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1–11. Temptation of Jesus Christ by the devil in the desert. – 12–16. Retirement to Galilee and settlement in Capernaum. – 17–22. The preaching of Jesus Christ and the election of disciples. – 23–25. Further preaching in Galilee, healing of the sick and the gathering of many people to Christ. Matthew 4:1. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, (Cf. Mark 1:12–13; Luke 4:1–2.) “Then” here serves not so much to indicate time as to connect speech. However, from comparison with the testimony of other evangelists, we can conclude that the temptation of Christ took place immediately after baptism. In Mark (Mark 1:12) instead of “then” - “immediately” (εὐθύς), in Luke it is indicated not at the time, but at the circumstances that bring temptation and baptism into close connection (Luke 4:1). Luke says something like this: at the time of baptism, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus Christ in the form of a dove, and while He was filled with the Holy Spirit, He returned from the Jordan, etc. Therefore, we must not assume that there was an interval between baptism and temptation. What would seem unclear in Matthew alone becomes clear from the testimony of other evangelists. “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness.” Matthew replaces with the word “erected” (ἀνήχθη) the sharper expression of Mark ἐκβάλλει, softly translated in the Russian Bible - “leads”, the exact meaning - throws out, pushes out. In Luke - “he was led” (ἤγετο) - the expression is the same in meaning as the expression in Matthew, with the only difference that in Matthew the verb combined with ἀνά means - to rise from below upward, to ascend (in fact, to be led upward). Following Matthew, we must understand some elevated area compared to the one where the baptism took place. "Into the Desert". It is unknown what kind of desert is meant here. We saw that John preached in the desert of Judea (Matthew 3:1), and by this word we cannot understand deserts in the proper sense (like, for example, the Sahara), but an area, although sparsely populated, and not completely devoid of all vegetation. When speaking about the abduction of Christ, the evangelists do not mention the desert of Judea. In view of this uncertainty, some exegetes here refer to the desert through which the Jews wandered for forty years. This assumption is led by the undoubted parallels that exist between the wanderings of the Jews in the desert and the circumstances of temptation, namely the following: 1) the passage of the Jews across the Jordan and the baptism of Jesus Christ; 2) famine in the desert and the famine of Jesus Christ; 3) the trials of the Jews in the desert for their moral purification and elevation - and the temptation of Christ by the devil; 4) satisfying the hunger of the Jews with manna and the temptation to turn stones into bread to satisfy hunger; 5) the copper serpent and the cross of the Savior, and precisely depending on the stay in the desert. However, against the opinion that Christ was on the Sinai Peninsula, it can be argued that the evangelists would probably have mentioned this fact if this had been the case. Mark's testimony that the Savior was immediately taken into the desert and that there, probably, His forty-day fast also immediately began, serves, although in part, as confirmation that these events occurred in the nearest and not distant periods of time, while one journey to Sinai would have required at least three days (Elijah went there forty days and forty nights - 1 Kings 19:8). It is assumed that the place of temptation was some secluded and elevated place near the place where John baptized. The word "by the Spirit" is unclear. In Greek it is used with an article. Here we can understand both the Holy Spirit and Christ’s own spirit. In the first case, the expression would mean that Jesus Christ was led into the desert by some outside force, namely the power of the Holy Spirit, in the second - that He withdrew into the desert as a result of the internal demands of His own spirit, according to his own desire or attraction. Mark's expression is also ambiguous. Luke is more specific: πλήρης πνεύματος ἁγίου, “filled with the Holy Spirit” and (literally) “in this Spirit” was raised up... Therefore, we must attribute the elevation into the wilderness to the extraneous (this expression, of course, is inaccurate) power of the Holy Spirit, because, although Christ’s own spirit was holy, nevertheless rapprochement with the circumstances of baptism gives the right to assert that Christ was elevated by the Holy Spirit, Who descended on Him in the form of a dove. "For temptation from the devil". The very possibility of temptation is based on the fact that a person can commit some sin. Apparently, the temptation of Jesus Christ would have been in vain if He had not sinned before the temptation and could not have allowed any sin during the temptation. If it is true that He Himself told the disciples about His temptation and the disciples correctly conveyed His words, then the question arises: speaking about His temptation, did He Himself assume in Himself the possibility of sin and fall? These questions represent one of the deepest theological problems. Accepting the church teaching that Christ was sinless and not only sinless, but also could not sin (see Orthodox dogmatic theology of Metropolitan Macarius. St. Petersburg, 1868. Vol. II. P. 79), we leave this question and limit ourselves to only a small analysis of the expressions used in the Gospel and partly the facts of temptation themselves. The expression: “for temptation” indicates the purpose for which Jesus Christ was raised by the Spirit into the wilderness, and, moreover, a special, exclusive purpose. He was erected and retired into the desert solely for this purpose. If some other goal had been in mind, the evangelists, of course, would have said so. We saw that, having been baptized, Christ took upon Himself the form of a servant. This was the greatest feat in the history of mankind. Then He is taken into the desert and subjected to temptation, not as God, not just as a man, but as a human slave, voluntarily accepting the responsibilities of slavish service to humanity in order to dominate people through this service. Here we can see the connection between temptation and the event that preceded it, baptism. Just as the slave Israel, who came out of Egypt, was tempted in the desert, so Christ, having passed through the waters of baptism (which correspond to the waters of the Red Sea), is subjected to the same temptation. The word "devil" literally means: the one who scatters, separates one object from another or some people from others. In this sense, this word is used, for example, by Xenophon at the beginning of his Anabasis: Tissaphernes scatters (so almost literally) Cyrus and his brother, inspiring Cyrus that his brother is plotting against him (I, 1, 3). Thus, the word “devil” generally means a person who produces discord, division, confusion in thinking and feelings. Since this is done primarily through slander or deception, hence the usual (albeit figurative) meaning of the word devil - slanderer or deceiver. Hence, in a figurative meaning - adversary, enemy. The devil is the enemy of people because he breaks the connection (as if scattering, separating) them between God and man (Kremer). In the New Testament, the devil is not distinguished from Satan at all, with the exception of a few cases (Rev. 12:9, 20:2), where both words are placed side by side and, obviously, serve only as different names for the same “ancient serpent.” Satan is a Hebrew word and means adversary. In the New Testament the word is sometimes applied to people (Matthew 16:23; Mark 8:33). But in other cases it always means the “ancient serpent,” the devil, the disembodied spirit who opposes God and produces evil in the world. Matthew 4:2. and, having fasted forty days and forty nights, at last he became hungry. Literally: “and fasting forty days and forty nights.” This, apparently, does not mean approximately forty days, because... To denote approach in Greek, special adverbs are used. Regarding the Savior's fast, one can apparently pose only a single question: is it possible for a person to spend such a long time without food at all and can he remain alive after that? It is known that several years ago a number of similar experiments were carried out in America, and these experiments, under the supervision of doctors, proved that a person, even an ordinary one, can withstand a full forty-day fast. It is, of course, difficult to judge what the Savior’s state of mind was in the desert. But what seems most natural to us is the explanation that this time was spent in unceasing prayer. This explanation primarily connects the forty-day stay in the desert with the circumstances of baptism itself. “Jesus, having been baptized, prayed,” says the Gospel of Luke (Luke 3:21). Why not assume that His further stay in the desert was a continuation of this prayer of baptism? Even after that, he went to secluded places to pray many times. There is no need to assume that He spent the entire forty days and nights completely without sleep, as some exegetes think. According to humanity, this could hardly have happened. In any case, there is no hint of this in the Gospels. But that He did not eat any food is clear from the testimony of Luke, who says that He “ate nothing in these days” (Luke 4:2). The Gospels of Matthew and Luke indicate that He was “hungry at last.” They explain that only at the end of His long fast did He feel hungry, but one can also think that throughout the entire fast He felt hunger, which intensified progressively towards the end of the fast and finally became the strongest and most unbearable. This is what the words ὕστερον ἐπείνασεν indicate. Matthew 4:3. And the tempter came to Him and said: If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. Literally: “and the tempter came and spoke to Him.” Regarding the form that the devil took, the exegetes are in complete disagreement. Some think that this was a real, external, but purely spiritual phenomenon, and the devil had no need to take on any external image, which would only arouse suspicion in the person being tempted, and therefore the temptation would not have much power. Others say that the devil, having approached the Savior, took on some external form (most likely a human), while remaining a devil. The first opinion is based on our own spiritual and inner experience, when we are sometimes subjected to the strongest temptations, not noticing the tempter at all, and, however, we attribute our temptations specifically to him. If we pay attention to the fact that the emphasis in the Gospels is placed more on temptations than on the personality of the tempter, which is not clearly described, then we can assume that, when tempting Christ, the devil did not take on an external image. This, apparently, is not hampered by expressions that at least hint at some realism of the phenomenon, such as “started”, “takes Him”, “delivers”, “says”, etc., because all of them can be explained anthropomorphically, as similar expressions are explained in relation to the Deity Himself. If, however, we accept such an explanation, then it will be necessary to admit that the entire temptation took place entirely in the desert, that the placing of Christ on the roof of the church and then His elevation to a high mountain were only imaginary phenomena. Objecting to this, exegetes admit that the devil took on the actual, real image of a person. “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” It is rightly noted that in the conditional “if” here the devil does not express doubts about the dignity of Christ as the Son of God. If the devil doubted this, he could not have offered Christ to perform such a miracle as turning stones into bread. Thus, the words of the devil had an exciting meaning. You (as the Slave, the personification of a human slave) are almost dying of hunger, but You should not die, because both You and I know well that You are the Son of God. You were recently publicly recognized as the Son of God at your baptism. For You, therefore, it is not at all difficult to take care of Yourself. You only need to say the word and these stones that You see will immediately become bread. Matthew 4:4. He answered and said to him, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Let us first explain, as far as possible, what meaning these words, the first ones spoken by the Savior after baptism, could have had. The body is supported by food. But a person consists of more than just one body. The body cannot nourish itself or nourish itself; it, so to speak, transmits information about its needs and requirements to the spirit, and only with its help receives what it needs for its continuation and existence. The spirit provides for the body and its needs; it would perish without such provision. In tempting Christ, the devil therefore did not turn to the main source of human life. Wanting to achieve his goal, he turned to the slave (body) instead of his master (spirit), and tempted the body to dominate its master, to subjugate him to his will. But this order was not normal. It is not the spirit that is dependent on the body, but the body on the spirit. For the body to be alive, the spirit must be alive. But the life of the spirit does not depend on bodily nutrition. It just seems that way. The spirit feeds on different food. Since the image and likeness of God lies not in the body, but in the human spirit, then the food that nourishes the spirit is given by God - this is the word of God. The devil represented man primarily as a physical being; the Savior represented man primarily as a spiritual being. The Lord seemed to forget about nourishing the body, feeding His spirit; the devil forgot about feeding the spirit, expressing external concern for the body. The error was exposed and the temptation was repelled. Christ's answer to the devil is taken from Deuteronomy 8:3. According to the translation of the Seventy, this passage reads literally like this: “to declare to you that man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds through the mouth of God.” Literally from the Hebrew: “that man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that comes from the mouth of Jehovah.” Our Russian text of Deuteronomy, apparently, deviates from both the Greek and the Hebrew, and is closest to the Latin text of the Vulgate. It is difficult to say from what text the quotation in the verse in question in Matthew is given. But it is certain that Matthew deviates here from both the Hebrew text and the translation of the Seventy, which is already evident from the fact that “a man lives,” repeated in both the Greek and Hebrew texts, is not repeated by the evangelist. But the true and exact meaning of the original in the Gospel is preserved, and instead of the Hebrew “lives” it is said “will live”, as in the Seventy. In Deuteronomy, Moses reminds the people of his wanderings in the wilderness and says that there God “humbled you, made you hungry and fed you with manna... to show you that man does not live by bread alone, but by every [word] that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” How a person lives by the word of God was shown by the life of the Jews in the desert. Despite the famine, Israel remained alive because the Lord commanded him to live, and in necessary cases, according to the word of God, manna fell. Consequently, the Savior did not need to worry about bread; God will give Him food when needed. He will not die if he does not turn stones into bread. Luke's speech is shortened. Matthew 4:5. Then the devil takes Him to the holy city and places Him on the wing of the church, “Then the devil takes Him” - literally: “then the (same) devil takes Him.” The vague “then” does not indicate how much time passed between the first and second temptation. In some (completely unknown) way, Jesus Christ was taken “to the holy city.” All exegetes unanimously interpret that the “holy city” is Jerusalem, although it is not named here by name. This, on the one hand, is indicated by the article (τήν), and on the other hand, by the use of these words by Jews to designate Jerusalem specifically (see Matt. 27:53; Rev. 11:2, 21:2, 10, 22:19, etc.). There is reason to suspect that Philo not only calls the church holy, but also “holy of holies,” i.e. that Philo designates with this word not only the “holy of holies” in the church, but the entire church. The fact that Jerusalem is meant here by the holy city is proven by the further words of this verse: “and places Him on the pinnacle of the church.” Matthew 4:6. and says to Him: If You are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written: He will give His angels charge concerning You, and in their hands they will bear You up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone. To correctly understand these words, we must paraphrase them somewhat, substituting instead of the words “Son of God” the titles of some other high officials, for example: if you are a king, a prophet, a priest, etc., then throw yourself down. If such a proposal were made to ordinary persons standing on some peak or steep slope, and if there was no need to rush down, although it would be safe, then they would simply point out the lack of logic in such a proposal. If someone is a king, a prophet, a priest or any other dignitary, even just a person with some special powers, then why should he throw himself down? In the temptation of the devil, this lack of logic is strongly disguised and reinforced by reference to the words of the Holy Scriptures, obviously spoken in response to the previous word of the Savior: γέγραπται (written), which the devil repeats here. The Son of God must and does have miraculous power and must demonstrate it. Before performing other miracles, the Son of God must try and verify the existence of miraculous power on Himself. For testing, for testing, a miracle was indeed chosen, which, both according to the concepts of the ancients and ours, would seem, one might say, a miracle of miracles, supernatural and therefore the most convincing for everyone - a miracle that would be equivalent to the complete destruction of all the laws of gravity. For the Son of God this is possible and safe. “For it is written: God will command His angels concerning You, and in their hands they will bear You up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.” The Russian text is translated from Greek literally, with the exception of the word “carry”, which in the Greek text actually means “raise” (ἀροῦσιν). The text is taken from the 90th psalm (Ps. 90:11–12), which, according to the translation of the Seventy, reads literally like this: “for He commands His (His) Angels about You to preserve (preserve, protect) You in all Your ways; They will lift You up with their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.” Matthew omits the words “keep You in all Your ways,” and Luke omits “Your ways.” If in the Greek text of the Seventy we cross out the words omitted by the evangelist and do not pay attention to the connecting conjunction “and” (καί) and to ἀροῦσιν instead of ἀροῦσι, then no difference can be noticed between the text of the Seventy and Matthew. Looking through the Hebrew text, we find that it reads literally like this: “for He commands His angels for You to keep You in all Your ways; they will raise in their hands (from Heb. “our”), lest You dash Your foot against a stone.” These texts are so similar that it is difficult to decide which text the evangelist followed. But more likely - the text of the Seventy. In Ps. 90:11–12 says nothing about being placed in a high place, falling from there, and being supported by Angels. When reading these verses, it is immediately clear that the devil incorrectly applied the text to the circumstances in which Jesus Christ found himself. It is remarkable that He does not consider it necessary here to reveal any logical error or incorrectness of thought, but reflects temptation only with a text that apparently does not have a close relationship specifically with the second temptation, but relates equally to all other temptations. Matthew 4:7. Jesus said to him, “It is also written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” Literally: “Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘Thou shalt not test the Lord thy God.” The word “again” is used here not in the sense of “but”, but in the sense of “still”, “besides”. The nature of the refutation here is different from what it was during the first temptation. In the first temptation, the thought that the devil instilled in the Savior was the devil’s own thought and therefore it was natural if it was refuted by the words of Holy Scripture. To use the same method of refutation in the second temptation would be to refute the Holy Scriptures. The text chosen by the devil was in itself correct; its application to people and to the Savior Himself was also true, although not under the circumstances in which He found Himself. The incorrectness was that this text was presented as an instrument of temptation. Therefore, Christ, without refuting the words of the devil in themselves, points only to the nature of his act or action. It is wrong to tempt God, who gave this Scripture and communicated to it His Divine authority, with the words of Holy Scripture. Therefore, in this case, the “adding” by Jesus Christ “of an expression from Scripture is a qualification and interpretation of it, but not a refutation” (Alford, 1863). The text cited by the Savior is borrowed from Deuteronomy (Deut. 6:16) and contains a reminder to the Jews of the temptations (murmurs, disturbances, etc.) with which they tempted God in Massah, a locality on the Sinai Peninsula. In Matthew and Luke (Luke 4:12) the text is given in exactly the same terms and is more similar to the translation of the Seventy than to the Hebrew, and the last addition in the Hebrew text and in the Seventy “how you were tempted in temptation” is omitted in the Gospels. The last word - “temptation”, in Hebrew “mass” - means both “temptation” and the name of the area. Matthew 4:8. Again the devil takes Him to a very high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, The verb “takes” (παραλαμβάνει) is the same as the one used at the beginning of verse 5. From this we can conclude that the action of the devil before the third temptation was the same as before the second. “Again” also indicates this. The impression from the story is that the devil took Jesus Christ not from the church where he was with Him, but “again” from the same desert. And again it is difficult to say what exactly happened here in reality. We can, of course, imagine and see a very high mountain, and even climb it. But we do not know a single mountain on earth from which “all the kingdoms” of the earth could be seen. The difficulties we encounter in interpreting this passage are exactly the same as in interpreting the opening sentence of verse 5, if not more so. In the first case, we are pointed to at least a specific place where the devil “placed” Jesus Christ - the holy city and a wing of the church. In the second case, not only in the words of Matthew, but also of Luke there is not even such certainty, which in essence borders on complete uncertainty. “Mountain” (ὄρος, this word is used without an article) may not have been known even to the evangelist himself. It is only called ὑψηλὸν λίαν - extremely high. All attempts by exegetes to break through the impenetrable wall of expressions used here should apparently be considered unsuccessful. Some say that since the kingdoms of the world were shown by the devil “in a moment of time” (ἐν στιγμῇ χρόνου - Luke 4:5), then there was no need to climb the mountain for this, and that here we should understand only a vision, something like a mirage. Further, they connect the third temptation with Rev. 21:10, which says: “and he (one of the seven Angels) lifted me up in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, holy Jerusalem.” Since the Apocalypse says “in the spirit” (ἐν πνεύματι), then from here, in view of the very noticeable similarity of apocalyptic and gospel expressions, we can conclude that the installation on the mountain was only spiritual and, therefore, invalid. Some say that Palestine was under the dominion of God, and not the devil, and therefore the devil did not show it to Christ from a high mountain, but showed only the pagan countries that were in his power. Some even argued that the devil simply took and unfolded before Jesus Christ a “geographical map” on which all the earthly kingdoms were drawn. But here again the previous objection is valid - that for this it was hardly necessary to climb or ascend a very high mountain. “The third temptation,” writes one of the newest exegetes, “again (πάλιν, verse 8), like the second, is introduced by indicating the power of Satan to influence the sensual life of Jesus Christ. This time He feels and sees Himself placed on a very high mountain and receives the impression that from there He is viewing all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. How little Matthew thinks that there was such a mountain on earth from which a person with his bodily eyes could enjoy such a vision and such a view is proven by the words δείκνυσιν αὐτῷ (“shows Him”). Here, however, something more is reported in comparison with the fact that the devil drew the attention of Jesus Christ to objects that He would have seen or could have seen without it. The expression rather denotes the vision of what Jesus saw, as well as the action of Satan, like setting on the church wall through ἔστησεν αὐτόν (verse 5). The devil captivates the eye of Jesus with a picture that imposes on Him an impression expressed through πάσας βασιλείας κτλ. He sees not only the country of Israel, partly ruled by the sons of Herod, partly directly by the Romans, which there is no reason to release here, but also all the possessed areas, which in another sense were part of this world picture; and Christ sees not only these distant views, but also everything that serves to decorate or beauty them, pictures of nature, as well as works of art, which God increased and the kings ordered to create” (Tsang, 1905). These are modern attempts to clarify this phenomenon. To what has been said, probably to convey the greater reality of the picture, it is sometimes added that Jesus Christ saw “Fluren, Stätte, Paläste, Schätze usw.” (fields, areas, palaces, wealth, etc.). We could rightfully prefer the ancient interpretations to the newest interpretations of this kind. “The glory of the world,” writes Jerome, “which will pass away with the world, is shown on a mountain and in a moment of time; The Lord descended into the lowlands and fields to overcome the devil through humility. Further, the devil hastens to lead Him up the mountain, so that others would fall from where he himself fell, according to the Apostle: “lest he become proud and fall into condemnation with the devil” (1 Tim. 3:6).” Although this interpretation, of course, does not explain everything and does not penetrate (and does not aim to penetrate) into the mysteries, it is at least distinguished by the simplicity characteristic of the Gospel story itself. Taking such simplicity as a model, we must interpret the passage in question approximately like this: the devil takes Christ, shows Him on a well-known mountain all the kingdoms of the world in an unknown way. The essence of temptation is not to place Jesus Christ on a high mountain and seduce Him with the beauty of earthly kingdoms, but to, by influencing His human nature, force Him to bow to the tempter and thereby offend God. This is the main goal that the devil wanted to achieve by means completely unknown and incomprehensible to us, but, however, such that they find a constant response in the human soul and life. The devil sometimes puts many other people on a very high mountain, and these people zealously bow down and serve him, strongly disguising their service to the devil as service to God. But Christ took on the form of a servant. He set himself the goal not of domination, but of serving people. Therefore, in the third temptation, the devil, as it were, joins those people whom Christ intends to serve. People will take Christ to a high mountain as a result of His ministry to them. According to psychological law, voluntary service implies power, and voluntary slavery and humiliation implies freedom and greatness. People will exalt Christ, but the devil will do this easier and faster if Christ serves him. People will exalt Christ by ascension to the cross, the devil will exalt Him by handing over to Him with all the glory and beauty the earthly kingdoms that belong to him, without causing Christ suffering. But Christ came to save people, not the devil. The means of saving people could not be applied to the devil. People are, although very small, but positive quantities; the devil is a negative quantity. Matthew 4:9. and he says to Him: I will give all this to You if you fall down and worship me. In some codes - “said” or “spoke” (εἶπεν). To understand the meaning of this temptation, it seems necessary to think not so much about what belonged to the devil, but about what belonged to Christ. Explaining the connection of baptism with temptation, we said that baptism was on the part of Christ an act of submission to John and taking on the form of a slave. Temptation was, so to speak, a continuation of baptism, it was a transition from external immersion in the waters of the Jordan to internal baptism, which consisted of prayer and fasting. At the last stage of this internal baptism, the servile state and slavish appearance of Christ reached an extreme degree. He did not even have bread with which to satisfy His extreme hunger. The first temptation took the form of concern on the part of the devil for the body of Christ, and whoever was hungry knows how attractive even a stone turned into bread can be for a hungry person. But such a temptation turned out to be too small in quantity and was rejected. In subsequent temptations, the attractive gradually intensifies. What is attractive to a hungry body is replaced by what is attractive to the spirit. At the last stage, something that is highly attractive to a hungry person is offered. It is true that poverty is sometimes attractive to wealth, but this happens only in rare cases, in cases of satiety. For a poor and hungry slave, the very idea of ​​dominance, happiness and well-being is always attractive. Here we are not talking about daily bread alone, but about abundance. Thus, the third temptation very clearly serves as a consequence of the first. There is no doubt that not a single ordinary person, even in a better position than that in which the Savior found himself, would have resisted such a temptation. He would have bowed to the devil and, most amazing of all, would have found it possible to justify himself. Thousands, even millions of people only dream of such worship. Thus, here too we encounter plus and minus, and the values ​​assigned to them are far from close and disproportionate. On Christ’s side was the minus of all worldly prosperity. On the side of the devil there was a positive value, and even if it were not particularly huge, and did not differ in absolute character, then even then it could have been attractive to the Servant of Jehovah, deprived of all property and suffering. But, on the other hand, spiritually the numbers were completely reversed. The suffering servant, precisely because of this very suffering, was the Lord (Κύριος), He ruled by virtue of the very idea of ​​\u200b\u200bservice perceived by Him, while the devil was a slave. The deceptive invitation to worship was an invitation to the Lord to worship the servant. This was the logical inconsistency of the temptation, and it was rejected. Matthew 4:10. Then Jesus says to him: Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written: Worship the Lord thy God, and serve him only. Despite their brevity, the words of Christ (especially in Greek) breathe energy and power here. Ὕπαγε in Greek is stronger than “go away” and means “get away from My sight.” The power of temptation caused the final and angry removal of Satan. The addition of ὀπίσω μου, which means “go back from Me,” i.e. almost “follow me,” found in some relatively unimportant codices and confirmed by Justin the martyr (Dialogus cum Tryphone, 103:6), Athanasius of Alexandria, Chrysostom, Theophylact and others, although, therefore, very ancient, is considered, however, an interpolation from other places of the New Testament (Matt. 16:23; Mark 8:33). Origen directly says that it should not be added (χωρὶς τῆς ὀπίσω μου προσθήκης). Ignatius, Irenaeus, Jerome, Eusebius and others omit it. It is not in the most important codes, Sinaiticus and Vatican. Most likely, these words were omitted from the original text. This assumption is supported by the fact that similar words to Peter (with the addition of ὀπίσω μου) do not mean a command to depart from Christ, but only not to stand in His path and not to interfere with His intentions. Hence, if the same command had been given to the devil, he would not have been driven away, but either could or should have followed Christ. The devil retreated from Christ only for a time, but it is very incredible that Christ could give a command that the devil should constantly follow Him. The text in Christ's answer is taken from Deuteronomy (Deut. 6:13). In the Seventy this passage reads: “You will fear the Lord your God and serve Him alone.” Literally from the Hebrew: “Fear Jehovah your Elohim and serve Him (be a slave).” In view of this difference, some think that the text was freely translated from Hebrew, while others think it was taken from the translation of the Seventy with minor changes. It is difficult to decide where the text was actually borrowed from. Probably from the translation of the Seventy. In the Bible, the text in question is given almost next to another, indicated by Christ in the second temptation, and has the meaning that Israel had to serve the Lord God (Jehovah Elohim) and worship Him alone. Consequently, in this passage of the Gospel we are not talking about Jesus Christ, but about God the Father, and the meaning is that, instead of worshiping the devil, Jesus Christ must worship God and serve Him. But in a figurative and reflected sense, these words could also relate to the devil. The Savior tells him something like this: you tempt Me to worship you and serve you, but you yourself must worship God and serve Him. And since before the devil there was God, equal in essence to the Father and the Spirit, then the words of Christ can have the following meaning: instead of worshiping Me and serving you, you yourself must worship and serve Me. Blessed Jerome, in his interpretation, briefly and clearly expresses this thought: “the devil, who says to the Savior: if, having fallen, you worship me, he hears the opposite, that he himself should worship Him more, as his Lord and God.” Matthew 4:11. Then the devil left Him, and behold, the angels came and served Him. The words of Luke 4:13: “until the time” throw some light on the nature of all three temptations, showing that they were the main, outstanding and most powerful, but that the devil tempted Christ even after. Since we do not know that the devil subsequently appeared to Christ for temptation in any sensual form, we could conclude from this that the first three main temptations were also not grossly sensual, i.e. that even at that time the devil did not appear to Him in any sensual form. “And behold, the angels came and ministered to Him.” Luke does not have a word about the ministry of Angels, in Mark the word Angels is placed with an article, in Matthew - without an article. It is difficult to explain why such a difference depended, but it hardly gives the right to consider similar expressions found in Matthew and Mark (Mark: καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι διηκόνουν αὐτῷ; Matthew: καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄγγελοι προσῆλθον καὶ διηκόνουν αὐτῷ ) proof that from the second half of the 11th verse Matthew, who had previously followed an unknown source with Luke, now returns again to Mark 1:12–13 . Whether the appearance of the Angels was visible or only spiritual is unknown. But whatever it may be, it seems arbitrary to add to the Gospel story the addition that the Angels “served” Christ allato cibo - by bringing Him food. Perhaps it was so, but nothing is said about this in the Gospels and therefore we know nothing about it. The logical emphasis in both Matthew and Luke, apparently, is not on what the Angels served Christ, but on the fact that they served Him. The devil demanded worship from Him, the Angels served. Such a sharp change in the indication of relationships can hardly be considered only metaphorical. The expression διηκόνουν (served) means a certain duration of service, and not a short-term act of worship. In some cases it indicates “service” or “serving” at the table (Luke 4:39, 10:40, 12:37, 17:8; Matt. 8:15; Mark 1:31; John 12:2), but is not always used in this meaning, but also means more general services. Here we can observe that the ministry of the Angels corresponded to the intention of Christ Himself to “serve.” In contrast to δουλεύειν - διακονεῖν means effortless service, with love. When it was not necessary, Christ did not use the ministry of Angels (see verse 6; Matt. 26:53), but at the right time they began to serve Him as a servant of Jehovah, according to the will of Jehovah Himself. Matthew 4:12. When Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, he withdrew into Galilee When was this? It is hardly possible to determine exactly. We can only present probable considerations. It can hardly be assumed that the activities of the Baptist lasted more than two years. If we set aside about a year from here for John’s imprisonment, we get the following. From the baptism of Jesus Christ in January 780 from the founding of Rome to the conversation with the Samaritan woman, about five or six months passed. At this time, John, apparently, had already been imprisoned (John 4:1–3; cf. Mark 1:14; Luke 4:14) and in the next 781 or 782 he was executed. "Retired to Galilee". This removal to Galilee can be taken as simultaneous with the rumor about John, which, however, was not the reason for the removal. In any case, the reasons for the removal to Galilee are not indicated Matthew 4:13. and leaving Nazareth, he came and settled in Capernaum by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali, Literally: “and leaving Nazareth, he came and settled in Capernaum by the sea, within the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali.” In Hebrew, Capernaum means “the village of Nahum” (the prophet). The city is currently in ruins, on the northwestern side of Lake Galilee, on a sloping plane that slopes down to the lake, and beyond the city gradually turns into hilly terrain. The place where Capernaum formerly stood is now called Tell Hum, and Hum means “black” because the stones here, with few exceptions, are made of black basalt. The name Capernaum has nothing to do with Tell Hum. Among the ruins of modern Tell Hum are visible the remains of some kind of building, perhaps a fortress, church or synagogue, built, it is believed, by a centurion, although the antiquity of the building is somewhat doubtful. Pilgrims who have left records of their journeys since the fourth century agree that modern Tell Hum was indeed Capernaum at the time of Christ. It could, however, be that such judgments were based on local legends, which are often unreliable. The word “seaside” is added, probably because verse 15 speaks of “the seaside way.” Matthew 4:14. that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, saying: The Evangelist does not indicate the reasons why Jesus Christ moved to Capernaum, but points out the meaning of this settlement. In this fact the ancient prophecy was fulfilled, which is given in the next verse. Matthew 4:15. the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, on the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the heathen, Matthew 4:16. the people sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those sitting in the land and shadow of death a light dawned. The speech in these verses (in Greek) is distinguished by its extraordinary beauty, almost rhythmic, measured, sonorous and musical. These verses are taken from Isaiah 9:1-2. When compared with the translation of the Seventy, strong deviations are noticeable. The Seventy literally say: “Drink this first, do it quickly, the land of Zebulun, you, the land of Naphtali, and the rest who are in the region by the sea and beyond the Jordan, the Galilee of the tongues. People walking in darkness, behold the great light; living in the land of the shadows of death, a light will shine for you (over you).” In the translation of the Seventy, the Hebrew text is translated into completely incorrect Greek expressions, but at the same time their style of speech remains more Hebrew than Greek. The differences between the LXX translation and the text of Matthew suggest that in the present case Matthew took the text not from Greek, but from Aramaic or Hebrew. This is also indicated by the form ὁδόν (accusative case), characteristic of the Hebrew language. “The meaning of the Hebrew text (Isa. 8:23–9:1) is distinguished by its darkness, and the translation of the Seventy made it even darker” (Tsang, 1905). Literally from Hebrew: “In former times He (God) considered the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali small, but later he considered it important - the seaside path, on the other side of the Jordan, the Galilee of tongues. The people walking in darkness will see a great light; those living in the land of grave darkness, the light will shine on them.” The Greek text of Matthew can be read in two ways, depending on how the comma is placed: “on the seaside path, beyond the Jordan,” or: “on the seaside path, beyond the Jordan.” More likely the first. As you can see, various areas are designated here, the center of which Capernaum became, namely: 1) the land of Zebulun and Naphtali on the seaside route, i.e. not all, but only the areas adjacent to the lake; upper Galilee, the part of it belonging to the tribe of Naphtali, where pagans were mixed with Jews (1 Mac. 5:15); 2) areas lying beyond the Jordan, i.e. Perea. The inhabitants of these areas are characterized as a people living “in darkness” (ἐν σκότει) and in the land and shadow of death (it is unknown why Meyer refers to the word θανάτου only to χῶρα). If they were like this in the time of Isaiah, were they the same in the time of Christ? The prophet attributes their savagery, of course, to barbarian invasions (Is. 8) and then moves on to depicting better days. At the time of Christ, it was unlikely that the inhabitants of the listed countries were in greater darkness than others, although the trial of the cities lying near the lake (Matthew 11:21 ff.) testifies to the development among them of unnatural vices, which, of course, never serve as a sign of high mental and moral development. The evangelist here contrasts the relative light of national development with the great light that shone with the coming and activity of the Savior. The first light, the people's, could seem to the evangelist darkness and the shadow of death in comparison with this great light. Matthew 4:17. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say: repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. These words are literally almost similar to the words of Matthew 3:1–2, where he speaks of the beginning of the preaching of the Baptist. But what meaning did the same sermon now have in the mouth of Jesus Christ? Explaining these words, some (Strauss) even expressed the opinion that it was not John who considered himself the forerunner of Christ, but Christ Himself considered Himself the forerunner of John; but such an opinion is no longer justified by any historical criticism. It is much better to explain the matter in such a way that the initial sermon of Christ was a continuation of the sermon of John and, as a continuation, initially had an internal connection with it. However, the meaning of the original sermon in the mouths of John and Jesus Christ was not the same. The difference, one might think, was as follows. John said something like this: repent, because the King will soon come (appear) and His Kingdom is at hand. Jesus Christ: “The Kingdom is at hand.” Following the order of gradualness, He did not expose Himself to the people as the Messiah, but preached as a prophet, connecting His activity with the previous activity of John as a prophet. But the preaching of Christ soon became the Gospel of the Kingdom (εὐαγγέλιον τῆς βασιλείας), while this is not said about John (although in Luke 3:18 the word εὐηγγελίζετο is used about him). Thus, initially the sermons of Jesus Christ and John were similar, but soon the so-called differentiation occurs. Matthew 4:18. Passing near the Sea of ​​Galilee, He saw two brothers: Simon, called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting nets into the sea, for they were fishermen, The word “passing” (περιπατῶν) indicates a repeated visit to Lake Galilee, although it does not have the meaning here that was given to it in Greek classical prose - to designate the teaching communication of philosophers (peripatetics) with their students, and at this time - their teaching and debate. The Lake of Galilee is called sea (θάλασσα) instead of "lake" (λίμνη). It has an oval shape. Its length from north to south is about 18 versts, its width is about twelve. On its western side, where Capernaum was, rounded hills with long slopes begin from the very shore. The highest of them is Gattin. In one place only, a limestone rock juts out into the lake in the form of a cape. Here passes a path that existed long before Christ and was then, as now, the only way to the north, so that in this place everyone feels that he is touching the ground on which the Savior and his disciples walked many times. From the Gospel of John we know that Simon and Andrew were called by Christ earlier, soon after the temptation, and Simon (Heb. Simeon) was renamed Peter. Here we note the fact that Matthew already knows that Simon was called Peter (cf. John 1:42). The question of whether the disciples chosen by Christ accompanied Him when He went to the Easter holiday, and whether they were constantly with Him after the calling, is one of the most difficult, because when reading the Gospels of Matthew and Mark (Mark 1:16), it seems that Jesus Christ for the first time “saw Simon and Andrew” (as in Mark - without adding the name Peter) and called them to Himself. It is further unclear why Matthew and Mark do not mention the other disciples called by the Savior - John, Philip and Nathanael. They only think that the story of the Evangelist John perfectly complements the stories of the weather forecasters and with the help of John we can well understand their stories. The apostles may have gone to Jerusalem for the Easter holiday, but not together with Christ. After the calling, they went about their same business, fishing, as was the case after the resurrection. "For they were fishermen." In John the word “fishermen” (ἁλιεῖς) does not appear, but there is a verb “to fish” (ἁλιεύειν), attributed to the apostles (John 21:3). Matthew 4:19. and he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Almost literally Mark 1:17). A few words were now enough for the disciples to follow the Savior. “Follow Me” - this expression fully corresponds to the Hebrew (“lechu akharay”), which, when used by the Jews, meant discipleship. The Savior said: “follow me,” i.e. be My companions and disciples. “And I will make you fishers of men.” Simon and Andrey were fishermen in the truest sense. The Savior tells them that He wants to make them fishermen in the spiritual sense; instead of ordinary fish, the apostles will catch people in the gospel net. Matthew 4:20. And they immediately left their nets and followed Him. (Almost literally Mark 1:18). The meaning of the expression depends on where the comma is placed. It is more correct to classify “immediately” as “leaving.” Matthew 4:21. From there, going further, He saw two other brothers, James Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and called them. Regarding the calling of James and John, the same remarks apply as were made regarding verse 18. John was called earlier along with Andrew, although he does not call himself by name (John 1:37 et seq.). Jacob was now called, apparently for the first time. He differs here from Jacob Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3). As for Zebedee, the father of James and John, he did not follow Christ. He did not follow because, as St. John Chrysostom says, “apparently, he did not believe (μὴ πιστεῦσας). That's why his disciples left him. And not only did he not believe, but he also opposed virtue and piety.” Matthew 4:22. And they immediately left the boat and their father and followed Him. Saint John Chrysostom and Blessed Theophylact set the actions of the brothers as an example for those who follow and want to follow Christ, leaving property and relatives for this. Matthew 4:23. And Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every disease among the people. (Cf. Mark 1:39; Luke 4:44.) One must think that Jesus Christ made several trips to Galilee. It is not known whether the journeys that Matthew speaks of here were identical with those that Mark and Luke speak of in the places indicated. While traveling through Galilee, Jesus Christ taught in synagogues. John preached in the open air, Jesus Christ also, but in some cases and, apparently, many times - in synagogues. Synagogues arose during the Babylonian captivity, when the temple was destroyed, and were places of prayer for the Jews, where, however, no sacrifices were made. Synagogue means meeting. The word "their" refers to the inhabitants of Galilee. “Healing every disease and every disease among people.” The word "healing" in Greek is θεραπεύων - to heal, to care for the sick, to serve. Further words: “all sickness and all infirmity,” indicate the miraculous character that the evangelist gives to this word. Matthew 4:24. And rumors about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all the weak, those possessed by various diseases and seizures, and the demon-possessed, and the lunatics, and the paralytic, and He healed them. Literally: “and the rumor about Him (Him) went out throughout all Syria.” Syria was to the north and northeast of Galilee. Although Jesus Christ walked, taught and healed in Galilee, the rumor about Him spread beyond the borders of Galilee. During this journey, they brought to him all the suffering, those possessed by various diseases and torments, the demon-possessed, the lunatics and the paralyzed, and He healed them. Matthew 4:25. And a great multitude followed him from Galilee, and from the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. The word Decapolis requires explanation here. This was the name of the country east of the Jordan, which included, according to Pliny (Natural History, 18, 74), ten cities: Damascus, Philadelphia, Raphapa, Scythopolis, Gadara, Ippon, Dion, Pella, Gelasa (Gerasu) and Kanatha. Of these, however, only Scythopolis was located west of the Jordan. The exact number of cities cannot be determined. Subsequently, several cities were added or subtracted, but the country was still called the Decapolis. It was a union of free Hellenistic cities. The Decapolis ceases to exist at the beginning of the 2nd century AD, when some of the most important cities of this union were annexed to the Roman province of Arabia (Schürer, Geschichte). You might be interested in: