12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will | 12 throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. 13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14 But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. 16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and is tempted. fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly cleanse his threshing-floor; and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. 13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14 But John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, 15 and comest thou to me? But Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer 1 it now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all right16 eousness. Then he suffereth him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he dove, and coming upon him; and lo, a saw the Spirit of God descending as a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 17 3 Or, This is my Son; my beloved in whom I am well pleased. See chap. 12: 18. should be baptized with fire, should be consumed. The Greek word for “Spirit," or "Ghost," also means "wind," or "breath." 13. Galilee, wherein was Nazareth where Jesus resided (chap. 2: 23), was the northernmost division of Palestine under the Romans. Its full name was "Galilee of the Gentiles" (chap. 4: 15, and Isa. 9:1), so called from the number of non-Jewish residents after the captivity. The word "Galilee " means "district." 14. I have need to be baptized of thee. John, at first, did not know Jesus to be the Messiah; but, when this was made known to him, he proclaimed him as the Lamb of God (see the first chapter of John). As this sign of the Messiahship was not given until Jesus went up from the water (verse 16 compared with John 1: 32, 33), there must have been a prior indication to John of Jesus' superiority, which caused him to use the words of this verse. Perhaps in John's family, related to Jesus, the spotless life of Jesus was fully known, and that made John use these words. 15. All righteousness,—all that conduct which would be the righteous requirement of a Jew. 16. He saw. John also saw this prodigy. It was given to strengthen the faith both of Jesus and John (see John 1: 32-34). 17. This is my beloved Son, etc. These words from heaven refer to Isa. 42: 1. They were repeated from heaven at the mount of transfiguration (chap. 17: 5). They were God's own announcement of the Messiah. CHAPTER IV. 1. Christ fasteth, and is tempted. 11. The angels minister unto him. 13. He dwelleth in Capernaum, 17. beginneth to preach, 18. calleth Peter, and Andrew, 21. James, and John, 23, and healeth all the diseased. 1 THEN Was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 1 THEN was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and 3 forty nights, he afterward hungered. And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that 4 these stones become bread. But he 1 Gr. loaves. 1. Of the Spirit; i.e., by the Spirit. The Spirit acted upon his humanity, and led him to the severe ordeal of the forty days' temptation. The temptation continued all that time, as we learn from Mark 1:13. Satan made his earnest effort to thwart the Messianic work of Jesus. The wilderness may have been that of Sinai, where both Moses and Elijah fasted for forty days (both of whom appeared with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration); but the ordinary belief is, that it was the wilderness of Judæa, and the mountain Quarantania, near Jericho, is the tradi tional site of the temptation. 3. And the tempter came. The last three temptations are given in detail. Perhaps Satan had retired, and there had been a respite. He now returns to make a final effort. Some think that these temptations were all inter nal. Others think that the account is figurative; but this is scarcely in accord with the simplicity of the narrative. Perhaps Satan appeared as a friend, and gave his counsel as one full of sympathy. Command that these stones become bread. The first of these three temptations is addressed to the carnal appetite. Why should not the Messiah use his power to relieve his hunger? Our Lord instantly quotes Deut. 8: 3, to repel this temptation to use his Messianic power for selfish ends. 4 But 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. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And 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. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then 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. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. 12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; 13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nepthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; He dwelleth at Capernaum. answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of 5 God. Then the devil taketh him into the holy city; and he set him on the 1 pinnacle 6 of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: And on their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, 10 1 Gr. wing. Or, through. 3 Gr. The way of the sea. 4 Gr. nations: and so elsewhere. 5. The pinnacle of the temple, the lofty wing that overlooked the Kedron. The two may have walked together to the temple, and ascended to this elevated position. Yet the words will admit of a supernatural movement. The advice to cast himself down may have been given with the plausible idea of thus commanding the respect and adhesion of the multitude. The quotation which Satan makes from the Ninety-first Psalm referred to one in the way of duty; and hence Jesus quotes against it Deut. 6: 16, which forbids all vain and self-originated movements demanding the divine power. 8. An exceeding high mountain. Perhaps Nebo, whence Moses had viewed the whole land. From this position the whole land of Israel, under its different governments, would be visible. If the "world" (κóσμos) must represent more than Palestine, then we must imagine a supernatural power exerted by Satan, by which our Lord's vision was extended around the earth. That Satan has mighty power in the physical world, we know from Job 2: 7, and Luke 13: 16. 9. All these things will I give thee. Satan now openly sought to make the Messiah come under his direction, promising his influence in setting up his power over men. This brings out his stern dismissal from our Lord, who accompanies his order with the quotation of Deut. 6: 13, which forbids any supreme allegiance but to God. 10. Satan. The Devil is here called "Satan," which means "adversary" (compare 1 Chron. 21:1, Job 1: 6, Zech. 3: 1, Rev. 12: 9). 12. John was delivered up. The cause of this imprisonment is given in chap. 14: 3, 4. As Herod, who imprisoned John, had no control over Judæa, but only over Galilee and the east side of the Jordan, John must have preached elsewhere than in Judæa. He probably at times traversed the entire Jewish country. 13. Capernaum is on the west side of the Sea of Galilee, some think at Tell Hûm, and others at Khan Minyeh. Our Lord, after his baptism, removed his residence from Nazareth, where his townsfolk rejected his Messianic claims (Luke 4: 16-31), to Capernaum, a distance of about twenty miles. The sea is the Sea of Galilee, a mountain-lake, about six miles wide and fourteen miles long, on the borders of which were Tiberias, Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Magdala. The borders of Zebulun and Naphtali. The division between those tribal districts in the palmy days of Israel ran down to the Sea of Galilee. 14. Isaiah the prophet. The quotation is from Isa. 9: 1, 2, in somewhat different words from the Seventy; but the substance is clear. The prophet predicts that the people of Galilee, once greatly afflicted, should have a great glory appear among them. 15. Beyond Jordan. This refers to the land of the Gadarenes, east of the Jordan valley. It is not put in opposition to Zebulun and Naphtali, but as additional. It was visited by our Saviour repeatedly in person. Zebulun and Naphtali were the chief districts of our Lord's earthly sojourn. |