Matthew 4
The Voice
4 The Spirit then led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. After this fast, He was, as you can imagine, hungry. 3 But He was also curiously stronger, when the tempter came to Jesus.
Devil: If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.
Jesus (quoting Deuteronomy): 4 It is written, “Man does not live by bread alone. Rather, he lives on every word that comes from the mouth of the Eternal One.”[a]
The point, of course, is not that Jesus couldn’t have turned these stones to bread. A little later in the story He can make food appear when He needs to. But Jesus doesn’t work miracles out of the blue, for no reason, for show or proof or spectacle. He works them in intimate, close places; He works them to meet people’s needs and to show them the way to the Kingdom.
5 Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city, Jerusalem, and he had Jesus stand at the very highest point in the holy temple.
Devil: 6 If You are the Son of God, jump! And then we will see if You fulfill the Scripture that says,
He will command His heavenly messengers concerning You,
and the messengers will buoy You in their hands
So that You will not crash, or fall, or even graze Your foot on a stone.[b]
Jesus: 7 That is not the only thing Scripture says. It also says, “Do not put the Eternal One, your God, to the test.”[c]
8 And still the devil subjected Jesus to a third test. He took Jesus to the top of a very high mountain, and he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in all their splendor and glory, their power and pomp.
Devil: 9 If You bow down and worship me, I will give You all these kingdoms.
Jesus: 10 Get away from Me, Satan. I will not serve you. I will instead follow Scripture, which tells us to “worship the Eternal One, your God, and serve only Him.”[d]
11 Then the devil left Jesus. And heavenly messengers came and ministered to Him.
12 It was not long until powerful people put John in prison. When Jesus learned this, He went back to Galilee. 13 He moved from Nazareth to Capernaum, a town by the sea in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 He did this to fulfill one of the prophecies of Isaiah:
15 In the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the road to the sea along the Jordan in Galilee, the land of the outsiders—
16 In these places, the people who had been living in darkness
saw a great light.
The light of life will overtake those who dwelt in the shadowy darkness of death.[e]
17 From that time on, preaching was part of Jesus’ work.
Jesus: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
By now Jesus desires a community around Him, friends and followers who help Him carry this urgent, precious message to people. His message is not dissimilar to John’s: Turn away from sin; turn toward God. And so He calls a community to join Him. These first beloved followers are called “disciples,” which means “apprentices.” The first disciples are two brothers, Simon and Andrew. They are fishermen.
18 One day Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee when He saw Simon (also called Peter) and Andrew throwing their nets into the water. They were, of course, fishermen.
Jesus: 19 Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20 Immediately Peter and Andrew left their fishnets and followed Jesus.
21 Going on from there, Jesus saw two more brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. They, too, were fishermen. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee getting their nets ready to fish. Jesus summoned them, just as He had called to Peter and Andrew, 22 and immediately they left their boat and their father to follow Jesus.
23 And so Jesus went throughout Galilee. He taught in the synagogues. He preached the good news of the Kingdom, and He healed people, ridding their bodies of sickness and disease. 24 Word spread all over Syria, as more and more sick people came to Him. The innumerable ill who came before Him had all sorts of diseases, they were in crippling pain; they were possessed by demons; they had seizures; they were paralyzed. But Jesus healed them all. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, from Jerusalem, from the ten cities called the Decapolis, from Judea, and from the region across the Jordan followed him.
Matthew 4
English Standard Version
The Temptation of Jesus
4 (A)Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness (B)to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting (C)forty days and forty nights, he (D)was hungry. 3 And (E)the tempter came and said to him, “If you are (F)the Son of God, command (G)these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, (H)“It is written,
(I)“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 (J)Then the devil took him to (K)the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
(L)“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again (M)it is written, (N)‘You shall not (O)put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 (P)Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, (Q)Satan! For (R)it is written,
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, (U)angels came and were ministering to him.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
12 Now when he heard that (V)John had been arrested, (W)he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving (X)Nazareth he went and lived in (Y)Capernaum by (Z)the sea, in the territory of (AA)Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 (AB)so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 (AC)“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 (AD)the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and (AE)shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”
17 (AF)From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, (AG)“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[a]
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
18 (AH)While walking by (AI)the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you (AJ)fishers of men.”[b] 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds
23 (AK)And he went throughout all Galilee, (AL)teaching in their synagogues and (AM)proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and (AN)healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all (AO)Syria, and (AP)they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and (AQ)pains, (AR)those oppressed by demons, (AS)those having seizures, and (AT)paralytics, and he healed them. 25 (AU)And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the (AV)Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Footnotes
- Matthew 4:17 Or the kingdom of heaven has come near
- Matthew 4:19 The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
