New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 4

Tested and Triumphant

Forty days of hunger, three devastating temptations, and the devil's best offer — Jesus refuses every shortcut to power.

King James Version BSB KJV

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1Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

5Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

8Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

12Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;

13And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

14That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

15The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

16The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

17From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

18And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

21And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.

22And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

23And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

24And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

25And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.

Understand This

Matthew 4, explained

What Matthew 4 is saying

The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness for forty days of fasting and temptation by Satan. Each temptation targets a dimension of messianic vocation—provision, spectacle, and political power—and Jesus responds with Deuteronomy quotations. After John's arrest, Jesus relocates to Capernaum in Galilee, begins preaching the kingdom, and calls His first disciples: Peter, Andrew, James, and John.

The background behind it

The forty-day wilderness sojourn deliberately parallels Israel's forty years of testing. Jesus's use of Deuteronomy 6–8 shows Him succeeding precisely where Israel failed. Capernaum's location on trade routes made it a strategic base for a Galilean ministry.

Themes running underneath

Jesus is presented as the faithful Israel who withstands testing through obedience to Scripture. The temptations reveal that messiahship will not operate through self-serving power but through suffering obedience. The kingdom proclamation and disciple-calling inaugurate a new community.

Why it still matters

Jesus's responses to temptation demonstrate that Scripture internalized is the primary weapon against distorted versions of God's will. His call to fishermen also shows that kingdom work begins with ordinary people willing to leave everything.

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Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.