Matthew 4 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
~AD 28-30
Location
Judean wilderness and Galilee (northern Israel)
Audience
Jewish Christians familiar with Old Testament prophecies
Situation
After his baptism by John the Baptist, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days of fasting and temptation by Satan. Upon hearing of John's imprisonment, Jesus relocates to Galilee to begin preaching the kingdom of heaven and calls his first disciples.
Key Background
The temptations parallel Israel's failures during their 40 years in the wilderness, portraying Jesus as the faithful Son of God who succeeds by quoting Deuteronomy. His ministry base in Capernaum fulfills Isaiah 9:1-2, bringing light to 'Galilee of the Gentiles.' The abrupt calling of ordinary fishermen underscores Jesus' divine authority and the urgency of his message of repentance.
Then Jesus was out into the by the of — specifically to be by the
After for and he was
The came to him and said, "If you are tell these stones to become bread."
But Jesus answered, "It's 'People don't live on bread alone — they live on every that comes from God's mouth.'"
Then the devil took him to the and had him stand on the highest point of the
"If you really are God's Son," he said, "throw yourself down. After all, it's written: 'He will command his to take care of you, and they will lift you up in their hands so you won't even stub your foot on a stone.'"
Jesus told him, "It's also written: 'Don't your God to the
Next, the devil took him to an extremely high mountain and showed him all the of the and their impressive
"I'll give you all of this," he said, "if you'll down and me."
Jesus said to him, "Get out of here, It's written: 'Worship Yahweh your God, and only him.'"
Then the devil left and angels came and of
When Jesus heard that John had been he withdrew to
He left Nazareth and went to live in a town in the region of and
This what was spoken through the prophet
"Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the to the beyond the Jordan — Galilee where the live — "
"the people living in have seen a and for those sitting in the of has broken through."
From that point on, Jesus began to announce, — God's is here now!"
Walking along the shore of the of Jesus saw two brothers — Simon and his brother Andrew — casting a net into the lake. They were
"Come me," Jesus said, "and I'll make you of
they their nets and followed him.
Going on from there, he saw two other brothers — James son of and his brother John — in a boat with their father their nets. He called them,
and right away they the boat and their father and him.
Jesus traveled throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their announcing the of and every disease and every sickness among the people.
News about him spread across all of and people brought to him everyone who was suffering from various diseases and intense pain — those by those with and those who were — and he healed them.
followed him — from Galilee, the Jerusalem, Judea, and from the