Matthew
Chapter 4
The Trial in the Desert
Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert so he could be tested by the devil.
After Jesus fasted for forty days and nights, he was famished.
Then the tempter came to him and said:
“If you are the Son of God, command these stones to turn into bread.”
But Jesus answered:
“Scripture says:
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word
that comes from the mouth of God.”
Then the devil took Jesus to the Holy City, set him on the highest wall of the temple,
and said to him:
“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for scripture says:
God has given orders
to his angels concerning you.
Their hands will hold you up,
lest you hurt your foot
against a stone.”
Jesus replied:
“But scripture also says:
You shall not put
the LORD your God to the test.”
Then the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the nations of the world in all their greatness and splendor,
and he said:
“All this I will give you if you kneel down and worship me.”
Then Jesus answered:
“Be off, Satan! It is written:
Worship the LORD your God
and serve him alone!”
Then the devil left him, and angels came and waited on him.
His Proclamation Begins
Then Jesus learned that John had been arrested, he retreated into Galilee.
He left Nazareth and moved to Capernaum by the sea, at the border of Zebulun and Naphtali.
In this way, the word of the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
crossed by the Road of the Sea;
and you, who live beyond the Jordan,
Galilee, a land of pagans:
The people who lived in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those who live in the land
of the shadow of death,
a light has shone.”
From that time on, Jesus began to proclaim his message:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
He Calls His First Disciples
As Jesus walked by the lake of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake because they were fishermen.
He said to them:
“Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
At once, they left their nets and followed him.
He continued on from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in a boat with their father Zebedee, repairing their nets. Jesus called them,
and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Narrative Summary of Jesus’ Activity
Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, while healing all kinds of sickness and disease among the people.
The news about him spread throughout all of Syria, and people brought all their sick and those suffering: the possessed, the insane, the paralyzed; and he healed them all.
Large crowds followed him from Galilee and the Ten Cities, from Jerusalem, Judea, and across the Jordan.
Commentaries
The Trial in the Desert.
Matthew then presents one of the most important episodes in the New Testament, often called “the temptations of Jesus,” although it is better described as “trials.” Literary and theological aspects make it one of the most detailed texts.
Jesus has just been declared the Son of God, and as such, he is about to start the new Exodus, which will be tough and painful. However, before this, the evangelist shows us, like a grand portico, Jesus’ confrontation with the Devil, which will be a constant throughout the journey and which he will overcome (cf. Mt 12:38; 16:22; Jn 6:15; 7:3; 12:27).
His Proclamation Begins.
Capernaum, by the lake, will be his city (9:1). Galilee, once pagan or at least paganized, a meeting place of peoples and cultures, will serve as the setting and platform for his revelation, similar to the great oracle of Isaiah 8:23-9:1. Thus begins the fulfillment of the universal mission to preach the Gospel to the whole world (28:18f).
He Calls His First Disciples.
Jesus calls, and in this he differs from the teachers of his time, whose disciples he chose. Jesus chooses his own. The call is clear and direct; the response is quick and unconditional: they respond to his call and, leaving everything behind, begin to follow him.
With these qualities, a new form of discipleship begins: the Christian discipleship—an unavoidable and binding calling, a lifelong commitment involving all aspects of the Master’s life and mission: “I will make you fishers of men” (19).
Narrative Summary of Jesus’ Activity.
Good news that only focuses on the “soul” rather than seeing men and women as whole persons is not the true Good News of Jesus; therefore, where Matthew mentions “all kinds of diseases and infirmities,” we should also understand today: everything that burdens us and weighs us down, like oppression, injustice, and marginalization.