Matthew 4 covers a lot of ground. It begins with Jesus in the wilderness, moves into the start of His preaching ministry, the calling of the first disciples, and ends with the first wave of miracles in Galilee. But what really rises off the page to me in this chapter, and how I chose to frame this message, is Jesus' humanity on display.
In the middle of the Judean wilderness, one of the most desolate places on earth, Jesus finds himself hungry, alone, and face to face with Satan himself. He is still truly God, but He chooses not to grasp at His divine rights. He doesn’t use His power for relief. He doesn’t turn stones to bread. He doesn’t use his authority to bring himself glory. He did not, as Philippians 2:5-7 tell us, "regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking on the form of a bondservant and being made in the likeness of men." Jesus doesn't know how long this wilderness experience will last, He doesn't know what temptations lurk around each corner, He doesn't know when or how God will intervene for Him. Yet, in the midst of all this unknown, Jesus chooses to endure with perfect obedience, aligning Himself precisely according to His Father's will.
Where Adam wavered and failed in the midst of a perfect setting with a perfectly fashioned companion next to him, Jesus stands firm in the most desolate of conditions, enduring completely alone. We read in 1 Corinthians 15 that "The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit."
And at the end of this temptation it says angels came and ministered to Jesus. The end of the testing isn't described as the removal of Jesus from the wilderness, it's described as the removal of the tempter from the Son. That challenges me. So often I just want out of hard seasons. But here God doesn’t remove Jesus from the wilderness — He enters it Himself, flanked on each side with a host of angels, prepared to deliver all the spiritual care needed.
Emerging from the wilderness, Jesus briefly moved back to his hometown Nazareth (explained in Luke 4:14-18), before ultimately traveling to Capernum. From there, He begins to preach: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The people sitting in darkness see a great light. Because when light enters darkness, there is no question of the lights ability to overcome the darkness. The outcome is certain. This is what happened to the people sitting in the "Galilee of the Gentiles." They witnessed the arrival of the King - the dawn of a great light.
Jesus then proceeds to call two sets of brothers, already familiar with Jesus because of their discipleship under John the Baptist. They leave everything. Because when the king arrives and when the king issues a summons, you respond.
Which raises bigger questions about responding to the call of God and the work of salvation. Yes, we’re commanded to repent, we're called and commanded to respond to Jesus' summons on our life. And not only are we responsible to respond, but we are held accountable to our response. But Scripture also makes it clear that no one comes unless the Father draws him. There’s a mystery to the Spirt's work in Salvation. There’s tension between our responsibility and God's sovereignty. And I’ve made peace with the fact that I won’t resolve it all. Faith isn’t the elimination of the unknown — it’s trust in the character of God in the middle of it. Much like Jesus had to trust the Father in the midst of the unknown in the wilderness temptation, we also must trust God through the unknown's we face in our walk of faith.
The chapter closes with healing, deliverance, authority — divinity breaking through into the lives of ALL who were ill, ALL who were suffering and in pain, ALL demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics. The very One who refused to seize glory in the wilderness now reveals His power exactly how and when the Father intends. And so large crowds began to form ad follow Him. The Kingdom of God was afoot.
This chapter fills our heart with lessons about testing, obedience, light's power over darkness, the cost of following Christ, and the truth about God's sovereign grace. It’s not about perfect clarity and understanding for us, and it wasn't about perfect clarity and understanding for Jesus. It's about about trusting God in the midst of our gaps in understanding. It’s about responding when the King calls. And it’s about believing that even in the dessert of despair, God is at work.