Matthew Chapter 4 "Jesus Christ's Temptation; Beginning of Ministry." This Bible
Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location is provided by http://www.theseason.org/plough.htm The Messiah has been baptized, and anointed and is going to begin His ministry. Note where His ministry begins, and that immediately He went into the wilderness for this temptation. The first message that Jesus gave was to Satan himself. When your ministry begins, it's better that you come out ready to take on the enemy right at the first. Matthew 4:1 "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." It was intended that Jesus would be tempted right from the start. Following the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it was the Holy Spirit that led Him to the area of temptation. Why would this be? Because Christ is setting the example for you to what you will face when you repent and are saved. Upon your repentance is not when your temptations are over, but the start of the most fierce spiritual battles that you will face. Sometimes you will falter, miss the mark and yield to those temptations, and fall short. So we see that the first thing that Jesus shows us, in our walk as a Christian, is that the strongest temptations will come in the beginning. Just like Jesus had the victory over Satan, so also you can have victory over Satan, and this chapter is the demonstration showing us how we also will have victory over Satan's temptation. Matthew 4:2 "And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungered." Fasting forty days would put the flesh in a very weak condition, it would give the advantage to Satan' over the flesh. There were probably many other temptations that came to Jesus, but those named here are most likely the strongest, and the ones we are to learn. The first Adam was tempted in the garden, while this second Adam was tempted in the wilderness. The first Adam fell to temptation, while the second Adam stood against all the temptations Satan sent His way. The first Adam brought sin into the world, while the second Adam brought victory over Satan, and eternal life back to man. In I Corinthians 15:45-48 tells of this. "And so it is written, "The first man Adam was made a living soul;" the last Adam was made a quickening spirit." [45] The term "quickening spirit", means living spirit. "Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. [46] The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. [47] As is the earth, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly." [48] When we believe in Jesus Christ, and are baptized into the new life, the Spirit of God quickens us, puts a new life in us, and that life is a Heavenly life, which is a spiritual life. Matthew 4:3 "And when the tempter came to Him, he said," If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." The tempter, Satan is very wise, and notice that Satan will use the scripture in his attack on you. He knows the Bible more then you will ever; and this is why we must study, and go back to it when under spiritual attack. Satan loves the Scripture, but are you wise enough to know what he does with the Scripture. The Kenites are also are great twisters of the truth. God warns us in that in these latter days, "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ [claiming to be carrying a message from God]; and shall deceive many." Matthew 24:4, 5 Today the truth from God's word is presented in such a fashion that it sounds so good, but in many cases it is twisted to the point of becoming a lie. People are placing their eternal life on the words of these deceivers, and in the end, God will turn them to be turned over to the Antichrist. They have allowed themselves to be deceived. Watch and learn from the example given here by Jesus Christ. Matthew 4:4 "But 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"." Did you get that; "every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God". You have to take the entire Scripture, and not throw parts out, like is done in many churches today. Our answer to Satan, or any of those in Satan's service is what is written in God's Word. Jesus is quoting from the prophecy that God gave to Moses in Deuteronomy 8:3. "And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou kewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." This is the first speaking of the teaching of the Scriptures, declaring "It is written", and we see that the first teaching is to Satan, and not man. Matthew 4:5 "Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple," This holy city is Jerusalem, and it is there that the Antichrist [Satan] will stand and declare himself to be God. This is the same type of temptation that we will see Satan in very shortly, which Daniel called the Abomination by the Desolator, in Daniel 9:27. Satan will commit his abominable act before the coming of the Lord, and most of the people living today on the earth will witness it, and believe that he is the true Messiah. Paul writes in II Thessalonians 2:4; "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." This is exactly what Satan is tempting Jesus with. Though Satan will claim to have all the earth, and he will have. However, when he declares himself to be God, that is the abomination that will seal his doom. Jesus will be given the kingdom of the earth, but it will be at the appointed time, and that time has not come yet. In this earth age, Satan's is the prince of this world now. But his time of reign will end at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and the return of Jesus Christ as the King of kings. Satan is the prince of this earth age, and it is still given unto Satan to tempt man, and deceive man, if man will allow himself to be deceived. Each soul of man must make its own mind up whether he [she] will love and obey God, or yield to Satan. Satan is the prince of this world, and he will offer you what ever it takes to get your soul. Who do you listen to? Matthew 4:6 "And saith unto Him, "If thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down: for it is written, 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." This is Satan talking to Jesus, and he has the gull to quote Scripture to Jesus the Messiah. Satan is quoting the Scripture like most preachers today, for he is misquoting it, taking it out of context, and using it for his own gain. Satan is garbling it by omitting the essential words. The quotation is found in Psalm 91:11, 12; "For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. [11] They shall bear thee up in their hand, Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." [12] Did you get what was omitted? "In all thy ways." A "way" is a path, or a course that you set for yourself. These verses are aimed to the person that sets a path that he will follow, and while following that path, God's angels will protect you along that path. When you leave that path then the angel will not necessarily give that protection to you. You must be obedient to the Word of God to expect this type of protection. When you leave part of the text out, or take it out of context, you lie, and deceive others, just as Satan did here. Most of the quote is true, however what was left out made the entire quote void. It turned the quote form the authority of God, to nothing more then a selfish motive. When people, or even your pastor quotes Scripture to you, do you have the knowledge to know whether they are lying to you, or if it is fact is it in God's Word. There is only one way to protect yourself, and that is to check it out for yourself. Satan does more damage from the pulpits, that from bars, or any place else. Matthew 4:7 "Jesus said unto him, "It is written again, 'Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God'." Christ is the Living Word, He is the Scripture, and that is why there is no way He could be tripped up by Satan on the Word. Know this, that Satan will tempt you also, exactly as he has tempted Jesus. If you have a weakness Satan will find it, and if you can be bought then Satan, will pay the price to get you, for he is the prince of this world, and his offspring, the Kenites are in control of the dynasties of this world. However when you set the course that is given in the Bible, then God's Spirit will protect your every path. This is Jesus answer to Satan. Jesus again is quoting from the Word of God, and that passage is found in Deuteronomy 6:16. However let's start with verse 15. "(For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee form off the face of the earth." [15] "Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted Him in Massah." [16] "Massah" in the Hebrew text, is "desert". Matthew 4:8 "Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them ;" We are in an age now that this verse is very important to us. This verse documents that Satan is the head of the fourth and final kingdom, that we refer to as the "Daniels image". It is the "non-descript beast". It is none other then Satan himself, because the nations of all the world, were not even known at this time, for all nations will be one. This verse is looking to the future, even in this final generation. We are going into "One Worldism" and that is a fact. The entire world will be part of that system, and all of the power of the world will soon be wrapped up into one big lump, with Satan at the head. When Satan shows his world kingdom to you, will it be tempting to take part in it? God's elect will see it for what it is, just as Jesus did, and our response to Satan will be the same that we will see Jesus giving here. Every one of God's elect know that Satan will come first, and they will see right through the lies and deceptions, and deceiving wonders that will be performed to deceive all of mankind. That knowledge in your heart, which is your mind and intellect, is the seal of God spoken of in Revelation 9:4. They also know that that time was cut short for their sake [the elect's], and the time of Satan's rule will be only five months, as recorded in Revelation 9:5, 10. Revelation 9:5; "And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man." The ones doing the striking are Satan's locust army of followers during that great tribulation, and the ones that are being struck are all people that are not sealed of God in their foreheads, that are living in that day. The striking will be with lies and deceptions, and the entire world will believe them. This generation will face Satan's lies. So now we will see the example that Christ sets for us. Matthew 4:9 "And saith unto Him, "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." Are you going to worship Satan? He is coming as the false Messiah, and if you are looking to fly out of here through some rapture theory, you will be deceived. Daniel tells us that when Satan comes, he will offer you peace and prosperity. The war that Satan brings as the Antichrist, is a spiritual war, and that is what will deceive all but the elect. Daniel 8:24; "And his [Satan's] power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy People." We are told in Revelation 9:1, and in II Thessalonians 2:9, 10 that the power and authority that Satan has to deceive the world is given to him by God. Satan will use that authority to work wonders to convince Christians that he is their Messiah, and they will believe it. Why? Because they were taught such in their church houses, and led by the Kenites. Daniel 8:25; "And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken with out hand." The policy are the limits that are set, and under the policy all matters dealing with the running of that company, or government are stated. In this case, the government is a religious beast system, that has Satan as it's head, and under Satan's control he can offer you whatever it takes to get your obedience to him, and to bow to him. Notice that Satan, the Antichrist will come in and cause craft, or business to prosper. He will present himself to you as one who can satisfy all your needs, keep your business strong, and cause peace throughout all the world. However if you accept Satan's peace, even in ignorance, you will be destroyed, as the entire world will, except God's elect. It will be your soul that will be destroyed, and the destruction is spiritual, which is everlasting. So you see that Satan will offer to you, exactly what he has offered to Jesus, now here is what Jesus tells us to answer, when we are given Satan's offer through his new world order. Matthew 4:10 :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.' " Here it is again, friend, our defense is from the Word of God. This is why we need to get use to standing on it. This again come for Deuteronomy 6:13. Even though it looks on the surface that Satan has complete control over the entire earth; in the name of Jesus we have power over Satan and all of his forces. That power comes from the Holy Spirit of God, that came down and entered Jesus at the baptism, and there is no power anywhere that has authority over Him. When we repent, and call upon the name of Jesus we have that power. Though mankind gets confused over who Jesus, God the Father and the Holy Spirit is, the demons, and Satan do not, they know exactly who He is, and they submit completely to God upon His authority. God allows them to exist, and tempt man, however man has free will to chose whom he will, and at the appointed time of God's choosing, they will all be destroyed. Keep in mind that you have authority over Satan, and until you give in to him, he has no power over you. So your answer is the same one that Jesus gave. "Get thee hence, Satan", or in today's terms, "Get behind me, Satan." You order Satan out of your house, and your life. He must go. and you order it "in the name of Jesus Christ." That is how you anoint your house and your life. Today there is a modern teaching that is promoted by some of the new versions of the Bible, and it is all part of this "New Age Movement". The new teaching is that there is no devil, and there is no Satan, and that the base root of word "Satan" in the Hebrew is "destroyer". They want you to use the word "adversary" instead. They want you to use the base word "adversary" rather then placing the name of Satan on a man; and as such they say that this "adversary" is just a negative part of you. If you are so ignorant to believe this, then you would believe that there was no one in the wilderness tempting Jesus, and then God's Word becomes a lie to you. If you accept this doctrine of the "New Age" movement, then you would be saying that Jesus the Son of God had a negative side also, and sin could exist in Him, and this cannot be possible. It is a doctrine of the devil [promoted by the Kenites], and if it is taught in your church, run from it, for your very soul is in danger. If Christ had a negative side then Christ's death and resurrection would be of no value to sinning man, and Jesus Christ could not have been perfect. To say this is a lie, yet that is what will be believed largely by most, very shortly. When this is accepted by most Christians, salvation will be void to them. Christ was a spotless sacrifice, and the many doctrines of demons that many churches entertain today, makes Christianity very confusing to those on the outside. Satan has many names, and each name identifies him by the many roles that he played in the Bible; however he is one person, he is real, and he will tempt you just as he did Jesus. Matthew 4:11 "Then the devil leaveth Him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto Him." After Jesus ordered Satan away, the angels came and ministered to Jesus. He hadn't had food for the past forty days. Ministered does not mean that they preached to Him, but tended to his physical needs. Notice that the first one that Christ ministered to was Satan, and now that this role of Satan is over. In the end of the Millennium age, Satan will be turned to ashes in the pits of Hell and be gone forever. Matthew 4:12 "Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, He departed into Galilee;" This is the start of Jesus ministry to mankind. The disciples have not been chosen yet, and in the word "cast", meant that John had been delivered up for his first trial. Matthew 4:13 "And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:" To explain what the words mean in the original text; "Nazareth" means "the guarded one". The word "Capernaum", comes from the Hebrew word, "Nahum" which is "to be given", or "consolation", and "Zebulon" means "habitation", and Naphthalim means "my wrestling's". These words were chosen, and gives prophecy within themselves. So lets use the original test language. "And leaving the guarded one he came to the place of consolation, which is on the sea coast of the borders of habitation, and the start of His ministry [wrestling's]. Wrestling with Satan. Matthew 4:14 "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying," Matthew 4:15 ""The land of Zabulon, and the land of Naphthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;" This is a quotation from Isaiah 9:1, 2: Notice that Galilee at this time was the land of the Gentiles. The people living there were not of the House of Israel, which were scattered seven centuries prior, and they also were not of the Jews [The house of Judah]. Isaiah 9:1; "Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at first He lightly afflicted in land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and after ward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations." Isaiah 9:2; "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." We know that it was written long before Christ came as a Child to the earth, that this Scripture would be fulfilled. That most of His teaching and ministry would be in Galilee, just as the Prophet Isaiah had prophesied from God. Matthew 4:16 "The People which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up." This prophecy was given over seven hundred years before it came to pass, and that is how you tell a true prophet from that false one. The test is if what he said comes to pass, and if it doesn't, then he is a fake. We have many so-called prophets today that write their books on prophecy each year, because they make their correction on an annual basis. Yet people buy the books and just can't wait until the next version of lies and disinformation comes out. Isaiah was a true prophet, for what he said was of God, and did come to pass. The "Great Light" was Jesus Christ and wherever Jesus went He brought light, spiritual light to the souls that saw and heard Him. When He laid hands on them, they were healed, and shadow of death went from them. Jesus ministry has begin. There is nothing in that ministry that was not foretold, and written in the Old Testament. Matthew 4:17 "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." "Repent" is not just a magic word, but a true change of heart and mind. It is being truly sorry for the sin that is in your life, and the wrong that you have caused others. It is setting a new course in your life, a new path and the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit will hold us up and give guidance and protect our minds, when that path is following the course set forth in His Holy Word. A "Kingdom" is a "King and his domain", Christ is the King, and all those that repent are part of Jesus Christ's domain. God's dominion is where ever He chooses. The kingdom of Heaven is in your heart, which is the intellect of your mind. It is what you know to be true, and believe in. When you repent, your heart is clean and you enter into that kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 4:18 "And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers." Peter and Andrew were not sports fishermen, but commercial fishermen. They made their living by catching and selling their fish. Matthew 4:19 "And He saith unto them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." "Fishers of men", means seekers of men's souls. Notice that when Jesus saw them, He called out and they came immediately. There was no altar call, and begging to come with Him. They heard, understood and came immediately. Did they wait to straighten up their nets, and think about it first? Was there even a choice given to them? When the truth of the living God enters your heart and strikes your mind, you will hear Him say "follow me", and there is no hesitation. You go! You know you have a destiny and a purpose. Matthew 4:20 "And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him." Jesus just came out of the wilderness, and was tried by Satan; if you drop what you are doing and follow Christ in His pathway, will you be able to handle the strong temptations that Satan, and his band of Scripture lawyers can throw at you. That is why the first thing you must do when you follow Jesus is to get into His Word, so that you cannot be deceived. Today there are many of Satan's warriors preaching from the pulpits to rip you off for your finances, and to gain control of your mind. Anything done to line ones own pockets, in the name of God is Satan's work. If you listen to them, you become their daily bread, and their pension fund. When you drop your old life of sin, and your mind is cleaned of those filthy ways, it must be filled with God's Word through study, or Satan's demons will come back and enter your mind, and you will be worse then before. God expects for you to be intelligent and learn from His Word, and not allow some "snake charmer" [a dabbler in the Scriptures] to control your mind, with half truths and and distortions from the Bible. When Christ says to "follow Me", He expects you to take control and tell Satan to get off your back. He expects you to stand up and become one of His soldiers, in the service of the King. Physical health has nothing to do with this, this is a spiritual battle, and it is the preparation of your heart, by girding up your mind that prepares you for that spiritual battle. Jesus Christ simply said follow Me. Matthew 4:21 "And going on from thence, He saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them." Matthew 4:22 "And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed Him." Here again there is no altar calls, no time to consider "should I, or not?", they dropped what they were doing, and left their father in the boat, and followed Christ. When you have a destiny, and God touches your life, and gives you understanding, you will know it. Christ didn't fool around, and play games with them, He called them, and they responded "immediately". They knew the truth, and when the call came, like a true soldier, they went. Matthew 4:23 "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people." Jesus took His four followers, and went right to the churches [the synagogues]. He began preaching the "Gospel of the Kingdom". He preached the entire Word, the Gospel of His kingdom, of the King [Christ] and his dominion [those that repent and become part of the body of Christ]. Matthew 4:24
"And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them." Jesus not only tended to their spiritual needs, and filled their minds with the Gospel of the Kingdom, but He tended also to their physical needs. He healed their diseases and things that gave them pain, and cast out the devils [demons] that were in them. Notice the word "Lunatick", in the Strong' Greek dictionary, # 4583, "Seleniazomai, sel-ay-nee-ad'-zom-ahee; to be moon-struck, i.e. crazy: be lunatic." Jesus Christ even healed those with mental problem, which today we refer to as being crazy. He healed those paralyzed, and with all the sickness of that day. Jesus Christ tended to both their spiritual and their physical needs, and He works today as He did then. It take much prayer and fasting on the part of the Christian, fasting is the same as feasting that will come in the end times, the famine, as written in Amos 8:11; "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:" So-called ministers of healing can heal no one. You may say that he can heal, but he can not. It is Christ that does the Healing, and when anyone is healed, it is because they were touched of Christ. No man can heal, for only Christ can do the healing to those that He determines should be healed, and they are healed for His purpose. There are many time that people are healed, and the healing starts through the heart, however there are many times that Christ will not heal. Poor old Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament, could never get his healing, while he was the one that Christ used to heal many others. Paul had been to the third heaven, and God kept that thorn in Paul kept him humble. Matthew 4:25 "And there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan." What was Jesus fame all about? Jesus Christ fame went out as a healer, and to most people the Gospel was secondary. They were not so much interested in Jesus as the Messiah, but as one that could cast out demons. "Decapolis" in the Greek, means "a ten city region", and shortly there will be another ten dominion ruler that will try to take captive the hearts of men. That man is Satan, and we read of it in the book of Revelation, and Daniel. The ten regions or cities are areas of power and authority that are beginning take charge of the entire world today. These powers are all linked to the new world order, that is a political beast, and shortly will be given over to the religious beast that Satan will rule over as the Antichrist. So this is the start of Jesus Christ's three year ministry, and at this time four of his Apostles have been chosen, and commanded to follow Him.
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