4:1 Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness to be tested by the enemy of God.
4:2 And after he had fasted for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
4:3 Then the tester appeared to him and said, “If you are the Representative of God, command that these stones be turned to food.”
4:4 But he answered him, saying, “A person lives not on food alone, but upon every message that comes from the mouth of God.”
4:5 Then the enemy took him up into the holy city, and sat him upon the pinnacle of the temple.
4:6 He said to him, “If you are the Representative of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He shall charge His angels concerning you to raise you up with their hands to prevent you from injuring your foot against a stone.”1
4:7 Jesus said to him, “It has also been written, ‘You shall not put the LORD your God to the test.’”2
4:8 Again, the enemy took him up to an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the universe in their splendor:
4:9 Then he said to him, “All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me.”
4:10 Jesus replied, “Go away, enemy of God! For it is written, “You shall worship the LORD your God and Him only shall you serve.”3
4:11 Then the enemy left him, and angels came and cared for him.
4:12 Now when Jesus heard that John was put into prison, he departed to Galilee.
4:13 After leaving Nazareth, he arrived and stayed in Capernaum, which sits by the sea in the region of Zabulon and Nephthalim.
4:14 This accomplished what was spoken through Isaiah the Prophet:
4:15 “The land of Zabulon and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
4:16 The people who dwelled in darkness saw a great light; and for those who dwelled in the land and the shadow of death, upon them a light has dawned.”4
4:17 From that time, Jesus began to preach, and taught, “Change your heart, for the sanctuary of God is readily available.”5
4:18 As Jesus walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers – Simon who he named Peter and Andrew his brother – casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
4:19 And he told them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people.”
4:20 They immediately left their nets and followed him.
4:21 Continuing from there he saw two other brothers – James the son of Zebedee and John his brother – in a boat with Zebedee their father, repairing their nets. He called them by name,
4:22 and they immediately left the boat and their father and followed him.
4:23 Then Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and preaching the message of the sanctuary. And he healed all types of sicknesses and all types of diseases among the people.
4:24 His fame spread throughout Syria and they brought to him those suffering with various diseases and torments, and those who were possessed with impure spirits and those who were lunatics and those with palsy – and he healed them.
4:25 Great crowds of people followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis6 and from Jerusalem and from Judea and from Jordan.
Footnotes:
1. Verse 4:6.
2. Verse 4:7.
Do not put the LORD your God to the test as you did at Massah. (Deut. 6:16 NIV)
3. Verse 4:10.
4. Verse 4:16.
5. Verse 4:17. See Verse 3:2 and Footnote 7.
6. Verse 4:25. Decapolis means "ten cities" – located beyond the Jordan into ancient Syria. According to the Greek Pliny, these cities included Damascus, Opoton, Philadelphia, Raphana, Scythopolis, Gadara, Hippondion, Pella, Galasa, and Canatha.
4:2 And after he had fasted for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
4:3 Then the tester appeared to him and said, “If you are the Representative of God, command that these stones be turned to food.”
4:4 But he answered him, saying, “A person lives not on food alone, but upon every message that comes from the mouth of God.”
4:5 Then the enemy took him up into the holy city, and sat him upon the pinnacle of the temple.
4:6 He said to him, “If you are the Representative of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He shall charge His angels concerning you to raise you up with their hands to prevent you from injuring your foot against a stone.”1
4:7 Jesus said to him, “It has also been written, ‘You shall not put the LORD your God to the test.’”2
4:8 Again, the enemy took him up to an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the universe in their splendor:
4:9 Then he said to him, “All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me.”
4:10 Jesus replied, “Go away, enemy of God! For it is written, “You shall worship the LORD your God and Him only shall you serve.”3
4:11 Then the enemy left him, and angels came and cared for him.
4:12 Now when Jesus heard that John was put into prison, he departed to Galilee.
4:13 After leaving Nazareth, he arrived and stayed in Capernaum, which sits by the sea in the region of Zabulon and Nephthalim.
4:14 This accomplished what was spoken through Isaiah the Prophet:
4:15 “The land of Zabulon and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
4:16 The people who dwelled in darkness saw a great light; and for those who dwelled in the land and the shadow of death, upon them a light has dawned.”4
4:17 From that time, Jesus began to preach, and taught, “Change your heart, for the sanctuary of God is readily available.”5
4:18 As Jesus walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers – Simon who he named Peter and Andrew his brother – casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
4:19 And he told them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people.”
4:20 They immediately left their nets and followed him.
4:21 Continuing from there he saw two other brothers – James the son of Zebedee and John his brother – in a boat with Zebedee their father, repairing their nets. He called them by name,
4:22 and they immediately left the boat and their father and followed him.
4:23 Then Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and preaching the message of the sanctuary. And he healed all types of sicknesses and all types of diseases among the people.
4:24 His fame spread throughout Syria and they brought to him those suffering with various diseases and torments, and those who were possessed with impure spirits and those who were lunatics and those with palsy – and he healed them.
4:25 Great crowds of people followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis6 and from Jerusalem and from Judea and from Jordan.
Footnotes:
1. Verse 4:6.
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you say, "The LORD is my refuge," and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My Name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation." (Psalm 91 NIV)
2. Verse 4:7.
Do not put the LORD your God to the test as you did at Massah. (Deut. 6:16 NIV)
3. Verse 4:10.
Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in His Name. (Deut. 6:13 NIV)
4. Verse 4:16.
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—the people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:1-2 NIV)
5. Verse 4:17. See Verse 3:2 and Footnote 7.
6. Verse 4:25. Decapolis means "ten cities" – located beyond the Jordan into ancient Syria. According to the Greek Pliny, these cities included Damascus, Opoton, Philadelphia, Raphana, Scythopolis, Gadara, Hippondion, Pella, Galasa, and Canatha.
