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Matthew 4 Bible study: It is written
In Matthew 4 the devil says "it is written" too (4:6), and Jesus answers each temptation with what "is written" (4:4, 4:7, 4:10). And Matthew writes "From that time, Jesus began" twice: when Jesus begins to preach (4:17), and when he begins to show his disciples that he must suffer, be killed and be raised (16:21).
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“But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth.’””
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“In Matthew, the devil sets Jesus on the pinnacle of the temple before he takes him to the exceedingly high mountain.”
Is that in Matthew 4, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
"It is written"
"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil" (4:1). Three times Jesus is told to do something: first by "The tempter" (4:3), then by "the devil" (4:5, 4:8). Three times Jesus answers with what "is written" (tap written). To "command that these stones become bread" (4:3), he answers, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth" (4:4). To "throw yourself down" (4:6), he answers, "Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’" (4:7). To "fall down and worship me" (4:9), he answers, "Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’" (4:10). Matthew doesn't name the book, and the WEB words each answer differently from the verse it is close to. Deuteronomy has "man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the LORD’s mouth" (Deuteronomy 8:3); "You shall not tempt the LORD your God, as you tempted him in Massah" (Deuteronomy 6:16); and "You shall fear the LORD your God; and you shall serve him" (Deuteronomy 6:13). Here is what almost everyone misses: the devil says "it is written" too. His second temptation goes on, "for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’" (4:6), words close to Psalm 91:11-12. Jesus answers it with "Again, it is written" (4:7). The chapters on Deuteronomy 8, Exodus 17 and Deuteronomy 6 draw the three answers' lines to this chapter, and the chapter on Psalm 91 sets the devil's words beside the psalm.
Where the Old Testament leads here
You shall not test the Lord
Exodus 17:7leads toMatthew 4:7
At Massah the people "tested the LORD, saying, 'Is the LORD among us, or not?'" (17:7). Moses later tells Israel, "You shall not tempt the LORD your God, as you tempted him in Massah" (Deuteronomy 6:16). When the devil set Jesus on the pinnacle of the temple and told him to throw himself down (Matthew 4:5-6), Jesus answered with that command: "Again, it is written, 'You shall not test the Lord, your God'" (Matthew 4:7; also Luke 4:12). Where Israel tested the LORD, Jesus would not.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Matthew 4
That was a taste
The rest of Matthew 4 is waiting in Favor
- "From that time"
- Teaching, preaching, healing
- Three tellings of the wilderness
- Galilee and the four fishermen, beside Mark 1
- 12 questions as you read
- 13 more Greek words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Matthew 4 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Greek word behind it
γράφωgraphosay GRAF-o
Strong's: "especially to write; figuratively, to describe". Thayer says that the forms behind it is written "are used of those things which stand written in the sacred books (of the O. T.)", and he lists this chapter's verses. The chapter has it four times, each time as it is written: Jesus's three answers (4:4, 4:7, 4:10), and once in the devil's mouth, "for it is written" (4:6). Matthew's Greek has the verb 10 times (counted in RP2018, the Byzantine text the WEB translates). The first is the chief priests and scribes answering Herod, "for this is written through the prophet" (2:5), and Jesus says it of John the Baptizer, "For this is he, of whom it is written" (11:10).
For your group
Matthew 4 Bible study questions
- 1"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth" (4:4). What helps you take in God's word day by day, and what most often crowds it out?
- 2Each time, Jesus answered with what "is written" (4:4, 4:7, 4:10). Which of his three answers speaks to you most right now, and why?
- 3"They immediately left their nets and followed him" (4:20). What is one thing you could set down this week to follow Jesus more closely?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Matthew 4 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Matthew is open from your first day, and its chapters open one after another, so you'll reach Matthew 4 with everything before it in view. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
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The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home