fitting straight/right order, framing the pieces together, fitting them out). Jesus called (invited) them, and the brothers immediately having left the ship and their father followed him.
[Reference: Mark 1:16-20; Acts 1:13, 12:2.]
Verses 23-25:
.23And he used-to lead-around in the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues and heralding-forth the good-message of the kingdom and attending-to every disease and every sickness among the people; .24and the thing-heard of him went-away into the whole of Syria, and they carried-towards him all the (people) having badly, being held-together with variegated diseases and torments, being devilized, and being lunatic, and paralytic, and he attended-to them. .25And many crowds followed him from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and other-side of the Jordan.
Jesus spent time leading or going around within the whole of Galilee instructing in their synagogues (where the Israelites/Judeans gathered together every sabbath and special days to hear readings from the law of Moses, etc), and proclaiming the good-message (gospel, evangel) pertaining to God's kingdom, and attending to (treating, being therapeutic, taking care of as necessary) all/every disease (the definite sicknesses causing mental and/or physical decline) and all/every sickness (physical softness or weakness which is debilitating) in and among the people.
The thing-heard of him (that-which was spoken forth by Jesus to be heard by others, his report) went away into the whole of Syria. And, the people carried-towards him (brought or offered to him) all those having badly (holding something in their bodies and/or minds that is bad, contrary to what God would want them to have), being held-together (confined, pressed or held-fast in conjunction) with/by variegated, manifold or various diseases and torments (touchstones being rubbed against by other things testing them thereby causing marks, forced pains, tortures), being devilized (demonized, being operated, controlled, dominated by devil-spirits)….
The root of the verb translated "devilized" is the Greek word daimon, which was used in Greek mythology/falsehoods to describe supernatural intermediary beings between false-gods and men. In reality, these are the high-ranking evil spirits in the devil's "army" because they take their orders and direction from the chief or top-ranking devil-spirit himself who is the devil/satan. These devil-spirits (daimon) can direct the lower-ranking devil-spirits (daimonion). Jesus attended to those people who were affected by daimon, which would also include the daimonion in subjection to the daimon, by casting them out of those people who wanted to be free of them.
They carried-towards Jesus all those having badly, being held-together with variegated diseases and torments, being devilized, and being lunatic (epileptic, thought to be related to the different phases of the moon as viewed from the earth), and paralytic (paralyzed), and he attended to them.
And, many crowds (throngs of people) followed him from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and other-side of (across, beyond) the Jordan.
[Reference: Mark 1:35-39; Luke 4:42-44; Acts 10:36-38. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (2) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]