﻿ Matthew 4 Matthew Poole's Commentary
Matthew 4
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Matthew 4:1-11 Christ fasts forty days, is tempted of the devil, and

ministered unto by angels.

Matthew 4:12-16 He dwelleth in Capernaum,

Matthew 4:17 begins to preach,

Matthew 4:18-20 calleth Peter and Andrew,

Matthew 4:21,22 James and John,

Matthew 4:23-25 teacheth in the synagogues, and healeth the diseased.















1. Falsely cited; and,

2. As ill applied.

a) In the quotation the tempter leaves out those words, in all thy ways. This was none of our Savour’s ways, he had no call, no warrant from God to decline the stairs by which he might have gone down, and to throw himself down. God had never promised, nor ever given, any the protection of angels in sinful and forbidden ways.



See Poole on "Matthew 4:9".





and concludes solidly,








John was some time after this cast into prison, for his free reproving Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, for taking Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and other evils, Matthew 14:3,4 Mr 6:17 Luke 3:19,20. Jesus heard of this accident, and

departed into Galilee. There were many things happened between Christ’s temptations and this his motion into Galilee, which are omitted by all the evangelists except John, and by him recorded in his four first chapters. Neither by Galilee must we understand the Nether Galilee, which was within the jurisdiction of Herod, but the Upper Galilee, called Galilee of the Gentiles, Matthew 4:15, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali, which was in the jurisdiction of Philip, a man of a less bloody disposition. Others make it under Herod’s jurisdiction, but where the Pharisees had less to do than in Judea. Our Saviour doth not out of cowardice avoid danger, but he knew his time was not yet come. But some judicious interpreters think that our Saviour first went into the Lower Galilee, and from thence soon after into the Upper Galilee: that which makes this more probable is the next words, And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum; so as it should seem he first went to Nazareth, which was in the Lower Galilee.

By this (as was said before) it should seem that our Lord first went into the Nether Galilee, where Nazareth was, which after a time he left, and went to Capernaum; which Capernaum was a city near the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali, whose lots in the land of Canaan were contiguous, and by the seaside, as appeareth by Joshua 19:1-51.

See Poole on "Matthew 4:16".

See Poole on "Matthew 4:16".

Ver. 14-16. The text in Isaiah 9:1,2, where the words are, Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. The Jews make a great many objections against the application of this text unto Christ, as indeed they do against the application of all texts cited out of the Old Testament by the evangelists. Christians, believing that the evangelists being holy men, who wrote not from a private spirit private interpretations, have not any reason to regard what their interest leadeth them to object: but even Christian interpreters are divided in their sentiments whether these words are said to be fulfilled, in this motion of Christ unto Galilee, in a literal, or typical, or a more improper and analogical sense; nor is it any great matter with which of them we agree. For my own part, I see no reason why Isaiah 9:2 should not be literally understood of and applied unto Christ. There is nothing more ordinary in the prophets, than, after a threatening of judgment and captivity unto the people, to comfort such as feared God amongst them with promises of the Messiah, and the spiritual salvation which was to be brought in. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali suffered much by Benhadad, 1 Kings 15:20, and more by Tiglath-pileser, 2 Kings 15:29, before the general captivity of the ten tribes, 2 Kings 17:6. The Lord by the prophet, Isaiah 8:1-22, had been threatening this general captivity; possibly the prophet might say the affliction of those parts should not be so great as the second mentioned, 2 Kings 15:29; because by the story it seems they were generally carried into captivity before the more general destruction of the other tribes there. Saith he, This darkness shall be abundantly hereafter compensated, by the coming of the Messiah, and preaching amongst this people; who living at a great distance from Jerusalem, never had such a light as some other parts of Judea, and first drank of the cup of God’s wrath in their captivity. It was called

Galilee of the Gentiles, because it was near to the men of Tyre, who were Gentiles, and had doubtless in it a greater mixture of Gentiles than any other part of Canaan, ever since Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in this Galilee, 1 Kings 9:11.

From the time of Christ’s baptism, or from the time that he heard that John was committed to prison, he, who before had preached and taught privately, and more rarely, began to preach more ordinarily and publicly, and the sum of his doctrine was the same with that of John the Baptist, confirming his doctrine, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. See the sense of those words, Matthew 3:2 Mark 1:15.

Whether by the sea he here meant the lake of Gennesaret, or the ocean, is not worth the arguing, for the Jews called all great collections of waters the seas, according to Genesis 1:10.

He saw two brethren,

Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, whether natural brethren, or called so because of their joint employment,

casting a net into the sea, either for the catching of fish, or for the washing of their nets: see Luke 5:2.

For they were fishers: sea men (as the word seems to signify) used to fish in the sea. Simon had a ship of his own, Luke 5:3. The evangelists’ differing relation of the call of Simon and Andrew hath made a great deal of work for interpreters. The greatest difference seemeth to be betwixt Matthew, in this text, and John, John 1:35-38. But certainly John speaketh of one call in those verses, the other evangelists of another. According to John, they were called to the knowledge of and first acquaintance with Christ while John was in the public exercise of his ministry, for they were his disciples, John 1:35,36,39, they are said at that time to have abode with him that day. Probably they again returned to their old employment, and when John was imprisoned, Christ, walking by the sea, saw them, and then called them to the apostleship. There are other differences in their call observed betwixt Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but such as may be easily answered by those who observe, that there is nothing more ordinary, than for the evangelists, in reporting the same history, one of them to supply more largely what the other had recorded more summarily.




And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
When Christ calls, men shall obey; when he calls, he draweth. It is not of indispensable necessity that men who exercise the ministry should have nothing else to do, Paul’s hands ministered to his necessities; but nothing but a providing for ourselves and households can excuse ministers in entangling themselves with the things of this life. Churches that are able ought better to provide for their ministers, and ministers so provided for sin if they do not wholly give up themselves to their work, 1 Timothy 4:15.

See Poole on "Matthew 4:22".

There was another James, Matthew 10:3, the son of Alpheus, called James the less, brother of Joses and Salome, Mark 15:40. This was

James the son of Zebedee, and John, who is thought to be the evangelist. Christ calleth them, not with his voice only, but by his Spirit, affecting their hearts, so as they immediately left their ship and their father. Elsewhere the disciples say, Master, we have left all and followed thee; probably their employment with their ship was their all. They left their father also, but it was upon Christ’s call, in which case it is every man’s duty,

and followed him, to learn of him before they went out to preach him, and to be witnesses of his miracles, &c.

Jesus Christ having now called four disciples, did not judge it sufficient to send them about, but himself went about all the places of that dark country of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues; the word signifieth both the congregation convened and the place. Here it signifieth both. Synagogues were of old time, Acts 15:21; how ancient we know not. Some think that they were no older than the return out of the captivity of Babylon: but I am posed then in determining where the body of the Jews ordinarily worshipped God on the sabbath days, for it is certain they did not all go up to the temple at Jerusalem. In the Old Testament we read of them only, Psalm 74:8, as at that time burnt up. As to the order of them, we only read, that they had some rulers, Acts 13:15, who directed those who were to speak words of exhortation. The Scriptures were read in them, Acts 15:21; the law and the prophets, Acts 13:15. They prayed in them, Matthew 6:5; they expounded Scripture in them, Luke 4:16-19. Christ preached in the synagogues; not only there, we shall find him preaching on the mount in the next chapter, and in private houses; but he did not decline the synagogues, either as to preaching or hearing, not wholly separating from a church corrupt enough through traditions, but not idolatrous. But what did he preach?

The gospel of the kingdom; the glad tidings for lost sinners, that was come into the world, by the revelation of him, who was the true Messias, and the true and only way by which men might come to the kingdom of God, and be eternally saved. This is what all his ministers should publish; not their own conceits, or dictates of men, or things impertinent to the salvation of souls, but

the gospel of the kingdom. And healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease amongst the people: the Greek is, all diseases and sicknesses, yet surely some died in Galilee in that time. This is another text, to prove that the term all in Scripture doth not always signify every individual, but some individuals of every, species. Christ confirmed his doctrine, and Divine mission, by these miraculous operations.

Syria is said to be bounded on the north by Cilicia, by Egypt on the south, on the west with the sea, and on the east with Euphrates, and to comprehend within it all Judea, Bethany, Galilee, Decapolis, Samaria, Idumea, Palestina, Syrophoenicia, Syria of Damascus, and Syria of Antioch. Christ’s fame spread very far doubtless, because of the good he did, and the miracles he wrought, and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases: ‘all’ here again can signify no more than very many that were indisposed and ill affected as to their bodily health, those that were sick of, or detained in their beds or houses by, divers diseases. Though Christ showed his power in curing some diseases which physicians judge incurable, yet he showed his kindness also in relieving others not so fatally sick.

And torments; such as were troubled with great pains, as if they were upon racks, or in the hands of tormentors, that set themselves to torture them.

And those which were possessed with devils: of these sorts of persons we shall read often in the gospel: this is the first time we meet with the term. It is observed that in the Old Testament we read little of any such persons; (we read only of Saul’s being vexed with an evil spirit); we read much of them in the New Testament, and in ecclesiastical history for some years after Christ: they called them energumeni. Some think God, in those first times of the gospel, permitted the devil to this degree, that the power of our Saviour might be the more seen in casting them out, and in giving authority to his disciples to cast them out, which was a great demonstration of his Divinity. Others think that God did it for a demonstration of the error of the Sadducees, who held there were no spirits. The gospel seemeth to hint two sorts of these persons: some upon whom the devil had power no further than to rack and torture them, Mark 5:3-5 Luke 9:39; others in whom he dwelled bodily, and divined and prophesied in them, Acts 16:16.

And those which were lunatic; affected with such diseases as use to increase in some times of the moon, or at such times to seize persons: of this nature we know divers, more particularly the falling sickness and dropsy.

And those that had the palsy, a disease caused by the resolution of the nerves. Those diseases are mentioned which men account hardest to be cured, if capable of cure by men: Christ, to show his Divine power, healed them. Christ did not only cure these bodily distempers, but he also preached the gospel of the kingdom to heal their soul distempers. We read of many who came to him for bodily cure, but of none that said to him: What shall we do to be saved? How sensible are men and women of their bodily pains and diseases, more than of their soul’s wants!

They followed for the loaves, for the benefit of the bodily cures, or out of curiosity, though some (probably) followed him out of love, and to learn of him.

Decapolis hath its name from ten cities comprehended in it. Here was a mixture both of Jews and Gentiles following Christ, who came to be a Saviour of them both, and to pull down the partition wall between both, to make them both one gospel church, Ephesians 2:14.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.

Bible Hub
Matthew 3
Top of Page
Top of Page