Matthew Chapter 4
Previously when I read this chapter I viewed the temptation of Jesus as his preparation for ministry. This time as I read this I view it more as Jesus completely identifying with man in temptation.
When Jesus was baptized by John he fulfilled all righteousness. I believe Jesus is continuing the same goal of completely identifying with man in mankind's sin and in mankind's temptation. This is so men can completely identify with Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection. I also think this temptation revealed who Jesus was to the enemy.
It is interesting how these scriptures are worded. The Holy Spirit brought Jesus into the wilderness "to be tempted of the devil". God does not tempt any man with evil. We know this from James 1:13. There is, at the same time, a peculiar way God brings a man into situations where the devil is waiting. Why is this? It is not to hurt us, I can assure you.
On our part it is a purifying process for our faith. For Jesus I believe it was so he would be completely identified with mankind.
Jesus was tempted in every way we are and yet he was without sin. (Hebrews 4:15). Also, another purpose in his enduring this temptation is so he could show us the way to overcome the temptations of the devil. He shows us by his example how to overcome.
Hebrews 2:18, "For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted."
Jesus did not overcome the temptation by anything which the common Christian man is not able to also employ. Jesus laid aside supernatural powers when he fought the devil and simply spoke God's word. Jesus quoted scripture. He spoke the truth of God's word, and it was a hammer which broke the rock of temptation into pieces. In the hands of Jesus the word became a sword which slashed and seared the enemy.
There is a parallel here in the temptations of Jesus with the temptation Eve went through in the garden of Eden. The parallels are laid out for us by the apostle John in 1 John 2:16, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." It is these three areas Satan enticed Eve. It is in these three areas also he based his temptations against the Lord Jesus. Whereas Eve and Adam fell into darkness, Jesus did not fail. He resisted the devil, and the devil had to flee.
James 4:7, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
God has promised he will not allow the enemy to tempt us beyond what we can bear.
1 Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
After the enemy left, angels came and attended to the Lord Jesus. No doubt they brought him food and encouragement as well.
The imprisonment of John the Baptist was a turning point for Jesus. He moved to the area of Galilee and set up in Capernaum. Matthew sees this as fulfillment of prophecy which speaks of light coming to the Gentiles living in this area. This prophecy was from Isaiah the prophet.
The message which Jesus preached was: "repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand". This is the same message John the Baptist preached.
The Lord Jesus called his disciples to follow him. Listed are Simon and Andrew, along with James and John. These seem to be the first called and these men made an inner circle with Jesus among the twelve disciples. It was Peter, James, and John which Jesus later chose to accompany him up on the mountain where he was transfigured. He also chose Peter, James, and John alone to go in with him when he raised a young girl from the dead.
When Jesus called these men to follow him the scripture says they "immediately" or "straight away" left what they were doing and followed him. This is how we should be. We should not hold on so tightly to circumstances, people, possessions, or our employment when Jesus calls us to follow him. We should be ready to drop everything to follow where ever he will call us to.
As Jesus began his ministry he preached and taught in the synagogues. As he did this he also healed people. People were healed from all kind of sickness and disease, including people possessed by demons, lunatics, and people with epilepsy. These are some of the illnesses mentioned specifically here.
I do not believe Jesus or the Holy Spirit or the apostle Matthew writing this were confused about epilepsy being demon possession or called epilepsy "demon possession". It is very straight forward here in the text that these problems were separate issues. We should not attempt to malign scripture with lies that people in those days were so stupid they didn't know the difference between epilepsy and demon possession. There may be some overlapping symptoms, but I guarantee you Jesus knew the difference.
There is indeed a serious problem with demon possessed people, not only in ancient times, but even more so here at the end of the age.
