(Mat 4:1 NASB) Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Mat 4:1: The term “the devil” is the Greek word “diablos.” It is also translated as “malicious gossip.”
(Mat 4:2 NASB) And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.
Mat 4:2: Yeshua was led about by the Spirit for forty days. He did not eat anything during those forty days. During these forty days, Yeshua was tempted by Satan in various ways. Why did this all take place? Surely there was a reason for this. It is recorded here in Matthew and also in Luke. It is definitely an important event.
There was one sure sign of Messiah that the people were to look for. That sign was that Elohim would send a “Prophet” like Moses and they were to listen to the Father’s Words that He would speak (Deut. 18:15-19).
In fasting for forty days in the wilderness, Yeshua was doing the same thing as Moses. Moses was on the top of a mountain in the wilderness and did not eat or drink for forty days (Exodus 34:27-28). The reason for this whole episode is to tell Israel that this Man is the Prophet like Moses, the One to look for and the One to which they must listen. This is further evidenced as this account unfolds.
(Mat 4:3 NASB) And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
(Mat 4:4 NASB) But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'”
Mat 4:4: Satan is telling Yeshua, “You are the Son of Elohim, do what Your Father did. Make these stones into bread in the same way Your Father provided bread from heaven for Israel.” Yeshua answered with the words of Moses when Moses was reminding Israel of the manna provided by Elohim for their sustenance (Deut. 8:2-3).
Keep in mind that every time Yeshua answered and rebuked Satan, He used the words of Moses in Deuteronomy.
Keep in mind this particular statement. What are we to live by? We are to live “on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Elohim.” What Words proceeded out of the mouth of Elohim? Paul never said, “Thus says Yahweh,” unless He was quoting the Tanakh. The direct words of Yahweh are the ones that came from the mouth of Moses, which are the ones quoted here by Messiah (Exodus 19:9, Numbers 16:6-8).
(Mat 4:5 NASB) Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,
(Mat 4:6 NASB) and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL GIVE HIS ANGELS CHARGE CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, LEST YOU STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'”
Mat 4:6: Satan then led Yeshua to Jerusalem and took Him to the highest place on the Temple. From there, Satan quotes Psalm 91:11-12 about how angels will protect Him. And why does Satan quote this particular verse “lest you strike your foot against a stone?” I believe Satan is referencing how Moses struck a stone in disobedience to Elohim which kept him from leading Israel into the Promised Land of Canaan (Num. 20:11-13).
(Mat 4:7 NASB) Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'”
Mat 4:7: Yeshua answered Satan by once again quoting the Words of Elohim given through His prophet Moses (Deut. 6:16). We are not to put Elohim to the test. We are told that this means we are not to question His presence (Ex. 17:5-7). The people of Israel questioned the presence of Elohim at the waters of Massah. It made Moses so angry that he disobeyed Elohim and in a way, “struck his foot against a stone.” Moses tripped up in his anger and struck the rock at Massah and Meribah.
Yeshua did not do this, even in His righteous anger at Satan.
(Mat 4:8 NASB) Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory;
(Mat 4:9 NASB) and he said to Him, “All these things will I give You, if You fall down and worship me.”
(Mat 4:10 NASB) Then Jesus said to him, “Begone, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'”
Mat 4:10: Yeshua once again rebukes Satan with the words of Elohim spoken through His prophet Moses (Deut. 6:13-15). Paul tells us that idolatry is actually the worship of demons (1 Cor. 10:20-22). Moses dealt with idolatry several times in trying to keep Israel away from it. In Torah, we are told that idolatry stems from wormwood poisoning (Deut. 29:17-20). This is why Elohim prohibited idolatry in His Torah. When we try to worship Him in the same manner that the Gentiles worship their idols and other false gods, we are worshipping demons even if we change the names (Deut. 12:29-32).
(Mat 4:11 NASB) Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
(Mat 4:12 NASB) Now when He heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;
(Mat 4:13 NASB) and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.
Mat 4:13: When Yeshua heard that John had been taken into custody; He left Jerusalem and went to Nazareth in Galilee, which is about 65 miles as the crow flies, with Capernaum being another 18 miles or so.
(Mat 4:14 NASB) This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
(Mat 4:15 NASB) “THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES–
(Mat 4:16 NASB) “THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND TO THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.”
Mat 4:16: Yeshua being in this area was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 9:1-2). This is the place that Yeshua starts with His message of the Gospel.
(Mat 4:17 NASB) From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Mat 4:17: This is the message of the Gospel (Matt 4:23). This message was prophesied in the Tanakh (Isa. 52:7). The message of the Gospel is simple. Repent (turn away from your ways and traditions of man and turn toward the Torah of Elohim) because the kingdom of heaven is at hand (your Elohim reigns).
(Mat 4:18 NASB) And walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
(Mat 4:19 NASB) And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Mat 4:19: Yeshua wants to make them fishers of men. He wants them to fish for the lost people of the house of Israel. This was prophesied in the Tanakh (Jer. 16:14-16). Yeshua said that when His people hear His voice, they will follow Him (John 10:24-30). The key to this is that His sheep hear His voice and they follow in His footsteps (Psalm 85:13, 119:133, 1 Peter 2:21-22, 1 John 2:6).
(Mat 4:20 NASB) And they immediately left the nets, and followed Him.
(Mat 4:21 NASB) 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.
(Mat 4:22 NASB) And they immediately left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Mat 4:22: Yeshua finds more fishermen to follow Him. James and John immediately followed Yeshua, just as did Peter and Andrew. They did not hesitate.
(Mat 4:23 NASB) And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.
(Mat 4:24 NASB) And the news about Him went out into all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, taken with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.
Mat 4:24: Yeshua was teaching in the synagogues, which means He was teaching and gathering on the Sabbath Day. He was proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, which is “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
There is great significance to Yeshua healing disease and sickness among the people. Keep in mind that Matthew is writing this message to prove to the people that Yeshua is the Messiah. He started out by giving the lineage of the step-father of Yeshua and describing His virgin birth from the Spirit of the Father, which qualifies Him as Messiah.
Matthew then writes about how Yeshua is a fulfillment of the prophecies pertaining to Messiah. Yeshua healing the people of disease and sickness is a part of that fulfillment of prophecy in the Tanakh (Isaiah 29:18, 35:4-6).
(Mat 4:25 NASB) And great multitudes followed Him from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.
Mat 4:25: Decapolis is a district originally containing ten cities south of the Sea of Galilee. Combine that with the other areas mentioned and the multitudes would have been enormous.
Patrick McGuire
Copyright 2014 Patrick McGuire and Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly All rights reserved, no portion of this Lesson may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly Fort Smith, Arkansas