Then the devil taketh him into the holy city; and he set him on the pinnacle of the temple.The expression "holy city" is peculiar to Matthew and shows his love and affection for Jerusalem. The exact location of the pinnacle of the temple is not determined; but the context indicates that it was of sufficient height that only a miracle could prevent death to anyone who leaped from it. read more
And he saith unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and On their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.Note the same employment of doubt as an instrument in temptation. "IF" is a big word in Satan's weaponry of deceit. A paraphrase of this second temptation is as follows: "Since you have so much faith in God, that is fine; just call all the people together in the temple... read more
Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.Again it is written ... This is the key to the Scriptures! Every passage of the word of God is to be understood in the light of other passages bearing on the same subject. No isolated, proof-text method of interpreting the Scriptures is valid. God's will on any subject is to be understood in the light of ALL that is written. Christ made that principle clear in his words to the disciples on the road to Emmaus... read more
Again the devil taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and he said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.The mystery of how Satan could do such a thing remains unknown. McGarvey is doubtless correct in pointing out the imagination as a key factor in this temptation. No literal mountain answers the specifications here. Christ, in some way unknown to us, was transported through... read more
Then 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.Christ rejected Satan's proposal without regard to its truth or falsity. Satan's promise, whether true or false, had no bearing on the conduct of the Lord which was regulated altogether by the word of God, not by Satan's words. Christ quoted from Deuteronomy 6:13. Significantly, Christ applied that Old Testament passage to include devil worship. The prohibition... read more
Then the devil leaveth him, and behold angels came and ministered unto him.Christ won the encounter. In the third temptation, no less than in the other two, Satan was vanquished. As the roaring lion, he audaciously demanded that the Son of God fall down and worship the devil! There is a bold arrogance without precedent. As a serpent, as an angel, or as a lion, Satan brought all his cunning into play against the Christ, but to no avail. "Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our... read more
DIVISION IIIANNOUNCEMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD; AND REVELATION OF ITS PRINCIPLES OF TEACHINGS AND LAWSMatthew 4:12-13:52Now when he heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee. (Matthew 4:12)Delivered up refers to the imprisonment of John the Baptist by Herod. Christ's withdrawal into Galilee was precautionary, to avoid an untimely martyrdom, and to set his disciples an example for staying out of trouble with authorities, provided it can be avoided honorably. Christ's withdrawal... read more
And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali.Between the last words of Matthew 4:12 and the first words of Matthew 4:13 there was an interval of at least one year's time. LEAVING NAZARETH is a reference to the rejection at Nazareth by the townspeople of that village who despised him because of what they supposed to be his humble origin and environment. The choice of Capernaum as his residence may have been due to the fact that... read more
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying:As always, Matthew made it clear that Isaiah was not the speaker, but only the prophet through whom God spoke. Matthew, who doubtless had a thorough knowledge of the Hebrew prophecies, quoted the passage from Isaiah: read more
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Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 4:4
But 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.Jesus' answer to temptation was, "It is written ... it is written ... and again, it is written!" Fortunate are the Lord's followers when they are able to meet every crucial test of life with a like response. This places the highest stamp of approval upon the Bible. It is simply unthinkable that the Christ of God would have relied upon a merely human and fallible... read more