NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible CBSB_Digital Sampler | Page 39
Matthew 4:6 | 1615
Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness
4:1-11pp — Mk 1:12,13; Lk 4:1-13
Then J esus was led by the Spirit into
4
the wilderness to be tempted by the
devil. After fasting forty days and for
a
4:2 f Ex 34:28;
1Ki 19:8
4:3 g 1Th 3:5
h Mt 3:17;
Jn 5:25; Ac 9:20
2
ty nights, f he was hungry. 3 The tempt
er g came to him and said, “If you are the
Son of God, h tell these s tones to become
bread.”
4:4 i Dt 8:3
4:5 j Ne 11:1;
Da 9:24;
Mt 27:53
allusion instead to Isa 42:1, given the way Matthew trans-
lates this passage in 12:18.
4:1 to be tempted. In Scripture, God’s servants gener-
ally faced testing before they were ready for their public
ministries. Following Biblical precedent, ancient Judaism
recognized the devil as tempter (cf. 1Ch 21:1), accuser
(Job 1:9 – 11; 2:4 – 5; Zec 3:1) and deceiver. J esus being led
into the
probably
#1 wilderness
Palestine (Old
Galilee) evokes Israel’s experience
(cf. Ex 13:18; see note on Mt 4:2). “Led,” “wilderness,” and
being tempted or tested for “forty” periods of time all
appear together in Dt 8:2; Jesus quotes Dt 8:3 in v. 4.
4:2 fasting forty days and forty nights. This period of fast-
ing before Jesus’ ministry recalls Moses fasting 40 days
and nights before receiving the law (Ex 24:18; 34:28;
cf. 2:20); Elijah also followed the same example (1Ki 19:8).
Jesus being tested in the wilderness 40 days also likely
recalls Israel being tested in the wilderness for 40 years
(see notes on 2:15,17 – 18).
4 Jesus answered, “It is writ
ten: ‘Man
shall not live on b
read a lone, but on ev
ery word that c omes from the m
outh of
God.’ b ” i
5
Then the devil took him to the holy
city j and had him s tand on the highest
point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of
a 1
The Greek for tempted can also mean tested.
b 4 Deut. 8:3
4:3 The tempter directly challenges or reinterprets God’s
words in 3:17; cf. Ge 3:1 – 4. Magicians sometimes claimed
the power to change one substance into another. J esus
can multiply food, but trusts his Father’s care (cf. v. 11; 6:11;
14:19 – 20).
4:4 It is written. A common formula for citing Scripture
(already in, e.g., Jos 8:31; 2Ch 31:3; Ezr 6:18). In vv. 4 – 10,
Jesus quotes three texts given to Israel when they were
tempted in the wilderness. Here he quotes from Dt 8:3,
which in context addressed Israel as God’s “son” (Dt 8:5).
The devil might seek to offer a different interpretation of
Jesus’ sonship (v. 3; cf. 3:17); J esus, however, appeals to
Scripture to define this sonship.
4:5 highest point of the temple. Might refer to the temple
complex’s southeast corner overlooking the Kidron Valley.
4:6 Later rabbis also expected that even the devil and
demons knew Scripture, though the devil did not obey
it. Again reframing J esus’ sonship (3:17; see note on 4:4),
map_41_04_jesusbaptismtemptation
~ 66%
For Jesus’ temptation, see notes on
Mt 4:1–11; Lk 4:1–13.
Many interpreters place John’s baptismal
ministry at a point on the middle reaches
of the Jordan River, where trade routes
converge at a natural ford not far from the
modern site of Tel Shalem.
EE
I L Capernaum
Sepphoris
Caesarea
Maritima
Scythopolis
Salim
(Tel Shalem)
Aenon
Jerusalem
I
D
U M E A
Beersheba
A
SAMARI
A
J U D E
Gaza
Gadara
Bethany on the other
side of the Jordan?
Nazareth
Sea of
Galilee
Events surrounding Jesus’ baptism
reveal the intense religious excite-
ment and social ferment of the early
days of John the Baptist’s ministry.
Herod had been cruel and rapa-
cious; Roman military occupation
was harsh. Some agitation centered
around the change of governors from
Gratus to Pilate in AD 26. Most of the
people hoped for a religious solution
to their intolerable political situa-
tion, and when they heard of a new
prophet, they flocked out into the
desert to hear him. The religious sect
(Essenes) from Qumran professed sim-
ilar doctrines of r epentance and bap-
tism. Jesus was baptized at Bethany
on the other side of the Jordan (see
Jn 1:28). John also baptized at “Aenon
near Salim” (Jn 3:23).
JESUS’ BAPTISM AND TEMPTATION
Baptism
(possible site)
Temptation
Jericho
Qumran
Dead
Sea
Bethany on
the other side
of the Jordan?
Baptism
(traditional site)
Machaerus
0
0
10 km.
10 miles