Jesus Began To Preach
– Matthew Four –
Matthew chapter four gives us a look at the
faithfulness and work of the Savior. In this chapter Matthew shows us, (1) a
tempted Savior (Matthew 4:1-11), (2) a preaching Savior (Matthew
The Devil put Christ under severe temptation immediately after God
declared Him to be the Son of God following His baptism. The goal of the wicked
one was to cause the Savior to doubt God. Temptation is the plight of all
mankind. "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust,
and enticed." (James 1:14) Jesus was able to resist temptation and with
the help of God so are we! Satan tempts at those moments when we are the
weakest. But with enough of God's word within us we are able to resist. In dealing
with each temptation Jesus answered "It is written." Satan will
attack everywhere and under every circumstance, so be ready.
The wonderful Savior preached the same message that John had
preached before Him. "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
When Jesus began His preaching He called men to be His disciples.
Later He named these special men "apostles." Among those that were
called were Peter, Andrew, James and John. Jesus chose those that would have
been rejected by the world. They were called to leave everything and follow
Him.
As Jesus went about preaching He proved Himself to be the Son of
God by the great miracles that He did. "Jesus went about all
Jesus
was a tempted Savior – Matthew 4:1-11: At this point Jesus began His
preaching ministry as described in Isaiah 61:1. "The Spirit of the Lord
GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto
the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to
the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."
Before this, however, Jesus had to deal with the Devil. The Devil is the
tempter. "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted of the devil." (Matthew 4:1) The tempter came when Jesus was weak
with forty days of fasting. (Matthew 4:2) The tempter used doubt and deception
to tempt Jesus and Jesus used scripture to resist him. (Matthew 4:3-11)
Three times Satan tempted and three times Jesus answered with
Scripture. His reply was "It is written." How Christians handle temptation
shows both the reality and depth of their faith. Satan learned that as long as
one stands on the word of God he can resist temptation. Satan even used
scripture or in this case misused scripture to try to cast doubt in Jesus'
mind. (Psalm 91:11-12)
Jesus
was a preaching Savior – Matthew 4:12-17: Gospel preaching brings
people out of darkness into God's marvelous light. Without the gospel people
sit "in the region and shadow of death." The good news for the poor
soul in darkness is hope through Christ. Jesus, like John the Baptist, preached
repentance (a change of mind that results in a change of life) and the kingdom
of heaven (the church). "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say,
Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:17)
It is impossible to preach the gospel without preaching "the
kingdom of heaven." Christ has only one church and all the saved are added
to it. (Acts
Jesus
was a calling Savior – Matthew 4:18-22: Jesus called four fishermen to
follow Him. They were Peter, Andrew, James and John. His call was simple --
“follow me.” The purpose of the call to the apostles was to make them
"fishers of men." "And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will
make you fishers of men." (Matthew 4:19) They were still to be fishermen
but in a much higher sense. They were to be involved in the noble employment,
and purpose of rescuing men from sin. Jesus still calls "follow me and I
will make you fishers of men!"
These men were called to follow Jesus as (1) teacher (Matthew
Jesus
was a healing Savior – Matthew 4:23-25: Christ healed "all kinds
of sickness" and "all kinds of diseases." He did not heal for
money or fame but as proof that He is the Son of God. "And many other
sings truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which
are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life
through his name." (John 20:30-3l)
Jesus healed the bodies of men but he was far more interested in
their souls. "All sick people that were taken with divers
diseases and torments" were brought to Jesus
and were healed. He healed both the worst physical and mental afflictions. He
also healed those that were under the total power of demons. Jesus healed
without any means. He did so just be speaking the word. This showed Him truly
to be the Son of God.
Great multitudes of people followed Jesus. Some followed for the
healing of their bodies and others for their spiritual needs. Do you follow
Jesus with a heart filled with love and obedience?
To have Jesus as Lord you must hear the gospel and believe,
(Romans