THE BOOK OF MATTHEW
Lesson 9, Chapter 4
As we work our way through the Gospel of Matthew and discover so many
important details buried in the text, and also discover those present in Christian
traditions and just as importantly in the ancient Jewish traditions, we are regularly
going to step back and review what we've studied from a more panoramic
vantage point. Therefore before we open our Bibles to Matthew chapter 4, let's
briefly sum up the first 3 chapters.
Matthew opens with an extensive, but purposeful, genealogy of Yeshua. Because
Matthew is a well educated Jewish Believer, and because he is well versed in
Jewish Tradition as well as in the Hebrew Bible, all that we uncover from here
forward will have a decidedly Jewish flavor and worldview. The genealogy he
presents, then, is given in a particularly Hebrew style; it is given in descending
order with the oldest ancestor named first. In this case that oldest ancestor is
Abraham. Why did Matthew start with Abraham? Because Abraham is the Father
of the Hebrews and Matthew's intent is to prove Yeshua's fundamental Hebrew
connection.
The next point to recognize is that King David is central to Christ's genealogy in
order to prove His right to royal inheritance, but also to prove His credentials as
the Messiah. David's name consists of 3 Hebrew consonants that have a total
gematria value of 14. Thus, the genealogy is given to us in 3 sets of 14 names
each, with David's name as the 14th in the 1st set. The list is not complete and
exhaustive; some generations are skipped not because Matthew didn't know they
existed or who those people were, but because he needed to have his list add up
to 42 (3 times 14 equals 42) to match with Daniel's extensive use of the number
42 in his book of prophecy that was highly popular at this time. Interestingly, 4
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women are included in the genealogy (it's not usual to include women), but even
more stunning is that the 4 women mentioned all began their lives as gentiles. In
this way, Matthew is showing that while Jesus is thoroughly Jewish, a connection
to gentiles exists in His underlying biology and so cannot be overlooked.
About halfway through the 1st chapter Matthew tells the story of Yeshua's birth
circumstances, beginning with the odd, if not shameful, situation of his biological
mother not having a completed marriage with his non-biological father. In typical
Jewish courting and marriage custom, Joseph is betrothed to Mary. However
soon thereafter Mary turns up pregnant and the scandal cannot be contained
because Joseph knows it's not his child. Biblically, betrothal is closer to marriage
than it is to engagement as we think of it today. A marriage contract between the
husband and the woman's father is executed at the time of betrothal. As of that
moment the man is called husband and the woman is called wife. Still the woman
remains with her father's household for a time, usually about 1 year. At the end of
this time the woman moves out of her father's home and into her husband's
home where consummation occurs. The marriage is only then fully completed.
Mary being pregnant while still living with her father brings a loss of honor to all
parties, and by the Law of Moses it is a crime that demands the death penalty to
the girl. Joseph doesn't want that for Mary, so he decides to divorce her quietly;
but an angel comes in a dream and tells him not to do that. Rather he is to
continue on with the marriage process. In faith and trust in God, he obeys.
Joseph is told that Mary was not pregnant by normal human means but rather the
male seed is supplied by the Holy Spirit. The son that will be produced is to be
named Yeshua, which means "Yehoveh saves". We are also to notice that
Joseph did not have sexual relations with Mary (meaning he did not consummate
the marriage) until after the child was born. So by every Jewish standard, Christ
was born to a mother whose marriage was incomplete.
Chapter 2 begins by explaining that Mary's child was born in the small town of
Bethlehem of Judea, during a historical time when Herod the Great ruled. Now
unfolds the story of some non-specified number of pagan magi (astrologers)
coming to Judea. They say they know that a new king of Judea has been born
and this is because they have seen the portent of it in the sky.
They arrive in Jerusalem and begin asking around where this new king is,
because in their minds where else would a Jewish king be located other than in
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the capital city of Jerusalem? The news of these magi reaches Herod, he is
alarmed by it, and calls together his advisory council; he asks them where the
Messiah would be born. They respond: in Bethlehem. Herod immediately
summons the magi, sends them to Bethlehem, and tells them to report back to
him exactly who this child is.
Notice: the pagan magi are the first to be aware of Christ's birth, even before the
Jewish people. Also notice that they come to Judea looking for a king and not for
a Messiah or a god. The magi's purpose for their visit is purely political. Herod's
concern makes the leap from the political to the religious. He knows enough of
the ancient prophecies (and the hopes of his people for a Deliverer) to realize
that perhaps this child the magi are searching for could be the foretold Messiah.
And if true, then it presents a real problem for him hanging on to his throne.
The magi leave for Bethlehem. It is short 3 or 4 hour walk on a well traveled trail
from Jerusalem. The text says that a star led them to Bethlehem and to the
house where the child was located.
We spent some time investigating what it was that these pagan astrologers saw
that convinced them to make a long journey to find this new king. In the end we
discovered that Matthew had researched enough to use astrological language in
his report about the magi such that it seems that these seers had observed the
placement of a conjunction of 3 planets in the Zodiac sign of Aries. Aries was
believed by them to represent the region of Judea. This conjunction of planets
was, for astrologers, an unmistakable omen that a new king had been born there.
They wanted to go and pay homage to this new king (realizing, of course, that
this new king was but a baby). But such was the politics of the day that it usually
paid off to make such a connection with a future king as soon as possible.
The magi knew before they left their homes that they were traveling to Judea,
and just as obviously to the seat of government of Judea if they were going to
find this new king: Jerusalem. The Jews on the other hand, because they
shunned astrology, had no hint of the event the magi came for and were
confused and startled when the magi began inquiring of them about it. However,
in the fields of Bethlehem the Glory of God burst upon some humble Jewish
shepherds, producing a blinding light, and an angel vocally announced the birth
of their Deliverer..... the long promised Messiah. The Shepherds went to the
house in the village where the Messiah lay in a feeding trough, because that was
the sign that the angel gave to them as a means to find and positively identify
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him. The year of Our Lord's advent was likely 6 B.C. by our modern calendars,
since Herod the Great died a couple of years later in 4 B.C. (the year of Herod's
death is well attested).
The magi also locate the child, believe him to be the new king their astrological
portent had revealed, honor him with very expensive gifts, and leave for home
without reporting back to Herod. Herod soon realized they weren't coming back to
him with the information he wanted and so in a homicidal rage, taking no
chances, he ordered all male children in and around Bethlehem to be murdered
so that which ever of these children this Messiah might be, he wouldn't survive.
Before the slaughter began an angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him to
flee with his family at once to Egypt and there to await word from this same angel
for when the family could return to the Holy Land. They were in Egypt for
probably around a year before this same angel returned with the good news that
Herod was dead and the danger had passed. Even so the succeeding king, one
of Herod's sons, was about as bad as his father and ruling over Judea, so
Joseph decided it would be the safer choice to go to the Galilee and live in
Nazareth, a small and remote country village.
As we entered chapter 3, the subject turned to John the Baptist; therefore several
years passed from the end of chapter 2 to the beginning of chapter 3...... perhaps
as many as 30 years. John was a desert dweller, and apparently dressed much
like the prophets of old, wearing a camel's hair garment with a leather belt around
his waist. There is little doubt in my mind that he thought of himself as a
successor to Elijah, and the Jewish people believed he might be the return of that
ancient prophet.
John's message to the Jews was twofold: 1) the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,
and 2) people should prepare for it by turning from their sins to God. He is called
John the Baptist because those who heeded his message also came to be
ritually immersed by him in the Jordan River. Although the Gospel accounts don't
entirely agree on the exact purpose of John's baptism, it seems to me that it was
mostly about a public declaration of repentance and the immersion was a symbol
of cleansing from the old and putting on the new. During this era, due to the
ruthless and painful occupation of the Romans, the Jews generally believed they
were living in the End Times. So when a Prophet comes along who declares that
the Kingdom of God is about to appear (something that was thought to
accompany the End of Days) many pay attention if for no other reason than out
of fear and self preservation.
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Apparently the number of people flocking to John was substantial enough to
alarm the religious leadership of both the Temple and the Synagogue. Holy men
who gathered enough disciples could present a challenge to their authority, or
worse upset Rome, and so the Pharisee and Sadducee leadership came to John
to investigate. John knew they didn't come to him sincerely, and so he didn't
welcome them. In fact he chided them, saying that they were snakes, and that
their heritage of Abraham as their ancestral father was in no way sufficient to
protect them from God's wrath. John went on to explain his own purpose as the
one who was to prepare the way for the emergence of a great man; a man who
was far greater than himself. And when this great man comes, one of the things
he will do is to identify the righteous from the unrighteous and separate them the
way a winnowing fork separates the wheat from the chaff.
We hear not one word about Christ's youth. It is now that Yeshua, as an adult,
enters the picture as He comes from Galilee to John in Judea to be immersed.
John balks at such a notion, feeling that he is not worthy to do so. Yeshua insists
and upon immersion the Holy Spirit in some visible, detectable form descends
upon Him in dove-like fashion. A voice booms from Heaven that can be none
other than the Father. He says that this is His son, and that He is well pleased
with Him. What comes next is the subject of Matthew chapter 4. Open your
Bibles to that chapter.
READ MATTHEW CHAPTER 4 all
The theme for chapter 4 is the beginning of Yeshua's ministry. Interestingly the
first thing Matthew deals with is a string a 3 temptations Jesus faced,
orchestrated by Satan. It is curious that we are told that it was the "Spirit" that led
Yeshua into the wilderness (the Judean desert that John the Baptist called
home). The Spirit has to be referring to the Holy Spirit; so it is God that guided
Christ into the desert to have an encounter with the Devil. The term "The Devil"
comes from the Greek word used here, which is diabolos. It is an attempted
translation of the Hebrew term Satan, which itself means adversary. So these
several terms for the evil arch enemy of God like Devil, Satan, Evil One,
Adversary, and others are equal and referring to this same evil spiritual being.
Sometimes we can forget that Satan, like all other beings or objects, was created
by the only Creator that exists: The God of Israel. Naturally, even though he
wants to be, Satan is not equal to his Creator. The Bible makes it clear that Satan
is the source of all evil, all degradation, and thus the underlying cause of all sin.
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Let me state without hesitation that those who say there is no God, and that as
humans they are the superior beings of this planet (if not Universe), are operating
in the image of the Adversary. Those who in English are called atheists are the
most dangerous creatures on this planet because they embody the very essence
of the Devil: those who oppose the Creator, see themselves as equal to Him, and
desire to take His place.
We won't find a great deal of information in the Bible about the realm of the Devil,
nor much about the realm of God. This is because the writers of the Bible didn't
know much about those 2 realms and because they assumed that their readers
(at the minimum) accepted the idea that there exists two opposing spiritual
regimes: those beings that are loyal and obedient to God the Creator who
represents light and perfection, and those beings that are loyal and obedient to
Satan, God's adversary, who represents darkness and evil. So there is no need
to explain it.
Please notice that of the 3 temptations the Devil offers Yeshua, Yeshua rebukes
them all by quoting Scripture. And the Scripture He quotes is from the Torah;
specifically Deuteronomy 6 and 8. One of the reasons these particular passages
are appropriate is because of something we discussed in an earlier lesson: Jesus
is being depicted as a kind of second Moses, and thus Jesus is echoing Israel's
experience in the wilderness: the Exodus. As Davies and Allison so eloquently
put it:
"Having passed through the waters of a new exodus at his baptism, he
enters the desert to suffer a time of testing, his 40 days of fasting being
analogous to Israel's 40 years of wandering. Like Israel, Jesus is tested by
hunger. And like Israel, Jesus is tempted to idolatry".
In Deuteronomy 8 we read this that was spoken to Israel as they navigated the
trials of the wilderness and were about to emerge into the Promised Land:
CJB
Deuteronomy 8:2-3
2
You are to remember everything of the way in
which ADONAI led you these forty years in the desert, humbling and testing
you in order to know what was in your heart- whether you would obey his
mitzvot or not.
3
He humbled you, allowing you to become hungry, and
then fed you with man, which neither you nor your ancestors had ever
known, to make you understand that a person does not live on food alone
but on everything that comes from the mouth of ADONAI.
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God led the fleeing Israelites through the desert; He did so intentionally in a way
to achieve a specific purpose: to teach them, through testing and humbling, that
what was hidden in the deepest recesses of their hearts would pour out in
response to their circumstances. One of those humbling experiences they faced
was that they became hungry, and God's purpose for them enduring this was to
teach them that God's people don't live on food alone, but rather on what pours
forth from His mouth.....that is, His Word. His truth. His laws and commands.
Yeshua, as a sort of second Moses, would now face similar trials.
Indeed as verse 2 says, out in the desert Yeshua went without food for 40 days
and nights, and of course He became hungry (a rather significant
understatement!). For the Jews, the desert was not just a dangerous place it was
also a scary place. Even in the God commanded observances of Yom Kippur,
one of the rituals involved the Scapegoat. One of the goats was killed, and the
other was set free to wander in the desert and face evil.
CJB
Leviticus 16:8-10
8
Then Aharon is to cast lots for the two goats, one lot
for ADONAI and the other for 'Az'azel.
9
Aharon is to present the goat
whose lot fell to ADONAI and offer it as a sin offering.
10
But the goat whose
lot fell to 'Az'azel is to be presented alive to ADONAI to be used for making
atonement over it by sending it away into the desert for 'Az'azel.
There has always been mystery associated with this 'Az'azel. However the
general consensus within Judaism is that 'Az'azel was a powerful demon whose
earthly realm was the Judean desert. Notice in Leviticus how of the two goats,
one goes to God, the author of good, and the other goes to a demon, the author
of evil. And sure enough, out in the lonely desert, the starving Jesus (the One
designated to become our sin offering) encounters the Evil One. And what does
the Evil One do? He tempts Yeshua.
I want to inject here that what the Devil did towards Yeshua he does to us all,
even to Believers. At our weakest and most unexpected moments he tempts us
to go against God. Yeshua gave us the formula for resisting the Evil One. Satan
knew, of course, exactly who Yeshua is and what God's purpose is for Him. And
yet it didn't deter him whatsoever from attempting to pervert Yeshua's destiny
and mission.
Yeshua was beyond famished after 40 days and nights of not eating: His body
was literally deteriorating. It is interesting that Matthew says the fasting lasted for
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40 days and nights and not just 40 days because adding in the "and nights" is
not usual when speaking of periods of time in the Bible. Not surprisingly there
were a couple of famous Bible characters who came before Yeshua that spoke of
periods of time in the same way. Moses said:
CJB
Deuteronomy 9:9
9
I had gone up the mountain to receive the stone
tablets, the tablets on which was written the covenant ADONAI had made
with you. I stayed on the mountain forty days and nights without eating
food or drinking water.
So here we again see the connection between Moses and Christ, and the idea
that Christ is reliving the experience of Israel and the exodus. But even more
there is another important connection that is being made.
CJB
Jonah 2:1 ADONAI prepared a huge fish to swallow Yonah; and Yonah
was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
2
From the belly
of the fish Yonah prayed to ADONAI his God;
Everyone in ancient times understood that a day meant one entire sun and moon
appearance; daytime and nighttime in sequence. So the addition of the phrase
"and nights" is not a usual Hebrew expression but rather is rare. When something
is rare in the Bible, we need to pay attention. Later in His ministry Christ will
make use of this rare phrase and it's prophetic connections:
CJB
Matthew 12:38-40
38
At this some of the Torah-teachers said, "Rabbi, we
want to see a miraculous sign from you."
39
He replied, "A wicked and
adulterous generation asks for a sign? No! None will be given to it but the
sign of the prophet Yonah.
40
For just as Yonah was three days and three
nights in the belly of the sea-monster, so will the Son of Man be three days
and three nights in the depths of the earth.
It is the addition of the phrase "and nights" that is the connecting tissue that pulls
all of this together.
Although I've never experienced hunger to the level that Jesus was experiencing
it, I'm told it is painful. The Devil, however, has an easy solution for Him; he tells
Yeshua that IF He is really the Son of God, then turn the stones that are laying all
around Him into bread. The Devil of course is trying to sow self-doubt into Jesus.
IF....what a big word IF is; it is word meant to describe uncertainty. Have we all
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not heard deep within our minds: "If you are really saved, you would not have
had that bad thought or done that bad thing". "If you really love Jesus, He would
enable you to live a perfect life and do everything God wants you to do". At the
same time, this temptation of IF happens early in Christ's ministry and there is
ample biblical evidence that He indeed is still struggling with exactly who He is,
where He fits in His Father's plan, and how to justify or perhaps balance His
humanness with His divineness. I suspect that most of us will, similar to Yeshua,
struggle our entire lives to understand and balance our new Godly nature with
our old corrupted human nature. It is to be expected; and yet it is also fertile
ground for the Adversary to strike us at any moment. What do we do? We follow
Our Savior's example.
Yeshua responded to this attack by quoting the Bible; and as we discussed
earlier in the beginning of today's lesson, it was from the Torah that Yeshua
spoke to rebuke the Devil. He says from Deuteronomy 8:3: a person does not
live on food alone but on everything that comes from the mouth of
ADONAI.
This verse was of course spoken 1400 years earlier by Moses. The circumstance
was even similar. Listen to the entire passage:
CJB
Deuteronomy 8:3
3
He humbled you, allowing you to become hungry,
and then fed you with man, which neither you nor your ancestors had ever
known, to make you understand that a person does not live on food alone
but on everything that comes from the mouth of ADONAI.
God provided starving Israel with manna, but they grumbled and complained
about it, endlessly. They were thankful only for a moment. Would Christ, The Son
of God (remember, God also called Israel Son of God), behave as Israel did in
the wilderness? Or would he be faithful? As the second Moses, He quotes Moses
and passes the test. So far Yeshua is, indeed, the ideal Israel and not the
unfaithful one.
Next in verse 5 the Adversary takes Jesus to Jerusalem and the Temple. Note
that it was God who took Yeshua to the desert for testing (just as God took the
Israelite refugees to the desert for testing); but this time it is The Devil that takes
Yeshua to the holy city of Jerusalem for testing. He takes Him to the pinnacle of
the Temple and once again tries to sow seeds of doubt. He says "IF you are The
Son of God then jump." Will Yeshua have the faith to do the most fearful thing
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one can imagine? Will He jump and trust His Father to somehow, miraculously,
catch Him, saving His life? Wouldn't that be the result IF He was actually the Son
of God? Satan goes so far as to quote Scripture to Jesus in order to convince
Him to take the leap.
Instead of trying to prove Himself or prove God by throwing Himself off this high
place, He quotes Scripture to the Devil in response to the Devil using Psalm 91 to
make his point. There we read:
CJB
Psalm 91:11-12
11
for he will order his angels to care for you and guard
you wherever you go.
12
They will carry you in their hands, so that you
won't trip on a stone.
This is legitimate Scripture Satan is using. Even the context for it (which is about
God caring for His own) seems correct. Yeshua's response is more than
appropriate, it is a caution to us His disciples. Many of us are very good at
remembering Scripture passages. And sometimes when we encounter a difficult
or stressful situation or a tough decision, we can find ourselves hearing one of
those biblical passages in our minds telling us to do something challenging or
even frightening. But then we have to remember a principle that Jesus teaches
right here:
CJB
Deuteronomy 6:16
16
Do not put ADONAI your God to the test, as you
tested him at Massah [testing].
Let me give you a quick Hebrew lesson. While often in English translations we
see the idea of testing or tempting used twice in this verse, in fact that's an
illusion because it is three times. The Hebrew actually makes a play on words. In
the first use of the word test or tempting, the original Hebrew
is nacah (pronounced naw-saw). The 2nd time we see test or tempt in this verse
the original Hebrew is the same: nacah. But the 3rd use is Massah, and it mostly
means a place of tempting. In fact, nacah in this context is not best translated as
tempt or test as it is in many translations; rather nacah is meant in a judicial
sense, like putting someone on trial. So what this passage in Deuteronomy is
meaning is to not put God on trial, as Israel tried to put God on trial at the place
of tempting. God took Israel to a place to tempt them, thus putting their faith on
trial. But Israel tried to turn it around and put God on trial. We are never to put
God on trial; we are never to judge Him. And jumping off of a tall building trying to
prove to someone (perhaps even to yourself) that you have faith in God (because
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God is certainly able to catch you if He wants to) is to put God on trial and that is
never right.
I cannot tell you how many emails I get from sincere persons who are assured in
their minds, and backed-up with a Scripture verse, that they are to do something
that seems abundantly foolish, but they think they should do it for God. They are
among the hardest to persuade that what is really happening is that either the
Devil or more likely their own evil inclination is putting them in a losing situation,
which when it fails they will blame on God or at least they will lose a substantial
measure of faith and trust in Him. It is that they are certain that God's will for
them is to do something that appropriate Scripture teaching, in context, tells them
to do otherwise. And almost always it is because they so badly want to do what
their own will wants to do, they are blind to the error of it.
Yeshua rebukes this test of Satan by recalling the Massah incident during
Israel's exodus from Egypt.... once again providing connection between He and
Moses.
In verse 8, again the Devil leads Yeshua to a high place; this time even higher
than the pinnacle on the Temple. It is to a mountain top in order to gain a wide
vantage point so that Satan can dramatically make his offer. Notice how we go
from a low place, the desert, to a high place, the pinnacle of the Temple, to the
highest place..... a mountain top. And in lockstep with the ascending geography
is the ascending temptations. Now the Devil offers Christ the world that he lays
out before Him. He makes it clear that he has the ability to give Messiah all the
world's kingdoms for Him to rule over. The price? Bow down and worship him.
The point is not hard to see. It is Satan's attempt to replace God. I don't know
whether Yeshua, at this point in time, already knows that He is God's agent to
rule the world, or not. Nevertheless the world belongs to God because He is the
Creator of it. It is His and His alone to rule over, or to assign the rule to another.
Interestingly the Devil's offer of Christ worshipping him in exchange for world rule
uses the same word in Greek that the magi used when worshipping
Yeshua: proskuneo. It is better translated as homage. That is, just as the magi
paid homage in the political sense to the Christ Child (who the magi saw as a
king), so is the Devil telling Yeshua to pay homage in the political sense and
much less so in the religious sense because the Devil sees himself as ruler (king)
of the world. Satan is proposing a role reversal since we know from other Bible
passages that God has designated Yeshua to be the ruler of the world, with
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Satan bowing down to Him.
Yeshua again rebukes the Evil One with Scripture.
CJB
Deuteronomy 6:13 You are to fear ADONAI your God, serve him and
swear by his name.
The next words of this Gospel of Matthew are: "Then the Adversary left Him
alone". At that moment the Devil's hopes were crushed. The testing was over;
there was nothing left to test. He had failed to shake the faith of Our Messiah,
The Son of God.
We'll continue with chapter 4 next week.
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