Chapter 4

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4:1-11 Fasting for an extended period of time uses up the stored fatty issue in the body. After that, only muscle tissue is left. When the body starts burning muscle tissue, the process is acutely painful and the desire for food is maddening. The devil tried to tempt Jesus to use His divine powers for selfish reasons. Next he tempted Jesus to perform an unnecessary miracle. Finally he tempted Him to turn away from His purpose of going to the cross and sin by worshipping Satan. This is the worship reserved only for God as Jesus points out in Deuteronomy 6:13. All 3 times Jesus quotes scripture. All 3 scriptures are from Deuteronomy.
4:12-17 Matthew makes a brief reference to the imprisonment of John, but saves the details for a more opportune time in chapter 14. Jesus begins His ministry immediately after His baptism. (So should we.) His decision to leave Nazareth and preach in Capernaum, 27 miles northeast, was a fulfillment of scripture. Jesus’ preaching picks up where John left off. They are preaching the same message.
4:18-22 The calling of these first disciples resulted in an immediate response. Jesus chose busy, common men to prepare for the kingdom. They left the old life behind to pursue a new one. Their purpose changed as they exchanged fishing for fish, for fishing for men. People are looking for purpose and Christ offers the greatest purpose ever. Can you think of a greater purpose than impacting the lives of people for an eternity?
4:23-25 This is the first of 8 healing occasions in Matthew (4:23-24; 8:16; 9:35; 12:15; 14:14; 14:35-36; 15:30 & 19:2). Read each of these passages and you will see Jesus was able to heal anything and heal it completely. This emphasis makes it even clearer that Jesus is the prophesied Messiah. During Jesus’ day there were shysters and phony miracle workers, i.e. Simon the Sorcerer. But Jesus’ healings were valid. The healing sessions occur either just before or shortly after the 5 major speech sections lending credence to His words.
* Next week we will have a test over chapters 3-4.

Questions for Chapters 3-4

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