Matthew 4:1-11. The Temptation of Jesus. Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13 St Mark's account is short; the various temptations are not specified; he adds the striking expression "he was with the wild beasts." St Luke places the temptation of the Kingdoms of the World before that of the Pinnacle of the Temp... [ Continue Reading ]
_led up of the Spirit_ The agency of the Spirit of God is named in each of the Synoptists. St Mark uses the strong expression "the Spirit driveth him forth." St Luke uses the preposition ἐν (in) denoting the influence in which Jesus passed into the wilderness. _the wilderness_ See note on ch. Matth... [ Continue Reading ]
_he was afterward a hungred_ The words imply that the temptation was not throughout the forty days, but at the end of the forty days.... [ Continue Reading ]
_that these stones be made bread_ The temptation is addressed to the appetite, Use thy divine power to satisfy the lusts of the flesh.... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus answers by a quotation from Deuteronomy 8:3. The chapter sets forth the teaching of the wilderness. The forty years were to the Jews what the forty days are to Jesus. The Lord God proved Israel "to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no. And he humbled... [ Continue Reading ]
_taketh him up_ The situation of Jerusalem is remarkably high. It was probably the loftiest capital in the ancient world. _the holy city_ Jerusalem is so designated by St Matthew alone. _a pinnacle_ strictly the pinnacle pinnacle, lit. -a little wing," an architectural term for a wing-like project... [ Continue Reading ]
_it is written_ Psalms 91:11-12. The words "to keep thee in all thy ways" are omitted in the text. The omission distorts the meaning of the original, which is that God will keep the righteous on their journeys, and is no inducement to tempt God by rash venture or needless risk. The Psalmist himself... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God_ Deuteronomy 6:16. The verse ends "as ye tempted him in Massah." The reference to Massah (Numbers 20:7-12) shews the true meaning of the Saviour's answer. Moses and Aaron displayed distrust in God when they tried to draw to themselves the glory of the miracle i... [ Continue Reading ]
_an exceeding high mountain_ It is idle to ask what this mountain was, or in what sense Jesus saw the kingdoms of the world. It is enough that the thought and the temptation of earthly despotism and glory were present to the mind of Jesus.... [ Continue Reading ]
_All these things will I give thee_ Satan, the "prince of this world," (John 7:31) claims the disposal of earthly thrones. This is more clearly brought out by St Luke (ch. Luke 4:6), "All this power will I give thee and the glory of them, for that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I giv... [ Continue Reading ]
_Get thee hence, Satan_ It is instructive to find these words addressed to Peter (ch. Matthew 16:23) when he put himself as it were in the place of the tempter. See note _ad loc_. _him only shalt thou serve_ Deuteronomy 6:10-13. Idolatry, multiplicity of aims, and forgetfulness of God are the dange... [ Continue Reading ]
_when Jesus had heard_ probably also _because_he had heard. It was a needful precaution against the cruel treachery of Herod Antipas. At Capernaum He would be close to the dominions of Herod Philip. _John was cast into prison_ at Machærus. The cause of John's imprisonment is stated at length ch. Ma... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus returns into Galilee Mark 1:14; Luke 4:14, who assigns no reason; John 4:1-3. St John gives a further reason "when the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, he left Judæa, &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
_leaving Nazareth_ partly because of the unbelief of the Nazarenes, partly (we may infer) in order to be in a frontier town from which He might easily pass from the jurisdiction of Antipas. _Capernaum_ or Capharnaum, a town on the N. W. shore of the Sea of Galilee. The exact site is keenly disputed... [ Continue Reading ]
_Esaias_ Read the whole of the prophecy (ch. Matthew 8:11 to Matthew 9:6) which is unfortunately broken in the E. V. by the division into Chapter s.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Galilee of the Gentiles_ See above, Matthew 4:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the people which sat in darkness_ The invasion of Tiglathpileser, whom Ahaz called in to assist him against Rezin and Pekah, fell with great severity on the Northern tribes (2 Kings 15:29). Yet even they are promised a great deliverance ["there shall not hereafter be darkness in the land that was d... [ Continue Reading ]
For _METANOIA_ (Repentance) and the _Basileia_(Kingdom), which are the key-notes of our Saviour's preaching, see note, ch. Matthew 3:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Call of Peter and Andrew and of the sons of Zebedee. See Mark 1:16-20 In Luke Simon is mentioned without any introduction, ch. Luke 4:38. The narrative of Luke 5:3-11 must be referred to a different occasion, though Luke 5:11 corresponds with Matthew 4:22 of this chapter. St Luke adds that the... [ Continue Reading ]
_a net_ a casting-net; the Greek word is used only here and Mark 1:16. Cp. Verg. _Georg._I. 141, Alius latum _funda_jam verberat amnem. _fishers_ The fisheries on the Sea of Galilee, once so productive, are now deserted. It seems that the Bedawin have an invincible dislike and dread of the sea. Con... [ Continue Reading ]
_fishers of men_ A condensed parable explicitly drawn out, ch. Matthew 13:47-50.... [ Continue Reading ]
_and their father_ St Mark (Mark 1:20) adds "with the hired servants." We may infer that Zebedee and his sons and their partners were raised above the lowest social rank.... [ Continue Reading ]
_their synagogues_ The synagogue, built on a hill or on the highest place in the city, distinguished sometimes by a tall pole corresponding to a modern steeple, was as familiar and conspicuous in a Jewish town as the Church is in an English village. Sometimes, however, the synagogue was placed on th... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus preaches the Gospel and cures Diseases in Galilee Special instances of cure are recorded in Mark 1:13 and foll.; Luke 4:31 and foll.... [ Continue Reading ]
_throughout all Syria_ The fame passes to the north and east, rather than to the south. Galilee is connected by trade and affinity with Damascus rather than with Jerusalem. _torments_ The original Greek word signifies a "touch-stone," then "torture," the touch-stone of justice; then a disease that... [ Continue Reading ]
_Decapolis_ Lit. A GROUP OF TEN CITIES. The cities included in this group are variously named by different authors, they lay to the E. and S. of the Sea of Galilee; by some Damascus is mentioned as belonging to the group.... [ Continue Reading ]