Matthew 4 covers a lot of ground. Beginning with Jesus tested in the wilderness, His early preaching ministry, and the calling of the first disciples, the chapter concludes 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. Though truly God, He chooses not to grasp and wield His divine rights. He doesn’t use His power for relief. He doesn’t use His authority to bring Himself glory. He did not, as Philippians 2:5-7 tells 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." I don't believer Jesus knew how long this wilderness experience would last, or what temptations lurked around each corner. His humanness is being tested, and 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 "The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit."
In the last verse of the story were told angels came and ministered to Jesus. The end of the testing does not describe the removal of Jesus from the wilderness, it describes the removal of the tempter from the Son. That challenges me. So often I just want out of hard seasons. But here Jesus stays in the wilderness and God comes alongside Himself, flanked with a host of angels prepared to deliver all spiritual care needed.
Emerging from the desert, Jesus briefly moves back home to Nazareth (explained in Luke 4:14-18), before traveling to Capernum. From there, He begins to preach: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus' listeners in Capernaum are described by Matthew as sitting in darkness yet seeing a great light. This is what happened to the people living in the "Galilee of the Gentiles" (verse 15). They witnessed the arrival of the King - the dawn of a great light.
Jesus then proceeds to command (not invite) two sets of brothers to be His students. Already familiar with Jesus from their previous discipleship under John the Baptist, they leave everything. After all, when the king arrives and 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 also commanded to respond to Jesus' summons on our life. Not only are we responsible to respond, but we are held accountable to our response. Still, Scripture makes it clear no one comes to Jesus 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 we face in our walk of faith.
The chapter closes with healings, deliverance, and power. The divine breaks 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. So large crowds began to form and follow Him. As promised, the Kingdom of God was afoot!
This chapter fills our heart with lessons about testing, obedience, light's power over darkness, and the truth about God's sovereign grace. It’s not about our having perfect clarity and understanding up front. It's about trusting God in the midst of our gaps in understanding, responding when the King calls, and believing even in the desert of despair, God is.