Matthew 4
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Matthew 4
The Temptation of Jesus
1Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
CHAPTER 4
Mt 4:1-11. Temptation of Christ. ( = Mr 1:12, 13; Lu 4:1-13).
1. Then--an indefinite note of sequence. But Mark's word (Mr 1:12) fixes what we should have presumed was meant, that it was "immediately" after His baptism; and with this agrees the statement of Luke (Lu 4:1).
was Jesus led up--that is, from the low Jordan valley to some more elevated spot.
of the Spirit--that blessed Spirit immediately before spoken of as descending upon Him at His baptism, and abiding upon Him. Luke, connecting these two scenes, as if the one were but the sequel of the other, says, "Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan, and was led," &c. Mark's expression has a startling sharpness about it--"Immediately the Spirit driveth Him" (Mr 1:12), "putteth," or "hurrieth Him forth," or "impelleth Him." (See the same word in Mr 1:43; 5:40; Mt 9:25; 13:52; Joh 10:4). The thought thus strongly expressed is the mighty constraining impulse of the Spirit under which He went; while Matthew's more gentle expression, "was led up," intimates how purely voluntary on His own part this action was.
into the wilderness--probably the wild Judean desert. The particular spot which tradition has fixed upon has hence got the name of Quarantana or Quarantaria, from the forty days--"an almost perpendicular wall of rock twelve or fifteen hundred feet above the plain" [Robinson, Palestine]. The supposition of those who incline to place the temptation amongst the mountains of Moab is, we think, very improbable.
to be tempted--The Greek word (peirazein) means simply to try or make proof of; and when ascribed to God in His dealings with men, it means, and can mean no more than this. Thus, Ge 22:1, "It came to pass that God did tempt Abraham," or put his faith to a severe proof. (See De 8:2). But for the most part in Scripture the word is used in a bad sense, and means to entice, solicit, or provoke to sin. Hence the name here given to the wicked one--"the tempter" (Mt 4:3). Accordingly "to be tempted" here is to be understood both ways. The Spirit conducted Him into the wilderness simply to have His faith tried; but as the agent in this trial was to be the wicked one, whose whole object would be to seduce Him from His allegiance to God, it was a temptation in the bad sense of the term. The unworthy inference which some would draw from this is energetically repelled by an apostle (Jas 1:13-17).
of the devil--The word signifies a slanderer--one who casts imputations upon another. Hence that other name given him (Re 12:10), "The accuser of the brethren, who accuseth them before our God day and night." Mark (Mr 1:13) says, "He was forty days tempted of Satan," a word signifying an adversary, one who lies in wait for, or sets himself in opposition to another. These and other names of the same fallen spirit point to different features in his character or operations. What was the high design of this? First, as we judge, to give our Lord a taste of what lay before Him in the work He had undertaken; next, to make trial of the glorious equipment for it which He had just received; further, to give Him encouragement, by the victory now to be won, to go forward spoiling principalities and powers, until at length He should make a show of them openly, triumphing over them in His cross: that the tempter, too, might get a taste, at the very outset, of the new kind of material in man which he would find he had here to deal with; finally, that He might acquire experimental ability "to succor them that are tempted" (He 2:18). The temptation evidently embraced two stages: the one continuing throughout the forty days' fast; the other, at the conclusion of that period.
First Stage:
CHAPTER 4
Mt 4:1-11. Temptation of Christ. ( = Mr 1:12, 13; Lu 4:1-13).
1. Then--an indefinite note of sequence. But Mark's word (Mr 1:12) fixes what we should have presumed was meant, that it was "immediately" after His baptism; and with this agrees the statement of Luke (Lu 4:1).
was Jesus led up--that is, from the low Jordan valley to some more elevated spot.
of the Spirit--that blessed Spirit immediately before spoken of as descending upon Him at His baptism, and abiding upon Him. Luke, connecting these two scenes, as if the one were but the sequel of the other, says, "Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan, and was led," &c. Mark's expression has a startling sharpness about it--"Immediately the Spirit driveth Him" (Mr 1:12), "putteth," or "hurrieth Him forth," or "impelleth Him." (See the same word in Mr 1:43; 5:40; Mt 9:25; 13:52; Joh 10:4). The thought thus strongly expressed is the mighty constraining impulse of the Spirit under which He went; while Matthew's more gentle expression, "was led up," intimates how purely voluntary on His own part this action was.
into the wilderness--probably the wild Judean desert. The particular spot which tradition has fixed upon has hence got the name of Quarantana or Quarantaria, from the forty days--"an almost perpendicular wall of rock twelve or fifteen hundred feet above the plain" [Robinson, Palestine]. The supposition of those who incline to place the temptation amongst the mountains of Moab is, we think, very improbable.
to be tempted--The Greek word (peirazein) means simply to try or make proof of; and when ascribed to God in His dealings with men, it means, and can mean no more than this. Thus, Ge 22:1, "It came to pass that God did tempt Abraham," or put his faith to a severe proof. (See De 8:2). But for the most part in Scripture the word is used in a bad sense, and means to entice, solicit, or provoke to sin. Hence the name here given to the wicked one--"the tempter" (Mt 4:3). Accordingly "to be tempted" here is to be understood both ways. The Spirit conducted Him into the wilderness simply to have His faith tried; but as the agent in this trial was to be the wicked one, whose whole object would be to seduce Him from His allegiance to God, it was a temptation in the bad sense of the term. The unworthy inference which some would draw from this is energetically repelled by an apostle (Jas 1:13-17).
of the devil--The word signifies a slanderer--one who casts imputations upon another. Hence that other name given him (Re 12:10), "The accuser of the brethren, who accuseth them before our God day and night." Mark (Mr 1:13) says, "He was forty days tempted of Satan," a word signifying an adversary, one who lies in wait for, or sets himself in opposition to another. These and other names of the same fallen spirit point to different features in his character or operations. What was the high design of this? First, as we judge, to give our Lord a taste of what lay before Him in the work He had undertaken; next, to make trial of the glorious equipment for it which He had just received; further, to give Him encouragement, by the victory now to be won, to go forward spoiling principalities and powers, until at length He should make a show of them openly, triumphing over them in His cross: that the tempter, too, might get a taste, at the very outset, of the new kind of material in man which he would find he had here to deal with; finally, that He might acquire experimental ability "to succor them that are tempted" (He 2:18). The temptation evidently embraced two stages: the one continuing throughout the forty days' fast; the other, at the conclusion of that period.
First Stage:
The Pulpit Commentary
THE TEMPTATION. The Father's acceptance of the Lord's consecration of himself for the work of the kingdom does not exclude temptation, but rather necessitates it. Psychologically, the reaction from the ecstasy of joy in hearing the announcement of Mat_3:17 was certain; ethically, such testing as would accompany the reaction was desirable. Even the Baptist was, as it seems, not without a special temptation during this period (cf. Joh_1:19; and Bishop Westcott's note). At the very commencement of his official life the Lord is led consciously to realize that he has entered on a path of complete trust (even as his brethren in the flesh, Heb_2:13) for all personal needs, a path which required great calmness and common sense, and along which he must take his orders for final victory, not from worldly principles, but direct from God. In Luke the order of the second and third temptations is reversed. Against the supposition of Godet and Ellicott, that St. Luke is historically correct, the "Get thee hence Satan!" (verse 10) seems conclusive. At any rate, for St. Matthew's aim in this Gospel the temptation that he places third is the crucial one; the true King will not take an irregular method of acquiring sovereignty.
Then; temporal. Mark, "and straightway." Immediately after the descent of the Holy Ghost upon him. Was led up . into the wilderness. Up (Matthew only); from the Jordan valley into the higher country round (cf. Jos_16:1), in this case into the desert (Mat_3:1). There is nothing told us by which we may identify the place, but as the scene of the temptation must have been near the scene of the baptism, namely, on the west side of Jordan (Mat_3:1, note), it may be presumed that the temptation was on the west side also. The sharp limestone peak (Godet) known since the Crusades as Quarantana, "from the quarantain, or forty days of fasting", may, perhaps, have been the actual spot. The only important objection to this is that directly after the temptation (as seems most probable) he comes to John in "Bethany beyond Jordan," Joh_1:28 (not necessarily to be identified with "Bethabara" of the Received Text; its locality is quite unknown). If he went east of Jordan after the temptation, he would still be on one of the great roads to Galilee (Luk_9:52, etc.). The conjecture that the fasting and temptation took place on Sinai is suggested by the analogy of Moses and Elijah, but by absolutely nothing in the Gospels. Led up of the Spirit into the wilderness; Mark, "the Spirit driveth him forth;" Luke, "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led in the Spirit in the wilderness" (with a leading that lasted throughout the temptation, ἤγετο … ἐν... ἐν … πειραζόμενος). He was no doubt himself inclined to go apart into the desert that he might meditate uninterruptedly upon the assurance just given, and the momentous issues involved in his baptism; but the Holy Spirit had also his own purposes with him. The Holy Spirit cannot, indeed, tempt, but he can and does lead us into circumstances where temptation is permitted, that we may thereby be proved and disciplined for future work. In Christ's case the temptation was an important part of that moral suffering by which he learned full obedience (Heb_5:8). Notice that even if the expression in Mat_3:16, "the Spirit of God descending," does not in itself go beyond the expressions of Jewish teachers who deny his Personality, it would be hard to find so personal an action as is implied by the words, "Jesus was led up of the Spirit," attributed to the Spirit in non-Christian writings. For Isa_63:10, Isa_63:11, Isa_63:14 is much less definite, and passages, e.g. in Eze_3:12-14, interpret themselves by Eze_1:21. To St. Matthew himself the Personality of the Holy Ghost must, in the light of Mat_28:19, have been an assured fact. To be tempted of the devil. So Luke; i.e. the great calumniator, him whose characteristic is false accusation; e.g. against men (Rev_12:10-12); against God (Gen_3:1-5). Here chiefly in the latter aspect. Each of the three temptations, and they are typical of all temptations; is primarily a calumniation of God and his methods. Mark has "of Satan," a Hebrew word equivalent to "adversary," which the LXX. nearly always renders by διαβάλλω, (compare also Num_22:22, Num_22:32). Probably by the time of the LXX. the idea of the evil spirit accusing as in a law-court, was more prominent than the earlier thought of him as an adversary. Spiritual resistance by the evil spirit to all good is a less-developed thought than his traducing God to man, and, after some success obtained, traducing man to God. Evil may resist good; it may also accuse both God and those made after the likeness of God.
THE TEMPTATION. The Father's acceptance of the Lord's consecration of himself for the work of the kingdom does not exclude temptation, but rather necessitates it. Psychologically, the reaction from the ecstasy of joy in hearing the announcement of Mat_3:17 was certain; ethically, such testing as would accompany the reaction was desirable. Even the Baptist was, as it seems, not without a special temptation during this period (cf. Joh_1:19; and Bishop Westcott's note). At the very commencement of his official life the Lord is led consciously to realize that he has entered on a path of complete trust (even as his brethren in the flesh, Heb_2:13) for all personal needs, a path which required great calmness and common sense, and along which he must take his orders for final victory, not from worldly principles, but direct from God. In Luke the order of the second and third temptations is reversed. Against the supposition of Godet and Ellicott, that St. Luke is historically correct, the "Get thee hence Satan!" (verse 10) seems conclusive. At any rate, for St. Matthew's aim in this Gospel the temptation that he places third is the crucial one; the true King will not take an irregular method of acquiring sovereignty.
Then; temporal. Mark, "and straightway." Immediately after the descent of the Holy Ghost upon him. Was led up . into the wilderness. Up (Matthew only); from the Jordan valley into the higher country round (cf. Jos_16:1), in this case into the desert (Mat_3:1). There is nothing told us by which we may identify the place, but as the scene of the temptation must have been near the scene of the baptism, namely, on the west side of Jordan (Mat_3:1, note), it may be presumed that the temptation was on the west side also. The sharp limestone peak (Godet) known since the Crusades as Quarantana, "from the quarantain, or forty days of fasting", may, perhaps, have been the actual spot. The only important objection to this is that directly after the temptation (as seems most probable) he comes to John in "Bethany beyond Jordan," Joh_1:28 (not necessarily to be identified with "Bethabara" of the Received Text; its locality is quite unknown). If he went east of Jordan after the temptation, he would still be on one of the great roads to Galilee (Luk_9:52, etc.). The conjecture that the fasting and temptation took place on Sinai is suggested by the analogy of Moses and Elijah, but by absolutely nothing in the Gospels. Led up of the Spirit into the wilderness; Mark, "the Spirit driveth him forth;" Luke, "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led in the Spirit in the wilderness" (with a leading that lasted throughout the temptation, ἤγετο … ἐν... ἐν … πειραζόμενος). He was no doubt himself inclined to go apart into the desert that he might meditate uninterruptedly upon the assurance just given, and the momentous issues involved in his baptism; but the Holy Spirit had also his own purposes with him. The Holy Spirit cannot, indeed, tempt, but he can and does lead us into circumstances where temptation is permitted, that we may thereby be proved and disciplined for future work. In Christ's case the temptation was an important part of that moral suffering by which he learned full obedience (Heb_5:8). Notice that even if the expression in Mat_3:16, "the Spirit of God descending," does not in itself go beyond the expressions of Jewish teachers who deny his Personality, it would be hard to find so personal an action as is implied by the words, "Jesus was led up of the Spirit," attributed to the Spirit in non-Christian writings. For Isa_63:10, Isa_63:11, Isa_63:14 is much less definite, and passages, e.g. in Eze_3:12-14, interpret themselves by Eze_1:21. To St. Matthew himself the Personality of the Holy Ghost must, in the light of Mat_28:19, have been an assured fact. To be tempted of the devil. So Luke; i.e. the great calumniator, him whose characteristic is false accusation; e.g. against men (Rev_12:10-12); against God (Gen_3:1-5). Here chiefly in the latter aspect. Each of the three temptations, and they are typical of all temptations; is primarily a calumniation of God and his methods. Mark has "of Satan," a Hebrew word equivalent to "adversary," which the LXX. nearly always renders by διαβάλλω, (compare also Num_22:22, Num_22:32). Probably by the time of the LXX. the idea of the evil spirit accusing as in a law-court, was more prominent than the earlier thought of him as an adversary. Spiritual resistance by the evil spirit to all good is a less-developed thought than his traducing God to man, and, after some success obtained, traducing man to God. Evil may resist good; it may also accuse both God and those made after the likeness of God.
2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
2. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights--Luke says "When they were quite ended" (Lu 4:2).
he was afterward an hungered--evidently implying that the sensation of hunger was unfelt during all the forty days; coming on only at their close. So it was apparently with Moses (Ex 34:28) and Elijah (1Ki 19:8) for the same period. A supernatural power of endurance was of course imparted to the body, but this probably operated through a natural law--the absorption of the Redeemer's Spirit in the dread conflict with the tempter. (See on Ac 9:9). Had we only this Gospel, we should suppose the temptation did not begin till after this. But it is clear, from Mark's statement, that "He was in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan" (Mr 1:13), and Luke's, "being forty days tempted of the devil" (Lu 4:2), that there was a forty days' temptation before the three specific temptations afterwards recorded. And this is what we have called the First Stage. What the precise nature and object of the forty days' temptation were is not recorded. But two things seem plain enough. First, the tempter had utterly failed of his object, else it had not been renewed; and the terms in which he opens his second attack imply as much. But further, the tempter's whole object during the forty days evidently was to get Him to distrust the heavenly testimony borne to Him at His baptism as THE Son of God--to persuade Him to regard it as but a splendid illusion--and, generally, to dislodge from His breast the consciousness of His Sonship. With what plausibility the events of His previous history from the beginning would be urged upon Him in support of this temptation it is easy to imagine. And it makes much in support of this view of the forty days' temptation that the particulars of it are not recorded; for how the details of such a purely internal struggle could be recorded it is hard to see. If this be correct, how naturally does the Second Stage of the temptation open! In Mark's brief notice of the temptation there is one expressive particular not given either by Matthew or by Luke--that "He was with the wild beasts" (Mr 1:12), no doubt to add terror to solitude, and aggravate the horrors of the whole scene.
2. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights--Luke says "When they were quite ended" (Lu 4:2).
he was afterward an hungered--evidently implying that the sensation of hunger was unfelt during all the forty days; coming on only at their close. So it was apparently with Moses (Ex 34:28) and Elijah (1Ki 19:8) for the same period. A supernatural power of endurance was of course imparted to the body, but this probably operated through a natural law--the absorption of the Redeemer's Spirit in the dread conflict with the tempter. (See on Ac 9:9). Had we only this Gospel, we should suppose the temptation did not begin till after this. But it is clear, from Mark's statement, that "He was in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan" (Mr 1:13), and Luke's, "being forty days tempted of the devil" (Lu 4:2), that there was a forty days' temptation before the three specific temptations afterwards recorded. And this is what we have called the First Stage. What the precise nature and object of the forty days' temptation were is not recorded. But two things seem plain enough. First, the tempter had utterly failed of his object, else it had not been renewed; and the terms in which he opens his second attack imply as much. But further, the tempter's whole object during the forty days evidently was to get Him to distrust the heavenly testimony borne to Him at His baptism as THE Son of God--to persuade Him to regard it as but a splendid illusion--and, generally, to dislodge from His breast the consciousness of His Sonship. With what plausibility the events of His previous history from the beginning would be urged upon Him in support of this temptation it is easy to imagine. And it makes much in support of this view of the forty days' temptation that the particulars of it are not recorded; for how the details of such a purely internal struggle could be recorded it is hard to see. If this be correct, how naturally does the Second Stage of the temptation open! In Mark's brief notice of the temptation there is one expressive particular not given either by Matthew or by Luke--that "He was with the wild beasts" (Mr 1:12), no doubt to add terror to solitude, and aggravate the horrors of the whole scene.
The Pulpit Commentary
And when he had fasted … he was afterwards an hungred. He was so absorbed in prayer that it was only after his six weeks meditation that he felt the need of food. But though his humanity had been elevated and his spiritual sense quickened by this at the time almost unconscious fast, it left him physically prostrate and completely exposed to attack. "In certain morbid conditions, which involve a more or less entire abstinence from food, a period of six weeks generally brings about a crisis, after which the demand for nourishment is renewed with extreme urgency. The exhausted body becomes a prey to a deathly sinking. Such, doubtless, was the condition of Jesus; he felt himself dying. It was the moment the tempter had waited for to make his decisive assault" (Godet). Luke probably (though not in the Revised Version) represents the temptation as continuous during the whole period. Of this Matthew says nothing, but only describes the final scenes, when the might of the tempter was felt to the uttermost, and his defeat was most crucial. Forty. Trench's remark is well worth study: "On a close examination we note it to be everywhere there [i.e. in Holy Scripture] the number or signature of penalty, of affliction, of the confession, or the punishment, of sin. Nights. The mention of nights as well as days brings out more vividly the continuance and the completeness of the abstinence (cf Gen_7:4, Gen_7:12 [17, LXX.]; Exo_24:18; Deu_9:1-29, especially Deu_9:18; 1Ki_19:8).
And when he had fasted … he was afterwards an hungred. He was so absorbed in prayer that it was only after his six weeks meditation that he felt the need of food. But though his humanity had been elevated and his spiritual sense quickened by this at the time almost unconscious fast, it left him physically prostrate and completely exposed to attack. "In certain morbid conditions, which involve a more or less entire abstinence from food, a period of six weeks generally brings about a crisis, after which the demand for nourishment is renewed with extreme urgency. The exhausted body becomes a prey to a deathly sinking. Such, doubtless, was the condition of Jesus; he felt himself dying. It was the moment the tempter had waited for to make his decisive assault" (Godet). Luke probably (though not in the Revised Version) represents the temptation as continuous during the whole period. Of this Matthew says nothing, but only describes the final scenes, when the might of the tempter was felt to the uttermost, and his defeat was most crucial. Forty. Trench's remark is well worth study: "On a close examination we note it to be everywhere there [i.e. in Holy Scripture] the number or signature of penalty, of affliction, of the confession, or the punishment, of sin. Nights. The mention of nights as well as days brings out more vividly the continuance and the completeness of the abstinence (cf Gen_7:4, Gen_7:12 [17, LXX.]; Exo_24:18; Deu_9:1-29, especially Deu_9:18; 1Ki_19:8).
3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. And when the tempter came to him--Evidently we have here a new scene.
he said, if thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread--rather, "loaves," answering to "stones" in the plural; whereas Luke, having said, "Command this stone," in the singular, adds, "that it be made bread," in the singular (Lu 4:3). The sensation of hunger, unfelt during all the forty days, seems now to have come on in all its keenness--no doubt to open a door to the tempter, of which he is not slow to avail himself; "Thou still clingest to that vainglorious confidence that Thou art the Son of God, carried away by those illusory scenes at the Jordan. Thou wast born in a stable; but Thou art the Son of God! hurried off to Egypt for fear of Herod's wrath; but Thou art the Son of God! a carpenter's roof supplied Thee with a home, and in the obscurity of a despicable town of Galilee Thou hast spent thirty years, yet still Thou art the Son of God! and a voice from heaven, it seems, proclaimed it in Thine ears at the Jordan! Be it so; but after that, surely Thy days of obscurity and trial should have an end. Why linger for weeks in this desert, wandering among the wild beasts and craggy rocks, unhonored, unattended, unpitied, ready to starve for want of the necessaries of life? Is this befitting "the Son of God?" At the bidding of "the Son of God" surely those stones shall all be turned into loaves, and in a moment present an abundant repast."
3. And when the tempter came to him--Evidently we have here a new scene.
he said, if thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread--rather, "loaves," answering to "stones" in the plural; whereas Luke, having said, "Command this stone," in the singular, adds, "that it be made bread," in the singular (Lu 4:3). The sensation of hunger, unfelt during all the forty days, seems now to have come on in all its keenness--no doubt to open a door to the tempter, of which he is not slow to avail himself; "Thou still clingest to that vainglorious confidence that Thou art the Son of God, carried away by those illusory scenes at the Jordan. Thou wast born in a stable; but Thou art the Son of God! hurried off to Egypt for fear of Herod's wrath; but Thou art the Son of God! a carpenter's roof supplied Thee with a home, and in the obscurity of a despicable town of Galilee Thou hast spent thirty years, yet still Thou art the Son of God! and a voice from heaven, it seems, proclaimed it in Thine ears at the Jordan! Be it so; but after that, surely Thy days of obscurity and trial should have an end. Why linger for weeks in this desert, wandering among the wild beasts and craggy rocks, unhonored, unattended, unpitied, ready to starve for want of the necessaries of life? Is this befitting "the Son of God?" At the bidding of "the Son of God" surely those stones shall all be turned into loaves, and in a moment present an abundant repast."
The Pulpit Commentary
The tempter (1Th_3:5 only; cf. 2Co_11:3). Came; came up to him (προσελθών). The word expresses local nearness, and suggests, though we cannot affirm it as certain, that he appeared visibly. The thought of physical nearness is continued in "taketh him" (Mat_4:5, Mat_4:8), and "the devil leaveth him" and "angels came near" (Mat_4:11; cf. Mat_4:5, note). On the other hand, such expressions may be parabolic, and intended to express the closeness of the spiritual combat. To him; not after "came," but after "said" (Revised Version, with manuscripts). If thou be; art (Revised Version) (ει) … εἶ)—the "if" of assumption (cf. Col_3:1). The devil does not attempt to throw doubt on the truth of the utterance in Mat_3:17. His words rather mean, "Thou knowest what was said, thou bast been gradually realizing that assurance of Sonship; use, then, that privilege which thou undoubtedly hast" (comp. Mat_27:40, where, in mockery, the same truth is assumed). Wetstein, following Origen and pseudo-Ignatius,' Philipp.,' § 9, says that the tempter did not know, or at least doubted, whether Jesus was really God, for otherwise he would never have tempted him. This is, surely, to miss the meaning of the temptation for our Lord himself; for he was tempted as Man. Satan might well haw known that he was God incarnate, and yet not have known whether as Man he might not yield. Weiss ('Life,' 1:343) mistakenly thinks that the object of this first temptation was to insinuate doubt in the mind of Jesus as to his Messiahship. "Command that these stones become bread, and if thou canst not do so, then thou art not the Son of God." Command that; εἰπὸν ἵνα (cf. Mat_20:21, and Winer,§ 44:8). These stones, ie. lying about. Farrar suggests that there is a special reference to the "loaf-shaped fossils," septaria, which are found in Palestine—as, indeed, in most other countries. But though these "flattened nodules of calcareous clay, ironstone, or other matter" often assume fantastic shapes, perhaps even distantly resembling either an English loaf or a fiat Jewish cake (vide infra) , it seems quite unnecessary to see any allusion to them here. (For the comparison of bread and a stone, cf. Mat_7:9.) Be made; Revised Version, become; rightly, because there is no thought of the process of manufacture in γένωνται, Bread; Revised Version margin, "Greek, loaves" (ἄρτοι). "The Israelites made bread in the form of an oblong or round cake, as thick as one's thumb, and as large as a plate or Platter; hence it was not cut, but [e.g. Mat_1:1-25 Mat_4:19] broken" (Thayer). In Luke the devil points to one stone only, and tempts him to bid it become a loaf.
The tempter (1Th_3:5 only; cf. 2Co_11:3). Came; came up to him (προσελθών). The word expresses local nearness, and suggests, though we cannot affirm it as certain, that he appeared visibly. The thought of physical nearness is continued in "taketh him" (Mat_4:5, Mat_4:8), and "the devil leaveth him" and "angels came near" (Mat_4:11; cf. Mat_4:5, note). On the other hand, such expressions may be parabolic, and intended to express the closeness of the spiritual combat. To him; not after "came," but after "said" (Revised Version, with manuscripts). If thou be; art (Revised Version) (ει) … εἶ)—the "if" of assumption (cf. Col_3:1). The devil does not attempt to throw doubt on the truth of the utterance in Mat_3:17. His words rather mean, "Thou knowest what was said, thou bast been gradually realizing that assurance of Sonship; use, then, that privilege which thou undoubtedly hast" (comp. Mat_27:40, where, in mockery, the same truth is assumed). Wetstein, following Origen and pseudo-Ignatius,' Philipp.,' § 9, says that the tempter did not know, or at least doubted, whether Jesus was really God, for otherwise he would never have tempted him. This is, surely, to miss the meaning of the temptation for our Lord himself; for he was tempted as Man. Satan might well haw known that he was God incarnate, and yet not have known whether as Man he might not yield. Weiss ('Life,' 1:343) mistakenly thinks that the object of this first temptation was to insinuate doubt in the mind of Jesus as to his Messiahship. "Command that these stones become bread, and if thou canst not do so, then thou art not the Son of God." Command that; εἰπὸν ἵνα (cf. Mat_20:21, and Winer,§ 44:8). These stones, ie. lying about. Farrar suggests that there is a special reference to the "loaf-shaped fossils," septaria, which are found in Palestine—as, indeed, in most other countries. But though these "flattened nodules of calcareous clay, ironstone, or other matter" often assume fantastic shapes, perhaps even distantly resembling either an English loaf or a fiat Jewish cake (vide infra) , it seems quite unnecessary to see any allusion to them here. (For the comparison of bread and a stone, cf. Mat_7:9.) Be made; Revised Version, become; rightly, because there is no thought of the process of manufacture in γένωνται, Bread; Revised Version margin, "Greek, loaves" (ἄρτοι). "The Israelites made bread in the form of an oblong or round cake, as thick as one's thumb, and as large as a plate or Platter; hence it was not cut, but [e.g. Mat_1:1-25 Mat_4:19] broken" (Thayer). In Luke the devil points to one stone only, and tempts him to bid it become a loaf.
4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. But he answered and said, It is written--(De 8:3).
Man shall not live by bread alone--more emphatically, as in the Greek, "Not by bread alone shall man live."
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God--Of all passages in Old Testament Scripture, none could have been pitched upon more apposite, perhaps not one so apposite, to our Lord's purpose. "The Lord ... led thee (said Moses to Israel, at the close of their journeyings) 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," &c., "Now, if Israel spent, not forty days, but forty years in a waste, howling wilderness, where there were no means of human subsistence, not starving, but divinely provided for, on purpose to prove to every age that human support depends not upon bread, but upon God's unfailing word of promise and pledge of all needful providential care, am I, distrusting this word of God, and despairing of relief, to take the law into My own hand? True, the Son of God is able enough to turn stones into bread: but what the Son of God is able to do is not the present question, but what is man's duty under want of the necessaries of life. And as Israel's condition in the wilderness did not justify their unbelieving murmurings and frequent desperation, so neither would Mine warrant the exercise of the power of the Son of God in snatching despairingly at unwarranted relief. As man, therefore, I will await divine supply, nothing doubting that at the fitting time it will arrive." The second temptation in this Gospel is in Luke's the third. That Matthew's order is the right one will appear, we think, quite clearly in the sequel.
4. But he answered and said, It is written--(De 8:3).
Man shall not live by bread alone--more emphatically, as in the Greek, "Not by bread alone shall man live."
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God--Of all passages in Old Testament Scripture, none could have been pitched upon more apposite, perhaps not one so apposite, to our Lord's purpose. "The Lord ... led thee (said Moses to Israel, at the close of their journeyings) 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," &c., "Now, if Israel spent, not forty days, but forty years in a waste, howling wilderness, where there were no means of human subsistence, not starving, but divinely provided for, on purpose to prove to every age that human support depends not upon bread, but upon God's unfailing word of promise and pledge of all needful providential care, am I, distrusting this word of God, and despairing of relief, to take the law into My own hand? True, the Son of God is able enough to turn stones into bread: but what the Son of God is able to do is not the present question, but what is man's duty under want of the necessaries of life. And as Israel's condition in the wilderness did not justify their unbelieving murmurings and frequent desperation, so neither would Mine warrant the exercise of the power of the Son of God in snatching despairingly at unwarranted relief. As man, therefore, I will await divine supply, nothing doubting that at the fitting time it will arrive." The second temptation in this Gospel is in Luke's the third. That Matthew's order is the right one will appear, we think, quite clearly in the sequel.
The Pulpit Commentary
It is written. Our Lord's three quotations are from Deu_8:3; Deu_6:16, Deu_6:13. Some portion of Deuteronomy (Mat_6:4-9; Mat_11:13-21, because included in the Sh'ma) was the first part of Scripture taught a Jewish child. Possibly, though there is no evidence upon the subject, the neighbouring portions were often added. If they had been in our Lord's case, such a recurrence of them to his mind in his present state of exhaustion is in complete accord with psychological probability. Man … God (Deu_8:3, LXX.). As we could not accept Weiss's interpretation of the object of the devil's temptation, so neither can we accept his interpretation of our Lord's reply, that it is equivalent to "Not by means either natural or supernatural, is man's life really sustained, but by exact obedience to God's command." Our Lord quotes the passage in its primary meaning, which was fully applicable to the present occasion. It is equivalent to "Man lives, not necessarily by natural means, but by even supernatural means, if God so wishes." "The creative word, the ῥῆμα Θεοῦ, which alone imparts to the bread its sustaining power, can sustain, even as he is confident that in the present need it will sustain, apart from the bread". The words of Deuteronomy are paraphrased in Wis. 16:26, where the author, in a thoroughly Jewish exposition, enumerates the lessons taught by the giving of the manna. "It was altered … that thy children, O Lord, whom thou lovest, might know that it is not the growing of fruits that nourisheth man; but that it is thy Word, which preserveth them that put their trust in thee." By every word. Ἐπί (Textus Receptus; Westcott and Hort) is doubtless right. The alteration to ἐν (Lathmann, Tregelles) is probably due to a tendency towards the simple expression of means, but perhaps to the feeling that life, especially spiritual life, is maintained rather in a sphere than on a basis (cf. Rom_10:5; Gal_3:12).
It is written. Our Lord's three quotations are from Deu_8:3; Deu_6:16, Deu_6:13. Some portion of Deuteronomy (Mat_6:4-9; Mat_11:13-21, because included in the Sh'ma) was the first part of Scripture taught a Jewish child. Possibly, though there is no evidence upon the subject, the neighbouring portions were often added. If they had been in our Lord's case, such a recurrence of them to his mind in his present state of exhaustion is in complete accord with psychological probability. Man … God (Deu_8:3, LXX.). As we could not accept Weiss's interpretation of the object of the devil's temptation, so neither can we accept his interpretation of our Lord's reply, that it is equivalent to "Not by means either natural or supernatural, is man's life really sustained, but by exact obedience to God's command." Our Lord quotes the passage in its primary meaning, which was fully applicable to the present occasion. It is equivalent to "Man lives, not necessarily by natural means, but by even supernatural means, if God so wishes." "The creative word, the ῥῆμα Θεοῦ, which alone imparts to the bread its sustaining power, can sustain, even as he is confident that in the present need it will sustain, apart from the bread". The words of Deuteronomy are paraphrased in Wis. 16:26, where the author, in a thoroughly Jewish exposition, enumerates the lessons taught by the giving of the manna. "It was altered … that thy children, O Lord, whom thou lovest, might know that it is not the growing of fruits that nourisheth man; but that it is thy Word, which preserveth them that put their trust in thee." By every word. Ἐπί (Textus Receptus; Westcott and Hort) is doubtless right. The alteration to ἐν (Lathmann, Tregelles) is probably due to a tendency towards the simple expression of means, but perhaps to the feeling that life, especially spiritual life, is maintained rather in a sphere than on a basis (cf. Rom_10:5; Gal_3:12).
5Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
5. Then the devil taketh him up--rather, "conducteth Him."
into the holy city--so called (as in Is 48:2; Ne 11:1) from its being "the city of the Great King," the seat of the temple, the metropolis of all Jewish worship.
and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple--rather, "the pinnacle"--a certain well-known projection. Whether this refers to the highest summit of the temple, which bristled with golden spikes [Josephus, Antiquities, 5.5,6]; or whether it refers to another peak, on Herod's royal portico, overhanging the ravine of Kedron, at the valley of Hinnom--an immense tower built on the very edge of this precipice, from the top of which dizzy height Josephus says one could not look to the bottom [Antiquities, 15.11,5]--is not certain; but the latter is probably meant.
5. Then the devil taketh him up--rather, "conducteth Him."
into the holy city--so called (as in Is 48:2; Ne 11:1) from its being "the city of the Great King," the seat of the temple, the metropolis of all Jewish worship.
and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple--rather, "the pinnacle"--a certain well-known projection. Whether this refers to the highest summit of the temple, which bristled with golden spikes [Josephus, Antiquities, 5.5,6]; or whether it refers to another peak, on Herod's royal portico, overhanging the ravine of Kedron, at the valley of Hinnom--an immense tower built on the very edge of this precipice, from the top of which dizzy height Josephus says one could not look to the bottom [Antiquities, 15.11,5]--is not certain; but the latter is probably meant.
The Pulpit Commentary
Then the devil taketh him up. Revised Version omits "up." Matthew (παραλαμβάνει, here and verse 8) lays stress on the companionship, and, in a sense, compulsion; Luke (ἤγαγεν, verse 9; ἀναγαγὼν, verse 5), on guidance and locality. Into the holy city (Luke, "into Jerusalem"). From Isa_52:1, the end of which verse, "There shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean," heightens the implied contrast of the devil's presence there. (For the expression, cf. also Mat_27:53; Rev_11:2; Rev_21:2,Rev_21:10; also Heb_11:1-40.,12.) The name has remained down to the present day (El-Kuds). And setteth; and he set (Revised Version, with manuscripts). The right reading (ἔστησεν, as in Luke) is probably a trace of the basis common to the two records. Possibly, however, it may here be a merely accidental similarity with Luke (who employs the aorist throughout the section), caused by Matthew's desire to emphasize the momentariness of the devil's act. Some think that, as at the end of the temptation Christ is in the wilderness, this removal to Jerusalem is solely mental, without any motion of his body. Improbable; for to make such a temptation real, our Lord's mind must have suffered complete illusion. He must have thought that he was "on the pinnacle." On a (the, Revised Version) pinnacle of the temple (ἐπὶ τογιον τοῦ ἱεροῦ) What is exactly meant by this definite and evidently well-known term is not easy now to determine. "Some understand this of the top or apex of the sanctuary (τοῦ ναοῦ) [cf. Hegesippus, in Eusebius, 'Hist. Eccl.,' Ecc_2:23 :11, 12 (Heinichen), where the Jews bid James stand, ἐπὶ τογιον τοῦ ἱεροῦ, and it is afterwards said that they set him ἐπὶ τογιον τοῦ ναοῦ]; others of the top of Solomon's porch; and others of the top of the Royal Portico" (Thayer). Of this last Josephus ('Ant.,' 15.11. 5) makes special mention, saying, in his exaggerated style, that human sight could not reach from the top of it to the bottom of the ravine on whose edge it stood. Edersheim ('Life,' etc., 1:303) thinks that possibly the term means "the extreme corner of the 'wing-like' porch, or ulam, which led into the Sanctuary." This last would suit a possible interpretation of Dan_9:27, as referring to a part of the temple under the name of "the pinnacle," which had been used for heathen sacrifices, probably in the worship of the sun. Cf. Revised Version margin there, with the ἐπὶ τον of Theodotion's version, and also the LXX. itself (vide Field's 'Hexapla').
Then the devil taketh him up. Revised Version omits "up." Matthew (παραλαμβάνει, here and verse 8) lays stress on the companionship, and, in a sense, compulsion; Luke (ἤγαγεν, verse 9; ἀναγαγὼν, verse 5), on guidance and locality. Into the holy city (Luke, "into Jerusalem"). From Isa_52:1, the end of which verse, "There shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean," heightens the implied contrast of the devil's presence there. (For the expression, cf. also Mat_27:53; Rev_11:2; Rev_21:2,Rev_21:10; also Heb_11:1-40.,12.) The name has remained down to the present day (El-Kuds). And setteth; and he set (Revised Version, with manuscripts). The right reading (ἔστησεν, as in Luke) is probably a trace of the basis common to the two records. Possibly, however, it may here be a merely accidental similarity with Luke (who employs the aorist throughout the section), caused by Matthew's desire to emphasize the momentariness of the devil's act. Some think that, as at the end of the temptation Christ is in the wilderness, this removal to Jerusalem is solely mental, without any motion of his body. Improbable; for to make such a temptation real, our Lord's mind must have suffered complete illusion. He must have thought that he was "on the pinnacle." On a (the, Revised Version) pinnacle of the temple (ἐπὶ τογιον τοῦ ἱεροῦ) What is exactly meant by this definite and evidently well-known term is not easy now to determine. "Some understand this of the top or apex of the sanctuary (τοῦ ναοῦ) [cf. Hegesippus, in Eusebius, 'Hist. Eccl.,' Ecc_2:23 :11, 12 (Heinichen), where the Jews bid James stand, ἐπὶ τογιον τοῦ ἱεροῦ, and it is afterwards said that they set him ἐπὶ τογιον τοῦ ναοῦ]; others of the top of Solomon's porch; and others of the top of the Royal Portico" (Thayer). Of this last Josephus ('Ant.,' 15.11. 5) makes special mention, saying, in his exaggerated style, that human sight could not reach from the top of it to the bottom of the ravine on whose edge it stood. Edersheim ('Life,' etc., 1:303) thinks that possibly the term means "the extreme corner of the 'wing-like' porch, or ulam, which led into the Sanctuary." This last would suit a possible interpretation of Dan_9:27, as referring to a part of the temple under the name of "the pinnacle," which had been used for heathen sacrifices, probably in the worship of the sun. Cf. Revised Version margin there, with the ἐπὶ τον of Theodotion's version, and also the LXX. itself (vide Field's 'Hexapla').
6And saith unto him, 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.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
6. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God--As this temptation starts with the same point as the first--our Lord's determination not to be disputed out of His Sonship--it seems to us clear that the one came directly after the other; and as the remaining temptation shows that the hope of carrying that point was abandoned, and all was staked upon a desperate venture, we think that remaining temptation is thus shown to be the last; as will appear still more when we come to it.
cast thyself down--"from hence" (Lu 4:9).
for it is written--(Psa 91:11, 12). "But what is this I see?" exclaims stately Bishop Hall. "Satan himself with a Bible under his arm and a text in his mouth!" Doubtless the tempter, having felt the power of God's Word in the former temptation, was eager to try the effect of it from his own mouth (2Co 11:14).
He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands--rather, "on their hands."
they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone--The quotation is, precisely as it stands in the Hebrew and the Septuagint, save that after the first clause the words, "to keep thee in all thy ways," are here omitted. Not a few good expositors have thought that this omission was intentional, to conceal the fact that this would not have been one of "His ways," that is, of duty. But as our Lord's reply makes no allusion to this, but seizes on the great principle involved in the promise quoted, so when we look at the promise itself, it is plain that the sense of it is precisely the same whether the clause in question be inserted or not.
6. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God--As this temptation starts with the same point as the first--our Lord's determination not to be disputed out of His Sonship--it seems to us clear that the one came directly after the other; and as the remaining temptation shows that the hope of carrying that point was abandoned, and all was staked upon a desperate venture, we think that remaining temptation is thus shown to be the last; as will appear still more when we come to it.
cast thyself down--"from hence" (Lu 4:9).
for it is written--(Psa 91:11, 12). "But what is this I see?" exclaims stately Bishop Hall. "Satan himself with a Bible under his arm and a text in his mouth!" Doubtless the tempter, having felt the power of God's Word in the former temptation, was eager to try the effect of it from his own mouth (2Co 11:14).
He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands--rather, "on their hands."
they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone--The quotation is, precisely as it stands in the Hebrew and the Septuagint, save that after the first clause the words, "to keep thee in all thy ways," are here omitted. Not a few good expositors have thought that this omission was intentional, to conceal the fact that this would not have been one of "His ways," that is, of duty. But as our Lord's reply makes no allusion to this, but seizes on the great principle involved in the promise quoted, so when we look at the promise itself, it is plain that the sense of it is precisely the same whether the clause in question be inserted or not.
The Pulpit Commentary
If thou be the Son of God (Mat_4:3, note). For it is written. Psa_91:11,Psa_91:12, verbally from the LXX., but omitting the clause, "to keep thee in all thy ways." Luke omits only "in all thy ways." The clause, according to either record, was omitted possibly because the devil shrank from reminding Jesus of "ways" which he need not take; more probably because ' ways" hardly fitted this case (cf. Weiss). Trench, following St. Bernard, says that the omission of the clause alters the whole character of the quotation, considering that "ways" implies ways appointed by God. But this appears to be strained. The devil, appealing to Jesus' consciousness of abiding communion with God (Psa_91:1), bids him enjoy to the full the promise of God's protection. There is no thought here of a "miracle of display" to the multitudes who were assembled, "as a matter of course," on the temple area (Meyer; cf. even Trench). Neither the devil's solicitation nor our Lord's reply hint at anything else than Divine protection. If it be urged that for this any one of the many precipices by the Dead Sea, e.g. those of the Quamntana (verse 1, note) itself, would have been sufficient, the answer may be found in the fact that at the temple, the seat of God's special manifestation, God's special protection might be looked for. There is a slight doubt whether the ὅτι after γέγραπται is recitative (Westcott and Hort, and most) or part of the quotation (Rheims, Meyer, Weiss). In favour of the latter view is the fact that the recitative ὅτι is not used elsewhere in this section (verses 4, 7, 10), but as in Luk_4:10 it can hardly be other than recitative (for another ὅτι is inserted before "on their hands"), the probability is that it was recitative in the oral source, and therefore recitative here. In their hands; Revised Version, on; ἐπὶ χειρῶν. The thought is not so much of surrounding care as of physical support through space. Lest at any time; Revised Version, lest haply; and so always, for "in the New Testament use of rids particle (μή ποτέ) the notion of time usual to ποτέ seems to recede before that of contingency" (Thayer).
If thou be the Son of God (Mat_4:3, note). For it is written. Psa_91:11,Psa_91:12, verbally from the LXX., but omitting the clause, "to keep thee in all thy ways." Luke omits only "in all thy ways." The clause, according to either record, was omitted possibly because the devil shrank from reminding Jesus of "ways" which he need not take; more probably because ' ways" hardly fitted this case (cf. Weiss). Trench, following St. Bernard, says that the omission of the clause alters the whole character of the quotation, considering that "ways" implies ways appointed by God. But this appears to be strained. The devil, appealing to Jesus' consciousness of abiding communion with God (Psa_91:1), bids him enjoy to the full the promise of God's protection. There is no thought here of a "miracle of display" to the multitudes who were assembled, "as a matter of course," on the temple area (Meyer; cf. even Trench). Neither the devil's solicitation nor our Lord's reply hint at anything else than Divine protection. If it be urged that for this any one of the many precipices by the Dead Sea, e.g. those of the Quamntana (verse 1, note) itself, would have been sufficient, the answer may be found in the fact that at the temple, the seat of God's special manifestation, God's special protection might be looked for. There is a slight doubt whether the ὅτι after γέγραπται is recitative (Westcott and Hort, and most) or part of the quotation (Rheims, Meyer, Weiss). In favour of the latter view is the fact that the recitative ὅτι is not used elsewhere in this section (verses 4, 7, 10), but as in Luk_4:10 it can hardly be other than recitative (for another ὅτι is inserted before "on their hands"), the probability is that it was recitative in the oral source, and therefore recitative here. In their hands; Revised Version, on; ἐπὶ χειρῶν. The thought is not so much of surrounding care as of physical support through space. Lest at any time; Revised Version, lest haply; and so always, for "in the New Testament use of rids particle (μή ποτέ) the notion of time usual to ποτέ seems to recede before that of contingency" (Thayer).
7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
7. Jesus said unto him, It is written again--(De 6:16), as if he should say, "True, it is so written, and on that promise I implicitly rely; but in using it there is another Scripture which must not be forgotten."
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God--"Preservation in danger is divinely pledged: shall I then create danger, either to put the promised security skeptically to the proof, or wantonly to demand a display of it? That were 'to tempt the Lord my God,' which, being expressly forbidden, would forfeit the right to expect preservation."
7. Jesus said unto him, It is written again--(De 6:16), as if he should say, "True, it is so written, and on that promise I implicitly rely; but in using it there is another Scripture which must not be forgotten."
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God--"Preservation in danger is divinely pledged: shall I then create danger, either to put the promised security skeptically to the proof, or wantonly to demand a display of it? That were 'to tempt the Lord my God,' which, being expressly forbidden, would forfeit the right to expect preservation."
The Pulpit Commentary
It is written again; i.e. in addition, not to our Lord's previous quotation (Mat_4:4), in which case we should expect to lind πάλιν in Mat_4:10, but to the devil's appeal to Scripture. Bengel, "Scriptura per Scripturam interpretanda et concilianda". Thou shalt not tempt (Deu_6:16, verbally from the LXX., and equivalent to the Hebrew, except that the Hebrew verb is in the plural). In Deuteronomy the sentence continues, "as ye tempted him in Massah;" i.e. ye shall not test the reality of his presence and the greatness of his power as ye did (Exo_17:1-7) at Rephidim. The act proposed to our Lord would have been precisely parallel to that sin of old (cf. Judith's words to the people of Bethulia that, by fixing a limit of days for God to deliver them, they in reality tempted God [ἐπειράσατε τὸν Θεόν] Judith 8:12: cf. also Psa_78:41). "In this refusal of Christ's are implicitly condemned all who run before they are sent, who thrust themselves into perils to which they are not called; all who would fain be reformers, but whom God has not raised up and equipped for the work of reformation; and who therefore for the most part bring themselves and their cause together to shame, dishonour, and defeat; with all those who presumptuously draw drafts on the faithfulness of God, which they have no scriptural warrant to justify them in believing that He will honour".
It is written again; i.e. in addition, not to our Lord's previous quotation (Mat_4:4), in which case we should expect to lind πάλιν in Mat_4:10, but to the devil's appeal to Scripture. Bengel, "Scriptura per Scripturam interpretanda et concilianda". Thou shalt not tempt (Deu_6:16, verbally from the LXX., and equivalent to the Hebrew, except that the Hebrew verb is in the plural). In Deuteronomy the sentence continues, "as ye tempted him in Massah;" i.e. ye shall not test the reality of his presence and the greatness of his power as ye did (Exo_17:1-7) at Rephidim. The act proposed to our Lord would have been precisely parallel to that sin of old (cf. Judith's words to the people of Bethulia that, by fixing a limit of days for God to deliver them, they in reality tempted God [ἐπειράσατε τὸν Θεόν] Judith 8:12: cf. also Psa_78:41). "In this refusal of Christ's are implicitly condemned all who run before they are sent, who thrust themselves into perils to which they are not called; all who would fain be reformers, but whom God has not raised up and equipped for the work of reformation; and who therefore for the most part bring themselves and their cause together to shame, dishonour, and defeat; with all those who presumptuously draw drafts on the faithfulness of God, which they have no scriptural warrant to justify them in believing that He will honour".
8Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
8. Again, the devil taketh him up--"conducteth him," as before.
into--or "unto"
an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them--Luke (Lu 4:5) adds the important clause, "in a moment of time"; a clause which seems to furnish a key to the true meaning. That a scene was presented to our Lord's natural eye seems plainly expressed. But to limit this to the most extensive scene which the natural eye could take in, is to give a sense to the expression, "all the kingdoms of the world," quite violent. It remains, then, to gather from the expression, "in a moment of time"--which manifestly is intended to intimate some supernatural operation--that it was permitted to the tempter to extend preternaturally for a moment our Lord's range of vision, and throw a "glory" or glitter over the scene of vision: a thing not inconsistent with the analogy of other scriptural statements regarding the permitted operations of the wicked one. In this case, the "exceeding height" of the "mountain" from which this sight was beheld would favor the effect to be produced.
8. Again, the devil taketh him up--"conducteth him," as before.
into--or "unto"
an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them--Luke (Lu 4:5) adds the important clause, "in a moment of time"; a clause which seems to furnish a key to the true meaning. That a scene was presented to our Lord's natural eye seems plainly expressed. But to limit this to the most extensive scene which the natural eye could take in, is to give a sense to the expression, "all the kingdoms of the world," quite violent. It remains, then, to gather from the expression, "in a moment of time"--which manifestly is intended to intimate some supernatural operation--that it was permitted to the tempter to extend preternaturally for a moment our Lord's range of vision, and throw a "glory" or glitter over the scene of vision: a thing not inconsistent with the analogy of other scriptural statements regarding the permitted operations of the wicked one. In this case, the "exceeding height" of the "mountain" from which this sight was beheld would favor the effect to be produced.
The Pulpit Commentary
Into an exceeding high mountain (εἰς ὄρος ὑψηλὸν λίαν; cf. Eze_40:2; Rev_21:10). Not in Luke. While no material mountain would have enabled our Lord to see all the kingdoms, etc., with his bodily eyes, it is probable that the physical elevation and distance of landscape would psychologically help such a vision. The Quarantana, which "commands a noble prospect", may have been the spot. In the case of Ezekiel it is expressly said that his being "brought into the land of Israel, and set upon a very high mountain," was only "in the visions of God." All the kingdoms of the world (τοῦ κόσμου; but Luke, τῆς ρἰκουμένηςs, i.e. of the whole world as occupied by man, cf. Bishop Westcott on Heb_2:5). Cyrus says (Ezr_1:2), "All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord, the God of heaven, given me." And the glory of them'; "i.e. their resources, wealth, the magnificence and greatness of their cities, their fertile lands, their thronging population" (Thayer); cf. Mat_6:29; Rev_21:24, Rev_21:26. The kingdoms themselves and their outward show. Contrast the words of the seraphim, "The whole earth is full of his glory" (Isa_6:3). In Luke this expression does not occur at this point, but in the tempter's words. As it there comes more abruptly, that is perhaps the more original position. St. Luke adds, "In a moment of time."
Into an exceeding high mountain (εἰς ὄρος ὑψηλὸν λίαν; cf. Eze_40:2; Rev_21:10). Not in Luke. While no material mountain would have enabled our Lord to see all the kingdoms, etc., with his bodily eyes, it is probable that the physical elevation and distance of landscape would psychologically help such a vision. The Quarantana, which "commands a noble prospect", may have been the spot. In the case of Ezekiel it is expressly said that his being "brought into the land of Israel, and set upon a very high mountain," was only "in the visions of God." All the kingdoms of the world (τοῦ κόσμου; but Luke, τῆς ρἰκουμένηςs, i.e. of the whole world as occupied by man, cf. Bishop Westcott on Heb_2:5). Cyrus says (Ezr_1:2), "All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord, the God of heaven, given me." And the glory of them'; "i.e. their resources, wealth, the magnificence and greatness of their cities, their fertile lands, their thronging population" (Thayer); cf. Mat_6:29; Rev_21:24, Rev_21:26. The kingdoms themselves and their outward show. Contrast the words of the seraphim, "The whole earth is full of his glory" (Isa_6:3). In Luke this expression does not occur at this point, but in the tempter's words. As it there comes more abruptly, that is perhaps the more original position. St. Luke adds, "In a moment of time."
9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
9. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee--"and the glory of them," adds Luke (Lu 4:6). But Matthew having already said that this was "showed Him," did not need to repeat it here. Luke (Lu 4:6) adds these other very important clauses, here omitted--"for that is," or "has been," "delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it." Was this wholly false? That were not like Satan's unusual policy, which is to insinuate his lies under cover of some truth. What truth, then, is there here? We answer, Is not Satan thrice called by our Lord Himself, "the prince of this world" (Joh 12:31; 14:30; 16:11)? Does not the apostle call him "the god of this world" (2Co 4:4)? And still further, is it not said that Christ came to destroy by His death "him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil" (He 2:14)? No doubt these passages only express men's voluntary subjection to the rule of the wicked one while they live, and his power to surround death to them, when it comes, with all the terrors of the wages of sin. But as this is a real and terrible sway, so all Scripture represents men as righteously sold under it. In this sense he speaks what is not devoid of truth, when he says, "All this is delivered unto me." But how does he deliver this "to whomsoever he will?" As employing whomsoever he pleases of his willing subjects in keeping men under his power. In this case his offer to our Lord was that of a deputed supremacy commensurate with his own, though as his gift and for his ends.
if thou wilt fall down and worship me--This was the sole but monstrous condition. No Scripture, it will be observed, is quoted now, because none could be found to support so blasphemous a claim. In fact, he has ceased now to present his temptations under the mask of piety, and he stands out unblushingly as the rival of God Himself in his claims on the homage of men. Despairing of success as an angel of light, he throws off all disguise, and with a splendid bribe solicits divine honor. This again shows that we are now at the last of the temptations, and that Matthew's order is the true one.
9. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee--"and the glory of them," adds Luke (Lu 4:6). But Matthew having already said that this was "showed Him," did not need to repeat it here. Luke (Lu 4:6) adds these other very important clauses, here omitted--"for that is," or "has been," "delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it." Was this wholly false? That were not like Satan's unusual policy, which is to insinuate his lies under cover of some truth. What truth, then, is there here? We answer, Is not Satan thrice called by our Lord Himself, "the prince of this world" (Joh 12:31; 14:30; 16:11)? Does not the apostle call him "the god of this world" (2Co 4:4)? And still further, is it not said that Christ came to destroy by His death "him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil" (He 2:14)? No doubt these passages only express men's voluntary subjection to the rule of the wicked one while they live, and his power to surround death to them, when it comes, with all the terrors of the wages of sin. But as this is a real and terrible sway, so all Scripture represents men as righteously sold under it. In this sense he speaks what is not devoid of truth, when he says, "All this is delivered unto me." But how does he deliver this "to whomsoever he will?" As employing whomsoever he pleases of his willing subjects in keeping men under his power. In this case his offer to our Lord was that of a deputed supremacy commensurate with his own, though as his gift and for his ends.
if thou wilt fall down and worship me--This was the sole but monstrous condition. No Scripture, it will be observed, is quoted now, because none could be found to support so blasphemous a claim. In fact, he has ceased now to present his temptations under the mask of piety, and he stands out unblushingly as the rival of God Himself in his claims on the homage of men. Despairing of success as an angel of light, he throws off all disguise, and with a splendid bribe solicits divine honor. This again shows that we are now at the last of the temptations, and that Matthew's order is the true one.
The Pulpit Commentary
All these things will I give thee (ταῦτά σοι πάντα δώσω). The devil puts "these things" and "thee" in the sharpest contrast. In Luke the devil says, "To thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them: for it [i.e. the authority] hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it;" i.e. there the devil speaks of giving, not actual possession of the things themselves (Matthew), but the authority that this implied, "and the glory of them." According to St. Luke, he does not attempt to conceal the fact that he has not absolute possession, but he claims authority as delegated to him, and as capable of being delegated by him to another. His claim was false as absolutely stated, but is true relatively in so far that even his usurpation of power must have been permitted (of. our Lord's term for him, "The prince of this world"). If thou wilt fall down and worship me; i.e. prostrate thyself in obeisance before me—the Eastern method of acknowledging the superiority of a person (cf. Gen_23:7; 1Sa_20:41; 2Sa_1:2; 2Sa_9:6). The expression does not mean "worship me as God" (for this surely was far too coarse a temptation to overcome any even ordinarily pious Israelite; cf. Weiss), but "acknowledge my rights as over-lord." It is not a question of apostasy (1Ki_18:21; cf. Jos_24:15), but of submission to the methods inculcated by Satan, which placed the immediate and the visible above the future and the unseen (Gen_3:5; Exo_32:4).
All these things will I give thee (ταῦτά σοι πάντα δώσω). The devil puts "these things" and "thee" in the sharpest contrast. In Luke the devil says, "To thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them: for it [i.e. the authority] hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it;" i.e. there the devil speaks of giving, not actual possession of the things themselves (Matthew), but the authority that this implied, "and the glory of them." According to St. Luke, he does not attempt to conceal the fact that he has not absolute possession, but he claims authority as delegated to him, and as capable of being delegated by him to another. His claim was false as absolutely stated, but is true relatively in so far that even his usurpation of power must have been permitted (of. our Lord's term for him, "The prince of this world"). If thou wilt fall down and worship me; i.e. prostrate thyself in obeisance before me—the Eastern method of acknowledging the superiority of a person (cf. Gen_23:7; 1Sa_20:41; 2Sa_1:2; 2Sa_9:6). The expression does not mean "worship me as God" (for this surely was far too coarse a temptation to overcome any even ordinarily pious Israelite; cf. Weiss), but "acknowledge my rights as over-lord." It is not a question of apostasy (1Ki_18:21; cf. Jos_24:15), but of submission to the methods inculcated by Satan, which placed the immediate and the visible above the future and the unseen (Gen_3:5; Exo_32:4).
10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
10. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan--Since the tempter has now thrown off the mask, and stands forth in his true character, our Lord no longer deals with him as a pretended friend and pious counsellor, but calls him by his right name--His knowledge of which from the outset He had carefully concealed till now--and orders him off. This is the final and conclusive evidence, as we think, that Matthew's must be the right order of the temptations. For who can well conceive of the tempter's returning to the assault after this, in the pious character again, and hoping still to dislodge the consciousness of His Sonship, while our Lord must in that case be supposed to quote Scripture to one He had called the devil to his face--thus throwing His pearls before worse than swine?
for it is written--(De 6:13). Thus does our Lord part with Satan on the rock of Scripture.
Thou shalt worship--In the Hebrew and the Septuagint it is, "Thou shalt fear"; but as the sense is the same, so "worship" is here used to show emphatically that what the tempter claimed was precisely what God had forbidden.
the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve--The word "serve" in the second clause, is one never used by the Septuagint of any but religious service; and in this sense exclusively is it used in the New Testament, as we find it here. Once more the word "only," in the second clause--not expressed in the Hebrew and the Septuagint--is here added to bring out emphatically the negative and prohibitory feature of the command. (See Ga 3:10 for a similar supplement of the word "all" in a quotation from De 27:26).
10. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan--Since the tempter has now thrown off the mask, and stands forth in his true character, our Lord no longer deals with him as a pretended friend and pious counsellor, but calls him by his right name--His knowledge of which from the outset He had carefully concealed till now--and orders him off. This is the final and conclusive evidence, as we think, that Matthew's must be the right order of the temptations. For who can well conceive of the tempter's returning to the assault after this, in the pious character again, and hoping still to dislodge the consciousness of His Sonship, while our Lord must in that case be supposed to quote Scripture to one He had called the devil to his face--thus throwing His pearls before worse than swine?
for it is written--(De 6:13). Thus does our Lord part with Satan on the rock of Scripture.
Thou shalt worship--In the Hebrew and the Septuagint it is, "Thou shalt fear"; but as the sense is the same, so "worship" is here used to show emphatically that what the tempter claimed was precisely what God had forbidden.
the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve--The word "serve" in the second clause, is one never used by the Septuagint of any but religious service; and in this sense exclusively is it used in the New Testament, as we find it here. Once more the word "only," in the second clause--not expressed in the Hebrew and the Septuagint--is here added to bring out emphatically the negative and prohibitory feature of the command. (See Ga 3:10 for a similar supplement of the word "all" in a quotation from De 27:26).
The Pulpit Commentary
Get thee hence, Satan. "Avaunt, Satan" (Rheims). Christ does not address him.directly till this climax. The two previous temptations were, comparatively speaking, ordinary and limited. This temptation calls out a passionate utterance of a personality stirred, because touched, in its depths. Only once again do we find our Lord so moved, in Mat_16:23 (the "Western" and "Syrian" addition here of ὀπίσω μου from that passage emphasizes the feeling common to the two cases), when a similar representation is made to him that he ought to escape the troubles which his Messianic position, in fact, brought upon him. For it is written (Deu_6:13); from the LXX., which differs from the Hebrew by
(1) translating ארית, "fear," by προσκυνήσεις (but B has φοβηθήσῃ); and
(2) the paraphrastic insertion of "only." Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Worship; προσκυνέω) , as in Mat_16:9. Serve; λατρεύω, "in perfect subjection to a sovereign power" (Bishop Westcott on Heb_8:2, Add. Note). Our Lord's reply cuts up the devil's solicitation by the root. "I do not enter," he means, "into the question of thy authority over these things, and of thy power concerning them. I acknowledge thee not. The command which I willingly obey excludes all homage and service to any other over-lord than God alone. I accept not thy orders and thy methods. I take my commands direct from God." Observe that our Lord does not say how he is to gain the kingdoms for his own; this would be the care of him whose command he follows. But before ascending, the Lord proclaimed (Mat_28:18) that he had received (i.e. gained through suffering, Heb_2:10 : Php_2:9) more than (note "in heaven") what the devil would have given him as a reward of obedience to false principles.
Get thee hence, Satan. "Avaunt, Satan" (Rheims). Christ does not address him.directly till this climax. The two previous temptations were, comparatively speaking, ordinary and limited. This temptation calls out a passionate utterance of a personality stirred, because touched, in its depths. Only once again do we find our Lord so moved, in Mat_16:23 (the "Western" and "Syrian" addition here of ὀπίσω μου from that passage emphasizes the feeling common to the two cases), when a similar representation is made to him that he ought to escape the troubles which his Messianic position, in fact, brought upon him. For it is written (Deu_6:13); from the LXX., which differs from the Hebrew by
(1) translating ארית, "fear," by προσκυνήσεις (but B has φοβηθήσῃ); and
(2) the paraphrastic insertion of "only." Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Worship; προσκυνέω) , as in Mat_16:9. Serve; λατρεύω, "in perfect subjection to a sovereign power" (Bishop Westcott on Heb_8:2, Add. Note). Our Lord's reply cuts up the devil's solicitation by the root. "I do not enter," he means, "into the question of thy authority over these things, and of thy power concerning them. I acknowledge thee not. The command which I willingly obey excludes all homage and service to any other over-lord than God alone. I accept not thy orders and thy methods. I take my commands direct from God." Observe that our Lord does not say how he is to gain the kingdoms for his own; this would be the care of him whose command he follows. But before ascending, the Lord proclaimed (Mat_28:18) that he had received (i.e. gained through suffering, Heb_2:10 : Php_2:9) more than (note "in heaven") what the devil would have given him as a reward of obedience to false principles.
11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
11. Then the devil leaveth him--Luke says, "And when the devil had exhausted"--or "quite ended," as in Lu 4:2--"every (mode of) temptation, he departed from him till a season." The definite "season" here indicated is expressly referred to by our Lord in Joh 14:30 and Lu 22:52, 53.
and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him--or supplied Him with food, as the same expression means in Mr 1:31 and Lu 8:3. Thus did angels to Elijah (1Ki 19:5-8). Excellent critics think that they ministered, not food only, but supernatural support and cheer also. But this would be the natural effect rather than the direct object of the visit, which was plainly what we have expressed. And after having refused to claim the illegitimate ministration of angels in His behalf, oh, with what deep joy would He accept their services when sent, unasked, at the close of all this temptation, direct from Him whom He had so gloriously honored! What "angels' food" would this repast be to Him! and as He partook of it, might not a Voice from heaven be heard again, by any who could read the Father's mind, "Said I not well, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased?"
Mt 4:12-25. Christ Begins His Galilean Ministry--Calling of Peter and Andrew, James and John--His First Galilean Circuit. ( = Mr 1:14-20, 35-39; Lu 4:14, 15).
There is here a notable gap in the history, which but for the fourth Gospel we should never have discovered. From the former Gospels we should have been apt to draw three inferences, which from the fourth one we know to be erroneous: First, that our Lord awaited the close of John's ministry, by his arrest and imprisonment, before beginning His own; next, that there was but a brief interval between the baptism of our Lord and the imprisonment of John; and further, that our Lord not only opened His work in Galilee, but never ministered out of it, and never visited Jerusalem at all nor kept a passover till He went thither to become "our Passover, sacrificed for us." The fourth Gospel alone gives the true succession of events; not only recording those important openings of our Lord's public work which preceded the Baptist's imprisonment--extending to the end of the third chapter--but so specifying the passover which occurred during our Lord's ministry as to enable us to line off, with a large measure of certainty, the events of the first three Gospels according to the successive passovers which they embraced. Eusebius, the ecclesiastical historian, who, early in the fourth century, gave much attention to this subject, in noticing these features of the Evangelical Records, says [Ecclesiastical History, 3.24] that John wrote his Gospel at the entreaty of those who knew the important materials he possessed, and filled up what is wanting in the first three Gospels. Why it was reserved for the fourth Gospel, published at so late a period, to supply such important particulars in the life of Christ, it is not easy to conjecture with any probability. It may be, that though not unacquainted with the general facts, they were not furnished with reliable details. But one thing may be affirmed with tolerable certainty, that as our Lord's teaching at Jerusalem was of a depth and grandeur scarcely so well adapted to the prevailing character of the first three Gospels, but altogether congenial to the fourth; and as the bare mention of the successive passovers, without any account of the transactions and discourses they gave rise to, would have served little purpose in the first three Gospels, there may have been no way of preserving the unity and consistency of each Gospel, so as to furnish by means of them all the precious information we get from them, save by the plan on which they are actually constructed.
Entry into Galilee (Mt 4:12-17).
11. Then the devil leaveth him--Luke says, "And when the devil had exhausted"--or "quite ended," as in Lu 4:2--"every (mode of) temptation, he departed from him till a season." The definite "season" here indicated is expressly referred to by our Lord in Joh 14:30 and Lu 22:52, 53.
and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him--or supplied Him with food, as the same expression means in Mr 1:31 and Lu 8:3. Thus did angels to Elijah (1Ki 19:5-8). Excellent critics think that they ministered, not food only, but supernatural support and cheer also. But this would be the natural effect rather than the direct object of the visit, which was plainly what we have expressed. And after having refused to claim the illegitimate ministration of angels in His behalf, oh, with what deep joy would He accept their services when sent, unasked, at the close of all this temptation, direct from Him whom He had so gloriously honored! What "angels' food" would this repast be to Him! and as He partook of it, might not a Voice from heaven be heard again, by any who could read the Father's mind, "Said I not well, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased?"
Mt 4:12-25. Christ Begins His Galilean Ministry--Calling of Peter and Andrew, James and John--His First Galilean Circuit. ( = Mr 1:14-20, 35-39; Lu 4:14, 15).
There is here a notable gap in the history, which but for the fourth Gospel we should never have discovered. From the former Gospels we should have been apt to draw three inferences, which from the fourth one we know to be erroneous: First, that our Lord awaited the close of John's ministry, by his arrest and imprisonment, before beginning His own; next, that there was but a brief interval between the baptism of our Lord and the imprisonment of John; and further, that our Lord not only opened His work in Galilee, but never ministered out of it, and never visited Jerusalem at all nor kept a passover till He went thither to become "our Passover, sacrificed for us." The fourth Gospel alone gives the true succession of events; not only recording those important openings of our Lord's public work which preceded the Baptist's imprisonment--extending to the end of the third chapter--but so specifying the passover which occurred during our Lord's ministry as to enable us to line off, with a large measure of certainty, the events of the first three Gospels according to the successive passovers which they embraced. Eusebius, the ecclesiastical historian, who, early in the fourth century, gave much attention to this subject, in noticing these features of the Evangelical Records, says [Ecclesiastical History, 3.24] that John wrote his Gospel at the entreaty of those who knew the important materials he possessed, and filled up what is wanting in the first three Gospels. Why it was reserved for the fourth Gospel, published at so late a period, to supply such important particulars in the life of Christ, it is not easy to conjecture with any probability. It may be, that though not unacquainted with the general facts, they were not furnished with reliable details. But one thing may be affirmed with tolerable certainty, that as our Lord's teaching at Jerusalem was of a depth and grandeur scarcely so well adapted to the prevailing character of the first three Gospels, but altogether congenial to the fourth; and as the bare mention of the successive passovers, without any account of the transactions and discourses they gave rise to, would have served little purpose in the first three Gospels, there may have been no way of preserving the unity and consistency of each Gospel, so as to furnish by means of them all the precious information we get from them, save by the plan on which they are actually constructed.
Entry into Galilee (Mt 4:12-17).
The Pulpit Commentary
The devil leaveth him; Luke, "departed from him for a season." For though there are crises of temptation, the devil never finally gives up his attack while the object of it is still on earth. May not even direct assaults be included in the remarkable epitome of Messianic life found in Luk_22:28? And, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. Kept back before both by the presence of the evil one, and by the need for the God-Man to contend alone, they now came up to him and ministered to him so long as they could be helpful (for the change of tenses, cf. Mat_8:15). Mark however (Mar_1:13) implies that they had been present at other times than after this last crisis. Ministered; possibly supplying his bodily need (cf. Mat_8:15; Luk_10:40); but as, after all, bodily sustenance is but secondary to spiritual, the latter must at least be included (cf. Heb_1:14). In Luk_22:43 the "strengthening" would appear to be of his whole nature within and without, through the medium of his spirit.
The devil leaveth him; Luke, "departed from him for a season." For though there are crises of temptation, the devil never finally gives up his attack while the object of it is still on earth. May not even direct assaults be included in the remarkable epitome of Messianic life found in Luk_22:28? And, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. Kept back before both by the presence of the evil one, and by the need for the God-Man to contend alone, they now came up to him and ministered to him so long as they could be helpful (for the change of tenses, cf. Mat_8:15). Mark however (Mar_1:13) implies that they had been present at other times than after this last crisis. Ministered; possibly supplying his bodily need (cf. Mat_8:15; Luk_10:40); but as, after all, bodily sustenance is but secondary to spiritual, the latter must at least be included (cf. Heb_1:14). In Luk_22:43 the "strengthening" would appear to be of his whole nature within and without, through the medium of his spirit.
Jesus Begins His Ministry in Galilee
12Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
12. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison--more simply, "was delivered up," as recorded in Mt 14:3-5; Mr 6:17-20; Lu 3:19, 20.
he departed--rather, "withdrew."
into Galilee--as recorded, in its proper place, in Joh 4:1-3.
12. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison--more simply, "was delivered up," as recorded in Mt 14:3-5; Mr 6:17-20; Lu 3:19, 20.
he departed--rather, "withdrew."
into Galilee--as recorded, in its proper place, in Joh 4:1-3.
The Pulpit Commentary
JESUS' WITHDRAWAL INTO GALILEE. According to some commentators, a new section begins here; but probably these verses are still preliminary. Our Lord's activity does not begin till Mat_4:17. But now he withdraws to Galilee, settling in Capernaum, thus fulfilling prophecy.
Now when Jesus had heard. If we had the synoptic Gospels alone, we should have supposed that the Baptist was imprisoned immediately after the end of our Lord's temptation (cf. this verse with Luk_4:14); but St. John (Joh_3:24) expressly states that he had not been cast into prison when the events recorded in Jn 1:43-3:23 took place. "For a time Christ and the Baptist worked side by side, preaching ' repentance' (Mar_1:15 [also Mat_4:17]) and baptizing [Joh_3:22]. The Messiah took up the position of a prophet in Judaea, as afterwards in Galilee" (Bishop Westcott, on Joh_3:22-24). The events in Galilee related in Joh_2:1-12 were "preparatory to the manifestation at Jerusalem which was the real commencement of Christ's Messianic work. St. John records the course and issue of this manifestation: the other Evangelists start with the record of the Galilaean ministry, which dates from the imprisonment of the Baptist" (Bishop Westcott, on Joh_3:24). He adds, on Joh_4:43, "It seems probable that the earlier part of the synoptic narratives (Mk 1:14—2:14, and parallels) must be placed in the interval which extended from Jn 4:43-5:1." Matthew alone states directly that the news of the Baptist having been taken by Herod was the motive of our Lord's withdrawal into Galilee. He says nothing to show whether our Lord withdrew because he would avoid a like treatment himself, or, as is on the whole more likely, because he did not wish to be mixed up in the tumults to which John's capture appears to have given rise (cf. Mat_14:5). Was cast into prison; "was delivered up"; παρεδόθη, absolutely. If the more proper meaning of the word may be insisted on, the thought is of the person to whom John was committed rather than of the place; John being delivered up, that is to say, by Herod to his officials. But in usage it appears rather to mean only compulsory removal, loss of liberty. Mark points out the temporary protection that the imprisonment gave to John against the resentment of Herodias. He departed; Revised Version, he withdrew; ἀνεχώρησεν,. A favourite word of St. Matthew's. It always implies some motive for the change of place, and is frequently used of departure directly consequent upon knowledge acquired. Hence it often implies a feeling of danger. Into Galilee; whence he had come (Mat_3:13). Hence "returned" (Luke). In Galilee he would still be in Herod's dominions; but, as being in his own home, he would not attract so much attention. N.B.—Between verses 12 and 13 some place the incident of his preaching at Nazareth (Luk_4:16-30); but verse 23 of that passage assumes much previous work at Capernaum, and can therefore hardly be as early as this.
JESUS' WITHDRAWAL INTO GALILEE. According to some commentators, a new section begins here; but probably these verses are still preliminary. Our Lord's activity does not begin till Mat_4:17. But now he withdraws to Galilee, settling in Capernaum, thus fulfilling prophecy.
Now when Jesus had heard. If we had the synoptic Gospels alone, we should have supposed that the Baptist was imprisoned immediately after the end of our Lord's temptation (cf. this verse with Luk_4:14); but St. John (Joh_3:24) expressly states that he had not been cast into prison when the events recorded in Jn 1:43-3:23 took place. "For a time Christ and the Baptist worked side by side, preaching ' repentance' (Mar_1:15 [also Mat_4:17]) and baptizing [Joh_3:22]. The Messiah took up the position of a prophet in Judaea, as afterwards in Galilee" (Bishop Westcott, on Joh_3:22-24). The events in Galilee related in Joh_2:1-12 were "preparatory to the manifestation at Jerusalem which was the real commencement of Christ's Messianic work. St. John records the course and issue of this manifestation: the other Evangelists start with the record of the Galilaean ministry, which dates from the imprisonment of the Baptist" (Bishop Westcott, on Joh_3:24). He adds, on Joh_4:43, "It seems probable that the earlier part of the synoptic narratives (Mk 1:14—2:14, and parallels) must be placed in the interval which extended from Jn 4:43-5:1." Matthew alone states directly that the news of the Baptist having been taken by Herod was the motive of our Lord's withdrawal into Galilee. He says nothing to show whether our Lord withdrew because he would avoid a like treatment himself, or, as is on the whole more likely, because he did not wish to be mixed up in the tumults to which John's capture appears to have given rise (cf. Mat_14:5). Was cast into prison; "was delivered up"; παρεδόθη, absolutely. If the more proper meaning of the word may be insisted on, the thought is of the person to whom John was committed rather than of the place; John being delivered up, that is to say, by Herod to his officials. But in usage it appears rather to mean only compulsory removal, loss of liberty. Mark points out the temporary protection that the imprisonment gave to John against the resentment of Herodias. He departed; Revised Version, he withdrew; ἀνεχώρησεν,. A favourite word of St. Matthew's. It always implies some motive for the change of place, and is frequently used of departure directly consequent upon knowledge acquired. Hence it often implies a feeling of danger. Into Galilee; whence he had come (Mat_3:13). Hence "returned" (Luke). In Galilee he would still be in Herod's dominions; but, as being in his own home, he would not attract so much attention. N.B.—Between verses 12 and 13 some place the incident of his preaching at Nazareth (Luk_4:16-30); but verse 23 of that passage assumes much previous work at Capernaum, and can therefore hardly be as early as this.
13And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
13. And leaving Nazareth--The prevalent opinion is that this refers to a first visit to Nazareth after His baptism, whose details are given by Luke (Lu 4:16, &c.); a second visit being that detailed by our Evangelist (Mt 13:54-58), and by Mark (Mr 6:1-6). But to us there seem all but insuperable difficulties in the supposition of two visits to Nazareth after His baptism; and on the grounds stated in Lu 4:16, &c., we think that the one only visit to Nazareth is that recorded by Matthew (Mt 13:53-58), Mark (Mr 6:1-6), and Luke (Lu 4:14-30). But how, in that case, are we to take the word "leaving Nazareth" here? We answer, just as the same word is used in Ac 21:3, "Now when we had sighted Cyprus, and left it on the left, we sailed into Syria,"--that is, without entering Cyprus at all, but merely "sighting" it, as the nautical phrase is, they steered southeast of it, leaving it on the northwest. So here, what we understand the Evangelist to say is, that Jesus, on His return to Galilee, did not, as might have been expected, make Nazareth the place of His stated residence, but, "leaving [or passing by] Nazareth,"
he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the seacoast--maritime Capernaum, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee; but the precise spot is unknown. (See on Mt 11:23). Our Lord seems to have chosen it for several reasons. Four or five of the Twelve lived there; it had a considerable and mixed population, securing some freedom from that intense bigotry which even to this day characterizes all places where Jews in large numbers dwell nearly alone; it was centrical, so that not only on the approach of the annual festivals did large numbers pass through it or near it, but on any occasion multitudes could easily be collected about it; and for crossing and recrossing the lake, which our Lord had so often occasion to do, no place could be more convenient. But one other high reason for the choice of Capernaum remains to be mentioned, the only one specified by our Evangelist.
in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim--the one lying to the west of the Sea of Galilee, the other to the north of it; but the precise boundaries cannot now be traced out.
13. And leaving Nazareth--The prevalent opinion is that this refers to a first visit to Nazareth after His baptism, whose details are given by Luke (Lu 4:16, &c.); a second visit being that detailed by our Evangelist (Mt 13:54-58), and by Mark (Mr 6:1-6). But to us there seem all but insuperable difficulties in the supposition of two visits to Nazareth after His baptism; and on the grounds stated in Lu 4:16, &c., we think that the one only visit to Nazareth is that recorded by Matthew (Mt 13:53-58), Mark (Mr 6:1-6), and Luke (Lu 4:14-30). But how, in that case, are we to take the word "leaving Nazareth" here? We answer, just as the same word is used in Ac 21:3, "Now when we had sighted Cyprus, and left it on the left, we sailed into Syria,"--that is, without entering Cyprus at all, but merely "sighting" it, as the nautical phrase is, they steered southeast of it, leaving it on the northwest. So here, what we understand the Evangelist to say is, that Jesus, on His return to Galilee, did not, as might have been expected, make Nazareth the place of His stated residence, but, "leaving [or passing by] Nazareth,"
he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the seacoast--maritime Capernaum, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee; but the precise spot is unknown. (See on Mt 11:23). Our Lord seems to have chosen it for several reasons. Four or five of the Twelve lived there; it had a considerable and mixed population, securing some freedom from that intense bigotry which even to this day characterizes all places where Jews in large numbers dwell nearly alone; it was centrical, so that not only on the approach of the annual festivals did large numbers pass through it or near it, but on any occasion multitudes could easily be collected about it; and for crossing and recrossing the lake, which our Lord had so often occasion to do, no place could be more convenient. But one other high reason for the choice of Capernaum remains to be mentioned, the only one specified by our Evangelist.
in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim--the one lying to the west of the Sea of Galilee, the other to the north of it; but the precise boundaries cannot now be traced out.
The Pulpit Commentary
And leaving Nazareth. Finally as a place of residence. The form Ναζαρά occurs only here and Luk_4:16, which in itself well suits the opinion that Luk_4:16-30 is only a fuller account of this sojourn at Nazareth (cf. Weiss, ' Matthaus-Evang.'). He came and dwelt; i.e. made his home in (cf. Mat_2:23). Not as having a house of his own there, so that he could take shelter in it as of right (cf. Mat_8:20, "The foxes have holes," etc.); but probably settling his mother there, and being himself generally admitted to some one's house (perhaps Peter's, cf. Mat_8:14, Mat_8:16) when he came to the town. In Capernaum. Most probably the modern Tell-hum, upon the north-western shore, two miles from where the Jordan enters the lake. On the interesting relic of the synagogue, presumably that built by the centurion (Luk_7:5), vide especially Bishop Westcott on Joh_6:59. The identification with Tell-Hum can, however, hardly be considered as absolutely settled. "Some of the narratives of pilgrims of the sixth and seventh centuries appear to place Capernaum here. Jewish authors mention a place called Karat Tankhum, or Nakhum; and as the Arabic Tell ("hill") might easily be substituted for the word Kaphar ("village"), and Nakhum corrupted to Hum, Capernaum and Tell-Hum may be identical. On the other hand, Sepp supposes that the name of the Minim (Jewish Christians), who are known to have been numerous at Capernaum down to the time of Constantine, has been preserved in the Khan Minyeh". Which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim. The details are mentioned to show the accordance with the following prophecy. Neubauer points out that, according to Jos_19:33, Jos_19:34, and the notices in the Talmud, the whole western side of the lake was in Naphtali, and that hence Capernaum could not, strictly speaking, be "in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim." He himself explains the discrepancy by saying that St. Matthew imitates the Haggadistic methods in accommodating the geography to the text he quotes. But it is clear that the expression is satisfied by the fact that Zebulun was really near Capernaum, and that numbers of those who frequented the town must have come from Zebulun. The position of Capernaum thus formed quite a sufficient reason for quoting the prophecy in Isaiah. Our evangelist, who (Isa_2:1-22.) had noticed the coining of distant heathen to worship Messiah, though he was persecuted by the then ruler of the nation, found it very significant that his public activity should begin at a distance from the home of the hierarchy, and in a district which had been the first to suffer from heathen attacks in the past, and had at the present moment a population in which there was a great mixture of the heathen element (cf. Weiss, 'Matthiaus-Evang.').
And leaving Nazareth. Finally as a place of residence. The form Ναζαρά occurs only here and Luk_4:16, which in itself well suits the opinion that Luk_4:16-30 is only a fuller account of this sojourn at Nazareth (cf. Weiss, ' Matthaus-Evang.'). He came and dwelt; i.e. made his home in (cf. Mat_2:23). Not as having a house of his own there, so that he could take shelter in it as of right (cf. Mat_8:20, "The foxes have holes," etc.); but probably settling his mother there, and being himself generally admitted to some one's house (perhaps Peter's, cf. Mat_8:14, Mat_8:16) when he came to the town. In Capernaum. Most probably the modern Tell-hum, upon the north-western shore, two miles from where the Jordan enters the lake. On the interesting relic of the synagogue, presumably that built by the centurion (Luk_7:5), vide especially Bishop Westcott on Joh_6:59. The identification with Tell-Hum can, however, hardly be considered as absolutely settled. "Some of the narratives of pilgrims of the sixth and seventh centuries appear to place Capernaum here. Jewish authors mention a place called Karat Tankhum, or Nakhum; and as the Arabic Tell ("hill") might easily be substituted for the word Kaphar ("village"), and Nakhum corrupted to Hum, Capernaum and Tell-Hum may be identical. On the other hand, Sepp supposes that the name of the Minim (Jewish Christians), who are known to have been numerous at Capernaum down to the time of Constantine, has been preserved in the Khan Minyeh". Which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim. The details are mentioned to show the accordance with the following prophecy. Neubauer points out that, according to Jos_19:33, Jos_19:34, and the notices in the Talmud, the whole western side of the lake was in Naphtali, and that hence Capernaum could not, strictly speaking, be "in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim." He himself explains the discrepancy by saying that St. Matthew imitates the Haggadistic methods in accommodating the geography to the text he quotes. But it is clear that the expression is satisfied by the fact that Zebulun was really near Capernaum, and that numbers of those who frequented the town must have come from Zebulun. The position of Capernaum thus formed quite a sufficient reason for quoting the prophecy in Isaiah. Our evangelist, who (Isa_2:1-22.) had noticed the coining of distant heathen to worship Messiah, though he was persecuted by the then ruler of the nation, found it very significant that his public activity should begin at a distance from the home of the hierarchy, and in a district which had been the first to suffer from heathen attacks in the past, and had at the present moment a population in which there was a great mixture of the heathen element (cf. Weiss, 'Matthiaus-Evang.').
14Prophecy fulfilledIsaiah 9:1–2“Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
14. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet--(Is 9:1, 2 or, as in Hebrew, Isaiah 8:23, and 9:1).
saying--as follows:
14. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet--(Is 9:1, 2 or, as in Hebrew, Isaiah 8:23, and 9:1).
saying--as follows:
15The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
15. The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea--the coast skirting the Sea of Galilee westward--beyond Jordan--a phrase commonly meaning eastward of Jordan; but here and in several places it means westward of the Jordan. The word seems to have got the general meaning of "the other side"; the nature of the case determining which side that was.
Galilee of the Gentiles--so called from its position, which made it the frontier between the Holy Land and the external world. While Ephraim and Judah, as Stanley says, were separated from the world by the Jordan valley on one side and the hostile Philistines on another, the northern tribes were in the direct highway of all the invaders from the north, in unbroken communication with the promiscuous races who have always occupied the heights of Lebanon, and in close and peaceful alliance with the most commercial nation of the ancient world, the Phoenicians. Twenty of the cities of Galilee were actually annexed by Solomon to the adjacent kingdom of Tyre, and formed, with their territory, the "boundary" or "offscouring" (Gebul or Cabul) of the two dominions--at a later time still known by the general name of "the boundaries (coasts or borders) of Tyre and Sidon." In the first great transportation of the Jewish population, Naphtali and Galilee suffered the same fate as the trans-jordanic tribes before Ephraim or Judah had been molested (2Ki 15:29). In the time of the Christian era this original disadvantage of their position was still felt; the speech of the Galileans "bewrayed them" by its uncouth pronunciation (Mt 26:73); and their distance from the seats of government and civilization at Jerusalem and Cæsarea gave them their character for turbulence or independence, according as it was viewed by their friends or their enemies.
15. The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea--the coast skirting the Sea of Galilee westward--beyond Jordan--a phrase commonly meaning eastward of Jordan; but here and in several places it means westward of the Jordan. The word seems to have got the general meaning of "the other side"; the nature of the case determining which side that was.
Galilee of the Gentiles--so called from its position, which made it the frontier between the Holy Land and the external world. While Ephraim and Judah, as Stanley says, were separated from the world by the Jordan valley on one side and the hostile Philistines on another, the northern tribes were in the direct highway of all the invaders from the north, in unbroken communication with the promiscuous races who have always occupied the heights of Lebanon, and in close and peaceful alliance with the most commercial nation of the ancient world, the Phoenicians. Twenty of the cities of Galilee were actually annexed by Solomon to the adjacent kingdom of Tyre, and formed, with their territory, the "boundary" or "offscouring" (Gebul or Cabul) of the two dominions--at a later time still known by the general name of "the boundaries (coasts or borders) of Tyre and Sidon." In the first great transportation of the Jewish population, Naphtali and Galilee suffered the same fate as the trans-jordanic tribes before Ephraim or Judah had been molested (2Ki 15:29). In the time of the Christian era this original disadvantage of their position was still felt; the speech of the Galileans "bewrayed them" by its uncouth pronunciation (Mt 26:73); and their distance from the seats of government and civilization at Jerusalem and Cæsarea gave them their character for turbulence or independence, according as it was viewed by their friends or their enemies.
The Pulpit Commentary
The land of Zabulon, etc. From Isa_9:1, Isa_9:2, spoiled in the Authorized Version, but rendered correctly in the Revised Version. Isaiah says that those parts of the land which had borne the first brunt of the Assyrian invasions under Tiglath-Pileser (2Ki_15:29; el. Zec_10:10), shall be proportionately glorified by the advent of Messiah. Wetstein gives a tradition from the 'Pesikt. Zut.,' of Messiah ben Joseph first appearing in Galilee; hut the whole passage clearly points to a knowledge of the New Testament. As to the form of the quotation, observe:
(1) Matthew disregards the Hebrew construction, and gives merely the general sense.
(2) He takes it from the Hebrew, not the LXX.
(3) This last point is doubtless to be connected with the fact that the quotation does not occur in the other Gospels, i.e. that it did not belong to the Petrine cycle of teaching, and if it did belong to the "Matthean" cycle, not to that form which was current among Gentile Christians. Zabulon and … Nephthalim, equivalent to the later Upper and Lower Galilee. By the way of the sea; toward the sea (Revised Version); cf. Jer_2:18; "i.e. the district on the W. of the Sea of Galilee, as opposed to 'the other side of Jordan,' and 'the circle of the nations,' i.e. the frontier districts nearest to Phoenicia, including 'the land of Cabul' (1Ki_9:11-13), which formed part of the later Upper Galilee. Via Marls, M. Renan observes, was the name of the high road from Acre to Damascus, as late as the Crusades. 'Way,' however, here means 'region' (cf. Isa_58:12; Job_24:4)" (Cheyne, on Isa_9:1). Yet hardly so; ὁδόν, is adverbial, 1Ki_8:48 (equivalent to 2Ch_6:38), and designates the stretching of the districts of Zebulun and Naphtali towards the sea. The sea is the Sea of Galilee. The close union of this clause in the Authorized Version with the following words, "beyond Jordan," misses its true meaning as explanatory of the position of Zebulun and Naphtali, and rather takes it as describing some special locality east of Jordan. Beyond Jordan; i.e. the eastern side, mentioned in 2Ki_15:29 as having suffered with Naphtali under the Assyrian invasion; see further 2Ki_15:25. Galilee of the Gentiles (vide supra, "by the way of the sea").
The land of Zabulon, etc. From Isa_9:1, Isa_9:2, spoiled in the Authorized Version, but rendered correctly in the Revised Version. Isaiah says that those parts of the land which had borne the first brunt of the Assyrian invasions under Tiglath-Pileser (2Ki_15:29; el. Zec_10:10), shall be proportionately glorified by the advent of Messiah. Wetstein gives a tradition from the 'Pesikt. Zut.,' of Messiah ben Joseph first appearing in Galilee; hut the whole passage clearly points to a knowledge of the New Testament. As to the form of the quotation, observe:
(1) Matthew disregards the Hebrew construction, and gives merely the general sense.
(2) He takes it from the Hebrew, not the LXX.
(3) This last point is doubtless to be connected with the fact that the quotation does not occur in the other Gospels, i.e. that it did not belong to the Petrine cycle of teaching, and if it did belong to the "Matthean" cycle, not to that form which was current among Gentile Christians. Zabulon and … Nephthalim, equivalent to the later Upper and Lower Galilee. By the way of the sea; toward the sea (Revised Version); cf. Jer_2:18; "i.e. the district on the W. of the Sea of Galilee, as opposed to 'the other side of Jordan,' and 'the circle of the nations,' i.e. the frontier districts nearest to Phoenicia, including 'the land of Cabul' (1Ki_9:11-13), which formed part of the later Upper Galilee. Via Marls, M. Renan observes, was the name of the high road from Acre to Damascus, as late as the Crusades. 'Way,' however, here means 'region' (cf. Isa_58:12; Job_24:4)" (Cheyne, on Isa_9:1). Yet hardly so; ὁδόν, is adverbial, 1Ki_8:48 (equivalent to 2Ch_6:38), and designates the stretching of the districts of Zebulun and Naphtali towards the sea. The sea is the Sea of Galilee. The close union of this clause in the Authorized Version with the following words, "beyond Jordan," misses its true meaning as explanatory of the position of Zebulun and Naphtali, and rather takes it as describing some special locality east of Jordan. Beyond Jordan; i.e. the eastern side, mentioned in 2Ki_15:29 as having suffered with Naphtali under the Assyrian invasion; see further 2Ki_15:25. Galilee of the Gentiles (vide supra, "by the way of the sea").
16The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
16. The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up--The prophetic strain to which these words belong commences with the seventh chapter of Isaiah, to which the sixth chapter is introductory, and goes down to the end of the twelfth chapter, which hymns the spirit of that whole strain of prophecy. It belongs to the reign of Ahaz and turns upon the combined efforts of the two neighboring kingdoms of Syria and Israel to crush Judah. In these critical circumstances Judah and her king were, by their ungodliness, provoking the Lord to sell them into the hands of their enemies. What, then, is the burden of this prophetic strain, on to the passage here quoted? First, Judah shall not, cannot perish, because Immanuel, the Virgin's Son, is to come forth from his loins. Next, one of the invaders shall soon perish, and the kingdoms of neither be enlarged. Further, while the Lord will be the Sanctuary of such as confide in these promises and await their fulfilment, He will drive to confusion, darkness, and despair the vast multitude of the nation who despised His oracles, and, in their anxiety and distress, betook themselves to the lying oracles of the heathen. This carries us down to the end of the eighth chapter. At the opening of the ninth chapter a sudden light is seen breaking in upon one particular part of the country, the part which was to suffer most in these wars and devastations--"the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee and the Gentiles." The rest of the prophecy stretches over both the Assyrian and the Chaldean captivities and terminates in the glorious Messianic prophecy of the eleventh chapter and the choral hymn of the twelfth chapter. Well, this is the point seized on by our Evangelist. By Messiah's taking up His abode in those very regions of Galilee, and shedding His glorious light upon them, this prediction, He says, of the Evangelical prophet was now fulfilled; and if it was not thus fulfilled, we may confidently affirm it was not fulfilled in any age of the Jewish ceremony, and has received no fulfilment at all. Even the most rationalistic critics have difficulty in explaining it in any other way.
16. The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up--The prophetic strain to which these words belong commences with the seventh chapter of Isaiah, to which the sixth chapter is introductory, and goes down to the end of the twelfth chapter, which hymns the spirit of that whole strain of prophecy. It belongs to the reign of Ahaz and turns upon the combined efforts of the two neighboring kingdoms of Syria and Israel to crush Judah. In these critical circumstances Judah and her king were, by their ungodliness, provoking the Lord to sell them into the hands of their enemies. What, then, is the burden of this prophetic strain, on to the passage here quoted? First, Judah shall not, cannot perish, because Immanuel, the Virgin's Son, is to come forth from his loins. Next, one of the invaders shall soon perish, and the kingdoms of neither be enlarged. Further, while the Lord will be the Sanctuary of such as confide in these promises and await their fulfilment, He will drive to confusion, darkness, and despair the vast multitude of the nation who despised His oracles, and, in their anxiety and distress, betook themselves to the lying oracles of the heathen. This carries us down to the end of the eighth chapter. At the opening of the ninth chapter a sudden light is seen breaking in upon one particular part of the country, the part which was to suffer most in these wars and devastations--"the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee and the Gentiles." The rest of the prophecy stretches over both the Assyrian and the Chaldean captivities and terminates in the glorious Messianic prophecy of the eleventh chapter and the choral hymn of the twelfth chapter. Well, this is the point seized on by our Evangelist. By Messiah's taking up His abode in those very regions of Galilee, and shedding His glorious light upon them, this prediction, He says, of the Evangelical prophet was now fulfilled; and if it was not thus fulfilled, we may confidently affirm it was not fulfilled in any age of the Jewish ceremony, and has received no fulfilment at all. Even the most rationalistic critics have difficulty in explaining it in any other way.
The Pulpit Commentary
The people which sat; "who walk" (Hebrew). Saw great light; saw a great light (Revised Version); unnecessarily except as a matter of English, for it can hardly mean a definite light, Messiah. Φῶς both here and in the next clause means light as such. And to them which sat. So the Hebrew, but the LXX. generally οἱκατοικοῦντες. In the region and shadow of death. The region where death abides, and where it casts its thickest shade. The Hebrew is simply "in the land of the shadow of death" (תומלץ צראב, according to the traditional interpretation), which the present LXX. (Vatican) probably represents (ἐν χώρᾳ σκιᾷ θανάτου) , the ς of σκιᾶς having been misread before θ. But copyists, not understanding this, inserted καὶ between χώρᾳ and σκιᾷ (as in A), and this reading became popularly known, and was used by the evangelist. That the reading of A was derived from the evangelist is unlikely, for the reading σκιᾷ must, at all events, have been before his time. Light is sprung up; to them, did light spring up (Revised Version); ἀνέτειλεν. The tense emphasizes not the abiding effect (e.g. in the fact that so many of the disciples were Galilaeans), but the moment of his appearance. The father of the Baptist also remembered this passage of Isaiah (Luk_1:78, Luk_1:79, where cf. Godet).
The people which sat; "who walk" (Hebrew). Saw great light; saw a great light (Revised Version); unnecessarily except as a matter of English, for it can hardly mean a definite light, Messiah. Φῶς both here and in the next clause means light as such. And to them which sat. So the Hebrew, but the LXX. generally οἱκατοικοῦντες. In the region and shadow of death. The region where death abides, and where it casts its thickest shade. The Hebrew is simply "in the land of the shadow of death" (תומלץ צראב, according to the traditional interpretation), which the present LXX. (Vatican) probably represents (ἐν χώρᾳ σκιᾷ θανάτου) , the ς of σκιᾶς having been misread before θ. But copyists, not understanding this, inserted καὶ between χώρᾳ and σκιᾷ (as in A), and this reading became popularly known, and was used by the evangelist. That the reading of A was derived from the evangelist is unlikely, for the reading σκιᾷ must, at all events, have been before his time. Light is sprung up; to them, did light spring up (Revised Version); ἀνέτειλεν. The tense emphasizes not the abiding effect (e.g. in the fact that so many of the disciples were Galilaeans), but the moment of his appearance. The father of the Baptist also remembered this passage of Isaiah (Luk_1:78, Luk_1:79, where cf. Godet).
17From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
17. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand--Thus did our Lord not only take up the strain, but give forth the identical summons of His honored forerunner. Our Lord sometimes speaks of the new kingdom as already come--in His own Person and ministry; but the economy of it was only "at hand" until the blood of the cross was shed, and the Spirit on the day of Pentecost opened the fountain for sin and for uncleanness to the world at large.
Calling of Peter and Andrew James and John (Mt 4:18-22).
17. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand--Thus did our Lord not only take up the strain, but give forth the identical summons of His honored forerunner. Our Lord sometimes speaks of the new kingdom as already come--in His own Person and ministry; but the economy of it was only "at hand" until the blood of the cross was shed, and the Spirit on the day of Pentecost opened the fountain for sin and for uncleanness to the world at large.
Calling of Peter and Andrew James and John (Mt 4:18-22).
The Pulpit Commentary
THE FIRST STAGE OF CHRIST'S WORK AND TEACHING.
The proclamation. From that time; ἀπὸ τότε (elsewhere in the New Testament only Mat_16:21; Mat_26:16; Luk_16:16); i.e. from the time of his residence in Capernaum (Mat_4:13). Apparently our Lord, after the baptism, went to John (vide supra, verse 1), then retired to Galilee, going first to Nazareth, then finally leaving it as his home for Capernaum. At Caper-nauru his public activity begins. From that time; the phrase expresses not merely "at that time," but "from that time," as the starting-point. Henceforth this was to be his message, even though its form might be altered. The phrase marks, as in Mat_16:21, the commencement of a new stage in his life. His earlier work with John the Baptist is not included in the oral Gospel, probably because the twelve were not yet joined to him in formal and continuous adhesion. Repent, etc. His words are exactly the same as the Baptist's (Mat_3:2), with whom, indeed, he had been very lately associated. There is no evidence that he meant by them anything else than the Baptist meant. It is very intelligible that quite early (Old Syriac) an attempt should be made to harmonize this summary of his preaching rather with that of his disciples (Mat_10:7).
THE FIRST STAGE OF CHRIST'S WORK AND TEACHING.
The proclamation. From that time; ἀπὸ τότε (elsewhere in the New Testament only Mat_16:21; Mat_26:16; Luk_16:16); i.e. from the time of his residence in Capernaum (Mat_4:13). Apparently our Lord, after the baptism, went to John (vide supra, verse 1), then retired to Galilee, going first to Nazareth, then finally leaving it as his home for Capernaum. At Caper-nauru his public activity begins. From that time; the phrase expresses not merely "at that time," but "from that time," as the starting-point. Henceforth this was to be his message, even though its form might be altered. The phrase marks, as in Mat_16:21, the commencement of a new stage in his life. His earlier work with John the Baptist is not included in the oral Gospel, probably because the twelve were not yet joined to him in formal and continuous adhesion. Repent, etc. His words are exactly the same as the Baptist's (Mat_3:2), with whom, indeed, he had been very lately associated. There is no evidence that he meant by them anything else than the Baptist meant. It is very intelligible that quite early (Old Syriac) an attempt should be made to harmonize this summary of his preaching rather with that of his disciples (Mat_10:7).
The Call of the First Disciples
18And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
18. And Jesus, walking--The word "Jesus" here appears not to belong to the text, but to have been introduced from those portions of it which were transcribed to be used as church lessons; where it was naturally introduced as a connecting word at the commencement of a lesson.
by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers--"called Peter" for the reason mentioned in Mt 16:18.
18. And Jesus, walking--The word "Jesus" here appears not to belong to the text, but to have been introduced from those portions of it which were transcribed to be used as church lessons; where it was naturally introduced as a connecting word at the commencement of a lesson.
by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers--"called Peter" for the reason mentioned in Mt 16:18.
The Pulpit Commentary
The summons to help in his work: his first formal adherents. On the relation of this call to the meeting with Andrew and Peter, recorded in Joh_1:40-42, vide especially Bishop Westcott there. That was "the establishment of a personal relationship;" this "a call to an official work."
And Jesus, walking. Revised Version rightly omits "Jesus," and inserts "he" before "saw." The right reading does not detract so much from the emphatic statement of Mat_4:17. By the Sea of Galilee. His walk lay along the lake. Socin speaks of "the probability that there was a frequented road from the mouth of the Jordan skirting the bank of the lake." Two brethren, Simon … and Andrew his brother; the addition, "his brother," emphasizing the relationship. Christ's coming would divide households (Mat_10:21). He would, therefore, be the more glad when members of one family united in following him. Simon, etc. (vide Mat_10:2, note). Called; Revised Version, who is called; i.e. not specially by Christ, but in common usage among Christians (Mat_10:2). Casting a net; βάλλοντας ἀμφίβληστρον (no var. lect.). Probably later than and explanatory of the form found in the parallel passage, Mar_1:16, ἀμφιβάλλοντας (alone). A net; i.e. a casting-net of circular, bell-like shape, "which, when skilfully cast from over the shoulder by one standing on the shore or in a boat, spreads out into a circle (ἀμφιβάλλεται) as it falls upon the water, and then, sinking swiftly by the weight of the leads attached to it, encloses whatever is below it" (Trench, 'Syn.,' § 64.). It specializes δίκτυον, and differs from σαγήνη (the long draw-net, Mat_13:47).
The summons to help in his work: his first formal adherents. On the relation of this call to the meeting with Andrew and Peter, recorded in Joh_1:40-42, vide especially Bishop Westcott there. That was "the establishment of a personal relationship;" this "a call to an official work."
And Jesus, walking. Revised Version rightly omits "Jesus," and inserts "he" before "saw." The right reading does not detract so much from the emphatic statement of Mat_4:17. By the Sea of Galilee. His walk lay along the lake. Socin speaks of "the probability that there was a frequented road from the mouth of the Jordan skirting the bank of the lake." Two brethren, Simon … and Andrew his brother; the addition, "his brother," emphasizing the relationship. Christ's coming would divide households (Mat_10:21). He would, therefore, be the more glad when members of one family united in following him. Simon, etc. (vide Mat_10:2, note). Called; Revised Version, who is called; i.e. not specially by Christ, but in common usage among Christians (Mat_10:2). Casting a net; βάλλοντας ἀμφίβληστρον (no var. lect.). Probably later than and explanatory of the form found in the parallel passage, Mar_1:16, ἀμφιβάλλοντας (alone). A net; i.e. a casting-net of circular, bell-like shape, "which, when skilfully cast from over the shoulder by one standing on the shore or in a boat, spreads out into a circle (ἀμφιβάλλεται) as it falls upon the water, and then, sinking swiftly by the weight of the leads attached to it, encloses whatever is below it" (Trench, 'Syn.,' § 64.). It specializes δίκτυον, and differs from σαγήνη (the long draw-net, Mat_13:47).
19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
19. And he saith unto them, Follow me--rather, as the same expression is rendered in Mark, "Come ye after Me" (Mr 1:17).
and I will make you fishers of men--raising them from a lower to a higher fishing, as David was from a lower to a higher feeding (Psa 78:70-72).
19. And he saith unto them, Follow me--rather, as the same expression is rendered in Mark, "Come ye after Me" (Mr 1:17).
and I will make you fishers of men--raising them from a lower to a higher fishing, as David was from a lower to a higher feeding (Psa 78:70-72).
The Pulpit Commentary
Follow me; come ye after me (Revised Version); δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου. There is no thought of continuous following from place to place (ἀκολουθεῖν) , but of immediate detachment from the present sphere of their interest and of attachment to Jesus as their leader. And I will make you fishers of men; Mark, "to become fishers of men," laying more stress on the change in their character necessary for success in this new kind of fishing. Luk_5:10 brings out the change in the nature of the work(ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν). Fishers. The word suggests care, patience, skill, besides habits of life fitted for endurance of privation and fatigue. The same promise is, as it seems, related in Luk_5:10, where notice:
(1) It is connected with the miracle of the draught of fishes.
(2) It is not verbally identical with this: Μὴ φοβοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἀνθρώπους ἔσῃ ζωγρῶν.
(3) The words are addressed individually to Simon.
Follow me; come ye after me (Revised Version); δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου. There is no thought of continuous following from place to place (ἀκολουθεῖν) , but of immediate detachment from the present sphere of their interest and of attachment to Jesus as their leader. And I will make you fishers of men; Mark, "to become fishers of men," laying more stress on the change in their character necessary for success in this new kind of fishing. Luk_5:10 brings out the change in the nature of the work(ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν). Fishers. The word suggests care, patience, skill, besides habits of life fitted for endurance of privation and fatigue. The same promise is, as it seems, related in Luk_5:10, where notice:
(1) It is connected with the miracle of the draught of fishes.
(2) It is not verbally identical with this: Μὴ φοβοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἀνθρώπους ἔσῃ ζωγρῶν.
(3) The words are addressed individually to Simon.
20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
20. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
20. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
The Pulpit Commentary
And they straightway left their nets. (For their leaving everything Wetstein, on Mat_4:19, compares Epictetus, 12, Ἐάν δὲ κυβερνήτης καλέσῃ τρέχε ἐπὶ τὸ πλοῖον ἀφεὶς ἐκεῖνα πάντα μηδὲν ἐπιστρεφόμενος, "If the steersman call, run to the ship, leaving all those things, without regarding anything.") The Rheims Version, with its love of archaisms, has, "But they incontinent, leaving the nettes, followed him."
And they straightway left their nets. (For their leaving everything Wetstein, on Mat_4:19, compares Epictetus, 12, Ἐάν δὲ κυβερνήτης καλέσῃ τρέχε ἐπὶ τὸ πλοῖον ἀφεὶς ἐκεῖνα πάντα μηδὲν ἐπιστρεφόμενος, "If the steersman call, run to the ship, leaving all those things, without regarding anything.") The Rheims Version, with its love of archaisms, has, "But they incontinent, leaving the nettes, followed him."
21And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
21. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship--rather, "in the ship," their fishing boat.
with Zebedee their father, mending their nets: and he called them.
21. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship--rather, "in the ship," their fishing boat.
with Zebedee their father, mending their nets: and he called them.
The Pulpit Commentary
Other two brethren (cf. Mat_4:18, note); in Matthew only. James the son of Zebedee. Why is the father of Peter and Andrew never mentioned, save incidentally, and by our Lord (Mat_16:17; Joh_1:42; Joh_21:15-17)? Probably Zebedee and his wife Salome became, unlike Peter's parents, well-known believerses It may be that Peter was the eldest of the Twelve, and that his father was already dead or, though perhaps believing on Jesus, was too old to take any special part in the work. Luke (Luk_5:10) adds, "Who were partners with Simon"—an item of information perhaps obtained from the same source as his first and second chapters. In a ship; in the boot (Revised Version), and so always in the Gospels. The word (πλοῖον) may be used of any sized vessel (equivalent to "large ship ' in Act_27:1-44.), but here, as managed by so few men, it is equivalent to "boat." Other words translated "boat" in the New Testament are πλοιάριον, "little boat" (Mark once, John four times), and σκάφη, "small ship's boat" (Act_27:16, Act_27:30, Act_27:32). Josephus says ('Bell. Jud.,' Luk_2:21.8) that when he gathered all the boats on the lake to attack Tiberius, there were "not more than four sailors in each;" by which he probably means, not the number of men wherewith he was able to equip them, but the number he found already managing them. With Zebedee their father. In Matthew only. Mending their nets. The first pair of brothers were in the excitement of catching; the second had perhaps caught, and were mending their nets with a view to a fresh attempt; in neither case was there a moment's delay. And he called them. This time his words are not given.
Other two brethren (cf. Mat_4:18, note); in Matthew only. James the son of Zebedee. Why is the father of Peter and Andrew never mentioned, save incidentally, and by our Lord (Mat_16:17; Joh_1:42; Joh_21:15-17)? Probably Zebedee and his wife Salome became, unlike Peter's parents, well-known believerses It may be that Peter was the eldest of the Twelve, and that his father was already dead or, though perhaps believing on Jesus, was too old to take any special part in the work. Luke (Luk_5:10) adds, "Who were partners with Simon"—an item of information perhaps obtained from the same source as his first and second chapters. In a ship; in the boot (Revised Version), and so always in the Gospels. The word (πλοῖον) may be used of any sized vessel (equivalent to "large ship ' in Act_27:1-44.), but here, as managed by so few men, it is equivalent to "boat." Other words translated "boat" in the New Testament are πλοιάριον, "little boat" (Mark once, John four times), and σκάφη, "small ship's boat" (Act_27:16, Act_27:30, Act_27:32). Josephus says ('Bell. Jud.,' Luk_2:21.8) that when he gathered all the boats on the lake to attack Tiberius, there were "not more than four sailors in each;" by which he probably means, not the number of men wherewith he was able to equip them, but the number he found already managing them. With Zebedee their father. In Matthew only. Mending their nets. The first pair of brothers were in the excitement of catching; the second had perhaps caught, and were mending their nets with a view to a fresh attempt; in neither case was there a moment's delay. And he called them. This time his words are not given.
22And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
22. And they immediately left the ship and their father--Mark adds an important clause: "They left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants" (Mr 1:20); showing that the family were in easy circumstances.
and followed him--Two harmonistic questions here arise: First, Was this the same calling as that recorded in Joh 1:35-42? Clearly not. For, (1) That call was given while Jesus was yet in Judea: this, after His return to Galilee. (2) Here, Christ calls Andrew: there, Andrew solicits an interview with Christ. (3) Here, Andrew and Peter are called together: there, Andrew having been called, with an unnamed disciple, who was clearly the beloved disciple (see on Joh 1:40), goes and fetches Peter his brother to Christ, who then calls him. (4) Here, John is called along with James his brother: there, John is called along with Andrew, after having at their own request had an interview with Jesus; no mention being made of James, whose call, if it then took place, would not likely have been passed over by his own brother. Thus far nearly all are agreed. But on the next question opinion is divided: Was this the same calling as that recorded in Lu 5:1-11? Many able critics think so. But the following considerations are to us decisive against it. First here, the four are called separately, in pairs: in Luke, all together. Next, in Luke, after a glorious miracle: here, the one pair are casting their net, the other are mending theirs. Further, here, our Lord had made no public appearance in Galilee, and so had gathered none around Him; He is walking solitary by the shores of the lake when He accosts the two pairs of fishermen: in Luke, the multitude are pressing upon Him, and hearing the word of God, as He stands by the Lake of Gennesaret--a state of things implying a somewhat advanced stage of His early ministry, and some popular enthusiasm. Regarding these successive callings, see on Lu 5:1.
First Galilean Circuit (Mt 4:23-25).
22. And they immediately left the ship and their father--Mark adds an important clause: "They left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants" (Mr 1:20); showing that the family were in easy circumstances.
and followed him--Two harmonistic questions here arise: First, Was this the same calling as that recorded in Joh 1:35-42? Clearly not. For, (1) That call was given while Jesus was yet in Judea: this, after His return to Galilee. (2) Here, Christ calls Andrew: there, Andrew solicits an interview with Christ. (3) Here, Andrew and Peter are called together: there, Andrew having been called, with an unnamed disciple, who was clearly the beloved disciple (see on Joh 1:40), goes and fetches Peter his brother to Christ, who then calls him. (4) Here, John is called along with James his brother: there, John is called along with Andrew, after having at their own request had an interview with Jesus; no mention being made of James, whose call, if it then took place, would not likely have been passed over by his own brother. Thus far nearly all are agreed. But on the next question opinion is divided: Was this the same calling as that recorded in Lu 5:1-11? Many able critics think so. But the following considerations are to us decisive against it. First here, the four are called separately, in pairs: in Luke, all together. Next, in Luke, after a glorious miracle: here, the one pair are casting their net, the other are mending theirs. Further, here, our Lord had made no public appearance in Galilee, and so had gathered none around Him; He is walking solitary by the shores of the lake when He accosts the two pairs of fishermen: in Luke, the multitude are pressing upon Him, and hearing the word of God, as He stands by the Lake of Gennesaret--a state of things implying a somewhat advanced stage of His early ministry, and some popular enthusiasm. Regarding these successive callings, see on Lu 5:1.
First Galilean Circuit (Mt 4:23-25).
The Pulpit Commentary
Left the ship and their father, and followed him (ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ) St. Matthew emphasizes the facts that they left both natural relations and means of livelihood, and that here their continuous following of Christ began. St. Mark rather lay stress on their leaving the old life (ἀπῆλθον ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ)
Left the ship and their father, and followed him (ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ) St. Matthew emphasizes the facts that they left both natural relations and means of livelihood, and that here their continuous following of Christ began. St. Mark rather lay stress on their leaving the old life (ἀπῆλθον ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ)
Teaching, Preaching, and Healing
23And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues--These were houses of local worship. It cannot be proved that they existed before the Babylonish captivity; but as they began to be erected soon after it, probably the idea was suggested by the religious inconveniences to which the captives had been subjected. In our Lord's time, the rule was to have one wherever ten learned men or professed students of the law resided; and they extended to Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, and most places of the dispersion. The larger towns had several, and in Jerusalem the number approached five hundred. In point of officers and mode of worship, the Christian congregations are modelled after the synagogue.
and preaching the gospel of the kingdom--proclaiming the glad tidings of the kingdom,
and healing all manner of sickness--every disease.
and all manner of disease among the people--every complaint. The word means any incipient malady causing "softness."
23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues--These were houses of local worship. It cannot be proved that they existed before the Babylonish captivity; but as they began to be erected soon after it, probably the idea was suggested by the religious inconveniences to which the captives had been subjected. In our Lord's time, the rule was to have one wherever ten learned men or professed students of the law resided; and they extended to Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, and most places of the dispersion. The larger towns had several, and in Jerusalem the number approached five hundred. In point of officers and mode of worship, the Christian congregations are modelled after the synagogue.
and preaching the gospel of the kingdom--proclaiming the glad tidings of the kingdom,
and healing all manner of sickness--every disease.
and all manner of disease among the people--every complaint. The word means any incipient malady causing "softness."
The Pulpit Commentary
The firstfruits of popular enthusiasm. As on Christ's call a few followed him (Mat_4:20-22), so after his circuit in Galilee did crowds, from all parts of the Holy Land, also follow him (Mat_4:25), though less immediately and devotedly. As to these verses (23-25), notice—
(1) Nearly all Mat_4:23 recurs in Mat_9:35.
(2) Mat_9:24, Mat_9:25 occur in the parallels in different connexions. St. Mark places them in Mat_3:7, Mat_3:8, after he has recorded details of many miracles which are found later in Matthew. St. Luke places them in Mat_6:17, Mat_6:18, immediately before the sermon on the mount (as in Matthew), but after the call of the Twelve.
(3) St. Matthew, therefore, did not arrange his Gospel with a sole regard to chronology.
(4) The verses are clearly a summary of our Lord's work and influence in the early part of his ministry.
(5) Weiss ('Manual,' 2.277, etc.) considers that verses 23 and 24 are a heading to the description of the teaching and healing activity of Jesus (Mt 4:25—9:34), and that the repetition of verse 23 in Mat_9:35 marks the heading of the next section (Mt 9:36-14:12). It is, indeed, remarkable that in Mat_9:35 it occurs just before the definite setting apart of the twelve, and again that the phrase, "And seeing the multitudes," is found both in Mat_5:1 and in Mat_9:36. Possibly the saying was part of the original setting of the two discourses, ch. 5-7 and Mat_10:1-42.
And Jesus went about all Galilee; in all Galilee (Revised Version, with the manuscripts). This indicates, not so much systematic itineration round the cities in order (contrast the simple accusative in Mat_9:35 [Mar_6:6]; 23. 15), as going hither and thither among them (cf. Act_13:11). All (Mat_8:34, note). Teaching … preaching … healing. Our Lord, unlike the Baptist, takes men as and where he can find them; the religious, by teaching in the synagogues; the mass of people, by preaching, presumably in public places; the sick, by healing them wherever they are brought to him. Notice the threefold cord of all Christ-like ministry—teaching, especially those who have desires heavenwards; preaching, especially to the unconverted; healing, which cares for all physical life. Synagogues. "The synagogues were places of assembly for public worship, where on sabbaths and feast-days (at a later period, also on the second and fifth days of the week) the people met together for prayer, and to listen to the reading of portions of the Old Testament, which were translated and explained in the vernacular dialect. With the permission of the president, any one who was fitted might deliver addresses" (Meyer). The gospel. The first time it occurs in the text of St. Matthew. Of the kingdom. The phrase is used thus absolutely only elsewhere in Mat_9:35 and Mat_24:14 (Mar_1:15 is a false reading). This expression (with Mat_24:17, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand") is the earliest form of the message. The good news centred in the kingdom, i.e. the realization of the position accepted by the nation at Sinai, with all that that involved,. The phrase, "the gospel of the kingdom," refers only to the blessedness of its approach, and says nothing (unlike Mat_24:17)of the preparation for it. Healing (θεραπεύων). As compared with ἰάομαι (rare in Matthew, in the active only Mat_13:15, which is from the LXX., but frequent in Luke) θεραπεύω thinks rather of the healer, who renders the service; ἰάομαι, rather of the healed, the completeness of the cure (cf. Mat_8:7, Mat_8:8), Sickness; disease, Revised Version; νόσον, laying stress on the pain and disorder. Disease; sickness, Revised Version; μαλακίαν, laying stress on the weakness. (For the two words in combination, cf. Deu_7:15.) Among the people (ἐν τῷ λαῷ). These words are wanting in the true text of Mat_9:35. The people; i.e. the Jews, as contrasted with those included in Mat_9:24. Not that St. Matthew means to exclude any sick Gentile who happened to be living among the Jews; but in this verse he is thinking only of those who lived near, and he naturally uses the word which connotes the Jewish people. If others came, it was only because they lived ἐν τῷ λαῷ.
The firstfruits of popular enthusiasm. As on Christ's call a few followed him (Mat_4:20-22), so after his circuit in Galilee did crowds, from all parts of the Holy Land, also follow him (Mat_4:25), though less immediately and devotedly. As to these verses (23-25), notice—
(1) Nearly all Mat_4:23 recurs in Mat_9:35.
(2) Mat_9:24, Mat_9:25 occur in the parallels in different connexions. St. Mark places them in Mat_3:7, Mat_3:8, after he has recorded details of many miracles which are found later in Matthew. St. Luke places them in Mat_6:17, Mat_6:18, immediately before the sermon on the mount (as in Matthew), but after the call of the Twelve.
(3) St. Matthew, therefore, did not arrange his Gospel with a sole regard to chronology.
(4) The verses are clearly a summary of our Lord's work and influence in the early part of his ministry.
(5) Weiss ('Manual,' 2.277, etc.) considers that verses 23 and 24 are a heading to the description of the teaching and healing activity of Jesus (Mt 4:25—9:34), and that the repetition of verse 23 in Mat_9:35 marks the heading of the next section (Mt 9:36-14:12). It is, indeed, remarkable that in Mat_9:35 it occurs just before the definite setting apart of the twelve, and again that the phrase, "And seeing the multitudes," is found both in Mat_5:1 and in Mat_9:36. Possibly the saying was part of the original setting of the two discourses, ch. 5-7 and Mat_10:1-42.
And Jesus went about all Galilee; in all Galilee (Revised Version, with the manuscripts). This indicates, not so much systematic itineration round the cities in order (contrast the simple accusative in Mat_9:35 [Mar_6:6]; 23. 15), as going hither and thither among them (cf. Act_13:11). All (Mat_8:34, note). Teaching … preaching … healing. Our Lord, unlike the Baptist, takes men as and where he can find them; the religious, by teaching in the synagogues; the mass of people, by preaching, presumably in public places; the sick, by healing them wherever they are brought to him. Notice the threefold cord of all Christ-like ministry—teaching, especially those who have desires heavenwards; preaching, especially to the unconverted; healing, which cares for all physical life. Synagogues. "The synagogues were places of assembly for public worship, where on sabbaths and feast-days (at a later period, also on the second and fifth days of the week) the people met together for prayer, and to listen to the reading of portions of the Old Testament, which were translated and explained in the vernacular dialect. With the permission of the president, any one who was fitted might deliver addresses" (Meyer). The gospel. The first time it occurs in the text of St. Matthew. Of the kingdom. The phrase is used thus absolutely only elsewhere in Mat_9:35 and Mat_24:14 (Mar_1:15 is a false reading). This expression (with Mat_24:17, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand") is the earliest form of the message. The good news centred in the kingdom, i.e. the realization of the position accepted by the nation at Sinai, with all that that involved,. The phrase, "the gospel of the kingdom," refers only to the blessedness of its approach, and says nothing (unlike Mat_24:17)of the preparation for it. Healing (θεραπεύων). As compared with ἰάομαι (rare in Matthew, in the active only Mat_13:15, which is from the LXX., but frequent in Luke) θεραπεύω thinks rather of the healer, who renders the service; ἰάομαι, rather of the healed, the completeness of the cure (cf. Mat_8:7, Mat_8:8), Sickness; disease, Revised Version; νόσον, laying stress on the pain and disorder. Disease; sickness, Revised Version; μαλακίαν, laying stress on the weakness. (For the two words in combination, cf. Deu_7:15.) Among the people (ἐν τῷ λαῷ). These words are wanting in the true text of Mat_9:35. The people; i.e. the Jews, as contrasted with those included in Mat_9:24. Not that St. Matthew means to exclude any sick Gentile who happened to be living among the Jews; but in this verse he is thinking only of those who lived near, and he naturally uses the word which connotes the Jewish people. If others came, it was only because they lived ἐν τῷ λαῷ.
24And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
24. And his fame went throughout all Syria--reaching first to the part of it adjacent to Galilee, called Syro-Phoenicia (Mr 7:26), and thence extending far and wide.
and they brought unto him all sick people--all that were ailing or unwell. Those
that were taken--for this is a distinct class, not an explanation of the "unwell" class, as our translators understood it.
with divers diseases and torments--that is, acute disorders.
and those which were possessed with devils--that were demonized or possessed with demons.
and those which were lunatic--moon-struck.
and those that had the palsy--paralytics, a word not naturalized when our version was made.
and he healed them--These healings were at once His credentials and illustrations of "the glad tidings" which He proclaimed. After reading this account of our Lord's first preaching tour, can we wonder at what follows?
24. And his fame went throughout all Syria--reaching first to the part of it adjacent to Galilee, called Syro-Phoenicia (Mr 7:26), and thence extending far and wide.
and they brought unto him all sick people--all that were ailing or unwell. Those
that were taken--for this is a distinct class, not an explanation of the "unwell" class, as our translators understood it.
with divers diseases and torments--that is, acute disorders.
and those which were possessed with devils--that were demonized or possessed with demons.
and those which were lunatic--moon-struck.
and those that had the palsy--paralytics, a word not naturalized when our version was made.
and he healed them--These healings were at once His credentials and illustrations of "the glad tidings" which He proclaimed. After reading this account of our Lord's first preaching tour, can we wonder at what follows?
The Pulpit Commentary
And his fame; Revised Version, and the report of him (ἡἀκοὴ αὐτοῦ). Our use of the word "fame" implies reputation and honour, which are not included under ἀκοή. Went throughout all (Mat_4:23) Syria; Revised Version, went forth into; ἀπῆλθεν εἰς. The expression not merely means that the report spread far and wide, but that it went beyond the expected limits of the Holy Land into the whole of Syria, i.e., probably, the Roman province with which Palestine was in some degree (Schurer, 1.2.46) incorporated. All sick people that were taken with divers diseases; Revised Version, grammatically, all that were sick, holden with, etc. Possibly, "all that were sick" is the genus of which the following expressions represent species; but Mat_8:16 and Mar_1:32-34 suggest that the words all to diseases refer to bodily diseases only. The arrangement would then be
(1) bodily diseases,
(a) ordinary (ποικίλαις νόσοις),
(b) violent and painful eases (βασάνοις);
(2) mental diseases,
(a) supernatural,
(b) natural;
(3) incurable, affecting the body also. And those which were possessed with devils. Weiss, 'Life,' 2. pp. 76-88 (especially against Meyer), points out that our Lord shared the belief in the reality of possession by evil spirits, and that therefore, though some of the current ideas may have been superstitious, there must have been a basis of truth in the belief. See by all means Trench on the healing of the Gadarene demoniacs (Mat_8:28). And those which were lunatick; Revised Version, and epileptic —"epilepsy being supposed to return and increase with the increase of the moon" (Thayer, s.v. σεληνιάζεσθαι which occurs in the New Testament only here and in Mat_17:15).
And his fame; Revised Version, and the report of him (ἡἀκοὴ αὐτοῦ). Our use of the word "fame" implies reputation and honour, which are not included under ἀκοή. Went throughout all (Mat_4:23) Syria; Revised Version, went forth into; ἀπῆλθεν εἰς. The expression not merely means that the report spread far and wide, but that it went beyond the expected limits of the Holy Land into the whole of Syria, i.e., probably, the Roman province with which Palestine was in some degree (Schurer, 1.2.46) incorporated. All sick people that were taken with divers diseases; Revised Version, grammatically, all that were sick, holden with, etc. Possibly, "all that were sick" is the genus of which the following expressions represent species; but Mat_8:16 and Mar_1:32-34 suggest that the words all to diseases refer to bodily diseases only. The arrangement would then be
(1) bodily diseases,
(a) ordinary (ποικίλαις νόσοις),
(b) violent and painful eases (βασάνοις);
(2) mental diseases,
(a) supernatural,
(b) natural;
(3) incurable, affecting the body also. And those which were possessed with devils. Weiss, 'Life,' 2. pp. 76-88 (especially against Meyer), points out that our Lord shared the belief in the reality of possession by evil spirits, and that therefore, though some of the current ideas may have been superstitious, there must have been a basis of truth in the belief. See by all means Trench on the healing of the Gadarene demoniacs (Mat_8:28). And those which were lunatick; Revised Version, and epileptic —"epilepsy being supposed to return and increase with the increase of the moon" (Thayer, s.v. σεληνιάζεσθαι which occurs in the New Testament only here and in Mat_17:15).
25And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
25. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis--a region lying to the east of the Jordan, so called as containing ten cities, founded and chiefly inhabited by Greek settlers.
and from Jerusalem, and from beyond Jordan--meaning from Perea. Thus not only was all Palestine upheaved, but all the adjacent regions. But the more immediate object for which this is here mentioned is, to give the reader some idea both of the vast concourse and of the varied complexion of eager attendants upon the great Preacher, to whom the astonishing discourse of the next three chapters was addressed. On the importance which our Lord Himself attached to this first preaching circuit, and the preparation which He made for it, see on Mr 1:35-39. CHAPTERS 5-8
Sermon on the Mount.
That this is the same Discourse as that in Lu 6:17-49--only reported more fully by Matthew, and less fully, as well as with considerable variation, by Luke--is the opinion of many very able critics (of the Greek commentators; of Calvin, Grotius, Maldonatus--Who stands almost alone among Romish commentators; and of most moderns, as Tholuck, Meyer, De Wette, Tischendorf, Stier, Wieseler, Robinson). The prevailing opinion of these critics is that Luke's is the original form of the discourse, to which Matthew has added a number of sayings, uttered on other occasions, in order to give at one view the great outlines of our Lord's ethical teaching. But that they are two distinct discourses--the one delivered about the close of His first missionary tour, and the other after a second such tour and the solemn choice of the Twelve--is the judgment of others who have given much attention to such matters (of most Romish commentators, including Erasmus; and among the moderns, of Lange, Greswell, Birks, Webster and Wilkinson. The question is left undecided by Alford). Augustine's opinion--that they were both delivered on one occasion, Matthew's on the mountain, and to the disciples; Luke's in the plain, and to the promiscuous multitude--is so clumsy and artificial as hardly to deserve notice. To us the weight of argument appears to lie with those who think them two separate discourses. It seems hard to conceive that Matthew should have put this discourse before his own calling, if it was not uttered till long after, and was spoken in his own hearing as one of the newly chosen Twelve. Add to this, that Matthew introduces his discourse amidst very definite markings of time, which fix it to our Lord's first preaching tour; while that of Luke, which is expressly said to have been delivered immediately after the choice of the Twelve, could not have been spoken till long after the time noted by Matthew. It is hard, too, to see how either discourse can well be regarded as the expansion or contraction of the other. And as it is beyond dispute that our Lord repeated some of His weightier sayings in different forms, and with varied applications, it ought not to surprise us that, after the lapse of perhaps a year--when, having spent a whole night on the hill in prayer to God, and set the Twelve apart, He found Himself surrounded by crowds of people, few of whom probably had heard the Sermon on the Mount, and fewer still remembered much of it--He should go over its principal points again, with just as much sameness as to show their enduring gravity, but at the same time with that difference which shows His exhaustless fertility as the great Prophet of the Church.
25. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis--a region lying to the east of the Jordan, so called as containing ten cities, founded and chiefly inhabited by Greek settlers.
and from Jerusalem, and from beyond Jordan--meaning from Perea. Thus not only was all Palestine upheaved, but all the adjacent regions. But the more immediate object for which this is here mentioned is, to give the reader some idea both of the vast concourse and of the varied complexion of eager attendants upon the great Preacher, to whom the astonishing discourse of the next three chapters was addressed. On the importance which our Lord Himself attached to this first preaching circuit, and the preparation which He made for it, see on Mr 1:35-39. CHAPTERS 5-8
Sermon on the Mount.
That this is the same Discourse as that in Lu 6:17-49--only reported more fully by Matthew, and less fully, as well as with considerable variation, by Luke--is the opinion of many very able critics (of the Greek commentators; of Calvin, Grotius, Maldonatus--Who stands almost alone among Romish commentators; and of most moderns, as Tholuck, Meyer, De Wette, Tischendorf, Stier, Wieseler, Robinson). The prevailing opinion of these critics is that Luke's is the original form of the discourse, to which Matthew has added a number of sayings, uttered on other occasions, in order to give at one view the great outlines of our Lord's ethical teaching. But that they are two distinct discourses--the one delivered about the close of His first missionary tour, and the other after a second such tour and the solemn choice of the Twelve--is the judgment of others who have given much attention to such matters (of most Romish commentators, including Erasmus; and among the moderns, of Lange, Greswell, Birks, Webster and Wilkinson. The question is left undecided by Alford). Augustine's opinion--that they were both delivered on one occasion, Matthew's on the mountain, and to the disciples; Luke's in the plain, and to the promiscuous multitude--is so clumsy and artificial as hardly to deserve notice. To us the weight of argument appears to lie with those who think them two separate discourses. It seems hard to conceive that Matthew should have put this discourse before his own calling, if it was not uttered till long after, and was spoken in his own hearing as one of the newly chosen Twelve. Add to this, that Matthew introduces his discourse amidst very definite markings of time, which fix it to our Lord's first preaching tour; while that of Luke, which is expressly said to have been delivered immediately after the choice of the Twelve, could not have been spoken till long after the time noted by Matthew. It is hard, too, to see how either discourse can well be regarded as the expansion or contraction of the other. And as it is beyond dispute that our Lord repeated some of His weightier sayings in different forms, and with varied applications, it ought not to surprise us that, after the lapse of perhaps a year--when, having spent a whole night on the hill in prayer to God, and set the Twelve apart, He found Himself surrounded by crowds of people, few of whom probably had heard the Sermon on the Mount, and fewer still remembered much of it--He should go over its principal points again, with just as much sameness as to show their enduring gravity, but at the same time with that difference which shows His exhaustless fertility as the great Prophet of the Church.
The Pulpit Commentary
The mention of the multitudes here serves as a transition to the sermon on the mount. The description of the con stituent paris of the multitudes is very similar to that found in Mar_3:7, Mar_3:8, and is probably derived from the same source, Mark preserving in most respects the fuller form. Great multitudes; ὄχλοι πολλοί (not "many multitudes," but as plural of ὄχλος πολύς, Mat_20:29); almost (Luk_5:15) peculiar to this Gospel (Mat_8:1, where see note [18, Received Text; Mat_12:15, Received Text]; Mat_13:2; Mat_15:30; Mat_19:2). Decapolis. A kind of confederacy, originally of ten towns, the organization being apparently the work of Pompey. All were east of Jordan except Bethshan (Scythopolis). The names, as given in Pliny, are—Damascus, Philadelphia, Raphana, Scythopolis, Gadara, Hippus, Dium, Pella, Galasa (read Gerasa) , Kanatha. Schurer adds, Abila (not Abila of Lysanias) and Kanata (distinct from Kanatha) These towns, like the great maritime cities, e.g. Joppa, and Caesarea Stratonis, were independent political communities, which—at least, after the time of Pompey—were never internally blended into an organic unity with the Jewish region, but were at most externally united with it under the same ruler". The population in them was chiefly heathen. Across Jordan; equivalent to Peraea, as in verse 15 and Mat_19:1, i.e. from Mount Hermon to the river Arnon (Weiss-Meyer); but according to Josephus ('Bell. Jud.,' Mat_3:3. 3), between the rivers Jabbok and Amen (Alford). "The country east of Jordan was known as Peraea (the country beyond) in the wider sense, but Peraea proper was the small district extending from the river Amen (Mojib) to the Zerka, and now called Belka". To the places mentioned here as those whence people came, Mark adds Idumaea; Mark and Luke add Tyre and Sidon.
The mention of the multitudes here serves as a transition to the sermon on the mount. The description of the con stituent paris of the multitudes is very similar to that found in Mar_3:7, Mar_3:8, and is probably derived from the same source, Mark preserving in most respects the fuller form. Great multitudes; ὄχλοι πολλοί (not "many multitudes," but as plural of ὄχλος πολύς, Mat_20:29); almost (Luk_5:15) peculiar to this Gospel (Mat_8:1, where see note [18, Received Text; Mat_12:15, Received Text]; Mat_13:2; Mat_15:30; Mat_19:2). Decapolis. A kind of confederacy, originally of ten towns, the organization being apparently the work of Pompey. All were east of Jordan except Bethshan (Scythopolis). The names, as given in Pliny, are—Damascus, Philadelphia, Raphana, Scythopolis, Gadara, Hippus, Dium, Pella, Galasa (read Gerasa) , Kanatha. Schurer adds, Abila (not Abila of Lysanias) and Kanata (distinct from Kanatha) These towns, like the great maritime cities, e.g. Joppa, and Caesarea Stratonis, were independent political communities, which—at least, after the time of Pompey—were never internally blended into an organic unity with the Jewish region, but were at most externally united with it under the same ruler". The population in them was chiefly heathen. Across Jordan; equivalent to Peraea, as in verse 15 and Mat_19:1, i.e. from Mount Hermon to the river Arnon (Weiss-Meyer); but according to Josephus ('Bell. Jud.,' Mat_3:3. 3), between the rivers Jabbok and Amen (Alford). "The country east of Jordan was known as Peraea (the country beyond) in the wider sense, but Peraea proper was the small district extending from the river Amen (Mojib) to the Zerka, and now called Belka". To the places mentioned here as those whence people came, Mark adds Idumaea; Mark and Luke add Tyre and Sidon.
THE HOLY BIBLE
Matthew
Chapter 4
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