Matthew 4:15

The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 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 [ peran (G4008)] seems to have gotten 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 th...

12-17 It is just with God to take the gospel and the means of grace, from those that slight them and thrust them away. Christ will not stay long where he is not welcome. Those who are without Christ, are in the dark. They were sitting in this condition, a contented posture; they chose it rather than light; they were willingly ignorant. When the gospel comes, light comes; when it comes to any place, when it comes to any soul, it makes day there. Light discovers and directs; so does the gospel. The doctrine of repentance is right gospel doctrine. Not only the austere John Baptist, but the gracious Jesus, preached repentance. There is still the same reason to do so. The kingdom of heaven was not reckoned to be fully come, till the pouring out of the Holy Spirit after Christ's ascension....

Verse Matthew 4:15. _GALILEE OF THE GENTILES_] Or of the _nations_. So called, because it was inhabited by _Egyptians, Arabians_, and _Phoenicians_, according to the testimony of _Strabo_ and others. The Hebrew גוים _goyim_, and the Greek εθνων, signify _nations_; and, in the Old and New Testaments, mean those people who were not descendants of any of the _twelve_ tribes. The word Gentiles, from _gens_, a _nation_, signifies the same. It is worthy of remark, that it was a regular tradition among the ancient Jews, that the Messiah should begin his ministry in Galilee. See the proofs in _Schoetgen_....

THAT IT MIGHT BE FULFILLED ... - This place is recorded in Isaiah 9:1. Matthew has given the sense, but not the very words of the prophet. For the meaning of the passage as employed by Isaiah, see the notes at Isaiah 9:1. BY THE WAY OF THE SEA - Which is near to the sea, or in the vicinity of the sea. BEYOND JORDAN - This does not mean to the east of Jordan, as the phrase sometimes denotes, but rather in the vicinity of the Jordan, or perhaps in the vicinity of the sources of the Jordan. See Deuteronomy 1:1; Deuteronomy 4:49

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 4:1 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 Matthew 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. John 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

Matthew 4:14...

4:12. _Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;_ Notice that there were at that time only two great ministers of God, John the Baptist, he must go to prison and to death; Jesus, the Son of God, he must go to the desert to be tempted of the devil. If any Christians escape temptation, they will not be the leaders of the hosts of God. Those who stand in the van must bear the brunt of the battle. Oh, that all who are called to such responsible positions might be as prepared to occupy them as John was, and as Jesus was! Matthew 4:13. And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: that it might he fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Gali

4. THE TESTING OF THE KING AND HIS TESTIMONY. _ 1. The Testing by the Devil. (Matthew 4:1 .) 2. His Testimony and His Disciples. (Matthew 4:12 .) 3. The Powers of the Kingdom. (Matthew 4:23 .)_ CHAPTER 4 The first part of this chapter gives us the history of the temptation of the King. This is a most important topic, many-sided in its applications; large volumes have been written on it without exhausting it. We will therefore have to confine ourselves to the bringing out of some of the most important teachings, without attempting to go into many of the precious details and applications to the believer. The baptism marked, as we saw in the last chapter, our Lord's entrance upon

JESUS ANNOUNCES THE KINGDOM IN GALILEE (Mark 1:14 f.*, Luke 4:14 f.) More precisely than Mk., Mt. gives John's arrest by Herod Antipas as the reason why Jesus began to preach. Galilee was part of Antipas-' realm, but it was remote from the scene of John's work and imprisonment, hence perhaps the word withdrew. Mt. anticipates Jesus'settlement at Capernaum in his desire to work in a fulfilment of one of his Messianic _testimonia._ Galilee (lit. the district) of the nations was a tract in the old tribal territory of Naphtali, which had a large heathen population. It gave its name to the larger (NT) Galilee. Isaiah 9:1 f.*. Matthew 4:13. Capernaum

THE TESTING TIME (Matthew 4:1-11) Step by step Matthew unfolds the story of Jesus. He begins by showing us how Jesus was born into this world. He goes on to show us, at least by implication, that Jesus had to perform faithfully his duties to his home before he began on his duty to the world, that he had to show himself faithful in the smaller tasks before God gave to him the greatest task in all the world. He goes on to show us how, with the emergence of John the Baptist, Jesus knew that the hour had struck. and that the time had come to enter upon his work. He shows us Jesus identifying himself with a people's unprecedented search for God. In that moment he shows us Jesus' realization that he was indeed the chosen one of God, but that his way to victory lay through the Cross. If any man has a vision, his immediate problem is how to turn that vision into fact; he has