MATTHEW 4:7

f`On their hands they will bear

you up,
lest you strike your foot against a
stone.' f
Jesus said to him, Again efit is written,
f
g
ff`You shall not fput the Lord your God to
the test.' f 8fhfAgain, the devil took him to a
very high mountain and showed him all
the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
9
fAnd he said to him, All these I will give
you, if you will fall down and worship me.
i
10
fThen Jesus said to him, Be gone,
fSatan!
j
For fit is written,
7

f`You shall worship the Lord your

God
and lfhim only shall you serve.' f

Then the devil left him, and behold, mfangels came and were ministering to him.

11

1366
7 ever. 4, 10
f Cited from
Deut. 6:16
g [Isa. 7:12]
8 h Luke 4:5
10 i See 1 Chr.
21:1 j ver. 4, 7
k Cited from
Deut. 6:13
l 1 Sam. 7:3
11 m ch.
26:53; Luke
22:43
12 n ch. 14:3;
Mark 1:14;
Luke 3:19,
20; [John
3:24] o Luke
4:14
13 p See ch.
2:23 q [ch.
9:1] r John
6:1 s Josh.
19:32-34
14 t See ch.
1:22
15 u Cited
from Isa.
9:1, 2
16 v Isa. 42:7;
Luke 1:79
w Job 3:5; Ps.
23:4; Amos
5:8

Jesus Begins His Ministry

Now when he heard that nfJohn had

been arrested, ofhe withdrew into Galilee.
p
13
fAnd leaving
fNazareth he went and lived
in qfCapernaum by rfthe sea, in the territory
of sfZebulun and Naphtali, 14ftfso that what
was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be
fulfilled:
12

15 u

16

The land of Zebulun and the land of

Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the
Jordan, Galilee of the
Gentiles
v
f the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region
and wfshadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.

17 x

From that time Jesus began to preach,

saying, zfRepent, for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand.
f f

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

b
18 a
f fWhile walking by
fthe 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
fAnd he said to them, Follow me, and
I will make you cffishers of men. 20fImmediately they left their nets and followed
him. 21fAnd 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. 22fImmediately
they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds

23 d

f fAnd he went throughout all Galilee,

teaching in their synagogues and ffproclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and
g
fhealing every disease and every affliction
among the people. 24fSo his fame spread
throughout all hfSyria, and gfthey brought
him all the sick, those afflicted with various
diseases and ifpains, jfthose oppressed by
demons, kfepileptics, and lfparalytics, and
he healed them. 25fmfAnd great crowds followed him from Galilee and the nfDecapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and
from beyond the Jordan.

17 x Mark 1:14
z ch. 3:2
18 a For ver.
18-22, see
Mark 1:1620; [Luke
5:2-11; John
1:40-42]
b ver. 13
19 c ch. 13:47
23 d Mark 1:39
e ch. 9:35;
13:54; Mark
1:21; Luke
4:15; John
18:20 f ch.
24:14; Luke
4:43; [ch.
13:19] g ch.
8:16; 14:35,
36; Mark
1:34; 6:55, 56
24 h Luke 2:2
g [See ver. 23
above] i ch.
8:6 j [John
10:21]
k ch. 17:15
l ch. 9:2, 6

4:10 Jesus rejects idolatry with all the zeal of true worship. He commands Satan to depart, for He has conquered the strong man (12:29).

The Sermon on the Mount

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the

mountain, and when he sat down, his
5
disciples came to him.
o

25 m Mark 3:7, 8; Luke 6:17 n Mark 5:20

Chapter 5 1 o ch. 15:29 p Luke 4:20

The Beatitudes
q

And fhe opened his mouth and taught

them, saying:
s
3fr
fBlessed are
fthe poor in spirit, for
u
ftheirs is the kingdom of heaven.
v
4
fBlessed are fthose who mourn, for they
shall be comforted.
t
w
w
5
fBlessed are fthe
fmeek, for they
fshall
inherit the earth.
6
fBlessed are those who hunger and
x
y
fthirst
ffor righteousness, for they shall be
satisfied.
z
7
fBlessed are
fthe merciful, for they shall
receive mercy.
a
b
8
fBlessed are
fthe pure in heart, for
fthey
shall see God.
c
d
9
fBlessed are fthe peacemakers, for
fthey
e
1
shall be called fsons f of God.
10 f
f fBlessed are those who are persecuted
for righteousness' sake, for uftheirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
11 g
f fBlessed are you when others revile
you and persecute you and utter all kinds
of evil against you falsely hfon my account.
12fi
fRejoice and be glad, for your reward is
great in heaven, for jfso they persecuted the
prophets who were before you.
2

2 q Ps. 78:2
3 r For ver. 312, [Luke
6:20-23]
s [Isa. 61:1;
66:2]
u [Luke
12:32]
4 v Isa. 61:2, 3;
John 16:20;
2 Cor. 1:7;
7:10; Rev.
21:4;
[James 4:9,
10]
5 t [See ver. 3
above]
w Ps. 37:11
6 x Ps. 42:2;
Isa. 55:1, 2;
John 7:37
y 2 Tim. 2:22;
[ch. 6:33]
7 z ch. 18:33;
25:34-36;
Prov. 19:17;
Luke 6:36;
2 Tim. 1:16;
Heb. 6:10
8 a Ps. 24:4;
2 Tim. 2:22;
[1 Pet. 1:22]
b Heb. 12:14;
1 John 3:2, 3;
Rev. 22:4;
[1 Cor. 13:12]
9 c James 3:18
d 1 John 3:1
e Rom. 8:14
10 f 2 Tim.
2:12; James
5:11; 1 Pet.
3:14
u [See ver. 3
above]

others have viewed it as legalistic, as a provisional, temporary code, or as

a heightening of the law of Moses with the aim of inducing repentance
(Luther). Finally, some have argued that the demands of the sermon are
not to be understood literally, but that Jesus was concerned with inward
disposition rather than outward conduct, or that the severity of the sermon is intended to compel a decision by the hearers either for or against
Gods demands on their lives.
We must recognize that the sermon is directed to the disciples and
through them to the whole church today. The sermon addresses both
inward motives and outward conduct (5:21, 22, 27, 28). These legitimate
demands are so strict (5:48) that no one can completely obey them, and
we are therefore driven to the grace and mercy of God. In some cases
Jesus uses obviously intentional exaggeration to illustrate the absolute
requirements of Gods law (5:29, 30).
5:1 went up on the mountain. The content of this sermon is similar to
the sermon on the plain recorded in Luke 6.
sat down. It was customary for teachers to sit while teaching (Luke 4:20).

4:15 Galilee of the Gentiles. Matthew stresses Jesus focus on the

nation of Israel during His earthly ministry (10:5, 6). However, his observation that Jesus ministry fulfills Is. 9:2 shows that the commission to go
to the Gentiles in Matt. 28:19 is not an afterthought; the ultimate goal
always included the nations.

near, that His sovereign purposes in history were finally being realized.
Healing, as well as teaching and preaching, was a sign that this kingdom
had come (11:5).

5:3 Blessed. This means more than the emotional state represented by
the word happy. It includes spiritual well-being, having the approval of
God, and thus a happier destiny (Ps. 1).

4:24 Syria. In Roman usage, Syria applied to virtually the whole of

Palestine with the exception of Galilee (cf. Luke 2:2). A Galilean would
probably have understood Syria to refer to the territory just north of
Galilee, from the Mediterranean to Damascus.

4:17 From that time. This phrase, which also occurs in 16:21, marks a
turning point from the period of preparation to the period of Jesus public ministry.

epileptics. The only other use of this word in the New Testament is in
17:15, where it is applied to a demon-possessed boy who is exhibiting
symptoms of epileptic seizures.

poor in spirit. Those with the greater spiritual need are more likely to
perceive their need and depend on God alone and not their own goodness. Paul notes the same principle in Rom. 9:30, 31. The parallel in Luke
6:20 omits in spirit. This has led many to suppose Jesus primarily spoke
of the materially poor. Material poverty and recognition of spiritual need
often go together (Ps. 9:18 note), but the two kinds of poverty are not
identical.

Repent. See Repentance at Acts 26:20.

4:23 teaching . . . proclaiming . . . healing. Teaching involved communicating the nature and purpose of Gods kingdom, as seen in the
Sermon on the Mount (chs. 57) and the parables of the kingdom (ch.
13). Preaching was proclaiming the good news that Gods kingdom was

MATTHEW 5:17

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5:17:29 The Sermon on the Mount is the first of five great blocks of
Jesus teaching in Matthew (Introduction: Characteristics and Themes). It
is the classic statement of the ethics of the kingdom of God. The early
church favored a literal interpretation but fully applied the sermon only
to special classes of Christians, especially monastics. Others, such as the
Anabaptists, have attempted to apply it literally to every Christian. Still

5:4 those who mourn. The context indicates that these are mourning
over sin and evil, especially their own, and over the failure of mankind to
give proper glory to God.
5:5 the meek. This beatitude resembles and is perhaps based on
Ps. 37:11. The meekness in view is spiritual meekness, an attitude of
humility and submission to God. Our pattern for meekness is Jesus (the

Salt and Light

You are the salt of the earth, kfbut if

salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness
be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
14 l
f fYou are the light of the world. A
city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 m
f f Nor do people light a lamp and put
it under a basket, but on a stand, and it
gives light to all in the house. 16fIn the
same way, let your light shine before
others, so nfthat they may see your good
works and ofgive glory to your Father who
is in heaven.
13

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

17 p
f fDo not think that I have come to
abolish the qfLaw or the Prophets; I have
not come to abolish them rfbut to fulfill

11 g Heb. 11:26; 1 Pet. 4:14 h John 15:21 12 i Acts 5:41; Rom. 5:3; 2 Cor. 12:10;
Col. 1:11, 24; Heb. 10:34; James 1:2; 1 Pet. 4:13 j See ch. 21:35 13 k Mark 9:50;
Luke 14:34 14 l Eph. 5:8; Phil. 2:15; [John 8:12] 15 m Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16;
11:33 16 n Philem. 6; 1 Pet. 2:12 o John 15:8; 2 Cor. 9:13; Phil. 1:11; [ch. 9:8]
17 p Rom. 3:31 q ch. 7:12 r [Rom. 10:4; 13:8; Gal. 3:24]
1 Greek huioi; see preface

same Greek word is translated gentle in 11:29), who submits to the will
of His Father.
inherit the earth. The ultimate fulfillment of the promise to Abraham,
whom Paul calls heir of the world (Rom. 4:13; cf. Heb. 11:16).
5:6 hunger . . . for righteousness. Those who seek Gods righteousness
receive what they desire, not those who are confident of their own righteousness.
5:8 they shall see God. Because God is a spirit, His divine essence is
invisible (Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. 1:17; 6:16). Nevertheless, believers will see
God through the insight of faith, and Jesus assured His disciples that in
seeing Him they had seen the Father (John 14:9). In the glorified state,
Gods children will see him as he is (1 John 3:2).
5:9 peacemakers. Spiritual peace, not the cessation of physical violence
between nations, is in view. Although the term is usually understood to
mean those who help others find peace with God, this peace can also be
understood as those who have made their own peace with God and are
called His children. The principle is extended in vv. 44, 45the children
of God make peace, even with their enemies.
5:13 salt. The primary value of salt was not as a flavoring but as a preservative. Disciples are to hinder the worlds corruption. The salt deposits
along the Dead Sea contain not just sodium chloride but a variety of
other minerals as well. This salt can become good for nothing when the
rain washes out its saltiness over the years. See Christians in the World
at Col. 2:20.
5:14 See Is. 60:13.
5:16 See The Mission of the Church in the World at John 20:21.
5:17 Law or the Prophets. A way of referring to the whole Old
Testament.
not come to abolish. The correctives of vv. 2148 should be read in the
light of this opening remark. In fulfilling the law, Jesus does not alter,
replace, or nullify the former commands; rather, He establishes their true