THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
INTRODUCTION
There is no reason to doubt that this Gospel was written by Matthew. It presents the narrative of our Lord’s life from the standpoint of the pious Jew; and the evident design of the writer is to show how completely and continually our Lord fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures. No other Gospel contains so many quotations from the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms. In it the predominant aspect of our Lord’s character and work is the Messianic. He was great David’s Greater Son. The keyword of the book is “Behold your King.” As King, His line is traced through the kingly race. As King, He proclaims the kingdom of heaven. As King, He promulgates the laws, describes the subjects, and announces the rewards of the Kingdom. When describing His own action at the last, when He sits on His throne and all nations are gathered before Him, He speaks of Himself as King, Mat_25:40. It was on His avowal of kingship that He was condemned to die. From every viewpoint this Gospel is one of the most precious documents in the world.
By F.B.Meyer
{e-Sword Note: The following material was presented at the end of Matthew in the printed edition}
Find the outline of our Bible study on The Gospel of Matthew at the link below.
OUTLINE OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
The King of the House of David.
1.THE COMING OF THE KING.
Matthew 1:1 to Matthew 4: 11
4. His Temptation, Mat_4:1-11
Today we will look at the following questions in the outline.
8. What was the meaning of each of the three temptations of Jesus?
Mat_4:1-11
The Temptation of Jesus
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
But he answered and said,
The answer to question 8 for temptation 1. See also comments by F.B. Meyer
It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
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.
Jesus said unto him,
The answer to question 8 for temptation 2. See also comments by F.B. Meyer.
It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
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;
And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.Then saith Jesus unto him,
The answer to question 8 for temptation 3. See also comments by F.B. Meyer.
Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Comments by F.B.Meyer
on
Matthew 4:1-11
TEMPTED BY THE DEVIL
Then marks the close connection between the heavenly voice of the baptism and the fiery ordeal of the forty days. Notice that temptation is not in itself sin; only when the evil suggestions of the tempter are harbored do they become sin. Notice also that all around us is a dark region of evil, out of which temptations arise. Whenever you have received a conspicuous revelation, you may expect a time of testing. This is God’s way of rooting the trees in the soil, and burning in the fair colors which He paints on the vessels that are being made meet for His use.
The answer to question 8 as explained by F.B.Meyer.
The first temptation was that our Lord should use for His physical needs the power which had been entrusted to Him, as Son of man, for the service of men.
The second was an effort to incite Him to act presumptuously, at the dictate of self-will and apart from the clear guidance of God’s Spirit.
The third was to attain the throne by a wrong method. It was only by the cross that He could win power to rule and save. See Heb_4:15-16; Heb_5:8-9.
Believer’s Bible commentary
Book by William MacDonald
C. Jesus Is Tempted by Satan (4:1-11)
4:1 It may seem strange that Jesus should be led by the Spirit into temptation. Why should the Holy Spirit lead Him into such an encounter? The answer is that this temptation was necessary to demonstrate His moral fitness to do the work for which He had come into the world. The first Adam proved his unfitness for dominion when he met the adversary in the Garden of Eden. Here the last Adam meets the devil in a head-on confrontation and emerges unscathed.
The Greek word translated “tempt” or “test” has two meanings: (1) to test or prove (Joh_6:6; 2Co_13:5; Heb_11:17); and (2) to solicit to evil. The Holy Spirit tested or proved Christ. The devil sought to lure Him to do evil.
There is deep mystery connected with the temptation of our Lord. Inevitably the question arises, “Could He have sinned?” If we answer “No,” then we must face the further question, “How could it be a real temptation if He could not yield?” If we answer “Yes,” we are faced with the problem of how God incarnate could sin.
It is of first importance to remember that Jesus Christ is God and that God cannot sin. It is true that He is also human; however, to say that He could sin as a human but not as God is to build a case without scriptural foundation. The NT writers wrote of the sinlessness of Christ on several occasions. Paul wrote that He “knew no sin” (2Co_5:21); Peter says that He “committed no sin” (1Pe_2:22); and John says, “in Him there is no sin” (1Jn_3:5)
Like us, Jesus could be tempted from without: Satan came to Him with suggestions contrary to the will of God. But unlike us, He could not be tempted from within—no sinful lusts or passions could originate in Him. Furthermore, there was nothing in Him that would respond to the devil’s seductions (Joh_14:30).
Despite Jesus’ inability to sin, the temptation was very real. It was possible for Him to be faced with enticements to sin, but it was morally impossible for Him to yield. He could only do what He saw the Father doing (Joh_5:19), and it is inconceivable that He would ever see the Father sinning. He could do nothing on His own authority (Joh_5:30), and the Father would never give Him the authority to yield to temptation.
The purpose of the temptation was not to see if He would sin, but to prove that even under tremendous pressure He could do nothing but obey the Word of God.
If Jesus could sin as a human being, we are faced with the problem of His still being a human in heaven. Could He still sin? Obviously, no.
4:2, 3 After fasting forty days and forty nights, Jesus was hungry. (The number forty in Scripture is frequently used in contexts of testing or probation.) This natural appetite provided the tempter with an advantage which in many people he could exploit. He suggested that Jesus use His miraculous power to convert the stones of the desert into loaves of bread. The introductory words, “If You are the Son of God,” do not imply doubt. They actually mean “Since You are the Son of God.” The devil is alluding to the words of the Father to Jesus at the baptism, “This is My beloved Son.” He uses a Greek construction which assumes the statement to be true and, thereby, he calls on Jesus to exercise His power to appease His hunger.
To fulfill a natural appetite by using divine power in response to Satan’s prompting is in direct disobedience to God. The idea behind Satan’s suggestion is an echo of Gen_3:6 (“good for food”). John classifies this temptation as “the lust of the flesh” (1Jn_2:16 ). Our corresponding temptation is to live for the gratification of natural desires, to choose a pathway of comfort instead of seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness. The devil says, “You have to live, don’t you?”
4:4 Jesus answered the temptation by quoting the Word of God. Our Lord’s example teaches that we don’t have to live, but we do have to obey God! Getting bread is not the most important thing in life. Obedience to every word of God is. Since Jesus had received no instructions from the Father to turn stones into bread, He would not act on His own and thus obey Satan, no matter how intense His hunger.
4:5, 6 The second temptation took place in Jerusalem on the pinnacle of the temple. The devil challenged Jesus to throw Himself down as a spectacular display of His divine Sonship. Again, the opening word if does not imply doubt, as is seen in Satan’s reference to the protection promised to the Messiah by God in Psa_91:11-12.
The temptation was for Jesus to demonstrate that He was Messiah by performing a sensational stunt. He could achieve glory without suffering; He could bypass the cross and still reach the throne. But this action would be outside the will of God. John describes this appeal as “the pride of life” (1Jn_2:16). It resembles the “tree desirable to make one wise” (Gen_3:6) in the Garden of Eden, as both were a means of achieving personal glory in disregard of God’s will. This temptation comes to us in the desire to attain religious prominence apart from the fellowship of His suffering. We seek great things for ourselves, then run and hide when difficulties come our way. When we ignore God’s will and exalt ourselves, we tempt God.
4:7 Again, Jesus resisted the attack by quoting Scripture: “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God’.” (see Deu_6:16). God had promised to preserve the Messiah, but that guarantee presupposed living in God’s will. To claim the promise in an act of disobedience would be tempting God. The time would come when Jesus would be revealed as Messiah, but the cross must come first. The altar of sacrifice must precede the throne. The crown of thorns must precede the crown of glory. Jesus would await God’s time and would accomplish God’s will.
4:8, 9 In the third temptation the devil took Jesus up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. He offered them to Jesus in exchange for His worship. Although this temptation had to do with worship, an exercise of the spirit, it was an effort to induce our Lord to grasp imperial power over the world by worshiping Satan. The reward offered, all the kingdoms of the world with their grandeur, appealed to “the lust of the eyes” (1Jn_2:16).
In a sense, the kingdoms of the world do belong to the devil at present. He is spoken of as “the god of this age” (2Co_4:4), and John tells us that “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1Jn_5:19). When Jesus appears at the Second Advent as King of kings (Rev_19:16), then “the kingdoms of this world” become His (Rev_11:15). Jesus would not violate the divine timetable, and certainly He would never worship Satan!
For us the temptation is twofold: to barter our spiritual birthright for the passing glory of this world, and to worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator.
4:10 For the third time, Jesus resisted temptation by using the OT: “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.” Worship and the service that flows from it are for God alone. To worship Satan would be tantamount to acknowledging him as God.
The order of the temptations as recorded by Matthew varies from that in Luke (4:1-13). Some have suggested that Matthew’s order parallels the order of the temptations that Israel faced in the wilderness (Exodos 16; 17; 32). Jesus showed Himself in perfect contrast to Israel’s response to hardship.
4:11 When Jesus had successfully rebutted Satan’s temptations, the devil left Him. Temptations come in waves rather than in a steady flow. “When the enemy comes in like flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him” (Isa_59:19). What an encouragement for God’s tested saints!
We are told that angels came and ministered to Him, but no explanation is given for this supernatural assistance. It probably means that they provided the physical nourishment for Him which He had refused to provide at Satan’s suggestion.
From the temptation of Jesus, we learn that the devil can attack those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit, but that he is powerless against those who resist him with the Word of God.
WE ARE STUDYING THE FOUR GOSPELS MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN TO KNOW THE LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST.
TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM.
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How Satan Attacks & How to Resist
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