College Press -- Bible Study Textbook series

tom collinge:

Taxee:

Super Tramp:

There was a series in the 70's published by College Press (Joplin, MO) called The Bible Study Textbook Series.. It  featured quite a few good authors. Jack Cottrell is one of those authors that already appears in some Libronix releases.

I am assuming that this new pre-pub is the set you were talking about.

My question - is it worth the price?  It certainly seems reasonable (but maybe not if you can get the pdf's for no cost).

 

I just looked at the screen prints; yes they are the same.

Is it worth the price - this something that you need to make the decision about.

 

This is the OLD green textbooks...the series from the 70's with Jack Cottrell and others is a completely different series...they are "What the Bible Says About..." series. Those NEW commentaries were a marroon color. They were commentaries on topics rather than specific Bible books.

Bump.

Douglas Alvarenga:

I'd also love to see James Burton Coffman on Libronix and why not - The Gospel Advocate NT set - even though it's now considered way too simple and outdated.  But Coffman would definetly be a great buy! For now, I'm really learning to enjoy College Press OT collection - very practical.

Now that the College Press Bible Study Textbook Series (Green Set)  is now a reality in Pre-Pub, can we ask again for James Burton Coffman and Gospel Advocate NT Commentary?

Bill Turner:

The Gospel Advocate Commentary Series would be fantastic to have in LOGOS.

I totally agree with you. G A would be an awesome set of commentaries in Logos. I have them in one of my other Bible Study programs, so I have access to them now, but they would be so much better in Logos!

David Fish:

Super Tramp, what project are you talking about that requires files from the OCC library? I teach there, but have not been involved in this thread until today, when I found out (Thanks, Bill!) that the ugly green College Press commentaries went on the Pre-Pub page.

If I can help with any files, I'd be happy to do so.

I worked in the library of Midwest Christian College before the holdings were moved to Ozark.  We had a large collection of missionary newsletters and related materials that would be of great historical interest. I know of a similar collection at Manhattan Christian College and suspect Ozark and others would have similar valuable collections. My goal would be to present a wide survey of the history of Restoration Movement missionaries.

Around 1968 a book titled "The Church Abroad" by Lora Banks Harrison did a good job of this with what resources were available at the time. I would love to see a modern presentation for a more complete record. Many of the missionaries I knew in Japan are passing away. I have no idea how copyright laws may prevent using mission newsletters to preserve the histories. It may already be an impossible project.

 

WordSearch has the Gospel Advocate series digitized and available for downloading.

Bill Turner:

The four volumes on Matthew by Harold Fowler is rich in reference and application,

totally agree.  I used it alot in seminary for a research paper on Matt 16. (and have used it since, too)  his knowledge of Italian and occasional reference to an Italian commentator was interesting, too. 

Dan

Bill Turner:

Dan, I had the first 3 volumes of Matthew by Fowler but was missing the last volume. I was pleasantly surprised to find it still available from college press new for $5! It just arrived last week.

Cool! Bill, did you know about the free PDF files from College Press?  I figure you do, and hardcopy is best.  But incase you don't know, you can download any of them for free.

Bill Turner:

Dan,

I found the PDF's last year but they won't copy/past into a text editor for Personal Book Builder. Besides, that would be too much work even if it did work. I just hope it makes it to development. I'm afraid most people don't know the treasure this collection is. 

 

Bill, I decided to copy some of his commentary, this on the temptation of Jesus, to give people a flavor of the work.  This is straight from the PDF, so there are some characters that are all funky because the copy/paste was not exact.  Hopefully it won't be too distracting.  Note that the Fowler provides extensive commentary, but precedes it all with questions before heading into the text.  This particular commentary is one of four volumes by Fowler on Matthew's gospel.  I wonder if we should post this in a new thread.

 

 

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CHAPTER FOUR

Section 7

JESUS IS TEMPTED BY THE DEVIL

(Parallels: Mark 1:12, 13; Luke 4:1-13)

TEXT: 4:l-11

1. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be

tempted of the devil,

2, And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward

hungered.

3. And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son

of God, command that these stones become bread.

4. And 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.

5, Then the devil taketh him into the holy city; and he set him on

the pinnacle of the temple,

6. and 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,

7. Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not make trial

of the Lord thy God,

8, Again, the devil taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain,

and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory

of them;

9. and he said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou

wilt fall down and worship me.

10. 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.

11. Then the devil leaveth him; and behold, angels came and ministered

unto him.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS

a. Why was Jesus led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted?

b. Why was it necessary for Jesus to be tempted in this way?

c. Why was it necessary for Him to be tempted at this time?

d. What was wrong with each of the devil's proposals?

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4:1-11 THE GOSPEL OF M A T T H E W

e. Do you think Jesus’ temptations were like ours?

f. Is there any way in which Jesus’ temptations do not represent ai2

g. Do you think that Jesus really could have sinned?

h. How much control does the devil really have over the world?

i. Can some attraction be a temptation to sin if you do not see the

wrong in it?

j. What do you think is the real secret of Jesus’ power amidst the

attacks of Satan?

k. Whar is Matthew’s apparent aim in bringing up Jesus’ temptations?

Or, what do the temptations prove a h t Jesus?

1. How do you think the tempter “came to Jesus”? In person? Did

he have a physical, visible body? Or did he communicate with

Jesus by putting these suggestions into His mind?

m.Do you think that the temptations of Jesus helped to develop His

character or was the character that He already possessed merely

tested by them, or both? Do temptations, as they are conquered

or allowed to conquer, develop strength of character for good or

for evil? Or, do they put to trial the character one already possesses?

PARAPHRASE AND HARMONY

our temptations?

Why?

(Cf. Ac. 5:3)

Full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was

immediately driven by the Spirit out into the wilderness to be put to

the test by the devil. He was in the wilderness forty days, eating

nothing. Afterward, when they were ended, He was starving. Further,

during this period, His only companions were the wild animals of that

area.

The tempter approached and said, “If you are the Son of God,

command these stones to becomes loaves of bread.”

Jesus answered, “It was once written and still stands: ‘Man cannot

live on bread alone: he must depend upon every word that God utters.”’

(Dt.8 :3)

Next, the devil took Him to the holy city, Jerusalem, and causing

Him to stand on the very highest ledge of the temple, said to Him,

“If you are God’s Son, throw yourself down from here, for you know

what the Psalm (’91 : 11, 12) says,

‘He will give His angels charge of you to guard you,

On their hands they will bear you up,

Lest you should strike your foot against a stone.”’

126

C H A P T B R FOLJR 4: 3

“Yes,” retorted Jesus, “but the Scripture also says (Dt. 6:16), ‘You

are not to put the Lord your God on trial,’ ”

The third time, Satan took Jesus to a very high mountain, and

showing Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor in a

momenr of time, suggested, “I will give all this authority and glory

to you, for it has been delivered unto me and I can give it to whom

I choose. Now, if you will only fall down and worship me . , ,”

The Scripture

still means what it said (Dt. 6:13), ‘You shall worship the Lord your

God and render service only to Him.’ ”

So when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from

Jesus, biding his time until another opportunity arose to tempt Him

again. Then angels came and took care of Jesus.

SUMMARY

But Jesus countered, “Get away from me, Satan!

The Spirit deliberately drove Jesus into the wilderness to be

put to the test before the beginning of His ministry. Satan posed

three deadly temptations: appetite, audacity and ambition. Jesus repulsed

each with a perfect dependence upbn God and His Word.

NOTES

4:l Jesus was led up into the wilderness from the scene

of His baptism in the Jordan, which is below sea level, up to the

rugged, desolate, barren highlands back of Jericho. The actual location

of the temptations is unknown. During the forty days Jesus probably

wandered a great deal. Inasmuch as the Jordan flows through a

wilderness, the fact that Jesus was Jed ilzto the wilderness must mean the

deeper solitude of the rugged uninhabited region of the wilderness

of Judea.

Only Jesus can be the original reporter of these trials which

follow. It is not certain how He intends that we understand the

account. Whether the temptations all took place in the wilderness,

the three allurements being offered to the mind’s eye of Jesus, or

whether Jesus left the wilderness to appear first in Jerusalem and

then on the summit of a high mountain, we c a n a t know. Were

these temptations offered to Jesus through mental images suggested to

Him by Satan while yet in the desert, or was He literally transported

from place to place for temptation in the presence of the physical

images of the situations offered by Satan? With their characteristic,

127

4: 1 THE GOSPEL O F MATTHEW

profound simplicity, the writers of the gospels narrate these inner

conflicts of soul in story form, in order to render them accessible

to all men.

1. Matthew and Luke both give the impression that they are

narrating an event composed of actual facts just as they

occurred.

2. However, they might be narrating a pictorial description through

symbolic rather than literal facts, Foster (Introdzlctiofi, 335)

observes that the temptations might have been just as graphic

and powerful if symbolic and presented from the depths of

the wilderness.

While the first two temptations seem to be narrations of actual fact,

the third temptation contains several elements that would require

special interpretarions if a literal view of the whole be taken. (See

comments on 4:8)

Into the wilderness. Isolation from the “world’ is no insulation

against temptations. Jesus was placed in this ascetically perfect

monastery of the badlands of Judea. His loneliness increased the

power and pull of each desire. Beware of the temptation to desire

escape from the desires of the world, since you will be taking them

along into your isolated retreat. (See special study on Desires)

Led by the Spirit. The passive verb in no way expresses a

human shrinking from the ordeal that lay ahead of Jesus. The pop1.11~

translation of Mark 1:12 seem to suggest that Jesus was somehow

“thrown out” into the desert against His own will, according to the

most obvious etymological meaning of ekbdEo (“to throw out”). Yet,

there is evidence that ekballo can also be used without the connotation

of force (Cf. Mt. 9:38; Lk. 10:2; Jn. 10:4; Jas. 2:25; Ac. 16:37).

Matthew and Luke use words (ago and anugo) which signify simply

“to lead, bring.” Thus, rather than being reluctant to face the coming

trials, Jesus willingly followed the Spirit‘s direction. The will of

God is clearly seen in the hact that this mighty battle shall be

waged at this time and not later in Jesus’ ministry. Human wisdom

might have postponed this encounter, because it was to be so decisive.

But Jesus did not either shrink from the battle nor rashly seek to be

tempted. Rather, He sought to be led by God’s Spirit.

To be tempted. But why did the Spirit put Jesus in this

position?

This is a real struggle, but how is it described?

128

C H A P T B R F O U R 4: 1

1, Jesus must be put to these extreme tests to develop that

moral vigor and firmness that is only acquired through selfdiscipline

under fire. (Cf. Heb. 2:9, 10; >:8, 9) He must

define for Himself and perfect those principles that would

govern His ministry, those goals that He would always seek,

those interests that would always control Him.

2, He must personally conquer Satan. It is impossible that Satan

should not defend himself from the attacks of this One who

is come to destroy everything that gave Satan control of this

earth’s peoples, He must become our Savior from sin by this

great victory which reached its climax in His glorious resurrection.

3. He must learn personally the full power of human desires in

order to sympathize perfectly with lost tempted men and

save them. Only he who has felt all of a temptation’s force

and yet has stood firm can help those who have fallen. He

must know fully what it is like to be a man, so as to qualify

Himself to be our Priest and yet be our Sacrifice without

blemish. (Cf. Heb. 2:9-18; Phil. 2:7, 8)

4. He must show His tempted followers how to overcome trials

by His own impressive example. No apology need be made

for Him! He has already faced our temptations and beaten

them.

Satan must have been fully aware of the impact

of the outcome of this encounter: if he could vanquish Jesus, evea

by the smallest triumph conceivable, he could retain the world. But

if he foiled to subdue Him, then he must relinquish his sway over

mankind and, trembling, await his final doom. Satan must have

known also the demands of the perfect justice of God: Jesus must

be an absolutely sinless sacrifice for sins. No marginal errors in the

life of Jesus, once committed, could be corrected, offset or made good.

The implication is inescapable that Satan knew that it would be

possible for Jesus to sin. Thus, Satan was desperately determined to

probe to the utmost this possibility for the moral corruption of God’s

Champion, The devil had laughed in God’s face as, by one seduction

or another, he had broken every man of God that had arisen since

Adorn. “So this is God‘s Messiah?

I broke the first Adam and his race; I’ll break the Second at once!”

By the devil.

Before him now stood God’s Best.

129

4:2 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

4:2 He fasted forty days and forty nights. Luke’s terse

comment, “He ate nothing,” may emphasize an absolute abstinence from

all food, or perhaps may be taken relatively to mean “He ate nothing

but such as the desert provides, drinking water only.” Compare

similar expressions in Mt. 3:4 with Mt. 11:18; Lk. 7:33. An absolute

and total abstinence from all food and all drink is not physically

impossible (Ex. 34:28; I Kg. 19:8). Chronologically, these 40 days

are wintry, cold and rainy. This is found by counting backward

from the Passover in April, using the chronological notices in Jn.

1:29-43; 2:l-13. Fifty d8ays to two months for the total calculation

would push the time back to the beginning of February if not the end

of January, depending upon whether the paschal moon occurred near

the end of March or beginning of April. How these difficult weather

conditions must have added to the Savior’s suffering in the wilderness!

It was a period perfectly adapted to try the durability of anyone’s

patient faith and physical endurance out in the wilds of that Judean

wilderness. He fdsted. There is no evidence that Jesus imposed

upon Himself any unnecessary austerities. This fast is rather a

necessity imposed by His situation in the wilderness, than a selfimposed

observance of a law of fasting.

Afterward he hungered. He was so deeply engrossed in

thought, prayer and planning of His short whirlwind ministry thlat lay

ahead that He did not notice the effects of His fasting. Certainly,

He felt normal hunger pains before; this is now starvation. The suggestion

is made by some that the body of Jesus did not feel hunger of

the forty-day fast until its conclusion, either because it was miraculously

sustained during that period, or else because its power of endurance

far exceeds ours since it was wholly unaffected by sin. Both views

mistake both the nature of the body of Jesus and the will of God for

His Son. God willed that Jesus should be made in every respect

like mankind (Heb. 2:14, 17). To suppose special provisions and

protections for Jesus is to create for Him that condition Satan desired:

a compromise of His incarnation by using special means to sustain

Himself. Further, moral freedom from sin does not give Jesus

freedom from “the same nature” that man shares (Heb. 2 9 , 10, 14,

17) or &om “the likeness of sinful flesh” (Ro. 8:2).

What was Jesus doing during this forty-day period? Probably

He was wrestling with the great problems He must soon resolve:

How shall He, as God‘s Messiah, save a world that has fallen before

Satan’s enticements? Will He measure up to the great expectations

130

(See notes on 6:16-18)

C H A P T E R POUR 4:2,S

expressed by the Father at His baptism? How shall He perfect the

plans of His heart? He knew the views and feelings of Israel,

their expectations, their prejudices, their sins, If He submitted to

the will of God by offering them a spiritual kingdom founded upon

spiritual principles, He would have to stand practically alone against

the whole nation. It would mean only helpless, hopeless suffering of

aU their misunderstandings, betrayals and their ultimate rejecrion. It

would mean, finally, the lonely, bitter agonies of a cross. HOW could

He hope to convince them? There are times when men must stop

thinking and act; this is a time when Jesus must not act until He

has thought through every move He must make, How often, after

some great crisis in our experience, we regret that we made the move

or said the words we did, or perhaps we see how the issue of that

crisis could have been so much happier, had we reacted to it in

some other fashion. So critical is every move, every speech, every

artitude, thar Jesus will have no room for misjudgment or error.

Each day spent in that Judean desert only increased His sense of

utter loneliness as He foresaw how difficult it would be to train

those few disciples whose minds would be the most open. The

seeming futility of such an endeavor as the prcxlaiming the good

news of God’s kingdom must have weighed down upon Jesus with

oppressive force as He grew physically weaker. It was then that the

tempter came.

I. APPETITE

4:3 The tempter came, Since both Mark and Luke declare

that during His fast, Jesus was being tempted (present participle:

pe&uzomenos), it would seem that the three temptations narrated were

either extended over that forty-day period, or else they are selected

by Jesus as typical of the whole range of sinful suggestions offered

Him. It could also indicate that, though He was being tempted

over the entire period, the intensity of the allurements has just been

stepped up, The outcome of this struggle

was to be so decisive, the stakes so high, he could entrust this attack

to no lesser agent. He must permit no bungling, no excuses for

failure.

The Tempter: we have just as much evidence for believing that

he exists as an evil personality as we have evidence for a personal

God, for our knowledge of their existence rests upon the same testimony,

that of Jesus. If Jesus merely accommodated His words to the

131

The devil came in person.

4: 3 THE GOSPEL O F MATTHEW

popular error of “those unenlightened times,” then what He reveals

about God loses its value to declare otherwise unknowable truth, since

this too might be mere accommodation to popular error. Jesus has left

no way for His interpreters to know when He might have been

accommodating and when He was revealing unadulterated truth. He

claimed to be the very revelation of God Himself and, unless He be

charged with dishonesty, ignorance or insanity, then His words are

to be accepted as stating the actual case. Further, He did not merely

“accommodate” for only one or two occasions (if, in fact, He ever did),

for He had much to reveal about the spirit world over which Satan

is chief. (See Mt. 12:22-29; 13:19, 38, 39; 25:41; Mk. 3:22; 4:15;

Lk. 8-12; 10:18; 11:14-23; 13:16; 22:31; Jn. 8:44; 12:41; 13:2, 27;

14:30. Study also Ac. 5:3; 26:18; I1 CO. 2:ll; 4:4; 11:14; 12:7;

Eph. 2:2; 6 : l l ; I Th. 2:9, 18; Jas. 4:7; I Pe. 5:8, 9; I Jn. 3:8, 10

Rev. 2:9; 3:9; 12:9; 20:2, 3, 8, IO.)

If you are God’s Son could have two meanings, both of which

serve the devil’s purposes:

1. There was no doubt in Satan’s mind but these words are intended

to taunt Jesus, inciting Him to prostitute His divine

powers to selfish purposes: “No doubt you ARE God’s Son and

thus equipped with miraculous powers that could at once

feed your starving stomach. Admitted that you ARE His

Beloved, are you not being unjustly deprived of something

good? Should you, of all persons, suffer thus? And, YOU

can do miracles! You could put an end to your present

suffering and doubts about how to use your wonderful power.

You will become the visible possessor of this power and the

food will provide the strength to begin your life work.” This

is an invitation to doubt God’s goodness and providential care.

2. There was no doubt in Satan’s mind but these words are intended

to incite doubt in Jesus: “Has God really said, ‘You

are my beloved Son, ’and then left you to starve? Were you

REALLY God’s Son, as God seemed to suggest at your

baptism, could such a Father be trusted who leaves His ‘wellbeloved’

out here in the wilderness to die? If you had such

powers worthy of such a Son as God would claim, then you

could furnish me proof and at the same time satisfy that

gnawing hunger!” Jesus could be tempted in this case to

rebuke Satan by giving miraculous proof of His identity, but

132

C H A P T E R F O U R 4:3,4

to have done so would have resulted in obedience to Satan‘s

sinful suggestion. This is the provocation to doubt God’s

truthfulness,

3, The possibility rhar Satan doubted Jesus’ Sonship is not too

likely, else he would not have staked so much upon the

conquest of Jesus, It is more likely that Satan tempted Jesus

so thoroughly because he knew exactly who He was.

At the very heart of this suggestion lies the problem of the very

existence of Jesus: He was alone in the wilderness and about to

starve to death. Surely He had come from heaven for greater purposes

than to perish unknown right there in the desert suffering such

torture. Did not Jesus have the right

to live, even if it meant to create food iniraculously for the sustenence

of His life?

4:4 I t is written! Jesus’ citations of Deuteronomy (6:13, 16;

8:3) demonstrate two tremendous conclusions:

1. Jesus Himself is choosing to control His desires by bringing

them into ‘subjection to the will of God as revealed in His

Word (Study the implications of the truth as applied to

life, Ro. 8)

2. Because Jesus is also God’s Anointed, sent to reveal God‘s

mind, His citation of Deuteronomy stamps the Penteteuch

collection of the first five books of the Old Testament as the

Word of God. Let those who are confused by the multitudinous

and contradictory critical theories on the origin of

those books hear the voice of Jesus!

Whatever the devil’s meaning in his equivocal phrase, “If you are

the Son of God,” Jesus did not reply to it by direct demonstration

of His identity either by miraculous proof that Satan had demanded

or by enlightening debate sustaining the proposition, “I am Gcd’s

Son.“ Rather, He reveals a more basic question involved, a problem

that touches every man: “What is the true ground of man‘s being?

Is it matter or spirit? What really

sustains man?” (Cf. Psa. 19:7-11; 119; Jn. 1:1-3; I Jn. 2:17; Col.

1:17; Heb. 1:1-3; cf. “word of God” in 11 Pet. 3:5, 7.) Jesus graphically

declares the true foundation of man’s being to be “anything God

says.”

133

A man must live, it i s said,

Is it bread or the word of God?

4:4 T H EG O S P E LO F MA T T H EW

If one is faced with the choice of a life compromised by sin, or

a death for righteousness, he does not HAVE to live. A man may

choose to starve to death, rather than steal food. On the anvil of

this wilderness experience is hammered out Jesus’ decision: “My food

is to do the will of Him who Sent me, and to accomplish His work.”

(Jn. 4:34) It is far better to starve for sake of a right principle

than to eat food misappropriated..

Here Jesus was fighting like a dying man As our Champion who

faced this very real battle at His very weakest. Yet, if He is to save

others, Himself He cannot save. Self-denial is the rule of His

kingdom. Yes, even the Son of God will live as every other man,

without special provision. He will not make an exception for Himself,

for doing so would have compromised the purpose of His incarnation.

“He was made in all things like unto His brethren” for the specific

purpose of “suffering being tempted” and to “help them that are

tempted’ (Heb. 2:17, 18; 4:15). Therefore, He never utilized supernatural

power to alleviate His hunger, thirst, weariness, pain or grief.

If Satan suggested that Jesus, as God’s Son, has a right to help

Himself to miraculously-created bread, Jesus ignors this advice by

revealing an even wider trust in God than that which one would

expect in a miracle worker: “Man, any man and not merely God’s

Son, should trust God and live according to God’s Word, rather than

according to their fleshly needs. God knows my hunger and He is

completely trustworthy to provide in His own way. He will not give

me stones when I need loaves!”

Further, Jesus depended upon His Bible for guidance, not upon

special supernatural wisdom. He used the weapon against Sat~n,

that is available to every man. Jesus had learned

the& Scriptures. Only because He had stored His memory full with

them, meditated their meaning and related them to the practical

problems of life-only because He had so thoroughly saturated Him-

Self, in the same way in which any other man could learn God’s Word,

only thus did these texts come to Him “naturally.” Here is written

our condemnation: have we such a command of our Scriptures that

we are able to expose Satan’s lies for what they are? Do we live in

such daily contact with the truth that the false is immediately exposed

because of the contrast?

If Jesus had miraculous power, whence came it? To whom did

He owe it? Since He depended upon the Father even for this power

(Jn. 5:19-36), could the Father not be trusted for bread? Of course

(Cf. Mt. 6:32; 7:9)

(Cf. Eph. 6:17)

134

C H A P T E R P O U R 4:4,5

He can, So Jesus will show the trust of any true son of God. Thougb

it is not immediately apparent from the circumstances how God will

provide the food, yet Jesus will wait and trust Him, The context

of the OT passage, on which Jesus’ resolute refusal depends, makes

His words ring the more truly. Read the whole eighth chapter of

Deuteronomy to appreciate the full impact of Jesus’ answer.

Note that Jesus did not seek to change His circumstances. He

could have wished that He had not been caught hungry, unknown and

uncrowned, Rather, He dealt with the temptation exactly as it came

to Him in that circumstance, It is yet another temptation to think

when tempted that, were the circumstances different, the response

would have been better, But the very purpose of God for letting

men be tempted or tried is to produce men who will do God’s will

under whatever circumstance.

Whether this temptation is messianically symbolic or not, certain

results with messianic ,implications would have followed from Jesus’

surrender to it. Had Jesus used His miraculous power to satisfy

Himself in this one case, it would have been much easier to use it

thus to relieve some of the stresses, strains and painful moments

of His ministry.

Are

we ever tempted to use what is in our power for our own selfish

ends? What about the money we have earned? Our talents? Exists

there a church that has never said to itself, “I must build my cathedral

before considering the needs for more evangelism, more Christian

education and care for the old folks and orphans”? Or, lives there

a Chsistian anywhere who, during some crisis, has never wondered,

”Does God really know I exist, that I suffer thus? Does He really

care?”

How do we face this same temptation under other forms?

11. AUDACIW

The verb “took” is probably

to be understood in the same sense in which the Spirit “led” Jesus

up from the Jordan, since the Greek verbs are the same in both cases.

Mt. 4:l uses &go; Lk. 4:1, 5, 9 uses ago and anago, whereas

in the parallel of Mt. 4:5, 8 pard1mdan.o is substituted

without apparent change in meaning.

4:5 Then the devil taketh him.

.

Pinnacle of the temple in the holy city. In Jerusalem the most

imposing height offering the longest fall would be the southeast

135

4: 5,G THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

corner of the temple court, a point which towered above the Kedron

valley some 300-400 feet, depending upon where measuremert was

taken. Arndt-Gingrich define the word perugiolz (“pinnacle”) AS the

Edersheirl (Life,

I, 244) describes a tower that was supposed to have been located on

that corner, raising the height to 450 feet. Any point in the temple

area so high that a fall from it would be fatal is probably all that

is meant.

One feature of this temptation might

not be so apparent to us upon first reading of the text, for the

temptation to presumption lies most directly upon the surface and

easy to see without reflection. This is so because of Jesus’ reply

to Satan. Yet, any precipice in the desert would have sufficed for

the mere physical of leaping from the heights to be safely, gently

landed upon the ground borne upon the hands of the angels. But

why, then, the temele’s phmcle? Is the devil suggesting that the

crowded courts or streets below would provide a fitting theatre onto

which the Lord could leap to begin His marvelous ministry with a

“sign from heaven” which would command the instant belief and

loyal obedience of the Jews? Is he opening before Him the easy

successes possible to a Superman, obscuring the lasting results that

God sought through preaching, teaching and daily fellowship, however

slow and difficult that latter way might be? If so, in succumbing

to this suggestion, Jesus would be committing God to a course of

action, forcing the Father to justify ever greater sensations, a course

foredoomed to failure. Faith that would depend upon such signs is

not the confident trust that God seeks.

If Satan is not placing before Jesus tht allurement to descend,

borne of angels into the midst of priests and people, but rather is

trying to trap Jesus in His personal response to God, then this is a

temptation to fanatic presumption. Satan could well know how prone

human nature is to go to opposite extremes. Jesus had just demonstrated

so beautiful a trust in the heavenly Father in answer to the

first temptation, that the tempter now takes advantage of this human

proneness to extremes by suggesting, “All right, if you are going to

trust God so much, show your faith by something more spectacular,

more decisive than mere patient hunger! Put some specific promise

of God to some clear-cut test. Psalm 91:11, 12 promises you God’s

protection for just such a case as this. So throw yourself down from

I t . tip, end, edge, extremity or summit of something.”

4:6 Cast thyself down.

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C H A P T E R F O U R 4:6,7

this dizzy height to the solid rock below! By so doing, you can

demonstrate your unquestioning faith in God, and show yourself to

be the Messiah to those who see this thrilling sign from heaven!”

Yet, Jesus’

answer reveals the fallacy, The urge to hazard His life merely to

prove His trust in God and demonstrate His Sonsbip, would really

have meant to doubt God’s express declaration and presumptuously

to put God on trial. Such a trial is the more presumptuous because

God had already proved often enough that He keeps His Word. The

devil’s suggestion deliberately obscures the weightier question whether

God must yield to every unreasonable whim of those fanatics who,

while protesting faith in God, demonstrate practical disbelief of His

declarations by putting Him to a test,

He shall give His angels charge concerning thee. The

Psalm ( P l : l l , 12) that Satan quotes, when read in its entirety, fits

the situation quite exactly, The whole Psalm depicts the security

against various dangers, that is enjoyed by the man who trusts God.

Hence, it applies to any son of God. Satan has merely invented a

parricular test to which God’s general promise may be put to see

if He’will keep His Word. The deception does not rest in a supposed

misquotation of the verses by Satan (he left out “to keep thee in

all thy ways”), because Jesus accepted the quotation as being substantially

correct. The Psalm, however, does not teach that man may

choose the path nor may he command God to act by rescuing him

from the extremes of man’s follies, Rather, it means that in faith

man must follow God, letting God be God. In this latter frame of

reference, man will enjoy the blessed security of God’s providence. ”he

trap is hidden in the phrase “to see if He will keep His word . . , I ’

4:7 Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy aod.

Again Jesus shows that He will not run before God, but chooses rather

to be led by Him. He clearly will not, of His own choice, create

unnecessary dangers, but will avoid them unless they fall in the path

of obedience to the Father’s will, He shows Himself to be a man of

common sense, true sanity and genuine wisdom. Neither will He

seek to place God under obligation to back His plans for His ministry.

Though Satan had made it appear otherwise, it took more trust in

God NOT to leap than to do so. Jesus answers simply, “Testing

is not trusting.”

137

What would be more justifiable than such a leap?

4:7,8 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

Study the disappointing but enlightening history of Israel for

its examples of those who made trial of God: Ex. 14:lO-12;

16:3; 17:l-7; Num. 14:l-11; 21:4, 5. Compare the divine

commentary on these examples, offered in I Cor. l0:6-11 and

Heb. 3:1--4:ll. Testing God not only involves disbelief of

His promises but also may involve disobedience to His specific

commands not to make trial of Him. The end result may

be open rebellion. Falsifying in money matters is one way

to try God (Ac. 5:3, 4, 9). Changing the basis of salvation

is called by Peter “putting God on trial” (Ac. 15:lO).

This question of forcing God to back up His Servant Jesus will come

up again in Jesus’ ministry, suggested by the impudent challenges of

the Jews, demanding that He “show a sign from heaven.” (Mt. 12:38f;

Lk. 11:16; Mt. 161-4) In their presence He could have called upon

God to perform stupendous feats in nature. Hanging on the cross,

He would have occasion to remember this moment, for other voices

would jeer, “He trusts in God; let God deliver Him now, if He

desires Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.”’

He corrected

a common misuse of God’s promises by showing that the interpretation

of those promises, which was offered by Satan, contradicted the clear

command of God. (Dt. 616)

(Mt. 27:43)

Again, Jesus demonstrated that He knew His Bible.

111. AMBITION

4:8 exceeding high mountain. If a literal view of these

temptations be taken, this verse contains several elements that would

require special interpretation:

1. An exceeding high mountain. Supernatural vision must

be assumed, since no known mountain peak however high

could provide such a literal panorama as the Evangelists

describe.

2. He showed Him all the kingdoms of the world.

If all the worlds kingdoms be taken in its absolute sense, some

special vision is required. However, if it be taken in a

relative sense to include only those visible to the naked eye

as representative of all, then it is possible to take a literal

view of the text, since vast panoramic views are afforded

by a number of Palestinean peaks.

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CHAP7‘11R P O U R 4:8,9

3. And the glory of them, This is a quality of those kingdoms

not visible to any normal, naked eye; hence, the phrase

must imply a miraculous, if not a mental, vision.

4. Luke adds “in a moment of time” (4:5), apparently coinpressing

the extent of such a vision into a few minutes.

There is no difficulty in assuming that Jesus had supernatural vision

to see all that Satan offered or in assuming that Satan drew word

pictures of all the world’s kingdoms and their glories, because, as a

matter of fact, the Evangelists do not tell how “lie showed Him all

the kingdoms of the world,”

4:9 All t h e s e t h i n g s will I give thee. Since Satan offered

Jesus “kingdoms,” he must have known what question was keenly

before His mind: how He would establish the kingdom of God, This

fact made Jesus a particularly clear target for this attack, Note that

the phrase, “If you are God’s Son,” is missing, Even to have mentioned

Jesus’ Sonship at this time would not have served the devil’s

purposes to make Him relax His grip on the Father in order to

worship the tempter.

Satan is desperately laying his trap, “If Jesus is really a man

of faith and common sense, surely He will take the shortest, most

direct route to that universal control He is seeking. If I can just

maneuver His natural desire for power and the normal wish to avoid

difficulty and suffering, perhaps I can make him an offer He cannot

refuse.” Turning to Jesus, the tempter spoke, “Look, Jesus, look!

What do you see? You see the grandeur of a thousand kingdoms

passing before your eyes. Look at that uncounted wealth and stunning

beauty! It could be yours. Do you hear those sounds? They are

the tramping feet of soldiers marching at your command. It is the

busy hum of commerce and industry creating new wealth to pour

at your feet in tribute, It is the shout of lusty voices proclaiming

you universal ruler of the earth. As the prince of this world, I am

in a position to offer you all this!”

How much control does the devil really hold over the world?

If Jesus knew that Satan were lying, then this would have been

no great temptation. It is worthy of note that He did not call

Satan a liar for saying that these kingdoms were his to give. However,

if he is telling the truth, then the ambitions of Jesus could

be realized in an instant and the “inevitable” cross codd be avoided.

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4: 9 THE GOSPEL O F MATTHEW

AS stated, this was an apparently rational offer and a very desirable

proposal. The kingdom of Satan is no figure of speech, because the

Gospels contain constant reference to the power of Satan in the

world as a reign opposed to God. (Cf. Mt. 12:25-28; Lk. 11:17; see

also Mt. 6:13; 13:19, 25, 39; 25:41; Lk. 10:18; 22:3, 28, 31; Jn.

8:44; 12:31; 13:27; 14:30; 16:ll.) Satan speaks as if he were the

rightfd ruler in complete control of the whole world (Lk. 4:G). This

is certainly false, because the fact that he so persistently seeks to tempt

and master men proves that he does not yet completely possess them.

Further, whatever authority he may possess is by usurpation,

Humanly speaking, Jesus needed everything that the devil was

offering. He had no reputation, no formal religious education or

degrees from accredited universities, no powerful friends who could

exert their influence in His favor in a world where men advance

their causes by treading upon each other. Yet, He is contemplating

the advancing of His Father’s rule by spiritual methods and by the

conversion of single individuals to His message of ideals. He well

understood that this latter approach would be the slowest, most

difficult, most discouraging and finally the most disappointing of the

two choices.

Assuming that Satan is telling the truth, how could he really

give all the human kingdoms to Jesus? Simply by fulfilling all of

the most common Jewish conceptions of the messianic kingdom!

Satan could rally the entire Jewish nation around Jesus, restore to

Him the throne and glory of David, force the nations to bring all

their wealth to Jerusalem and put every Jew on state payrolls. How

often the echo of Satan’s whisper was heard! (Mt. 16:22; Lk. 22:49(?);

Jn. 6:14, 15; 7:3, 4; 12:32-34; 18:36; Ac. 1:6) Jesus could forget

the hardships, the confusion, the rejection, the cross, and He could

so much more simply establish His world dominion.

These are Satan’s

terms. He chooses his words carefully, because upon them depends

his ultimate success. He knows

that worship basically involves the acknowledgement of him as true

lord and rightful disposer of kingdoms. If he can entice Jesus into

admitting His dependence upon him rather than God, then he will

have tricked Jesus into transgressing the most basic commandment

known (Dt. 5:7-9; 6:4, 13) To the western ear, the word “worship”

would immediately have warned of the idolatry involved. But Satan

uses a general word (proskuwo, see note on 2 : 2 ) that may suggest

If you will fall down and worship me.

Satan is neither ignorant nor stupid.

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C l I A P T E I I P O U R 4:3,10

no more than the obeisance rendered by an inferior to a superior

among men. If only “worship as if offered only ro God” were meant,

Jesus would have immediately drawn back in holy horror with the

result that, for Jesus, all of the enticement would be stricken from

the temptation merely by stating jt, Admittedly, Satan’s choice of

words is admirable, because of the ambiguity.

By putting in the condition which demanded at least oriental

obeisance, Satan subtly presses Jesus for a compromise. Perhaps he

intends the comproinising of Jesus’ ideal of “a kingdom not of this

world” in favor of a worldly kingdom, Jesus could still rule the

world by using Satan’s methods: war, political intrigues, brute force.

Satan presents this attractive offer as a real, immediate victory for

Jesus, when in reality it would have been His real surrender. The

transfer would be only an illusion. It i s that old perennial lie: “Ym

may be your own king, do as you please, as long as you are my

servant! ”

But has there ever existed a church or a Christian which has

not surrendered to Satan Jesus’ ideal, “the kingdom of God,” for a

greater share of the control of the world’s kingdoms? Who has not,

at one time or another, mistaken might for right and regimentation

for regeneration? How often has ambition to rule conquered those

who have conquered all else!

4:lO High above this moving scene of glory and beauty which

Satan paints before the eyes of Jesus, the Son of God can see another

vision: the Kingdom of God in which men of every tribe, people,

nation and tongue come streaming from afar, bringing all their wealth,

glory, praise and service to lay them down in humble worship at

His feet, He can see the day of His coronation at His Father’s right

hand, enthroned to reign until all His enemies should be made the

footstool of His feet, until every tongue confess to the glory of God

that Jesus Christ is Lord! God had already promised His Son

universal world control (Psa. 2:7-12). The offer of Satan is exposed

for what it really is: a tarnishing glitter, a crumbling pile of stones,

dying men, ashes and dust.

This practical expression of idolatry

that Satan has offered Jesus is too much, Satan has lost. He has

no more to offer the Master. Jesus’ shout clarifies the issues: “Satan,

the end never justifies the means. The kingdom that I desire has at

its very heart the bringing of worship only to the Lord God, not the

14 1

Get thee hence, Satan.

4: 10,11 THE G O S P E L O F MATTHEW

crowning of your original rebellion. I cannot divide my allegiance

nor compromise God’s will even as a means to a holy end, for to do

so would contaminate the result. Therefore, the means of establishing

my kingdom must also be holy: teaching men to worship and serve

only God!” From this moment, the victory cry will continue to ring

down through time, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world!”

(Jn. 1633)

4: 11 Then the devil leaveth him, baffled and disappointed.

Satan is not invincible. This smashing victory of Jesus and all the

battles won by those who dare use Jesus’ methods prove it. (I CO.

10:13; Eph. 6:lO-18; I Pet. 5:8, 9) The conquest of Satan in these

three temptations does not mean that Jesus was tempted by all

possible temptations, for temptations come in infinite variations. But

He was tempted at all points at which temptation can touch a soul.

This is one of the worlds greatest moments. It has just been proved

that one human being, reduced to his weakest physical extremity and

seduced by Satan’s deadliest suggestions, by sheer trust in God, by

unhesitating refusals and by unrelenting reliance upon God‘s revelation,

could resist temptation and refuse to sin. Jesus has just shown that it

was possible for all men not to sin.

Luke notes (4:13) that the devil departed until other opportunities

should present themselves for further attack. Further temptations

came later (Mk. 1:32-39; Jn. 6:14, 15; Mt. 16:23; Lk. 22:28;

Angels came and ministered unto him. He who would

not have Satan’s satellites as His servants, is now served by God’s

servants. (Mt. 26:53; Jn. 1:51; Heb. 16-14; cf. I Kg. 19:Sff) If

they brought Him food, then His faith, which trusted God to the limit,

is further justified in this significant way.

Mt. 27:40-43).

(Cf. 4 3 , 4)

FACT QUESTIONS

1. List the temptations of Jesus, noting the differences in the various

Gospel reports.

2. Tell why Jesus was tempted at each point, noting to what human

characteristics Satan made his appeal each time.

3. How did Jesus meet each temptation? Be specific about each one.

4. What do Jesus’ temptations mean to us?

5. Is there any connection between the temptations of Jesus and

what was said about Him at the time of His baptism?

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C H A P T E R FOII11 4 : l - I I

6. Why did Jesus go out into the wilderness?

7. What wilderness was it?

8. What was the Holy Spirit’s purpose in taking Jesus there?

9. Why was not Jesus hungry until after the fast?

10, How could Satan have shown Jesus all of the world’s kingdoms?

11, Explain what is meant by “tempting God.”

12, Did the world’s kingdoms really belong to Satan?

13. Did the temptations have any relation to Jesus’ world mission?

If so, what relationship?

14, What is the relationship between knowing the Word and will

of Gcd and resisting temptations?

15. What does Jesus’ use of the OT as the final authority for His

actions reveal about:

a. The OT as the progressive revelation given by God to

b. the application of the Bible in general to particular problems

Wherein does their real power lie? Can

they always be recognized? If so, under what circumstances? If

not, why not? Why should we pray to avoid temptations (Mt.

6:13)? Why does God allow His Son and His children to be

tempted? Is something a temptation if one cannot see the wrong

in it?

(Cf, 4:2)

a particular people?

faced by the believer?

16. What are temptations?

SPECIAL STUDY:

TEMPTATION

I. THE LORD’S LIABILITY TO ALLUREMENT,

A. Cowld Jeszcs be tewted so u.r to sin? Yes must be the

unequivocal response, because His incarnation necessitates it. If

we are to believe that Jesus was to be tempted in all respects in

which a human being is tempted (Heb. 4:15), then we are led

to the realization that His subjection to every sort of human seduction

must have begun long before the period forty days after His

baptism. His birth was unique and miraculous, but His youth

was normal in the human environment of Nazareth. His adult life

indeed was marvelous, one.of-a-kind, yet fully human. It must be

ever remembered that the Word was God before He became flesh

and dwelt among us (Jn. 1:1-14), but that fact must never be

made to cast doubt upon the reality of the flesh in which He

dwelt (Heb. 2:14). With the Father He shares these characteristics:

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4:1-11 T H E GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

1 . He lived without sin (Heb. 415; 7:26; I Pet. 1:19; 2:21;

3:18; Jn. 8:46; I Jn. 3:5; I1 Cor. 5:21).

2. He faultlessly expressed God’s character and nature (I1

Cor. 4:4-6; Jn. 8:29; 10:30; 12:45; Col. 1:15-19; 2:9;

Heb. 1:l-3).

1. He fulfilled all of God’s purposes (Jn. 10:17, 18, 36-38;

12:27; 15:lO; Eph. 1:3-11; I1 Cor. 5:19).

4. He maintained that unique contact with God in a union

unknown to all human experience and unshared by any

other (Jn. 1:1-14; 10:30; 5:19, 20; 12:49, 50; 14:10, 11).

However, there are significant differences between the Father and

the Son:

1. God cannot be tempted with evil, while Jesus was subject

to all human temptations (Jas. 1:13; Heb. 2:14-18; Heb.

4: 15) although He did not surrender Himself to any.

2. God is not subject to spiritual growth (I Pet. 1:le Mt.

5:48), while Jesus advanced toward spiritual maturity (Lk.

2:40, 52; Heb. 2:lO-18; 5:7-9), qualifying Himself to be

man’s Savior.

3. The Father was the object of Jesus’ faith and the Hearer

of His prayers (Heb. 5:7; Mt. 11:25, 26; Jn. 11:41, 42).

Although Jesus was the Revealer of the mind of God, yet

He received the Word of God as already revealed in the

OT, putting His trust in it and obeying its precepts

impeccably.

4. Jesus was born subject to law (Gal. 4:4); God was not.

“Born under law” to Jesus meant responsibility for keeping

or breaking it. If Jesus could not sin by breaking law,

the law would be meaningless to Him.

5. The point of Jesus’ assumption of human nature is that He

might die for man’s sins (Heb. 2:9, 14, 15); God could

not die. (Cf. I Ti. 1:17; 6:16)

6. Jesus was fully man (Ro. 5:17-21; I Co. 15:21; Ac. 17:31),

a body for the dwelling of all the fulness of Deity (GI.

1:19; 2:9)

He was

Human ignorance and per-

The incarnation is the unique ezperience of Jesus only.

thoroughly mm and thoroughly deity.

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C H A P T B R FOUR 4: 1.1 1

sonal “lack of” experience of this verity does not militate against its

historicity. It is to be received on the strength of Jesus’ truthfulness

and His authority to reveal it.

There are several consequences that follow from believing that

He could not actually be tempted to sin, Rejection of all that

the Scriptures say regarding His human nature is serious enough,

for that blames God for condemning man without knowing what

being a man is really like, Further, if Jesus did not genuinely share

all our human desires, His victory over Satan is a hollow, meaningless

conquest as far as it concerns our facing of temptations.

In that case, He could not provide us a true example that would

help us to overcome, since there would always remain in us the

suspicion that Jesus was some sort of angelic machine which

“could not be touched with the feeling of our weaknesses,”

But the Scripture evidences the fact that Jesus could sin by

surrender to the devil’s enticements. Out of this truth flow

exciting conclusions.

1. Jesus has felt the fullest intensity of every temptation to

sin, because He did not yield. It is not the man who

is allured before feeling the last full measure of temptation

who fully understands that seduction before which he has

fallen, nor can he be perfectly sympathetic with other

sinners in their trials, for he sinned before knowing the

full power of the enticement. Only the sinless Jesus, who

has resisted the pull of the desire clear to its end, can

effectively come to the aid of those who have fallen.

2. Jesus conquered Satan, not as God but as man, any man,

could have repelled the tempter. By using no special defences

available only to the “Son of God,” He wrestled

sin’s mightiest champion as would any “son of Gd’-

and won! But by doing this, He strikes from our mouths

all of the lame excuses we offer for our sins. By risking

all of Jesus’ purity, and consequently, the world’s salvation,

on the outcome of such temptations as those in the wilderness,

God shows for all eternity the inexcusability of

human sin. Were there any question before, now no doubt

is left as to why God is justified in sending the whole

human race to hell, (Ro. 3:9, 19, 20, 23; 11:32; Gal. 3:22)

The hesitation to admit the

liability of our Lord to temptation is probably traceable to defective

B. Whereiii wus Jesus tempted?

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4:1-11 T H EG O S P E LO F MA T T H EW

views of His nature. These arise out of a natural tendency to

over-emphasize either His deity or His manhood. Also the feebleness

of human language to express such majestic truth as the

incarnation of God “in 25 words or less,” often cripples the truth

rather than strengthens or clarifies it. May we generalize just to

this extent: if the baptismal event of Jesus says to the world that

this Man was God, then the temptation experience proclaims to all

ages that this God also became Man. It is from this latter point

of view that we study His temptations.

Jesus was perfectly sinless before and after the temptations,

but He was a perfectly sinless hwwn with all the desires that

characterize life in the human body. Incarnation brings with it the

characteristics of the cmnis. flesh, one of which is temptability.

But what is temptation?

A temptation is anything that throws the character into the

crisis of choice. This is done by an incitement of mtud desire.r

to go beyond the limits set. Temptation is also a conflict of

loyalties, a putting other good things above one’s first loyalties.

(Cf. Mt. 10:36 with MI. 3:21; Jn. 12:27) The power of temptation

lies in hmm deshes. These are created by God in the makeup

of the human personality, but may all be stimulated by Satan to

thwart God’s purpose for those desires. The Greeks had one

word for these God-given desires (epithumh), a word which they

used to describe right desires or longings as well as desires for

something forbidden, The complex of desires in the human personality,

as God designed it, is like a powerful rocket which can

hurl an astronaut into space to explore the universe and advance

man’s knowledge, or it can hurl a nuclear warhead at other men

to destroy lives. The rocket has the capacity for both operations.

What it actually does depends upon who determines its use and

controls it. The desires in our personality serve as fuel and

power for the rocket, while our conscience is the guidance system.

Thus, what we do depends upon the orientation data fed into our

conscience, which, in turn, controls our desires. But, unlike the

electronic brain in the rocket, our conscience can be affected by

our desires, and it is exactly at these desires that temptations make

their attack. If so, then Jesus, “who was tempted in all points

like us we are (kuta prmta kuth holmoiot~ta),” felt the stress and

strain of His basic human desires. But what are these desires?

We shall see them more clearly as we are led to understand . . .

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C H A P T E R FOIJR 4: 1-1 I

11. OUR SUSCEPTIBILIlY TO SINFUL SUGGESTION.

A, A Matter of Dsske, The Christian view of personal desires

is expressed by James: “Each person is tempted when he is

lured and enticed by his own desires.” (Jas. 1 :14 RSV) The

following passages clarify this view. The Greek words, which are

used to express the desire, are included in parenthesis for further

comparison, Note that the passages are arranged into two groups:

those expressions of right and proper desires, and those expressions

that degenerate human desire into passion and lust. The more

significant passages are printed in italic type.

GOOD, PROPER EXPRESSIONS DESIRE AS LUST, PASSION

OF DESIRE

(epithmia, e pithme a”) (epitbwuia, epizhimed)

Mt. 13:17; Lk. 15:16; 16:21; Mt. 5:28; Mk, 4:19; Jn. 8:44;

17:22; 22:15; Gal, j:17; Phil, Ac. 20:33, 34; Ro, 1:24; 6:32;

1:23; I Th. 2:17; I Tim. 3:l; 7:7f; 13:9, 14; I Co. 10:6; Gal.

Heb. 6:ll; I Pet. 3:12; I Jn. 2:15- 5:16, 17, 24; Epb. 2:3; 4:22; Col.

17 (?) 3 3 ; I Th. 4:5; I Tim, 6:9; I1

Tim. 2:22; 3:6; 4:3; Tit. 2:12;

(epipothed) 3:3; Jas. 1:14; 4:2; I Pet. 1:14;

Ro. 1:11; Phil, 1:8; 2:26; I1 Co. 2:ll; 4:2, 3; I1 Pet. 1:4; 2:lO;

5:2; 7:7, 11; 9:14; I Th. 3:6: I1 3:3; I Jn. 2:1J-17; Jd. 16, 18;

Tim. 1:4; I Pet. 2:2

I Cor. 12:31; 14:1, 39; 11 Cor. I Cor. 13:4

11:2; Gal. 4:18 (?)

(tbelb) (tbeld)

Mt. 16:24; 19:21; 26:39: Mk. Mt. 16:25: Jn. 5:40; h:67; 8:44:

10:43, 44; 14:36; Jn. 7:17; 15:7: I Th. 3:IO

12:21; Ro. 7:15, 18, 19

Mt. 6:21, 33; Lk. 12:31, 34: Jn,

5:30, 44; 7:18; 8:50; Ro, 2:7:

Col. 3:lff; 11 Cor. 12:14

(epizbtea”): Heb. 1.3:14

(oregomai) : Heb. Il:l6

(ewdokica): Ro. 1O:l: I1 Tb. I:I1

Rev. 9:6

(ZdEOa“) (Ze“LOl3)

(zbted)

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4: 1-11 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

Some OT examples of good desries are the following: Ps. 21:2;

27:4; 37:4; 145:19; Prov. 10:24; 11:23; I1 Chron. 15:15; Isa. 268)

The following is a list of desires common to every man. AS

you respond to their force in your life, who or what governs

what you will do about their demands?

1. The desire to PRESERVE SELF: satisfying body needs for

food, clothing, shelter; self-defense by flight or fighting;

repulsion.

2. MATING desires: ser; care for family; the appeal of one’s

young.

3. SOCIAL desires; gregariousness; companionship; approval;

self-assertion; pride; ambition; competition.

4. Desires to SUBMIT: tendency to imitate heroes; conform

to law; to regard higher powers with respect.

5. ACQUISITIVE desires: joy of ownership.

6. CREATIVdEe sires: pleasure of being a power or a cause

capable of creating or destroying.

7. AESTHETIC desires: enjoyment of the beautiful.

Though God has integrated these desires into our personality, yet

they are the very targets of Satan’s keenest temptations. Let it

never be thought that Jesus, as Man, did not experience every one

of these desires. Certainly, the incitements to sin came to Jesus

from without; nevertheless, appeal was made to what truly existed

within Him. It seems that the tempter can pit one or two of

these desires against each other and against other desires in such

an unshakeable combination that we become confused about which

way is right!

How often perfectly good attitudes and desires are so close to

sinful desires and a godless mentality! Here is another reason why

we have such difficulty steering a straight course through life.

Compare the following short list of good traits that Satan can twist

into vices:

Caution and prudence is so often close to cowardice and

Belief taken without sufficient evidence becomes credulity.

Agreeableness and tact are often mistaken for compromise and

(See Ro. 7:13-25)

indecision.

false hood.

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C H A P T E R FOUR 4: 1-11

Concentrarion of one’s devotion may become just bigotry or

Confidence may swell into cocksureness and presumption.

Contentment oversleeps into self-satisfaction and appeasement.

Frugaliry and farsightedness struggles with miserliness and greed,

Humility could devolve into blind submissiveness.

Righteousness when praised nurtures hypocrisy.

Tolerance of too much becomes indiscrimination.

Curiosity about the affairs of others becomes meddling and

An inquiring mind, when it refuses to know, becomes agnostic.

Broad-mindedness is close to spinelessness, too often without

But resolution is near to stubbornness.

And bravery or fearlessness is nigh unto folly and foolishness.

By taking advantage of the natural needs expressed by human

desires, Satan makes his allurements appear harmless, What often

makes a temptation so attractive is the list of apparently excellent

reams for going along with it. The only true safeguard against

this confusion is to seek to know and obey God as our deepest

desire and highest joy. Perhaps the most enlightening spiritual

exercise to discover our vulnerability to temptation is simply to

ask ourselves what we desire. Here are some problems for reflection

that will help one see himself as temptation’s target:

1. What is the ONE compelling loyalty, interest or desire of

my life?

2. What one goal am I seeking to accomplish with my life?

3. What or where is the true treasure of my heart? For what

do I spend the most of my money? my leisure time? my

conversation among friends?

4, How do all my other basic desires align themselves with

the one basic motivation for my life? Or, how may these

be subordinated to it when conflicts arise?

5 , In my social relationships, whose praise do I seek?

fanaticism.

I

nosiness.

strong convictions.

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4: 1-11 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

Other questions might be helpful. But, in the light of these

suggested, it is seen that the problems in resisting temptations and

solving conflicts of interest involve all that makes us men. This is

why sin is not a single act unrelated to what we are. This is also

the reason why conversion to Jesus cannot be reduced to a

mechanical five-point ritual, but must mean the commitment of

every thought and desire to obedience to Him:

B. Some Lessons to be Lemmned:

1. There are two viewpoints to every trial or temptation.

a. Temptation by allurement for evil purpose to ensnare

in evil;

b. Putting character to the test for the purpose of proving

its mettle.

(Study the following passages to see how both viewpoints

can be very closely interwoven into the fabric of the same

temptation, even if one or the other viewpoint will be

more clearly in evidence: Mt. 6:13; Lk. 8:13; Jn. 6:6; Ac.

20:19; I Cor. 10:9-13; I1 Cor. 13:5; Gal. 6:l; I Th. 35;

I Tim. 6:9; Heb. 11:17, 37; Jas. 1:2, 12-14; I Pet. 1:6;

I1 Pet. 2:9.)

2. How temptdtions are offered or $reselzted. Just as the

temptations of Jesus were many-pronged, appealing to the

fleshly appetites, to His moral character and to His spiritual

perception, even so our daily allurements will be manysided,

attacking at once the body and soul by driving one

to the limit of endurance, while keeping the other off

balance by uneven stresses and strains. Satan is not so

stupid as to put people on their guard by coming to them

boldly and telling them that what he is about to suggest

will be sin. Rather, he begins subtly and reasonably to

prepare the mind for seduction. He must first corrupt

the principles before his real purpose can be made clear.

Once the confidence of the victim is gained and his desires

excited, the enticement is presented in its most appealing

form to that particular person. Satan repeats his

approach, varying his emphasis, until the victim falls.

150

C H A P T E R 17OIIII 4 : 1 - 1 I

3, Why matt mt4st be Ivied or temfted. If there were no

choice, no power nor pressures to do evil, we could not

have any moral victory over evil, nor would we have that

proof of character that is obtained only by self-control

under fire, We must win the victory over Satan, not by

never having fought him during temptations, but by overcoming

him in actual combat. Precious promises are

offered to those who overcome (Rev. 2:7, 10, 11, 17,

26-28; 3:5, 11, 12, 21) and victories the order of the day

for the people of God (1 Jn. 2:13, 14; 4:4; 5:4, 5 ; 11

Cor. 2 :4).

4. The dmgerow deceitfabss of temptations. The inability

to see the sinful implications hidden under pages of good

reasons for our indulgence of any desire does not remove

that sinfulness. It is the devil’s most practiced art to

present wrong as right, pleasant, popular. He can also

raise so many doubts about right actions as to make them

appear to be wrong and worthy of all condemnation, The

most frequent problem to solve as one faces temptation

is to recognize it as a temptation. If he does not see what

could be wrong about a particular action, he may justify

that act for himself and be satisfied with his justifications.

However, failure to sense wrong in a thing does not change

God’s condemnation of the sin involved. Since temptations,

in their very essence, are/wrong courses of action deceitfully

disguised as right actions, we must learn to recognize them

for what they are. How? We niust avail ourselves of

God’s means.

5. The way o/ victory over temptartjon:

l a. Jesus conquered by COMPLETE RELIANCE UPON

GOD’S WORD. God has given revelation of great

principles which govern ALL of our basic decisions,

although He has not revealed specific prohibitions of

every minute misdeed we might dream up. Our responsibility

is to h o w these principles (I1 Tim. 2:15,

25, 26; 3:14, 15), practice them by daily meditation

and actual experience, in order that, when specific temptations

call us to violate these great, far-reaching prin-

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4: 1-1 1 THE GOSPEL O F MATTHEW

ciples, our first and almost automatic reaction would be,

“How can I do this great wickedness and sin against

God? (I cannot!)” (Gen. 39:9b)

b. By UNHESITATING REFUSALS, If we wish to be

done with temptations, we must get rid of the tempter!

Jesus fought him honorably and victoriously, then commanded

him to leave. Likewise, we must put up a stiff

fight, but in the same way as did Jesus. Satan is no

match for the firepower available to one man who trusts

God! (See Jas. 4:7; I Pet. 5:8, 9; Eph. 610-18) We

must reject without hesitation any evil suggestion.

Sometimes flight is just as honorable as fight (I Tim.

6:ll; I1 Tim. 2:22, 23; I Cor. 6:lS; 10:13, 14), as in

the case of Joseph (Gen. 39:12), if flight means resistance

to temptation by refusing any longer to listen to

the tempter’s appeals to our dpires. It may also mean

choosing, by means of a strategic retreat, the ground

upon which the battle shall be fought. Some men need

to stop facing a particular temptation until they have

fled to the Father’s side for instruction, encouragement,

warning and strength, before continuing the battle.

Contrast the reasons given for the failure of those

who are overcome by temptations. They turned away

from listening to the truth, choosing teachers that suit

their desires (I1 Tim. 4:3, 4). Ever listening to anybody,

they can never arrive at a secure knowledge of

truth (I1 Tim. 3:7). All along they have been following

their own desires which they let deceive them into

thinking they possessed the true, happy life (I1 Pet.

3 : 3 ; Jude 16, 18).

6. We are mot the ody OMS remped. Just as Jesus did not

wrestle with Satan to gain the mastery only for Himself,

but also for us, even so we must keep our mind on others

in our striving against sin in ourselves. This will help

us to be wary of our own susceptibility to sin, when we

reach out to help those who are sorely tempted (Gal.

6: 1, 2). Further, our God-given freedom to do many things

that some would consider wrong or forbidden might tempt

them to join us in the enjoyment of those freedoms which

their conscience does not permit them. In this case, their

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C H A P T E R POIIR 4: 12.17

conscience is violated, since they had doubts. Thus, they

are condemned for sinning against their conscience and it

is our fault! (Cf, Mt, 18:1-14; Ro. 14:l-15:7; I Co, 8;

10:23-33) We are, with every one of our fellow men,

waging this warfare against Satan, so let us not Le their

devil to tempt them by what we do (cf. Mt. 1623) but,

rather, let us provoke them to love, faith and good works!

(Heb. 10:23-25)

Section 8

JESUS PREACHES IN GALILEE

(Parallels: Mark 1:14, 15; Luke 4:14-5:l; John 4:l-45)

TEXT: 4:12-17

12. Now when he heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into

Galilee;

13. and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which

is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali:

14. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the

prophet, saying,

15. The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, Toward the sea,

beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,

16. The people that sat in darkness saw a great light,

And to them that sat in the region and shadow of death,

To them did light spring up.

17. From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say, Repent ye; for

the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS

a. What influence does human activity or human weakness have upon

(Cf. Mt.

b. Why do you suppose Jesus left Nazareth and dwelt in Capernaum

Why should He choose to leave His own hometown?

c. In what sense is the ministry of Jesus to this area the bringing

d. What is the essence of the kingdom of God?

e. What does Jesus mean by “repent”?

153

the plan of God, as realized in the ministry of Jesus?

4:12; 834; 13:58; Mk. 1:45)

at this time?

of “light” to them? How were they “sitting in darkness”?

4: 12-17 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

PARAPHRASE AND HARMONY

Now after John was arrested and imprisoned by Herod, the report

of the incident reached the ears of Jesus. Another factor enters to

account for what follows: when the Lord knew that the Pharisees

were aware of His ministry and that He was making and His disciples

were baptizing more followers than John, Jesus left Judea. He returned

in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. Jesus decided that He had

to pass through Samaria. Coming to Sychar, He declared Himself

to be Messiah to a Samaritan woman at Jacobs well. She, in turn,

called the attention of the entire city to Him. That two-day revival

in Samaria caused many Samaritans to conclude that Jesus was indeed

the Savior of the world. (Jn. 4:5-42)

After the two days, Jesus departed for Galilee. At this point,

He Himself testified that a prophet is not appreciated by His own

people. But when He came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him,

for they had seen all that Jesus had done in Jerusalem at the feast,

since they too were there. Jesus’ reputation spread through all the

surrounding country. He taught in their synagogues to the great

admiration of everyone.

Next, Jesus came again to Cana in Galilee where He healed

the son of a Capernaum nobleman by “remote control.” (Jn. 4:46-54)

From Cana He went to Nazareth where He had been brought

up. On the sabbath, He went into the synagogue, as was His practice.

There He read Isaiah 61:1, 2 and preached a sermon on that text,

that got Him thrown out of the synagogue and of Nazareth. (Lk.

Leaving Nazareth, Jesus settled down at Capernaum, a likeside

town located on the northwestern shore of Lake Galilee in the ancient

territorial divisions of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali. Jesus’

move to Capernaum resulted in the fulfillment of Isaiah 9:1, 2,

which reads thus:

4~16-30)

Land of Zebuhn and Land of Naphtali,

The Land of the Road by the Sea, and beyond the Jordan,

With Galilee of the Gentiles-

The people that were living in darkness

And, for those who were living in the land of the shadow of death,

Have seen a great Light,

A Light has dawned.

154

C H A P T E R FOUR 4: 12

It wsls from this period that Jesus began to proclaim the message of

God’s good news, saying, “This is the time: the kingdom of God is

almost upon us!

NOTES

You must repent and believe the good news!”

I. GOD’S GRACE GIVEN TO GALILEE

Upon first reading of Matthew 4:11, 12, the distinct impression is

received that Jesus’ withdrawal into Galilee follows hard upon His

victory over the tempter in the wilderness. However, let it be remembered

that Matthew does not pretend precise chronological order

for his narration, and it will not be surprising to learn that the fol-

Iawing succession of events carries the full story:

1. Ministry of John the Baptist: Mt. 3:l-12; Mk. 1:2-8; Lk,

2. Baptism of Jesus: Mt. 3:13-17; Mk. 1:9-11; Lk. 3:21-23

3. Temptation of Jesus: Mt. 4:l-11; Mk. 1:12, 13; Lk. 4:l-13

4. First Acquaintance with early disciples at Jordan: Jn, 1:35-51

5. Wedding Feast at Cana in Galilee: Jn. 2:l-11

6. Change of Residence to Capemaurn: Jn. 2: 12

7. Cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem at Passover: Jn. 2:13-22

3:l-18; Jn. 1

< 

8. Early Judeari Ministry-miracles, teaching, baptieing: Jn. 3:22,

4:1, 2

9. Teaching Nicodemus in Judea: Jn. 3: 1-21

10. Arrest of John the Baptist: Mt. 4:12; Mk. 1:14a; Lk. 3:19, 20

11. Departure for Galilee through Famaria 8 or 9 months later:

Mt. 4:12; Mk. 1: 14a; Lk. 4:14a; Jn. 4:3, 4

12. Samaritan Woman and Samaritan Revival: Jn. 4:5-43

13. Beginning of Galilean Campaign: Mt. 4:12; Mk. 1:14a; Lk. 4:14,

15; Jn, 4:44, 45

14. Nobleman’s Son of Capemaurn healed, Jesus at Cana: Jn.

4:46-54

15. First Rejection at Nazareth: Lk. 4:lG-30

16. Return to Capernawn: Mt. 4:13-17; Mk. 1:14, 15; Lk. 4:31

17. Call of Four Fishermen: Mt. 4:18-22; Mk. 1:16-20; Lk. 5:l-11

155

4: 12 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

With this chronologically harmonized outline for comparison of the

Gospel accounts, it becomes much more comprehensible why Jesus

should decide to withdraw into Galilee at this time.

John the Baptist had unmasked the Pharisees and Sadducees for

the hypocrites they really were. His popular appeal galled them at

first, then, alarmed them. Then came this Jesus of Nazareth into

their stronghold, the temple, challenging their position. He drove out

of the temple courts their profitable sources of revenue and He openly

questioned their righteousness. Besides these attacks, He wrought

many miracles in the Jerusalem area (Jn. 2:23; 3:2), and began

gathering such a following (Jn. 2:23) that the more intimate disciples

of John began to fear for their master’s waning glory in the light of

the ascendent popularity of Jesus (Jn. 3:26). What the hierarchy had

perhaps secretly hoped would be a temporary manifestation of religious

fervor is no longer to be regarded with disdain but genuine alarm.

The movement seems to be growing to revolutionary proportions:

Judea is excited.

At just this moment in the tension-charged atmosphere of Judea,

one of John’s sermons struck home to the tetrarch of Galilee and

Perea, H e r d Antipas. John openly rebuked this petty king’s flagrant

immorality and gross violation of God’s laws. (Cf, Mt. 14:3-5; Mk.

6:17-20; Lk. 3:19, 20) Herod could not tolerate this accusing finger

pointed at his sins, nor could he permit this ground-swell of public

sentiment to rise into a crescendo of national revolution (Josephus,

A*$. XVIII, 5, 2). Perhaps John was handed over to Herod (“delivered

up,” see #uir&o“nti isn 4:12; Mk. 1:14a) by the Pharisees

themselves. (Cf. Mt. 17:12; Jn. 4:l.). At this crisis, i.e. when Jesus

heard that John was delivered up, He made His move north.

AmchBreG may be translated

“go away, return, withdraw, retire, take refuge” ( Arndt-Gingrich).

If Jesus is seeking to avoid some impending danger, what is it?

Certainly, Jesus could not hope for escape from a similar fate as that

of John by His deliberate entrance into the political jurisdiction of

Herod Antipas himself. Apparently, Herod’s informants had not yet

singled out Jesus as the new Leader of the growing reform movement,

or else, Jesus had not yet launched the same condemnation as had

John, and thus would not have been noticed and apprehended. Jesus

could foresee those who would be His real enemies and so chose

not to bring matters to a show-down at this time, for such a crisis

could d y end in a premature cross. Thus, rather than seek at once

156

He withdrew from what or whom?

CHAPTER FOUR 4: 12

the fullest notariey in the heart of Jewish world and provoke thereby

the wrath of the religious hierarchy at Jerusalem (Jn. 4:1-3), Jesus

chose the out-district of Galilee as the rraining and testing ground for

those disciples who would establish the Church, He must yet train

them in evangelism, Their false concepts of the Messiah and God’s

Kingdom must be corrected, The crisis of the cross must indeed

come, but not yet, He must preach to the rest of the nation first,

Thus, Jesus left Judea for several reasons:

1. John was imprisoned and Jesus wanted to maintain the

momentum of John’s labor and gather around Him John’s

lost, leaderless disciples.

2. The growing anxiety of the Pharisees needed to be cooled,

3, He already had a large following in Galilee (Jn. 2:23; 4:45).

Therefore, Jesus took the shortest, quickest route to Galilee, spending

only two days in Samaria (Jn. 4:4, 40, 43).

Jesus came to Galilee: what genius! Though Galilee was

not large, it had been uniquely prepared for His arrival. Galilee is

that territory located in northern Palestine, bordered on the north

by the heathen Syrians and Phoenicians; on the west by the plain

of Accho and Mount Carmel; on the south by the half-breed Samaritans;

and on the east by the Jordan River and Lake Galilee. The

land area thus circumscribed was approximately that of modern Israel,

north of Mount Carmel: about 60 miles long by 40 miles wide,

Josephus (Wm,11 1, 3, 3) describes Jesus’ countrymen thus: ’

The Galileans are inured to war from their infancy, and

have always been very numerous; nor hath the country ever

been destitute of men of courage, nor wanted a numerous

set of them. Their soil i s uniformly rich and fruitful and

full of plantations of trees of all sorts, insomuch that it

invites the most slothful to take pains in its cultivation, by its

fruitfulness: accordingly it is cultivated by its inhabitants and

no part of it lies idle. Moreover, the cities lie here very

thick, and the very many villages there are here are everywhere

so full of people, by the richness of their soil, that

the very least of them contain above fifteen thousand inhabitants.

Jesus’ tactical genius is seen in His choice of Galilee, Galilee’s

geographic and social relations as well as its religious history rendered

157

4: 12,13 T H E G O S P E LO F MA T T H EW

it particularly open to the reception of new ideas. The Galileans,

because of their constant contact with the “outside world” of Rome,

Syria, Phoenicia, could not be expected to be such sticklers for traditional

orthodoxy as the Judeans. These inborn characteristics of the

Galileans created particularly fertile soil for the new message of

Jesus.

He chase to

labor among these despised Galileans of mixed ancestry, corrupted

from purer Judaism by the liberalizing habits of surrounding heathenism.

Before Jesus arrived, life seemed to be dominated by evil. Men

existed without genuine hope or exalted purposes. All of religion

seemed to be solely the possession of a few Judean Pharisees. But

Jesus’ entrance into Galilee shouts the joyful news to the mixed

fragments of ancient Israel: “God’s Kingdom is almost upon you!

Evil is not the ultimate force in the universe; despair is not the final

meaning to life; nor is death the last word!” Thus, God’s grace was

extended even to Galilee.

4:13 and leaving Nazareth. Though k&&ipo (“leave”) may

be neutral, meaning simply a “departure from a place,” yet it has

the predominant flavor of leaving behind something or someone

(Arndt-Gingrich). Had Matthew intended merely “departure,” he had

a wealth of words to say so (@erchomai, metkd, ufi&2mi, porezcok1

mcho”re8, chdrizo, exeimi, cbdred, or metdmh.0). Jems left Nuzaretb

behim!. Although the words Nazareth and C~@erna~mar e obviously

geographical place names, yet Jesus’ move is not without symbolical

significance, and, considered the complete story of this move, these

names suggest also the people who dwelt there. While Matthew does

not spell out the reason for this seemingly normal change of residence

to Capernaum (kcttoiksd), Luke tells the story behind it (Lk. 4:16-30).

Jesas left Nazcreth, thus, is no empty phrase, for He had faced the

hard reality that a “prophet is not without honor except in His own

country,” (Lk. 4:24). Nevertheless, He had endeavored to speak to

His own townspeople, but the more He revealed of His true identity,

the more difficult they found it to believe Him. He did return

later for one last time to try again to convince Nazareth, but she

thought she knew too much to believe His claims (Mt. 1353-58;

Mk. 6:l-G). But, He must leave behind His hometown for now.

This is another early intimation of the tragedy that will culminate

158

Jesus came to Galilee: what mercy and grace!

C H A P T E R P O U R 4: 13, 14

in Calvary, It was at Nazareth of Galilee that the Light had shined

in the darkness, but the darkness could neither master it by comprehending,

learning or understanding it, nor seize it with hostile intent

to destroy it. (Jn. 1:9f) He came and dwelt in Capernaum.

Even if Nazareth rejected her great opportunity to enjoy the great

Light come to her and was content to sit in her darkness, yet other

cities would receive the Light, The loss of Nazareth meant the gain

of Capernaum. Jesus had already moved from Nazareth to Capernaum

earlier (Jn. 2:12), but now He makes the latter city His headquarters

for the Galilean campaign. That earlier move to Capernaum suggests

that Jesus had already foreseen the Nazareth rejection and had already

planned His ministry in Galilee long before going south to Judea

for the Passover (Jn, 2:12, 13). Then the events in Judea merely

triggered His plan.

The ruins of Tell Hum,

now generally identified as the site of Capernaum, lie on the north

shore of the Lake. Borders of Zebulun And Naphtali: Capernaum

actually lay in the ancient tribal territory of Naphtali (Josh. 19:32f),

and near that of Zebulun (Josh. 19:lOf): however, these old boundary

lines had long ceased to divide the territories. Matthew uses these

lines to draw attention to the prophecy which finds fulfillment in

chis zone which roughly corresponds to Galilee, (Study the following

passages to appreciate the intimacy of Jesus’ connection with Capernaum,

that date from this move: Mt. 8:5; 11:23; 17:24; Mk. 1:21;

2:l; 9:33; Lk. 4:23, 31; 7:l; 10:15; Jn. 4:46; 6:17, 24, 59,)

Capernaum which is by the Sea.

11. GLADDENING GLORY GRANTED TO THOSE GROPING

IN GLOOM

4:14 that it might be fulfilled. Jesus’ beginning to evangelize

Galilee was not with the malicious intent to produce a mechanical

correspondence between His actions and the glorious prophetic predictions

concerning the age of the Messiah. Jesus came north, not to

fulfill messianic prophecy, but to save people. His move was prompted

by loving mercy, by personal familiarity with Galilee and its people,

and by events in Judea. As a result of His transfer to Galilee, the

-great messianic prediction of Isaiah 9: 1-7 was fulfilled. Jesus, the

Light of the world” (Jn. 1:9; 8:12) completely fulfilled the prophecy

as no prophet either before or after Him could have done. (Cf. Jn.

7:52 and Lk. 1:78, 79).

159

4: 14-16 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

Isaiah‘s intention was to present a well-grounded hope to these

provinces of Israel that, because of their geographical position as

buffer-states, had suffered the greatest affliction and spiritual degradation.

This people had suffered because of their false religious orientation

begun when J e r o b caused Israel to sin, because they corrupted

themselves by imitation of the practices of their more “civilized

neighbors, because they trusted false gods and the false hopes these

latter could offer, and because no complete return to whole-hearted

worship of the true God, Jehovah, ever came about. Add to this

religious tragedy the constant unrest that accompanies almost incessant

war with the Syrians and the Assyrians. To this situation Isaiah

addressed these words of hope. The geographic terms:

1. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali: see above on 4:13.

2. Toward the sea: (hdm thhrsih) may be translated, following

a Hebrew idiom contrary to Greek usage, “toward

the sea” (Arndt-Gingrich). Literally, it is “the road by the

sea” (Delitzsch, Isaiah, I, 244), and speaks of that tract of

land on the western shore of the Galilean Lake.

3. Beyond the Jordan: Perea, as viewed from the west side

of Jordan.

4. (ialilee of the Gentiles: see above on 4:12.

In Jewish thinking, the only fitting place for the beginning of the

glorious reign would be Judea with His capital at Jerusalem. The

concept of a Galilean Messiah was to them a self-contradiction. (See

Jn. 7:52. P 66 has the article “the,” thus making reference to “the

prophet” i.e. “the Messiah”.) Galilee was the last place on earth

a Jew of that period would choose for a similar purpose. The whole

area was, according to the opinion of “enlightened Jerusalem,” quite

“in the dark’ intellectually, morally and culturally. This latter was a

position based upon quite unjustified personal pride on the part of the

Judeans, whereas the language of Isaiah truly describes the actual

position of the Galileans: t h y sd in hkmss and k the re& md

shadow of death. The context of Isaiah (5:30; 8:21, 22) proves that

this sad plight was self-inflicted, indicating the greater need for light.

To Jesus, these were just good reasons why He should labor in Galilee!

While this passage is a graphic description of the conditions

among the Galileans, it may also describe all men who try to live

160

C H A P T E R FOUR 4: 16,17

without God. Compare Paul’s masterful analyses: Ro. 1:18-32; Eph.

Other passages which develop the theme of light and darkness:

Mr. 5:14-16; 623; Lk. 252; 8:16; ll:34-36; Jn, 1:4-9;

3:19-21; 8:12; 9 5 ; 11$, 10; 12:35, 36, 46; Ac. 2618, 23;

Ro. 2:19; I1 Cor. 6:14; Eph. 5:8, 13; I Th. 5:5; I Tim. 616;

Jas. 1:17; I Pet. 2:9; I Jn. 1:5, 7; 2:8-10; Rev. 22:5.

2:1-3; 4:17-19.

111, THE G~ST AND GENIUS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD

4:17 From that time is to be taken with reference to Jesus’

return to Galilee, Jesus now begins the thorough evangelization of

Galilee, Matthew cannot mean that He is beginning for the first

time to preach anywhere, for Jesus is just returning from Judea where

He taught and wrought miracles (Jn. 2 : 1 3 4 : 3 ) . Likewise, He

passed through Samaria (Jn. 4:4-45) where He openly declared Himself

to be the Messiah as well as where He accepted the open appraisal

of His teaching as those of “the Savior of the world” (Jn. 4:42).

Rather, Matthew intends only what he states: that when Jesus withdrew

into Galilee, from that time He began to preach in Galilee.

Prior to this time Jesus had not evangelized there; now He launches

His “Great Galilean Campaign,” Jesus’ fame as a preacher dates from

this campaign (Ac. 10:37), and His complete identification with

Galilee from this move (cf. Lk. 23:5-7; Jn. 7:41, 52).

Repent ye; for the kingdom’ of heaven is at hand.

This is certainly Matthew’s summary statement that boils down into a

very few words hours of preaching and teaching done in Galilee.

Yet, Matthew has not omitted anything essential:

1, With reference to God Himself, the GIST of His Government

is His unquestionable right to command repentance of sinful

I rebels. Objectively, the gist of His government, or kingdom,

is the inclination of men’s repentant hearts to do His will.

I (See on 3:15)

l

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2. ”he GENIUS of God’s Kingdom that corrects all the failures

of every human reign is the fact that it begins with the

willing choice of the subject to be entirely transformed by

His King, In God’s Kingdom there must be no unwilling

subjects.

Bill Turner:

 Dan, I had the first 3 volumes of Matthew by Fowler but was missing the last volume. I was pleasantly surprised to find it still available from college press new for $5! It just arrived last week. 

You do realize everyone who purchased that volume by subscription in the 1970's is a little jealous at the cheap deal you got. They were going for $20~$30 per volume (and that was 1970's dollars when gasoline was $1.00 a gallon!) 

I want to stress to those eyeing the Pre-Pub pricing that $229 is really a great deal for what we will be getting. Bill's super find of $5 for the one hardback is artificially low, and very fortunate for him.

 

Super Tramp:

Dan DeVilder:

Bill, I decided to copy some of his commentary,

Uh, wow, Dan..... I am glad you kept your cut & paste short for us netbook guys! 

 

yeah, ummmm, it was a tad long, eh?  But Jim found it helpful!  (or, he was just being nice . . . )