Matthew Chapter 4

· Matthew 4:1-25 (ESV) Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  [2] And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  [3] And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."  [4] But he answered, "It is written, " 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " [5] Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple [6] and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written," 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and " 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.' " [7] Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.' "  [8] Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  [9] And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."  [10] Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, " 'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.' " [11] Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. [12] Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee.  [13] And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,  [14] so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: [15] "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— [16] the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." [17] From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." [18] While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.  [19] And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."  [20] Immediately they left their nets and followed him.  [21] And 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, and he called them.  [22] Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. [23] And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.  [24] So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.  [25] And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

4:1-2    “… led up by the hand of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) into the wilderness forty days….”

Why 40 days?  Same as Moshe (Moses) days Moshe (Moses) spent on Mt. Sinai and the forty years Israel spent in the wilderness.  The gematris (numerical value) of “by the hand of YHWH” is forty. 

4:3   “…these stones be made bread.”

The bread of the ancient Hebrrews was made of unbleached flour and often in roughly circular loafs (Shabbat meal challah bread of today).  The result was a roughly round, dark brown crusted loaf of bread which resembled a stone. 

"Baruch atah HaShem, elokeinu melech ha'olam, hamotzi lechem min ha'aretz" (translation: "Blessed are you, L-rd our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth").

According to Jewish tradition, Sabbath and holiday meals begin with a blessing over two loaves of bread. This "double loaf" (in Hebrew: lechem mishneh) commemorates the  manna that fell from the heavens when the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years after the Exodus from Egypt. The manna did not fall on the Sabbath or holidays; instead, a double portion fell before the Sabbath and holidays.

Jews normally do not bless the food before eating but rather after eating.  They do not “bless the food” either but rather acknowledge that God is the one who provides for their sustenance. 

“When you have eaten and are satisfied, you will bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you (Deut. 8:10). 

4:5-7  Then HaSatan (Devil) took him up to the holy city, and set him on a turret of the Temple…..

Some Greek manuscripts of Matthew have a marginal note to this passage which reads “The Judaikon (Jewish version) has not ‘into the holy city’ but Jerusalem” which agrees with the reading in Luke 4:9.  Was the hope of Satan to tempt Messiah to skip his death as Messiah ben (son)Yosef and move right to his kingship as Messiah ben David? 

4:12-17   “…the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light…”

Here Matthew quotes Isa. 8:23-9:1.  Jesus’ teaching was the “light” of Isa. 8:23 – 9:1.  Isaiah 8:20 provides context for this passage: 

· Isaiah 8:16-22 (ESV) Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples.  [17] I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.  [18] Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.  [19] And when they say to you, "Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter," should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?  [20] To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.  [21] They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward.  [22] And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.

To the Torah and to the testimony:  If they speak not according to this work, it is because there is no “light” in them.

Perhaps Jesus was traveling throughout Galilee teaching Torah?  We do know that Jesus and his disciples were Torah practicing Jews without the “extra” requirements over and above the “law”made by the Sadducees and Pharisees