Matthew 4
The Temptation and Testing of Jesus (4:1–11)
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he became hungry; 3 and when the tempter came to him, he said, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” 4 But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes through the mouth of God’” [Deut. 8:3].
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said unto him, “If you are a Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels to be around you, and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone’” [Ps. 91:11–12]. 7 Jesus said unto him, “It is also written long ago: ‘Do not tempt the Lord your God’” [Deut. 6:16].
8 Again, the devil took Jesus up into a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said unto him, “I will give you all these things, if you bow down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said unto him, “Go away, Satan! For it has been written: ‘You will worship the Lord your God, and you will serve only him’” [Deut. 6:13]. 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were serving him.
Jesus Begins His Ministry (4:12–17)
12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned into Galilee; 13 leaving Nazareth, he went to live in Capernaum, which was by the lake on the shores of Zaboulon and Nephthalim. 14 This fulfilled what was said by the prophet Isaiah: 15 “Land of Zaboulun and land of Nephthalim, the way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. 16 The people sitting in darkness saw a great light and a light dawned upon those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death” [Isa. 9:1–2]. 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has come near.”
The First Four Disciples (4:18–22)
18 While Jesus was walking toward the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers (Simon, who was called Peter, and Andrew, his brother) casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 He said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,” and 20 immediately, they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers (James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother) in the boat with Zebedee, their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately, they left both the boat and their father and followed him.
Jesus Heals the Sick (4:23–25)
23 Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. 24 The news about him spread throughout all Syria, and they brought unto him all who were ill: those suffering with various diseases and pains; those who were possessed of demons, or had epilepsy, or were paralyzed. And he healed them. 25 Large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
