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CHAPTER IV.

Christ's fast and temptations in the wilderness, 1-11. Jesus dwells at Capernaum, 12-16. Jesus begins to preach, and calls certain disciples, 18-22. Christ's preaching and mira

cles in Galilee.

TH
HEN was Jesus led up of1 the
Spirit into the wilderness to
be tempted of the devil.

11 Kin. xviii. 12. Ezek. xi. 1, 24. Acts viii. 39. Mark i. 12. Luke iv. 1.

tism by his personal presence. And it is proper that we, for whom he came, should give to him our undivided affections, our time, our influence, our hearts, and our lives.

CHAPTER IV.

1,2. The wilderness. See Note, Matt. iii. 1. The Spirit. Luke says, ch. iv. 1, that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. It was by his influence, therefore, that Christ went into the desert. To be tempted. The word to tempt, in the original, means to try, to endeavour, to attempt to do a thing; then, to try the nature of a thing, as metals by fire; then to test moral qualities by trying them, to see how they will endure; then, to endeavour to draw men away from virtue by suggesting motives of evil. This is the meaning here, and this is now the established meaning of the word in the English language. The devil. This word originally means an adversary, or an accuser; thence any one opposed; thence an enemy of any kind. It is given in the scriptures, by way of eminence, to the leader of evil angels-a being characterized as full of subtlety, envy, art, and hatred of mankind. He is known, also, by the name of Satan, Job i. 6-12; Matt. xii. 26. Beelzebub, Matt. xii. 24. The old serpent, Rev. xii. 9; and the Prince of the power of the air, Eph. ii. 2. The name is sometimes given to men and women, 2 Tim. iii. 3. Truce-breakers, slanderers in the onginal, devils, 1 Tim. iii. 11. So must their wives be grave, not slanderers-in the original, devils.

2. Had fasted. Abstained from food. Forty days and nights. It has been questioned by some whether Christ abstained wholly from food, or only from bread, and the food to which he was accustomed. Luke says, ch. iv. 2, that he ate nothing. This settles the question.

2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4 But he answered and said, It is written,3 Man shall not live by

Deut. viii. 3.

Mark says, ch. i. 13, that angels came and ministered unto him. At first view this would seem to imply that he did eat during that time. But Mark does not mention the time when the angels performed the office of kindness, and we are at liberty to suppose that he meant to say that it was done at the close of the forty days; and the rather as Matthew, after giving an account of the temptation, says the same thing. There are other instances of persons fasting forty days, recorded in the scriptures. Thus Moses fasted forty days, Exod. xxxiv. 28. Elijah, also, fasted the same length of time, 1 Kin. xix. 8. In these cases they were no doubt miraculously supported.

He

3. The tempter. The devil, or Satan. See ver. 1. If thou be the Son of God. If thou art the Messiah-if God's own Son-then thou hast power to work a miracle, and here is a fit opportunity to try thy power, and show that thou art truly his Son. Command that these stones, &c. The stones that were lying around him in the wilderness. No temptation could have been more plausible, or more likely to succeed, than this. had just been declared to be the Son of God, ch. iii. 17, and here was an opportunity to show that he was really so. The circumstances were such as to make it appear plausible and proper to work this miracle. Here you are,' was the language of Satan, hungry, cast out, alone, needy, poor, and yet the Son of God! If you have this power, how easy could you satisfy your wants! How foolish is it, then, for the Son of God, having all power, to be starving in this manner, when by a word he could show his power, and relieve his wants, and when in the thing itself there could be nothing wrong!'

4. But he answered and said, &c. In

bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

1 Ch. xiv. 16-21. Exod. xvi. 4—8. 1 Kin. xvii. 1-7. Or, by everything which God is pleased to appoint.

reply to this artful temptation, Christ answered by a quotation from the Old Testament. The place is found in Deut. viii. 3. In that place the discourse is respecting manna. Moses says that the Lord humbled the people, and fed them with manna, an unusual kind of food, that they might learn that man did not live by bread only, but that there were other things to support life, and that every thing which God had commanded was proper for this. The term word, used in this place, means very often, in Hebrew, thing, and clearly in this place it has that meaning. Neither Moses nor our Saviour had any reference to spiritual | food, or to the doctrines necessary to support the faith of believers; but they simply meant that God could support life by other things than bread; that man was to live, not by that only, but by every other thing which proceeded out of his mouth; that is, which he chose to command men to eat. The substance of his answer, then, is: It is not so imperiously necessary that I should have bread, as to make a miracle proper to procure it. Life depends on the will of God. He can support it in other ways, as well as by bread. He has created other things to be eaten, and man may live by every thing that his Maker has commanded. And from this temptation we may learn, 1. That Satan often takes advantage of our circumstances and wants to tempt us. The poor, and hungry, and naked, he often tempts to repine and complain, and to be dishonest in order to supply their necessities. 2. Satan's temptations are often the strongest immediately after we have been remarkably favoured. Jesus had just been called the Son of God, and Satan took this opportunity to try him. He often attempts to fill us with pride and vain selfconceit, when we have been favoured with any peace of mind, or any new view of God, and endeavours to urge us to do something which may bring us low and lead us to sin. 3. His temptations are

5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city,3 and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6 And saith unto him, If thou Ch. xxvii. 53; Neh. xi. 1.

plausible. They often seem only urging us to do what is good and proper. They seem even to urge us to promote the glory of God, and to honour him. We are not to think, therefore, that because a thing may seem to be good in itself, that therefore it is to be done. Some of Satan's most powerful temptations are when he seems to be urging us to do what shall be for the glory of God. 4. We are to meet the temptations of Satan, as the Saviour did, with the plain and positive declarations of scripture. We are to inquire whether the thing is commanded, and whether, therefore, it is right to do it, and not trust to our own feelings, or even our wishes, in the matter.

5. Taketh him up. This does not mean that he bore him through the air, or that he compelled him to go against his will, or that he wrought a miracle, in any way, to place him there. There is no evidence that Satan had power to do any of these things; and the word translated taketh him up does not imply any such thing. It means to conduct one; to lead one; to attend or accompany one; or to induce one to go. It is used in the following places in the same sense. Num. xxiii. 14: "And he, Balak, brought him, Balaam, into the field of Tophim," &c.; that is, he led him, or induced him to go there. Matt. xvii. 1: "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James," &c.; i. e. led, or conducted them-not by any means implying that he bore them by force. Matt. xx. 17: "Jesus, going to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart," &c. See also Matt. xxvi. 37; xxvii. 27. Mark v. 40. From these passages, and many more, it appears that all that is meant here is, that Satan conducted Jesus, or accompanied him; but not that this was done against the will of Jesus. ¶ The holy city. Jerusalem, called holy because the temple was there, and it was the place of religious solemnities. Setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple. It is not perfectly certain to what part of the temple

be the Son of God, cast thyself down for it is written,1 He shall give his angels charge concerning thee and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

1 Psa. xcl. 11, 12.

the sacred writer here refers. It has been supposed by some that he means the roof. But Josephus says that the roof was covered by spikes of gold, to prevent its being polluted by birds; and such a place would have been very inconvenient to stand upon. Others suppose that it was the top of the porch or entrance to the temple. But it is more than probable that the porch leading to the temple was not so high as the main building. It is more probable that he refers to a part of the sacred edifice sometimes called Solomon's porch. The temple was built on the top of mount Moriah; and, together with its courts and porches, occupied a large space of ground. See Note, Matt. xxi. 12. To secure a level spot sufficiently large, it was necessary to put up a high wall on the east. The temple was surrounded with porches or piazzas fifty-five feet broad, and seventy-five high. The porch on the south side was, however, sixty-seven feet broad, and one hundred and fifty high. From the top of this to the bottom of the valley below was more than seven hundred feet, and Josephus says that one could scarcely look down without dizziness. The word pinnacle does not quite express the force of the original, which uses a word given usually to birds, denoting wings, or any thing in the form of wings. The name was given to the roof of this porch because it resembled a bird dropping its wings. It was on this place, doubtless, that Christ was placed.

Satan proposed that he should cast himself down thence; and if he was the Son of God, he said it could do no harm. There was a promise that he should be protected. This promise was taken from Psa. xci. 11, 12.

To this passage of scripture Christ replied with another, which forbade the act. | This is taken from Deut. vi. 16; "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." That is, thou shalt not try him; or, thou shalt

7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms

Deut. vi. 16.

not, by throwing thyself into voluntary and uncommanded dangers, appeal to God for protection, or trifle with the promises made by those who are thrown into danger by his providence. It is true, indeed, that God aids those of his people who are placed by him in trial or danger; but it is not true that the promise was meant to extend to those who wantonly provoke him, and trifle with the promised help. Thus Satan, artfully using and perverting scripture, was met and repelled by scripture rightly applied.

8. An exceeding high mountain. It is not known what mountain this was. It was probably some elevated place in the vicinity of Jerusalem, on the top of which could be seen no small part of the land of Palestine. The Abbé Mariti speaks of a mountain on which he was, which answers to the description here. "This part of the mountain," says he, "overlooks the mountains of Arabia, the country of Gilead, the country of the Amorites, the plains of Moab, the plains of Jericho, the river Jordan, and the whole extent of the Dead Sea." So Moses, before he died, went up into mount Nebo, and from it God showed him "all the land of Gilead unto Dan, and all Naphthali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, and the city of palm trees, unto Zoar." Deut. xxxiv. 1-3. This shows that there were mountains from which no small part of the land of Canaan could be seen; and we must not suppose that there was any miracle when it was shown to the Saviour. the kingdoms of the world. It is not probable that anything more here is intended than the kingdoms of Palestine, or the land of Canaan, and those in the immediate vicinity. Judea was divided into three parts, and those parts were called kingdoms; and the sons of Herod, who presided over them, were called

All

written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

of the world, and the glory of them; | 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10 Then saith Jesus unto him,1 Get thee hence, Satan: for it is

1 Ch. xvi. 23. Jas. iv. 7. 1 Pet. v. 9.

kings. The term world is often used in this limited scale to denote a part, or a large part of the world, particularly the Land of Canaan. See Rom. iv. 13, where it means the land of Judah; also Luke ii. 1, and the Note on that place. The glory of them. The riches, splendour, towns, cities, mountains, &c. of this beautiful land.

9. All these things, &c. All these kingdoms. All these dominions Satan e aimed a right to bestow on whom he pleased, and with considerable justice. They were excessively wicked; and with no small degree of plausibility, therefore, be asserted his claim to give them away. This temptation had much plausibility. Satan regarded Jesus as the king of the Jews. As the Messiah, he supposed he had come to take possession of all that country. He was poor, and unarmed, and without followers or armies. Satan proposed to put him in possession of it at once, without any difficulty, if he would acknowledge him as the proper lord and disposer of that country; if he would trast to him rather than to God. Worship me. See Note on Matt. ii. 2. The word here seems to mean, to acknowledge Satan as having a right to give these kingdoms to him; to acknowledge his dependence on him rather than God; that is, really to render religious homage. We may be surprised at his boldness. But he had been twice foiled. He supposed it was an object dear to the heart of the Messiah to obtain these kingdoms. He claimed a right over them; and he seemed not to be asking too much, if he gave them to Jesus, that Jesus should be willing to acknowledge the gift, and express gratitude for it. So plausible are Satan's temptations, even when they are blasphemous; and so artfully does he present his allurements to the mind.

10. Get thee hence. These temptations, and this one especially, our Saviour met with a decided rebuke. This was a

11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels3 came and mimistered unto him.

* Deut. vi. 13. 1 Sam. vii. 3. 3 Heb. i. 6, 14. bolder attack than any which had been offered. Others had been but an address to his necessities, and an offer of the protection of God in great danger; in both cases plausible, and in neither a direct violation of the law of God. Here was a higher attempt, a more decided and deadly thrust at the piety of the Saviour. It was a proposition that the Son of God should worship the devil, instead of honouring and adoring Him who made heaven and earth; that he should bow down before the prince of wickedness and give him homage. It is written. In Deut. vi. 13. Satan asked him to worship him. This was expressly forbidden. And Jesus therefore drove him from his presence.

11. The devil leaveth him. The devil left him for a time; Luke iv. 13. He intended to return again to the temptation, and if possible to seduce him yet from God. The angels came and ministered. See Matt. i. 20. They came and supplied his wants, and comforted him. From the whole of this we may learn,

1. That no one is so holy as to be free from temptation; for the pure Son of God was sorely tempted by the devil.

2. That when God permits a temptation or trial to come upon us, he will, if we look to him, give us grace to resist and overcome it. 1 Cor. x. 13.

3. We see the art of the tempter. His temptations are adapted to times and circumstances. They are plausible. What could have been more plausible than his suggestions to Christ? They were applicable to his circumstances. They had the appearance of much piety. They were backed by passages of scripture misapplied, but still most artfully presented.

He never comes boldly and tempts men to sin, telling them that they are committing sin. Such a mode would defeat his design. It would put people on their guard. He commences, there

12 ¶ Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast1 into prison, he departed into Galilee;

13 And leaving 2 Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, 1 Or, delivered up. Luke iv. 30, 31. fore, artfully, plausibly, and the real purpose does not appear till he has prepared the mind for it. This is the way with all temptation. No wicked man would at once tempt another to be profane, to be drunk, to be an infidel, or to commit adultery. The principles are first corrupted. The confidence is secured. The affections are won. And then the allurement is by little and little presented, till the victim falls. How should every one be on his guard at the very first appearance of evil, at the first suggestion that may possibly lead to evil!

4. One of the best ways of meeting temptation is by applying scripture. So our Saviour did, and they will always best succeed who best wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Eph. vi. 17.

which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nepthalim:

14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet,3 saying,

Ch. xvii. 24-27. John vi. 17, 24. Isa. ix. 1, 2.

See Luke iv. 14—30. ¶ Came and dwelt in Capernaum. This was a city on the north-west corner of the sea of Tiberias. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament, but it repeatedly occurs in the gospels. Though it was once a city of renown, and the metropolis of all Galilee, the site it occupied is now uncertain. When Mr. Fisk, an American missionary, travelled in Syria in 1823, he found twenty or thirty uninhabited Arab huts, occupying what are supposed to be the ruins of the once exalted city of Capernaum.

In this place, and its neighbourhood, Jesus spent no small part of the three years of his public ministry. It is hence called his own city. Matt. ix. 1. Here he healed the nobleman's son, John iv. 37; Peter's wife's mother, Matt. viii. 14; the centurion's servant, Matt. viii. 13; and the ruler's daughter, Matt. ix. 23— 25.¶Upon the sea coast. The sea of Tiberias. ¶ In the borders of Zebulon and Nephthalim. These were two tribes of the children of Israel which were located in this part of the land of Canaan, and constituted in the time of Christ a part of Galilee. Compare Gen. xlix. 13. Josh. xix. 10-16, 32-39. The word borders here means boundaries. Jesus came and dwelt in the boundaries or regions of Zebulon and Naphthali.

12. John was cast into prison. For an account of the imprisonment of John, see Matt. xiv. 1-13. ¶ He departed into Galilee. See Matt. ii. 22. The reasons why Jesus went into Galilee were, probably, not that he might avoid danger, for he went directly into the dominions of Herod, and Jesus had nothing in particular to fear from Herod, as he had given him no cause of offence, but, 1. Because the attention of the people had been much excited by John's preaching, and it was more favourable for his own 14-16. That it might be fulfilled, &c. ministry. 2. It seemed desirable to have This place is recorded in Isa. ix. 1, 2. some one to second John in the work of Matthew has given the sense, but not reformation. 3. It was less dangerous the very words of the prophet. ¶ By for him to commence his labours there the way of the sea. Which is near to than near Jerusalem. Judea was under the sea, or in the vicinity of the sea. the dominion of the scribes, and Pharisees, Beyond Jordan. This does not mean and priests. They would naturally look with envy on any one who set up for a public teacher, and who should attract much attention there. It was important, therefore, that the work of Jesus should begin in Galilee, and become somewhat established and known before he went to Jerusalem.

13. Leaving Nazareth. Because his townsmen cast him out, and rejected him.

to the east of Jordan, as the phrase sometimes denotes, but rather in the vicinity of the Jordan, or perhaps in the vicinity of the sources of the Jordan. See Deut. i. 1; iv. 49. ¶ Galilee of the Gentiles. Galilee was divided into upper and lower Galilee. Upper Galilee was called Galilee of the Gentiles, because it was occupied chiefly by Gentiles. It was in the neighbourhood of Tyre, Sidon, &c. The

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