Matthew 4 - Introduction
_CHRIST FASTETH, AND IS TEMPTED. THE ANGELS MINISTER UNTO HIM: HE DWELLETH IN CAPERNAUM, BEGINNETH TO PREACH, CALLETH PETER AND ANDREW, JAMES AND JOHN, AND HEALETH ALL THE DISEASED._ _Anno Domini 29._... [ Continue Reading ]
_CHRIST FASTETH, AND IS TEMPTED. THE ANGELS MINISTER UNTO HIM: HE DWELLETH IN CAPERNAUM, BEGINNETH TO PREACH, CALLETH PETER AND ANDREW, JAMES AND JOHN, AND HEALETH ALL THE DISEASED._ _Anno Domini 29._... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN WAS JESUS LED UP, &C.— _Then,_ that is to say_,_ immediately after his baptism, _was Jesus led,_ or borne by a strong impulse of the Spirit on his mind, (see Luke 4:14.) _into the wilderness:_ which Mr. Maundrel is of opinion was the wilderness near Jordan; a miserable and horrid place, accordi... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN HE HAD FASTED FORTY DAYS— So much greater was Jesus than Adam. Jesus, worn down by fasting and hunger, oppressed with want, and in a wild howling wilderness, overcame the devil; by whom Adam was overcome in full strength, and abounding with all things. It was usual for persons to prepare th... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN THE TEMPTER CAME TO HIM, HE SAID, &C.— We may infer from Mark 1:13 that during the forty days which Jesus spent in the wilderness, he was exposed to several other temptations besides those mentioned here; and therefore Dr. Doddridge very well translates and paraphrases the passage thus; "Just a... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT BY EVERY WORD, &C.— _But by every thing which the mouth of God shall ordain._ Prussian Testament. The original, to which our version is agreeable, is a Hebrew expression, taken from Deuteronomy 8:3. Whatever _proceedeth out of the mouth,_ is the same as _whatever God appoints_ or _commands. Word... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN THE DEVIL TAKETH HIM, &C.— The original word παραλαμβανει, signifies no more than _to lead,_ to _take along with one;_ as in the LXX. Numbers 22:41; Numbers 23:27. See Matthew 17:1. That it has no other sense in this place, and also in the eighth verse, is plain from Luke 4:5; Luke 4:9. By the... [ Continue Reading ]
IF THOU BE THE SON OF GOD— The Jews were undoubtedly right in thinking that the Messiah is spoken of by Daniel, Daniel 7:13. But they fell into a gross mistake, when, interpreting that passage literally, they believed the Messiah would actually _come in the clouds of heaven, and wrest the kingdom fr... [ Continue Reading ]
IT IS WRITTEN AGAIN— Or _also_. So παλιν here elegantly signifies, in opposition to the quotation that the tempter had made, which was indeed very imperfect: but many, after St. Jerome, have observed, that Satan made his advantage of quoting Scripture imperfectly and by scraps. The cause of truth, a... [ Continue Reading ]
AGAIN, THE DEVIL TAKETH HIM, &C.— The adversary, enraged, as it should seem, with his ill success in the two former attempts, casts off all disguise in this. He speaks no more of _Son of God;_ but desperate, and thence impudent and audacious, he offers at once his whole stock of gaudy trumperies, al... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THESE THINGS WILL I GIVE THEE— "If thou be the Son of God, take care to be esteemed as such; if the kingdom of the Jews be destined for thee, add to it other kingdoms: seize the present occasion, which is the most desirable; comply with the present terms which are the most easy: fall down, and p... [ Continue Reading ]
MINISTERED UNTO HIM— The Greek word διακονειν signifies _to serve_ or _wait upon_ in general, and so to _wait at table._ See chap. Matthew 8:15.Luke 17:8; Luke 17:37. As _one celestial spirit_ might have been abundantly sufficient for the relief of our Lord's necessities, it is reasonable to suppose... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW WHEN JESUS HAD HEARD, &C.— John the Baptist was not imprisoned till after the temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Between these two events, there happened what is related in the three first Chapter s of St. John's Gospel. It is commonly supposed, that the ministry of John the Baptist lasted but... [ Continue Reading ]
AND LEAVING NAZARETH— Namely, when they had wholly rejected his word, and even attempted to kill him. See Luke 4:29 and for an explanation of the next verses, the note on Isaiah 9:1 and Mede's works, p. 101, 102. Christ chose Capernaum for the place of his residence, as being a large city, and where... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT IT MIGHT BE FULFILLED WHICH— _Whereby was fulfilled that which. Matthew 4:15. By the way of the sea, beyond Jordan_] _Situate on the Jordan, near the sea._ Campbell. _By the way of the sea_ is rather an indefinite and obscure expression. What is here called _sea_ is properly not _a sea_, but _a... [ Continue Reading ]
FROM THAT TIME, &C.— Namely of his departure into Galilee. Jesus had already preached at Jerusalem and in other parts of Judaea: see John 4:3 and the note on Matthew 4:12. But St. Matthew, having omitted this part of the evangelical history, dates the beginning of Christ's ministry from his preachin... [ Continue Reading ]
AND JESUS, WALKING, &C.— Respecting the calling of Peter, &c. see the notes on Mark 1. Instead of _fishers,_ we may read, _fishermen._ It appears from John 1:35; John 1:51 that they had already acknowledged Jesus for the Messiah, upon the testimony of John the Baptist.... [ Continue Reading ]
SHIP— _Bark,_ or _boat._... [ Continue Reading ]
SYNAGOGUES— This is a general word, which in its originalmeaning signifies both civil and ecclesiastical assemblies, and also the places where these assemblies were kept. Here, as also chap. Matthew 13:54 and almost all through the New Testament, it is taken for the places or buildings where the Jew... [ Continue Reading ]
TORMENTS, &C.— _Pains; demoniacs, lunatics, and paralytics._... [ Continue Reading ]
FROM DECAPOLIS— A country of Palestine, so called because it contained _ten cities;_ concerning the names of which the learned are not agreed. It bordered upon Syria, a province near Galilee, and extended on both sides of Jordan and the lake of Tiberias. It formerly belonged to the half tribe of Man... [ Continue Reading ]