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(3) 4:1-11. He was prepared for His ministry by temptation. An expansion of Mar_1:12Mar_1:12, Mar_1:13
(M) 1. Then was Jesus led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.] Mk. has: “And straightway the spirit driveth Him into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan.”—ττ] For Mk.’s κὶεθς see on 3:16.—ὁἸσῦ ἀήθ—ὑὸτῦπεμτς For Mk.’s harsh τ πεμ ατνἐβλε, thus avoiding ἐβλεν a harsh word in this context, Lk. also has ἤεο Mt. substitutes a passive for Mk.’s active voice in 9:25, 14:11, 16:26, 18:8, 19:13, 24:22 (2), 26:57, 27:38, 28:6.—πιαθνι for Mt.’s emphasis on the divine purpose, see on 3:13. For the final infinitive, see Blass, p. 223. Mt. avoids Mk.’s repetition of “the wilderness.”—ὑὸτῦδαόο] So Lk.
(M) 2. And having fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterwards hungry.] Mk. has only the “forty days,” omitting the fasting and the hunger (which Lk. also has). But he has the obscure, “And he was with the wild beasts,” which Mt. omits. The verse reminds us of the fasting of Moses, Exo_34:28. For the form ἐενσ, see Blass, pp. 40, 47. Lk. has: “And He ate nothing in those days; and when they were accomplished He was hungry.” Vv. 3-10 are not in Mk. Lk. has a parallel narrative, but the temptations are in a different order, and the descriptive verses differ in phraseology. There is also less verbal agreement here in the dialogue than there is in 3:7-12 = Luk_3:7-17. As in that case the two Evangelists may have drawn from independent written or oral sources.
(X) 3. And the tempter came and said to Him, If thou art God’s Son, say that these stones become loaves.] Lk. has: “And the devil said to Him, If thou art God’s Son, say to this stone that it become a loaf.”—κὶποεθνεπν Lk. has επνδ. ποέχσα a favourite word in Mt. It occurs 52 times: in Mar_6, in Luk_10.—ὁπιάω] a reminiscence of Mk.’s πρζμνςυὸ θο] Cf. Dalm. Words, 274 ff.—ο λθι Lk. has the singular. For Mt.’s predilection for plurals, see on 8:26.
(X) 4. And He answered and said, It is written, Not upon bread alone shall man live, but upon every utterance that proceedeth through the mouth of God.] Lk. has: “And Jesus answered him, It is written that, Not upon bread alone shall man live.” The quotation is from Deu_8:3 in the language of the LXX. B has τ before ἐπρυμν, but A F Luc omit. In Deuteronomy the writer describes how the Israelites in their wanderings learned that natural products do not always suffice to support life. They were thus led to live in dependence on the creative word of God. Christ restates this principle as valid for Himself. He will rely upon God’s will for the necessities of life. The tempter implied that Sonship involved power to perform miracles. Christ neither affirms nor denies this, but replies that God, if it be His will, can provide food for His needs. Cf. Joh_4:34. For an earlier application of Deu_8:3, cf. Wisd. 16:26.
(X) 5. Then the devil taketh Him into the holy city, and placed Him upon the wing of the temple.] Lk. has: “And he led Him to Jerusalem, and planed Him upon the wing of the temple.”—τνἁίνπλν Cf. 27:53, Rev_11:2, 21:2, Rev_11:10, 22:19, Dan_9:24, To 13:9.—πεύιν For the diminutive form, see Blass, p. 63.—πρλμάε] The historic presents here and in the succeeding verses are striking; see Introduction, p. lx.
(X) 6. And he saith to Him, If Thou art God’s Son, cast Thyself down: for it is written, that His angels He charges concerning Thee: and upon (their) hands they shall bear Thee, lest Thou strike against a stone Thy foot.] Lk. has: “And he said to Him, If Thou art God’s Son, cast Thyself hence down. For it is written, that His angels He charges concerning Thee, to guard Thee; and that upon (their) hands they shall bear Thee, lest Thou dash against a stone Thy foot.” The quotation is from Psa_90:11, Psa_90:12. Mt omits τῦδαυάα σ ὲ (πσι) τῖ ὁοςσυ and Lk. omits ἐ (πσι) τῖ ὁοςσυ which would not have been suitable to this context.
(X) 7. Jesus said to him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.] Lk. has: “And Jesus answered and said to him that, It has been said,” etc. The quotation is from Deu_6:16 in the words of the LXX.
(X) 8. Again the devil taketh Him unto an exceeding high mountain, and showeth Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.] Lk. has: “And taking Him up, he showed Him all the kingdoms of the inhabited world in a moment of time.” Lk.’s ἀααώ is ambiguous, “into the air”? For Mt.’s mountain, cf. the mountain of the Sermon, 5:1; the mountain of Transfiguration, 17:1; and the mountain of Ascension, 28:16.
(X) 9. And said to Him, All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.] Lk. has: “And the devil said to Him, To Thee I will give all this authority and their glory: because to me it has been delivered; and to whomsoever I will, I give it. Thou, therefore, if Thou wilt worship before me, all shall be Thine.”
(X) 10. Then saith Jesus to him, Away, Satan: for it is written, The Lord thy God shah thou worship, and Him alone shah thou serve.] Lk. has: “And Jesus answered and said to him, It is written,” etc. The quotation comes from Deu_6:13. B has there φβθσ, and omits μν. But A has ποκνσι and μν1 a favourite word with Mt., generally takes a dative; cf. 2:2, 8, 11, 4:9, 8:2, 9:18, 14:33, 15:25, 18:26, 28:9.
(X) 11. Then the devil leaveth Him.] Lk. has: “And having accomplished every temptation, the devil departed from Him for a time.” Mt. now returns to Mar_1:12.
(M) And, behold, angels came and were ministering to Him.] Mk.has: “And the angels were ministering to Him.” For ττ, see on 2:7; for κὶἰο, 1:20; and for ποῆθν v. 3.
6. πρ σῦ S1 adds: “that they should keep thee,” assimilating to Lk.
8. τῦκσο] S1 “of this world.”
κὶτνδξνατν Omit S1.
9. S1 has: “And said to Him, These kingdoms and their glory Thou hast seen. To Thee will I give them, if,” etc.
10. ὂαε So אB C * al 1 f k. Add όίωμυC2 D al S2. S1has “behind.”
11. δάοο] S1 S2 add “for a time,” assimilating to Lk.
The three temptations are clearly symbolical. That is suggested at the outset by “was led by the Spirit,” an external representation of an inward experience. The first temptation was to put to the test His own consciousness of divine “Sonship.” The “Son of God” could change stones into loaves when necessity arose. In answer, Christ refuses thus to test His own convictions. He would act only as God willed. The second was a temptation to put God to the test. If the “Son of God” were in danger, God would protect Him. In answer, Christ appeals to Scripture for proof that such testing was forbidden. The third was a temptation to grasp at once and by one act the Messianic sovereignty of the world, which His consciousness of Messiahship led Him to expect in the future. For answer, Christ finally dismisses (ὕαεΣτν) the tempter. The service of God to which He was pledged forbade the premature hastening of events by methods which involved rebellion against God’s will. Lk. has the last two temptations in the reverse order, and consequently no ὕαεΣτν. His arrangement avoids the double change of scene which is found in Mt.—desert to Jerusalem, Jerusalem to a high mountain. On the other hand, Mt.’s arrangement is probably due to his belief that the offer of universal monarchy formed the fitting climax to the series. By inserting the mountain, the editor may have intended to draw a contrast between the mountain upon which Christ refused Messianic power with that other mountain (28:16) upon which at a later period He told His disciples that all power was given to Him in heaven and upon earth. It seems probable that the three temptations are artificially connected with Mk.’s brief statement (1:12, 13), where the whole scene takes place in the wilderness. “He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted.” There He was with the beasts, and there presumably angels ministered to Him. But in Mt., after the first temptation, we leave the wilderness, and the ministration of angels presumably took place on the high mountain.
C.—4:12-15:20. MINISTRY IN GALILEE = Mar_1:14-23
(1) 12-17. Appearance in Galilee. From Mar_1:14Mar_1:14, Mar_1:15
(M) 12, 13. And when He heard that John was delivered up, He departed into Galilee. And having left Nazara, He came and settled at Capḥ, which is on the lake, in the districts of Zabulon and Naphtali.] Mk. has: “And after that John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee.” For ἀοσς cf. 14:13, a second occasion on which Christ’s movements were conditioned by tidings of the Baptist.—ἀεώηε] See on 2:12.—ἐθνκτκσνεςΚφραύ] The editor anticipates the arrival at Capharnaum from Mar_1:23, because he wishes to make it the subject of a fulfilment of prophecy.—τνπρθλσίν Capharnaum, whether identified with Tell Ḥm or Khâ Minyeh (see Sanday, Sacred Sites, 36 ff.), being on the shore of the lake.—ἐ ὁίι Ζβυὼ κὶΝφαεμ This geographical note is necessary to explain the bearing of the following quotation:
(O) 14. In order that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying.] For the formula, see on 1:22. The quotation comes from Isa_9:1, Isa_9:2.
(O) 15. Land of Zebulon, land of Naphtali, way of the sea, over Jordan, Galilee of the nations.]
(O) 16. The people which (was) sitting in darkness saw a great light. And for those sitting in a region and shadow of death, light rose for them.] The editor seems to be quoting a Greek version, otherwise he would hardly have rendered דךby the accusative ὁό. In the original it is the object of a verb; but Mt., who wrests the words from the context and omits the verbs, would, if translating from the Hebrew, have rendered ὁό just as he has given us γ, not γν ὁό can only be due to careless copying from a version before him. This version was not the LXX., which differs a good deal from Mt.’s rendering. B of the LXX. has not ὁὸ θλση but these words stand in LXX. אo a A Q, and were found in Aquila and Theodotion. Mt. presumably had before him a Greek version which was either different from the LXX., or was an early form of the LXX., containing ὁὸ θλση In the latter case he has adapted the verbs to suit his context. We need not inquire as to the exact signification of the geographical terms in the original. The editor tears the words from their context, because he saw in them a prophecy of the fact that Christ went to Galilee to begin His ministry, and settled for that purpose at Capharnaum, which became from henceforth His headquarters. Isaiah had spoken of Galilee (Γλλί τνἐνν He had also spoken of ὁὸ θλση, and Capharnaum was πρθλσί. Isaiah had spoken also of Zebulon and Naphtali, and Capharnaum was in the territory of these tribes. The prophet had said of these places that their inhabitants should see a great light. When Christ began His work amongst them this was fulfilled. Whatever, therefore, may have been the original signification of דךהם or of its Greek equivalent ὁὸ θλση, it is hardly possible to doubt that Mt. had in mind when he copied the words the lake of Galilee, and described Capharnaum as τνπρθλσίνto make his meaning clear.
Γ Ζβυὼ κὶγ Νφαεμ LXX. has χρ Ζβυὼ ἡγ Νφαεμ—ὁὸ θλση] See above.—πρντῦἸράο] So LXX., the usual equivalent of ערהרן—Γλλί τνἐνν So LXX.—ὁλὸ ὁκθμνςἐ σόε] LXX. B has πρυμνςafter the Heb., but A κθμνςεδ φςμγ] LXX. ἴεεB, εδτ א Γ εδ אc.—κὶτῖ κθμνι] LXX. ο κτιονε.—ἐ χρ κὶσι θντυ So LXX. (om. κίB א—φςἀέελνατ͂ς LXX.: φςλμε ἐʼὑᾶ
(M) 17. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Regent: for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand.] Mk. has κρσω τ εαγλο τῦθο, κὶλγνὅιΠπήωα ὁκιὸ κὶἤγκνἡβσλί τῦθο Μτνετ κὶπσεεεἐ τ εαγλῳἀὸττ] The editor contrasts this early period of the preaching of the kingdom with a later preaching of His death and resurrection; cf. 16:21, and abbreviates the statement of the contents of Christ’s preaching. For his habit of retaining only one of Mk.’s many double expressions of an idea or fact, see Introduction, p. xxiv. He has already assimilated the statement of the contents of the Baptist’s preaching to this verse, cf. 3:2.
13. Κφραύ] So אB D Z 33 latt.—Νζρ] אb B * X Z 33 k Orig. Νζρθ א D al
16. ἐ χρ κὶσι] S1 has: “in sorrow and in the shadow of death”; S2 “in the shadows of death.”
17.μτνετ] Om. S1 S2 k Blass.
(2) 18-22. The calling of four disciples. From Mar_1:16-20Mar_1:16-20
(M) 18. And walking by the sea of Galilee, He saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishermen.] Mk. has: “And passing by the sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting in the sea: for they were fishermen.”
πρπτνδ] for Mk.’s κὶπργν Mt. prefers the construction with δ, and avoids Mk.’s iteration of the same pronoun πργνπρ, cf. 17:18, 24:1. He inserts δοἀεφύ and τνλγμννΠτο, and substitutes ατῦfor the tautologous Σμνς Σμνis a Greek name substituted for the Hebrew Symeon. It occurs in Ecclus 50:1, Josephus, and the N.T., and is a common Greek name; see Pape, Wö der griech. Eigennamen; and Deissm. Bib. Stud. p. 315.
Ἀδές is a not uncommon Greek name. It occurs of a Jew in an Olympian inscription of b.c. 169, Ditt. Syll. 301. 5. Mt. substitutes βλοτςἀφβητο for Mk.’s vaguer ἀφβλοτς which is used absolutely here only. The subst. άφβλύ = a fisherman, occurs in Isa_19:8.—ἦα γρἁιῖ] For the occurrence of this clause in Mt. and Mk. as a proof of dependence of one Gospel on the other, see Hor. Syn. p. 43. ἁιύ occurs from Homer downwards. For the first cent. a.d., cf. Ox. Pap. II. 294, 6.
(M) 19. And He saith to them, Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.] Mk. has: “And Jesus said to them, Come after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.” Mt. omits γνσα as superfluous. For ὀίωas a preposition, see Blass, p. 129.—δῦεὀίω is Semitic.
(M) 20. And they immediately left the nets and followed Him.] Mk. has; “And immediately they left the nets and followed Him.” Mt. substitutes ο δ for Mk.’s κί See on v. 18, and Introduction, p. xx.
(M) 21. And going forward thence, He saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. And He called them.] Mk. has: “And going forward a little, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, these also in the boat mending the nets.” Mt. inserts ἐεθν which occurs 12 times in this Gospel, 5 in Mk., 3 in Lk., 2 in Jn. He inserts also ἄλυ δοἀεφύ, as in v. 18, and omits Mk.’s Semitic κὶατύ. He adds “with Zebedee their father” by anticipation from the next verse of Mk., and “their” after “nets.”
(M) 22. And they immediately left the boat and their father, and followed Him.] Mk. has: “And they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.” Mt. substitutes ο δ for κίas in v. 20, and ἠοοθσνατ for ἀῆθνὀίωατῦ
(3) Illustrations of His teaching and work, 4:23-9:34
(a) Anticipatory sketch, 4:23-25
23-25. The editor now comes to Mar_1:21-22. He has already (4:13) spoken of the entry into Capharnaum, and therefore omits it here. Mar_1:21, b speaks of teaching in the synagogue. But here the editor wishes to develop his scheme of giving illustrations of Christ’s teaching and work in successive sections. He therefore inserts at this point an introductory sketch of Christ’s activity in these two respects, 4:23-25. The teaching in the synagogue at Capharnaum becomes a synagogal teaching throughout the country, and a summary of Christ’s work of healing is added.
(E) And Jesus passed through the whole of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. And the rumour about Him went into all Syria: and they brought to Him all who were in evil plight, holden with manifold sicknesses and torments, demoniacs, and lunatics, and paralytics; and He healed them. And there followed Him many multitudes from Galilee, and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and beyond, Jordan.]
The phraseology of this editorial summary is largely borrowed from Mk.
For κὶπρῆε—δδσω, cf. Mar_6:6 κὶπρῆεδδσω; for ἐ ὅῃτ Γλλί, Mar_1:39 εςὅη τνΓλλίν for κρσω τ εαγλο, Mar_1:14; for ἀῆθνἡἀο ατῦεςὅη τνΣρα, Mar_1:28 ἐῆθ δ ἡἀο ατῦεθςπναο εςὅη τνπρχρν for ποήεκνατ πνα τὺ κκςἔοτς Mar_1:32 ἔεο πὸ ατνπνα τὺ κκςἔοτς for πιίαςνσι—κὶἐεάεσνατύ, Mar_1:34 κὶἐεάεσνπιίαςνσι; for διοιοέος Mar_1:32; for ἠοοθσνατ ὄλιπλο, Mar_5:24 ἠοοθιατ ὄλςπλς cf. Mar_3:7; for Δκπλς Mar_5:20, Mar_5:7:31; for ἸρσλμνκὶἸυαα κὶπρντῦἸράο, Mar_3:8.
(E) 23. τ εαγλο τςβσλίς i.e. the good news that the kingdom was near, cf. v. 17. εαγλο in Cl. Gk. is the reward given to a bearer of good news. So in 2Sa_4:10. In later writers it means, as here, the good news itself. So in Lucian, Plutarch.—μλκα only in Mt. amongst New Testament writers, cf. 9:35, 10:1.—σνγγῖ] For the history of the synagogues, see Schü 11. ii, 52 ff.
(E) 24. Σρα never occurs in Mk.—σνχμι in this sense only here and in Lk. and Acts amongst the New Testament writers.—βσνςof disease only here.—βσνι σνχμο] occurs in a different sense in 4 Mac 15:32.—διοίεθι in this sense only in late writers.—πρλτκς a New Testament word, Mt. and Mk. Lk. (5:18, 24) and twice in Acts has πρλλμνςσλναοέο] i.e. epileptic, again in 17:15; a late and rare word.—κὶἐεάεσνατύ D a b c g1 h have κὶπνα ἐεάεσνCf. 8:16, 12:15, 14:36.
(E) 25. ὄλιπλο] the plural is characteristic of Mt. He has the plural ὄλιabout 30 times, the singular 16 times. Mk. has the singular about 37 times, the plural once.1. In Lk. the numbers are more equally balanced.
Δκπλω] occurs twice in Mk. For its history, see Schü II. i, 94; DB., art. “Decapolis.”
Ἰρσλμν is here treated as a neuter plural. In 2:3 it is fem. sing. The aspirated form is apparently due to association with ἱρς Cf. West. and Hort, Introduction2, p. 313; Blass, p. 31. Mk. and Mt. (except in 23:37) always have this form. Cf. Blass, p. 31.—πρντῦἸράο] is the עברחירדֵ the Mishna, and the Peræ of Josephus. For its extent, see Schü 11. i. 3, 4; DB., art. “Peræ”
The reason why the editor now gives his illustration of Christ’s teaching before that of His work is probably to be found in the next verse of Mk., viz. 1:22, which describes the effect of Christ’s preaching. He therefore here inserts the Sermon on the mountain, 5-7:27, and closes it with this verse from Mar_1:22 = Mat_7:27, Mat_7:28.
M the Second Gospel.
X passages in which Mt. and Lk. agree closely, borrowed from an unknown source or sources.
Dalm. Dalman.
LXX. The Septuagint Version.
1 The editor (or his source) either had ποκνσι (rather than φβθσ = Heb. חר) in his copy of the LXX., or has substituted it for φβθσ to emphasize the antithesis with ποκνσςof v. 5. Cf. Introduction, p. xxxi.
S Syriac version: Sinaitic MS.
al i.e. with other uncial MSS.
S Syriac version: Curetonian.
O quotations from the Old Testament borrowed from a collection of Messianic prophecies. See pp.61 f.
Deissm. Deissmann.
Ditt. Dittenberger Sylloge.
Hor. Syn. HorœSynopticœ (Hawkins).
Ox. Pap. Oxyrhynchus Papyri.
E editorial passages.
1 10:l, but D S1 latt have the singular also here
DB. Dictionary of the Bible (Hastings).
2 On the Sermon on the Mount, see especially the article of Votaw in DB., Extra Volume, pp. 1ff.