Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

Matthew 4

• Psalm 107:25 For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea.
• Mark 4:⁴¹ And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
• What manner of man is this? Is Jesus the Son of God?

Satan Tempts Jesus

Matthew 4:¹ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Matthew 4:² And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.

• Exodus 34:²⁸ So he (Moses) was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
• Both Jesus and Moses fasted for forty days and forty nights.

Matthew 4:³ Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “IF

You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

• Satan is questioning Jesus…(Who is this man? Is He the Son of the Godhead?)
• Is Satan questioning whether or not Jesus is the “Seed of the Woman” prophesied to bruise his head?

Matthew 4:⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

• Deuteronomy 8:3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

Matthew 4:⁵ Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,

Matthew 4:⁶ and said to Him, “IF

You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’

and,

‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

• Satan KNOWS scripture.
  Psalm 91:12 “In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.”

Matthew 4:⁷ Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt (test) the Lord your God.’ ”

Matthew 4:⁸ Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

• As a reader, I ask myself, what was Satan thinking?
  I can only imagine if these might be his thoughts:
  “What manner of man is this Jesus? He neither denies nor affirms he is the Son of God. I will offer him the kingship of the world. Let’s see what he will say then.”

Matthew 4:⁹ And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

• Reader, remember, Satan is a liar. Would he have kept his word?
  
• As the Son of God, Jesus is the second person of the Godhead. A covenant had already been agreed upon between the Holy THREE (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) – before the foundation of the world.
  
  • John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
    
  • Ephesians 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
    
  • I Peter 1:20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.
    
  • Revelation 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
    
• What was the Covenant between the Godhead?
  
  A Covenant: An Oath, Pact, Treaty, United together as “One” in character, spiritual DNA, and purpose. An agreement to “cut away” (to sever, separate from) all foes – even to the shedding of blood. This is their bond, and the Godhead made a pact to keep their relationship intact.
  
  • Matthew 4:9 And he (Satan) said to Him (Jesus), “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me (and break the bonds of the Godhead asunder).”
    
• Words of association: Holy (to be separated), Circumcised (Cutting away of worldly choices), Consecrated (being dedication to the Godhead’s agenda, Marriage (bound together, two as one,  bearing fruit), Clean (purity).  

Matthew 4:¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you (Get behind Me!), Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

• The bonds between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit remained intact! This is the only verse in the temptation that uses the name “Satan” (Accuser) instead of “the “devil”.

Matthew 4:¹¹ Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry

Matthew 4:¹² Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.

Matthew 4:¹³ And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali,

Matthew 4:^14-16 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned.”

Matthew 4:¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (has drawn near).”

Four Fishermen Called as Disciples

 Matthew 4:¹⁸ And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

Matthew 4:¹⁹ Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Matthew 4:²⁰ They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

Matthew 4:²¹ Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them,

Matthew 4:²² and immediately they left the boat and their father (Zebedee), and followed Him.

Jesus Heals a Great Multitude

Matthew 4:²³ And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

• The gospel of the kingdom is the thousand year kingdom on earth when Jesus will rule in Jerusalem. It is a gospel of repentance.

Matthew 4:²⁴ Then His fame (the report of Him) went throughout all Syria;

Matthew 4:²⁵ Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis (Ten Cities) Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

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