Lesson 5

I.       Observation

A.     Outline

The Temptation of Jesus (4:1-11)

Return to Galilee (4:12-16)

Beginning of Jesus’ Preaching (4:17)

Calling the First Disciples (4:18-22)

Healing the Sick (4:23-25)

B.     Key Words/Phrases

Tempted, Son of God, “It is written,” light, kingdom, fishers of men, at once, immediately, teaching, preaching, healing.

II.    Segment Analysis

1. It was God’s will that Jesus should go through the suffering of temptation so that He may sympathize with our weaknesses and become our merciful and faithful High Priest (Heb 2:14-18)

3. They all aim at these human weaknesses: self-centeredness; desire to prove oneself or to satisfy one’s lust; submission to Satan’s commands in exchange for physical or material gains.

4. By asking Jesus to turn stones into bread, Satan hoped to lure Jesus into obeying his commands and misusing his divine power for personal interests.

By asking Jesus to throw himself down the temple, Satan hoped that Jesus would prove his divinity by calling upon God’s protection.

By asking Jesus to bow down to him, Satan hoped that Jesus would defy God’s commands and surrender His authority to Satan in order to gain the world.

5. Several times Jesus was presented with situations where He could have fed on his pride or “proved” that He was from God. For example:

The people wanted to make Him king by force (Jn 6:14,15).

The Pharisees and Sadducees demanded a sign (Mt 16:1-4).

People insulted Him, “Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God” (Mt 27:40).

6. Jesus responded to Satan’s challenge to turn stones into bread by pointing out that obedience to God’s command in order to have spiritual life is more important than sustaining the body with food.

Jesus quoted the Scriptures, “You shall not tempt the LORD your God” to show that it is wrong to deliberately put ourselves in a situation to test the truthfulness of God’s promise.

Jesus turned down Satan’s attractive offer by God’s very command that we are to worship and serve only the Lord God.

7. He is a deceiver and liar (Rev 12:9; Jn 8:44). He disguises himself as an angel of light (2Cor 11:14-15) in order to take advantage of our ignorance or spiritual dullness. He leads people into false doctrines and sin in the same way the serpent deceived Eve (2Cor 11:3). Satan is well versed in the Scriptures and is able to fool those who are not watchful or those who have wrong motives for following God’s word.

8. Satan misused the Scriptures in order to make his case strong. Such application of God’s word for self-justification or gratification is the source of error.

Jesus’ quotation of God’s word, on the contrary, were all based on the truth in God’s words and a sincere obedience to God’s authority.

Therefore, we should not use God’s word to justify ourselves for our selfish gain. Instead, we ought to study and apply God word with the intent to know and obey God’s will.

9. Store God’s word in our hearts and know God’s will.

Have a sincere desire to obey God’s will over our personal needs.

Be faithful to God and not be distracted by material or fleshly allurement.

11. Darkness refers to the hopeless condition of death (shadow of death in verse 16) that results from futile thinking and shameful deeds of disobedience (see Eph 4:17,18; 5:11,12).

Light refers to God’s mercy and salvation, which bring us unto the path of hope and peace (Lk 1:78-79; Acts 26:17,18)

12. The Lord Jesus Christ brought salvation to not only Israel but also the gentiles (Acts 26:23).

13a. They would win souls and make disciples of all nations (28:19).

13b. They were sent by their master to preach God’s kingdom and heal the sick. After they received the Holy Spirit, they became Christ’s witnesses from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

14. Be quick to respond to Jesus’ command. Put God first in our lives. This calls for trust in God and total dedication.

15. Verse 19 teaches us that to be fishers of men, we need to follow the Lord Jesus. This means imitating the examples of the Lord, serving Him, obeying His word, and participating in His sufferings.

The same verse also teaches us that it is the Lord who makes us fishers of men. We need the life-transforming power of God in order to be the Lord’s witnesses (Eph 2:8-10). We need to trust in the Lord, feed on His word, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Through constant change and renewal, the Lord makes us fishers of men.

16. Teaching, preaching, and healing (4:23).