A Deeper Look at Matthew:  An End-Times Bible Study
Copyright 2012
 
Matthew 4
 
            This is very interesting.  Beginning here in 4:1, we are told that it is the very Spirit Itself that leads Jesus "into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil."  Now, why would the Spirit of God lead Jesus to a place where the devil can tempt Him?  Well, Jesus needed to be tested the same way other humans are tested in their time on earth.
            The devil tempts Jesus after He has fasted for forty days and forty nights.  As you might imagine, after fasting for such a long time Jesus' body is hungry and weak.  But, it is in this condition where the devil comes and puts Jesus to the test.  We are told in 4:4 that Jesus is tempted in His flesh, first.  The devil says to Jesus, "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread."  You can see that the devil questions Jesus' identity as the Son of God.  His words are an affront to Jesus.
            First of all, the devil is attempting to cause Jesus to yield to the devil in just the slightest way.  He is trying to get a small toehold on Jesus.  Remember, the devil, whether he is tempting Jesus or you or anybody else, ALWAYS STARTS SMALL.  He looks for you to compromise with him JUST A LITTLE BIT.  Call this a "toehold."  He does this by giving you an image or an idea, whether in your head, or in the world in which you live.  He wants to see whether you embrace this image or idea (by getting you to act on it), or if you reject it as one of the devil's assaults on you.  For example, if your weakness is alcohol, the devil may give you the idea of "relaxing and having a drink."  If you go and have that drink, he will give you the idea of "relaxing a bit more with another drink," until you are fully inebriated and in sin.  He always starts out with a toehold, and this is the most crucial area, in which you need to overcome.  It is what you do with this small assault on a weakness you have that determines what happens later.  If you give into this toehold, it will make it that much harder to overcome the devil later on because the devil now has overtaken you a little bit BY CAUSING YOU TO SUBMIT.  And, you must NEVER SUBMIT TO THE DEVIL, because he hates you with a fervent hate and wants nothing less than to destroy you by separating you from God.  (His goal is hell for you!)
            Well, after the devil has a toehold on you, he then goes for a "foothold" where he has an even firmer grip on you.  After this, he goes for the "leg-hold," and finally he has got you in a complete "body-hold" where you are in full-blown sin.  But, he could never have gotten you to sin without causing you to submit to him just a little bit.
            And this is what the devil wants Jesus to do here.  He knows Jesus has just fasted for forty days and nights and is hungry.  So, what does he do?  He tempts Jesus in a "weak area," His flesh, because Jesus has not eaten for over a month.  Well, Jesus tells the devil in 3:4, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."  This is a quotation of Deuteronmy 8:3.  (You will note that Jesus quotes scripture to the devil  every time He is tempted.)
            Next, the devil takes Jesus into the "holy city [Jerusalem]" and sets Him at the pinnacle of the temple.  The devil then says, "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone (Psalm 91:11-12)."  You need to understand that the devil knows the Bible better than the best-trained preachers and, here, the devil is attempting to cause Jesus to submit again, while justifying it with scripture.  Sly and crafty, eh?  Well, Jesus can see what the devil is up to again and quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 to him, saying to the devil, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"
            Finally, the devil takes Jesus up on a very high mountain and shows him "all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them."  The devil offers to give all these things to Jesus, if He will just fall down and worship the him.  Perhaps the devil forgot, but didn't Jesus create all these things, along with the entire universe, even creating the devil himself (John 1:3)?  Did the devil suddenly come into possession of the earth, that he is now able to offer it to Jesus?  No.  But the devil is the "prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2)."  Remember what Jesus says in Matthew 11:27, "All things are delivered unto me of my Father."  So, Jesus is the rightful Owner of earth, NOT THE DEVIL!  Jesus responds to the devil's final assault on Him, saying, "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."
            After all this, angels come and minister to Jesus.
            Jesus then, upon hearing that they put John in prison, departs for Galilee.  So He leaves Nazareth and goes and dwells in Capernaum on the sea coast, bordering Zabulon and Nephthalim.  By doing this, Jesus fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1-2, which says that the people of the aforementioned regions, a region wherein is [spiritual] darkness, have seen a "great light."  Despite sitting in the region of the shadow of death, a Light is come to them.  That light is none other than the Creator of the universe walking in their midst.
            It is at this time that Jesus begins to preach, saying, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  (You will note that this message is identical to John the Baptist's message in Matthew 3:2.)
            Walking by the sea of Galilee, Jesus sees two brothers, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea, for they are fishermen (Matthew 4:18).  Jesus says in the next verse, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."  Note the play on words - Jesus will make these fishermen fishers of men.
            We are told in the next verses that the brothers IMMEDIATELY leave their nets and follow Jesus.  They then head out and see another set of brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and they are mending their nets.  Jesus calls them and they IMMEDIATELY leave the ship and their father, and follow Jesus.  Note, all these people do not bat an eyelash and, without hesitation, go and follow Jesus.
            If Jesus were to show up at your place of work as He did with these four men, and told you to follow Him, what would you do?  Would you follow Him IMMEDIATELY, as these men did?  Or would you say to Jesus, "Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are home at my house (Luke 9:61)?"  Personally, for me, Jesus is the type of person that makes me want to follow, so I would leave everything and go to follow Him.
            Jesus' ministry is now underway, as He is teaching in the synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all types of sicknesses and diseases among the people (4:23).  Jesus' fame spreads throughout Syria, and they bring all types of sick people to Him, people sick with demon possession, mentally ill people, and those with paralysis; and He heals them all.  At this point, large numbers of people from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judaea, and from beyond the Jordan follow Him.