| Matthew 4 | |
|---|---|
 Matthew 4:22–23 onPapyrus 102 (3rd century) | |
| Book | Gospel of Matthew |
| Category | Gospel |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 1 |
Matthew 4 is the fourth chapter of theGospel of Matthew in theNew Testament ofChristianBible.[1][2] Many translations of the gospel andbiblical commentaries separate the first section of chapter 4 (verses1–11, Matthew's account of theTemptation of Christ by thedevil) from the remaining sections, which deal with Jesus' firstpublic preaching and the gathering of hisfirst disciples.
The original text was written inKoine Greek. This chapter isdivided into 25 verses.
Some earlymanuscripts containing the text of chapter 4 are:
TheNew King James Version organises chapter 4 as follows:
TheNew Revised Standard Version divides the chapter into three sections: Matthew 4:1–11,[11] 4:12–22,[12] and 4:23–25.[13][14]
John Calvin'sCommentary treats verses 1–4, 5–11, 13–16 and 18–25 as separate sections.[15]
In the first 11 verses of chapter 4, Jesus is led into the wilderness and fasts for 40 days. Satan ("the tempter", or "the devil") tempts Jesus three times: inverse 3 withfood to relieve Jesus' fast, inverse 6 with testing God, and inverse 9 with control of all the kingdoms of the earth.
There are a number of theories regarding the temptations. One suggests that the three temptations show Jesus rejecting various visions of the Messiah. In the first temptation he shows that he will not be an "economic" messiah,[16] who will use his powers to feed the world'shungry. In the second that he will not be a miracle worker who puts on great spectacles, and the third that he will not be a political saviour but rather a spiritual one. There are several references to the period after theExodus from Egypt; it is this section of the Hebrew Bible that Jesus draws his quotes from. In that section, the Israelites anger God by testing him and they soon compromise their principles for political power, mistakes that Jesus does not make.
In theGospel of Mark, chapter 1, the temptation narrative takes only two verses.[17] TheGospel of Luke's account is quite similar to Matthew's, with only somewhat different wording and with the order of the second and third temptations reversed. It is thus widely believed that much of this section in Matthew came from the hypotheticaldocument Q. Eduard Schweizer notes that Q likely contained little except the actual dialogue, as the extra information is quite different in the two gospels.[18] Commentary writer David Hill argues that Mark is written in a manner which assumes the author's audience is already familiar with the temptation narrative, so this dialogue may have been widely known by the early Christians and thus not necessarily in Q.[19]
Scholars generally consider Matthew's account to be more likely to be the original arrangement; however, Luke's version became more popular in the tradition.
The temptation scene related here has inspired a number of works of literature. It is briefly recounted inParadise Lost and is retold in great detail and expanded upon inParadise Regained. It also is an important inspiration forThe Brothers Karamazov andMurder in the Cathedral. The bookThe Last Temptation of Christ and its1989 film adaptation also expand upon Christ being tempted by Satan.
The remaining verses of chapter 4 (verses 12 to 25) are generally seen as the introduction to theministry of Jesus, which will take up the next several chapters of the Gospel and in theSermon on the Mount, which begins immediately after this chapter. Jesus begins to preach a gospel ofrepentance: his words are the same as those ofJohn the Baptist,[20] now imprisoned inMachaerus Palace:
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.[21]
Verses18 to22 describe the calling of the first four fishermen, who become his first disciples: two,Simon Peter andAndrew, were casting a net into the sea, and two,James, andJohn, working withZebedee their father, were repairing their nets. The disciples abandon their possessions and family to become what Jesus calls "fishers of men".[22]
The final three verses introduce the crowds whom Jesus addresses. These verses also serve as a summary of Jesus' ministry, outlining the three forms it takes: teaching, preaching, andhealing.
Matthew 4:6[23] referencesPsalm 91:11–12.[24][25]
