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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 4
Verse Commentaries:
Chapter Level Commentary:
in Galilee
(Mat_4:15-16)
as Disciples
Fishermen
READING CYCLE THREE (from "hyperlink")
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Third paragraph
4. Etc.
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS TO Mat_4:1-25
A. It is extremely significant that immediately following God's affirmation of the Messianic Sonship of Jesus, the Spirit "drives" Jesus into the desert to be tempted (cf. Mar_1:12). Temptation was in the will of God for the Son. Temptation can be defined as the enticement of a God-given desire beyond God-given bounds. Temptation is not a sin. This temptation was initiated by God. The agent was Satan (cf. 2Ki_22:13-20; Job 1-2; Zechariah 3).
B. It is also significant that in this chapter an Israel/Christ typology is developed. Jesus is seen as the "Ideal Israelite" who fulfills the task which the nation was originally given (cf. Isa_41:8-9; Isa_42:1; Isa_42:19; Isa_43:10). Both are called " Son" (cf. Hos_11:1). This explains some of the ambiguity which is found in the Servant Songs of Isaiah 41-53 in the shift from the plural to the singular (Isa_52:13-15 in the LXX). This Israel/Christ typology is similar to the Adam/Christ typology found in Rom_5:12-21.
C. Could Christ really have sinned? This is really the mystery of the two natures of Christ. The temptation was real. Jesus, in His human nature, could have violated the will of God. This was not a puppet show. Jesus is truly human though without a fallen nature (cf. Heb_4:15; Heb_7:26). In this respect He was like Adam. We see this same human nature in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed three times for another way of redemption other than the cross (cf. Mat_26:36-46; Mar_14:32-42). This tendency is the essence of each one of Satan's temptations in Matthew 4. How will Jesus use His Messianic gifts to redeem mankind? Any way other than substitutionary atonement was the temptation!
D. Jesus must have told this experience to His disciples later because He was alone in the desert. This implies that this account not only teaches us about Christ's temptation, but also helps us in our temptations.
E. It must be remembered that the Bible is not a chronological, cause and effect, western history. Near Eastern history is selective, but not inaccurate. The Gospels are not biographies but gospel tracts written to different groups of people for the purpose of evangelism and discipleship, not just history. Often Gospel writers selected, adapted, and arranged the material for their own theological and literary purposes (cf. Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart's How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, pp. 94-112, 113-134). There are several good illustrations of Matthew's tendencies to structure his Gospel.
1. He puts Jesus' teachings together in one sermon (Matthew 5-7), as he does His miracles and parables.
2. He has a numerical propensity for (cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 657)
a. threes
(1) three temptations, Mat_4:1-11
(2) three acts of Jewish righteousness, Mat_6:1-18
(3) three healings, Mat_8:1-15
(4) three "fear nots," Mat_10:26; Mat_10:28; Mat_10:31
(5) three days, Mat_12:40
(6) three questions, Mat_22:15-40
(7) three prayers of Jesus to the Father while in Gethsemane, Mat_26:39-44
(8) three days to rebuild the temple, Mat_27:40 (#5)
(9) Jesus will rise in three days, Mat_27:63 (#5,8)
b. sevens
(1) demons, Mat_12:45
(2) loaves, Mat_15:34; Mat_15:36
(3) baskets, Mat_15:37
(4) forgiveness to a brother, Mat_18:21-22 (seven, seventy-times seven)
(5) seven brothers, Mat_22:25
(6) seven woes, Mat_23:13; Mat_23:15-16; Mat_23:23; Mat_23:25; Mat_23:27; Mat_23:29
Mark (the first written Gospel, used by Matthew and Luke) has "seven" for #2, #3, and #5, which shows the number was not a structure unique to Matthew. It is difficult to know what was part of the tradition and what part Matthew's propensity for these numbers caused his structure.
This does not mean to imply the Gospel writers falsified or made up events or words. The differences in the Gospels does not deny inspiration. It affirms eyewitness accounts.
F. The parallels of Jesus' temptations are found in Mar_1:12-13 and Luk_4:1-13.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. What was the purpose of Jesus' temptation?
2. Who is the devil and what is his purpose?
3. Were these temptations psychological, physical or visionary?
4. Why do the Gospels emphasize the Galilean ministry of Jesus?
5. When Jesus called the disciples, had they met or heard Him before that time?
6. Does the New Testament make a distinction between demon possession and physical illness? If so, why?