The newly anointed King fasted in His humanity, standing on the ground of man. On the other hand, He was also the Son of God, as God the Father had declared at His baptism (Matt. 3:17). For Him to accomplish His ministry for the kingdom of the heavens, He had to defeat God's enemy, the devil, Satan. This He had to do as a man. Hence, He stood as a man to confront the enemy of God. The devil, knowing this, tempted Him to leave the standing of man and assume His position as the Son of God. Forty days before, God the Father had declared from the heavens that He was the beloved Son of the Father. The subtle tempter took that declaration of God the Father as the ground from which to tempt Him. If He had assumed His position as the Son of God before the enemy, He would have lost the standing to defeat him. (See note Matt. 4:4^2a.)

To make the stones become loaves of bread would certainly have been a miracle. This was proposed by the devil as a temptation. Many times the thought of having a miracle performed in certain situations is a temptation from the devil. The devil's temptation of the first man, Adam, concerned the matter of eating (Gen. 3:1-6). His temptation here of the second man, Christ, also concerned the matter of eating. Eating is always a trap used by the devil to ensnare man, causing man to be tempted in a personal way.

The newly anointed King confronted the enemy's temptation not by His own word but by the word of the Scriptures.

The tempter tempted the new King to take His position as the Son of God. But He answered with the word of the Scriptures, "Man...," indicating that He stood in the position of man to deal with the enemy. The demons address Jesus as the Son of God (Matt. 8:29), but the evil spirits do not confess that Jesus came in the flesh (1 John 4:3), because in confessing Jesus as a man they admit that they are defeated. Although the demons confess Jesus as the Son of God, the devil will not allow people to believe that He is the Son of God, because in so doing they would be saved (John 20:31).

This word indicates that the Lord Jesus took the word of God in the Scriptures as His bread and lived on it.

The tempter is the devil (v. 1; 1 Thes. 3:5).

Forty days and forty nights is a time of testing and suffering (Deut. 9:9, 18; 1 Kings 19:8). The newly anointed King was led by the Spirit to fast for this period of time that He might enter into His kingly ministry.

The Greek word means accuser, slanderer (Rev. 12:9-10). The devil, Satan, accuses us before God and slanders us before men.

First, the Spirit led the anointed King to be tempted by the devil. This temptation was a test to prove that He was qualified to be the King for the kingdom of the heavens.

After being baptized in water and anointed with the Spirit of God, Jesus as a man moved according to the leading of the Spirit. This indicates that His kingly ministry in His humanity was according to the Spirit.

Luke 4:6 says that the kingdoms of the world and their glory were delivered to the devil; hence, to whomever he wills he gives them. Before his fall, Satan as the archangel was appointed by God to be the ruler of the world (Ezek. 28:13-14). Hence, he is called "the ruler of this world" (John 12:31) and holds all the kingdoms of this world and their glory in his hand. Seeking to be worshipped, he presented all these to tempt the newly anointed King. The heavenly King overcame this temptation, but the coming Antichrist will not (Rev. 13:2, 4).

Defeated in his temptation in the religious sphere, the devil presented his third temptation to the new King, this time in the realm of the glory of this world. He showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. The sequence of the subtle one's temptations — first, in regard to human living; second, in regard to religion; and third, in regard to worldly glory — is especially seductive in relation to the practical affairs of human life.

The Greek word means try exceedingly, test thoroughly.

To quote the Scriptures concerning one aspect of something requires us to take into account the other aspects as well, in order to be safeguarded from the deception of the tempter. This was what the new King did here to counter the tempter's second temptation. Many times we need to tell the tempter, "Again, it is written."

Because the Lord Jesus had defeated him by quoting the Scriptures, the tempter imitated His way and tempted Him by quoting the Scriptures, albeit in a subtle way.

There was no need for the Lord Jesus to do this. It was simply a temptation enticing Him to show that as the Son of God He was able to act miraculously. Any thought of doing miraculous things in religion is a temptation of the devil.

The devil's first temptation of the new King was regarding the matter of human living. Defeated in this, he turned in his second temptation to religion, tempting the new King to demonstrate that He was the Son of God by casting Himself down from the wing of the temple.

The protruding parts, resembling wings, on the left and right sides of the temple's front portico; these parts were more elevated than the temple itself.

All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16). Hence, the words in the Scriptures are the words that proceed out through the mouth of God.

Gk. rhema, the instant word, differing from logos, the constant word. In this temptation all the words quoted by the Lord from Deuteronomy were logos, the constant word in the Scriptures. But when He quoted them, they became rhema, the instant word applied to His situation.

Satan, from Hebrew, means adversary. Satan is not only God's enemy outside God's kingdom but also God's adversary within God's kingdom, where he rebels against God.

The new King rebuked the devil for his presentation and defeated him by standing on the ground of man to worship and serve only God. To worship or to serve anything other than God for gain is always a temptation from the devil, that he may secure worship.

The devil's temptation of the first man, Adam, was a success; his temptation of the second man, Christ, was an absolute failure. This indicates that he will have no place in the new King's kingdom of the heavens.

The angels came and ministered to the tempted King, who was here a suffering man (cf. Luke 22:43).

John the Baptist ministered in the wilderness, not in the holy temple in the holy city; still, his ministry was in Judea, not far from the "holy" things. Because of the people's rejection of John, the Lord Jesus withdrew into Galilee to begin His ministry, far away from the holy temple and the holy city. This occurred sovereignly to fulfill the prophecy in Isa. 9:1-2.

Galilee was a place with a mixed population of Jews and Gentiles. Hence, it was called "Galilee of the Gentiles" and was despised by the orthodox Jews (John 7:41, 52). The newly appointed King began His kingly ministry for the kingdom of the heavens in such a despised place, far from the capital of the country, dignified Jerusalem, with its sacred temple, the center of the orthodox religion. This implied that the ministry of the newly anointed King was for a heavenly kingdom that was different from the earthly kingdom of David (the Messianic kingdom).

The new King's ministry for the kingdom of the heavens began not with earthly power but with heavenly light, which was the King Himself as the light of life shining in the shadow of death.

The new King continued the preaching of His forerunner, John the Baptist (3:2).

The new King's ministry was not in the capital but beside the sea. His forerunner's ministry began by the riverside and consisted of burying the religious and terminating their religion. The new King's ministry began by the seashore and consisted of catching men who were not very religious, men who lived around the sea instead of in the holy place, and making them fishers of men for the establishing of the kingdom of the heavens.

When Peter and Andrew were called by the Lord, they were casting a net into the sea. They were made fishers of men (v. 19). Eventually, Peter became the first great fisher for the establishing of the kingdom of the heavens on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:37-42; 4:4).

Lit., arc-shaped net.

Prior to this time, in the place where John had preached, Andrew, one of the two disciples there of John the Baptist, had brought Peter to the Lord (John 1:35-36, 40-42). That was the first time Andrew and Peter had met the Lord. Here the Lord met them the second time, this time at the Sea of Galilee. They were attracted by the Lord as the great light shining in the darkness of death and followed Him for the establishing of the kingdom of the heavens in the light of life.

When James and John were called by the Lord, they were in a boat, mending their nets. Eventually, John became a real mender, mending the rents in the church by his ministry of life. (See his three Epistles and chs. 2 and 3 of Revelation.)

One of the two disciples of John the Baptist in John 1:40 was John the apostle. Thus, he must have met the Lord before, in the place where Peter first met the Lord. Here at the Sea of Galilee was the second meeting. Like Peter and Andrew, John and his brother were attracted by the Lord and followed Him.

A synagogue is a place where the Jews read and learn the Scriptures (Luke 4:16-17; Acts 13:14-15).

Or, good news, glad tidings. In this book the gospel is called "the gospel of the kingdom." It includes not only forgiveness of sins (cf. Luke 24:47) and the imparting of life (cf. John 20:31) but also the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 24:14) with the power of the coming age (Heb. 6:5), the power to cast out demons and heal diseases (Isa. 35:5-6; Matt. 10:1). Both forgiveness of sins and the imparting of life are for the kingdom.

Under the shining of the new King as the great light shining in the darkness, great crowds were attracted to follow Him for the kingdom of the heavens.

A district of ten cities.