Matthew 4 Enduring Word (2024)

FAQs

What does Matthew 4 teach us? ›

It would show that, though Jesus was fully human, and fully God, He remained fully sinless in the face of temptation (Matthew 4:1). Jesus fasts for 40 days and nights. "Fasting" does not always involve taking in no food of water, ever, at all, for the entire time period.

Matthew 4:1–11 describes Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. After 40 days and nights of fasting, Jesus faces three temptations from Satan. Each one attempts to lure Christ into abusing His power; to take immediately what God the Father has promised to provide later.

The phrase "Man shall not live by bread alone" is today a common expression meaning that people need more than material things to truly live. However, it is also sometimes used in almost the opposite sense to justify material luxuries beyond simple things like bread.

Share. 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. 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.

It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people (the Jews) but is rejected by them and how, after his resurrection, he sends the disciples to the gentiles instead. Matthew wishes to emphasize that the Jewish tradition should not be lost in a church that was increasingly becoming gentile.

The Devil tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread, to which he replied “Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every word God speaks.” The second temptation was for Jesus to throw himself from the highest point of the temple and order angels to catch him.

The Devil is tempting Jesus to prematurely reveal Himself as the Son of God by forcing God to send angels to save Him. This would result in revealing Jesus' true identity to Israel immediately. The Father's plan, though, was for His Son to suffer and die for the sins of humanity.

Matthew wanted to show how Jesus is the continuation and fulfillment of the whole biblical story of God and Israel, so he emphasizes that: Jesus is the Messiah from the line of David.

Bible Study Ideas and Commentary for Matthew 4:1-10

Jesus, at the direction of the Spirit, allowed Himself to be truly tempted by Satan. Not only did He resist the temptation, He also left a model for us to follow when we are tempted: trust God, know God's Word, have God's priorities.

Matthew 4:6 is the sixth verse of the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. Jesus has just rebuffed "the tempter's" first temptation; in this verse, the devil presents Jesus with a second temptation while they are standing on the pinnacle of the temple in the "holy city" (Jerusalem).

Who is the Spirit in Matthew 4:1? ›

The verse makes clear that the Spirit, presumably the Holy Ghost prominently mentioned two verses before in Matthew 3:16, is the one who leads Jesus into the desert.

Matthew 4 has four main sections: the temptation of Christ, the beginning of Christ's ministry, calling the disciples, and healing and teaching. The temptation of Christ is important to the Gospels because it that Jesus is the Son of God (Hagner 61). He went through the temptations and passed the test.

Jesus has spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness in preparation for being tempted to sin by Satan, the devil. He is hungry, His body crying out for food.

In Matthew 4:4 Jesus said that man cannot live by bread alone but they need the Words of God, just like you couldn't eat this slice of bread on its own. There is a trick though, would you like to try it again? (Hand them a glass of water and tell them that they can drink it as often as they need.)

These 3 temptations represent the challenges Christians face to remain loyal to the Lord. Sometimes, the body, mind, and heart are tested, but God-fearing people stay faithful no matter what.