Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 4:25
And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and [from] Decapolis, and [from] Jerusalem, and [from] Judea, and [from] beyond Jordan.
25. Decapolis ] Lit. a group of ten cities. The cities included in this group are variously named by different authors, they lay to the E. and S. of the Sea of Galilee; by some Damascus is mentioned as belonging to the group.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
From Decapolis – Decapolis was the name of a region of country in the bounds of the half-tribe of Manasseh, mainly on the east of Jordan. It was so called because it included 10 cities – the meaning of the word Decapolis in Greek. Geographers generally agree that Scythopolis was the chief of these cities, and was the only one of them west of the Jordan; that Hippo (Hippos), Gadara, Dion (or Dios), Pelea (or Pella), Gerasa (or Gergesa), Philadelphia, and Raphana (or Raphanae), were seven of the remaining nine, and the other two were either Kanatha and Capitolias, or Damascus and Otopos. These cities were inhabited chiefly by foreigners (Greeks) in the days of our Saviour, and not by Jews. Hence, the keeping of swine by the Gergesenes Mat 8:30-33, which was forbidden by the Jewish law.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 25. This verse is immediately connected with the fifth chapter, and should not be separated from it.
Great multitudes] This, even according to the Jews, was one proof of the days of the Messiah: for they acknowledged that in his time there should be a great famine of the word of God; and thus they understood Amos, Am 8:11. Behold, the days come – that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread – but of hearing the words of the Lord. And as the Messiah was to dispense this word, the bread of life, hence they believed that vast multitudes from all parts should be gathered together to him. See Schoettgenius on this place.
Decapolis] A small country, situated between Syria and Galilee of the nations. It was called Decapolis, , from , ten, and , a city, because it contained only ten cities; the metropolis, and most ancient of which, was Damascus.
From beyond Jordan.] Or, from the side of Jordan. Probably this was the country which was occupied anciently by the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; for the country of Decapolis lay on both sides of the river Jordan. See Nu 32:5; Nu 32:33.
THE account of our Lord’s temptation, as given by the evangelist, is acknowledged on all hands to be extremely difficult. Two modes of interpretation have been generally resorted to, in order to make the whole plain and intelligible: viz. the literal and allegorical. In all cases, where it can possibly apply, I prefer the first: the latter should never be used, unless obviously indicated in the text itself; or so imperiously necessary that no other mode of interpretation can possibly apply. In the preceding observations, I have taken up the subject in a literal point of view; and it is hoped that most of the difficulties in the relation have been removed, or obviated, by this plan. An ingenious correspondent has favoured me with some observations on the subject, which have much more than the merit of novelty to recommend them. I shall give an abstract of some of the most striking; and leave the whole to the reader’s farther consideration.
The thoughts in this communication proceed on this ground: “These temptations were addressed to Christ as a public person, and respected his conduct in the execution of his ministry; and are reported to his Church as a forcible and practical instruction, concerning the proper method of promoting the kingdom of God upon earth. They are warnings against those Satanic illusions, by which the servants of Christ are liable to be hindered in their great work, and even stopped in the prosecution of it.
1. “As our Lord had, at his baptism, been declared to be the SON of God, i.e. the promised Messiah, this was probably well known to Satan, who did not mean to insinuate any thing to the contrary, when he endeavoured to engage him to put forth an act of that power which he possessed as the Messiah. The mysterious union of the Divine with the human nature, in our Lord’s state of humiliation, Satan might think possible to be broken; and therefore endeavoured, in the first temptation, Command these stones to be made bread, to induce our Lord to put forth a separate, independent act of power; which our Lord repelled, by showing his intimate union with the Divine will, which he was come to fulfil – Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Thus showing, as he did on another occasion, that it was his meat and drink to do the will of his Father.
“2. The ground of the temptation was then changed; and the fulfilment of the Divine will, in the completion of a prophetic promise, was made the ostensible object of the next attack. Cast thyself down – for it is WRITTEN, He will give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee up, c. This our Lord repelled with – Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God-as Satan had designed to induce him to seek this public miraculous confirmation of God’s peculiar care over him, as the promised Messiah, of his being which, according to the hypothesis above, Satan had no doubt. Moses, being appointed to a great and important work, needed miraculous signs to strengthen his faith but the sacred humanity of our blessed Lord needed them not; nor did his wisdom judge that such a sign from heaven was essential to the instruction of the people.
“3. The last temptation was the most subtle and the most powerful – All these will I give unto thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. To inherit all nations, had been repeatedly declared to be the birthright of the Messiah. His right to universal empire could not be controverted; nor could Satan presume to make the investiture. What, then, was his purpose? Satan had hitherto opposed, and that with considerable success, the kingdom of God upon earth; and what he appears to propose here, were terms of peace, and an honourable retreat. The worship which he exacted was an act of homage, in return for his cession of that ascendancy which, through the sin of man, he had obtained in the world. Having long established his rule among men, it was not at first to be expected that he would resign it without a combat: but the purpose of this last temptation appears to be an offer to decline any farther contest; and, yet more, if his terms were accepted, apparently to engage his influence to promote the kingdom of the Messiah. And as the condition of this proposed alliance, he required, not Divine worship, but such an act of homage as implied amity and obligation; and if this construction be allowed, he may be supposed to have enforced the necessity of the measure, by every suggestion of the consequences of a refusal. The sufferings which would inevitably result from a provoked opposition, which would render the victory, though certain to Christ himself, dearly bought; added to which, the conflict he was prepared to carry on through succeeding ages, in which all his subtlety and powers should be employed to hinder the progress of Christ’s cause in the earth, and that with a considerable degree of anticipated success. Here the devil seems to propose to make over to Christ the power and influence he possessed in this world, on condition that he would enter into terms of peace with him; and the inducement offered was, that thereby our Lord should escape those sufferings, both in his own person, and in that of his adherents, which a provoked contest would ensure. And we may suppose that a similar temptation lies hid in the desires excited even in some of the servants of Christ, who may feel themselves often induced to employ worldly influence and power for the promotion of his kingdom, even though, in so doing, an apparent communion of Christ and Belial is the result: for it will be found that neither worldly riches, nor power, can be employed in the service of Christ, till, like the spoils taken in war, De 31:21-23, they have passed through the fire and water, as, without a Divine purification, they are not fit to be employed in the service of God and his Church.
“Hence we may conclude, that the first temptation had for its professed object, 1st, our Lord’s personal relief and comfort, through the inducement of performing a separate and independent act of power. – The second temptation professed to have in view his public acknowledgment by the people, as the MESSIAH: for, should they see him work such a miracle as throwing himself down from the pinnacle of the temple without receiving any hurt, they would be led instantly to acknowledge his Divine mission; and the evil of this temptation may be explained, as seeking to secure the success of his mission by other means than those which, as the Messiah, he had received from the Father. Compare Joh 14:31. The third temptation was a subtle attempt to induce Christ to acknowledge Satan as an ally, in the establishment of his kingdom.” E. M. B.
The above is the substance of the ingenious theory of my correspondent, which may be considered as a third mode of interpretation, partaking equally of the allegoric and literal. I still, however, think, that the nearer we keep to the letter in all such difficult cases, the more tenable is our ground, especially where the subject itself does not obviously require the allegorical mode of interpretation. Among many things worthy of remark in the preceding theory the following deserves most attention: That Satan is ever ready to tempt the governors and ministers of the Christian Church to suppose that worldly means, human policy, secular interest and influence, are all essentially necessary for the support and extension of that kingdom which is not of this world! Such persons can never long preserve hallowed hands: they bring the world into the Church; endeavour to sanctify the bad means they use, by the good end they aim at; and often, in the prosecution of their object, by means which are not of God’s devising, are driven into straits and difficulties, and to extricate themselves, tell lies for God’s sake. This human policy is from beneath – God will neither sanction nor bless it. It has been the bane of true religion in all ages of the world; and, in every country where the cause of Christianity has been established, such schemers and plotters in the Church of God are as dangerous to its interests as a plague is to the health of society. The governors and ministers of the Christian Church should keep themselves pure, and ever do God’s work in his own way. If the slothful servant should be cast out of the vineyard, he that corrupts the good seed of the Divine field, or sows tares among the wheat, should be considered as an enemy to righteousness, and be expelled from the sacred pale as one who closes in with the temptation – “All these things (the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them) will I give unto THEE, if thou wilt fall down and worship ME.” However necessary the Church may be to the state, and the state to the Church, as some people argue, yet the latter is never in so much danger as when the former smiles upon it.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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, Eph 2:14.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. And there followed him greatmultitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolisa regionlying to the east of the Jordan, so called as containing ten cities,founded and chiefly inhabited by Greek settlers.
and from Jerusalem, and frombeyond Jordanmeaning from Perea. Thus not only was allPalestine upheaved, but all the adjacent regions. But the moreimmediate object for which this is here mentioned is, to give thereader some idea both of the vast concourse and of the variedcomplexion of eager attendants upon the great Preacher, to whom theastonishing discourse of the next three chapters was addressed. Onthe importance which our Lord Himself attached to this firstpreaching circuit, and the preparation which He made for it, see onMr 1:35-39.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And there followed him great multitudes of people,…. Some on one account, and some on another; some out of good will, others out of ill will; some for the healing of their bodies, others for the good of their souls; some to see his miracles, others to hear his doctrine; and what with one and another, the concourse of people that followed him was greater than that which followed John. The Greek word for “multitude” is adopted into the Talmudic language, and is often used by the doctors; who have a tradition to this purpose, that , “there is no multitude less than sixty myriads” o; but we are not to imagine, that when here, and elsewhere, a multitude is said to follow, or attend on Christ, that he had such a number of people after him as this; only that the number was very large. The places from whence they came are particularly mentioned, as “from Galilee”; where he had called his disciples, had been preaching the Gospel, and healing all manner of diseases; and therefore it is not to be wondered at that he should have a large number of followers from hence. This country was divided into p three parts:
“There was upper Galilee, and nether Galilee, and the valley from Capharhananiah and upwards: all that part which did not bring forth sycamine trees was upper Galilee, and from Capharhananiah downwards: all that part which did bring forth sycamine trees was nether Galilee; and the coast of Tiberias was the valley.”
Frequent mention is made in the Talmudic q writings of upper Galilee, as distinct from the other.
And from Decapolis; a tract of land so called, from the “ten cities” that were in it; and which, according to Pliny r were these following; Damascus, Opoton, Philadelphia, Raphana, Scythopolis, Gadara, Hippondion, Pella, Galasa, and Canatha; see Mr 5:20 “And from Jerusalem”; the metropolis of the whole land; for his fame had reached that great city, and there were some there, curious and desirous to see him, and hear him; though he was got into those distant and obscure parts.
And from Judea; from the other parts of it:
and from beyond Jordan; which was a distinct country of itself, known by the name of Peraea; so called, perhaps, from , the word here translated, “from beyond”. It is to be observed, that here are three countries distinctly mentioned, Galilee, Judea, and “beyond Jordan”; which was the division of the land of Israel; of these three lands the Talmudists often speak.
“It is a tradition of the Rabbins s, that in three countries they intercalate the year; Judea, and beyond Jordan, and Galilee.”
Again t,
“There are three lands, that are obliged to the removing of fruits; Judea, and beyond Jordan, and Galilee.”
Once more u,
“There are three countries for celebration of marriages, Judea, and “beyond Jordan”, and Galilee.”
The account which w Maimonides gives of these three countries is this;
“The land of Judea, all of it, the mountain, the plain, and the valley, are one country beyond Jordan, all of it, the plain of Lydda, and the mountain of the plain of Lydda, and from Betheron to the sea, are one country: Galilee, all of it, the upper and nether, and the coast of Tiberias, are one country.”
The country beyond Jordan was not so much esteemed as what was properly the land of Canaan, or Israel; for the Jews x say,
“the land of Israel is holier than all lands; because they bring out of it the sheaf, the first fruits, and the showbread, which they do not bring from other lands: the land of Canaan is holier than beyond Jordan; the land of Canaan is fit to be the habitation of the Shekinah; beyond Jordan is not.”
This, they say y, was not the land flowing with milk and honey.
o T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 58. 1. p Misn, Sheviith. c. 9. sect. 2. q T. Bab. Bava Kama, fol. 80. 1. Cetubot, fol. 67. 2. & Succa, fol. 27. 2. & 28. 1. Zohar in Gen. fol. 129. 3. r Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 18. s T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 11. 2. t Misn. Sheviith. c. 9. sect. 2. u Misn. Cetubot, c. 13. sect. 10. w Hilch. Shemittah, c. 7. sect. 9. x Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 7. fol. 188. 3. Maimon. Beth Habechira, c. 7. sect. 12. y Misn. Biccurim, c. 1. sect. 10.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Great multitudes ( ). Note the plural, not just one crowd, but crowds and crowds. And from all parts of Palestine including Decapolis, the region of the Ten Greek Cities east of the Jordan. No political campaign was equal to this outpouring of the people to hear Jesus and to be healed by Jesus.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And there followed him,” (kai akolouthesan auto) “And there were those (many) who followed him,” pursued Him as a result of His works and fame.
2) “Great multitudes of people from Galilee,” (ochloi polloi apo tes Galilaias) “Many crowds or parties from all areas (of) Galilee,” where He had made His first gospel ministry tour, Mr 4:23,24. The crowds are rendered multitudes, almost beyond numbering. Such was the background, labors, and influence of our Lord before delivering His notable sermon on the mount, or Inaugural address to His church that follows, Mat 5:1 to Mat 7:29.
3) “And from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea,” (kai Dekapoleos kai lerosolumon kai loudaias) “And numerous crowds (large parties) from Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea;” Decapolis means an area of ten cities located east of the Jordan river and east and south of Galilee, chiefly occupied by Greek settlers. And Jerusalem and Judea were to the south of Galilee.
4) “And from beyond Jordan” (kai peran tou lordanou) “And even (as well as) many crowds (parties) from territories beyond the Jordan river,” in an area known as Perea, Mat 5:11; Mr 3:7,8; Mat 8:1; Mat 8:18 all indicate the wide area of influence and respect that the preaching and healing of Jesus had gained.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(25) Decapolis.The district so named was formed by the Romans on their first conquest of Syria, B.C. 65, and, speaking roughly, included a tract of country east and south-east of the Sea of Galilee. The ten cities from which the region took its name are given by Pliny (v. 18)though with the reservation that the list was given differently by othersas Scythopolis, Hippos, Gadara, Pella, Philadelphia, Gerasa, Dion, Canatha, Damascus, and Raphana. Of these Gadara (Mat. 8:28; Mar. 5:1; Luk. 8:26), and in some MSS. of the first named passage, Gerasa, are the only two that occur in the Gospels. Damascus is prominent in the Acts, but the statement of Josephus (B. J. iii. 9, 7), that Scythopolis was the largest of the ten towns, makes it almost certain that he did not include Damascus in the list.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25. Followed him great multitudes How true to the life this picture is, the following passage will show. “The news that a foreign hakeem or doctor was passing through the country,” says Mosier, “very soon was spread abroad, and at every halt our camp was thronged with the sick, not only of the village near to which we were encamped, but of all the surrounding villages. Many came several days’ journey to consult our doctor, and were brought to him in spite of every difficulty and inconvenience. Some came on asses, bolstered up on cushions, and supported by their relations; others on camels, whose rough pace must have been torture to any one in sickness. It may be conceived what a misfortune sickness must be in a country where there is no medical relief, nor even a wheel conveyance to seek relief when it is at hand.” Our Lord, as a miraculous healer, as well as teacher, doubtless attracted, in a similar way, still greater crowds.
From Decapolis Decapolis signifies the Ten Cities. These ten cities, including their rural territories, lay mostly on the east side of the Jordan, near Lake Gennesaret. Their names are differently given, and their numbers really appear to have varied at different times, amounting at one time to fourteen. They are commonly reckoned to be,
1. Damascus,
2. Philadelphia,
3. Raphana,
4. Scythopolis,
5. Gadara,
6. Hippos,
7. Dion,
8. Pella,
9. Galas,
10. Canatha.
But one of these, namely, Scythopolis, was situated in Galilee.
From beyond Jordan From the Greek word , peran, signifying beyond, the country beyond Jordan was called Perea. This name in its largest sense was applied to the whole strip of territory lying east of the Jordan, and bounded on the east by mountains, which divided it from Arabia Deserta. In its narrower sense, it designated the territory east of the Jordan, toward the south. According to Josephus, its northern limit was at Pella, its southern at Macheron, its east at Philadelphia, its west the Jordan.
This paragraph of the evangelist, beginning at Mat 4:12, gives a general view of our Lord’s ministry during its period in Galilee. It properly succeeds the account of the temptation by which our Lord was proved and perfected for the work. It also well prepares the way for the great summary of his moral doctrines contained in the Sermon on the Mount, which he now sets before us.
It is well remarked by Mr. Stanley, that the scene of the main events of the first three Gospels was in Galilee, while that of the fourth was mainly in Jerusalem. These three, then, he calls the Galilean Gospels.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And there followed him great crowds from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judaea and from beyond the Jordan.’
And soon great crowds had gathered coming from far afield. They came from all over Galilee, from Decapolis, on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, and from Jerusalem and Judaea to the south. They flocked from every quarter. There were huge crowds wherever He went, so much so that it was difficult for Him to give special teaching to His new disciples. The idea of ‘great crowds’ is repeated in Mat 8:1; Mat 8:18.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
With His fame grew the number of His followers:
v. 25. And there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan. The extraordinary impression which this Prophet of Nazareth created was not confined to Galilee. People came from Decapolis, the southern part of Gaulanitis, southeast of Lake Gennesaret, whose population was predominantly Grecian. They thought nothing of the long journey from the extreme South, from haughty Judea, from exclusive Jerusalem, from far-distant Perea, beyond the Jordan from Judea. All wanted to see and hear the man whose miracles were astounding the nation.
Summary. Jesus, having successfully withstood the temptation of the devil after His forty-day fast, entered upon His Galilean ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing, Peter, Andrew, James, and John being His first disciples.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 4:25. From Decapolis A country of Palestine, so called because it contained ten cities; concerning the names of which the learned are not agreed. It bordered upon Syria, a province near Galilee, and extended on both sides of Jordan and the lake of Tiberias. It formerly belonged to the half tribe of Manasseh. See Joseph. Jewish War, b. iii. c. 16. and Pliny’s Nat. Hist. l. v. c. 18. Instead of beyond, Campbell reads; from the banks of the Jordan.
Inferences.To have just ideas of Christ’s temptations, we must consider them in two lights. First, as they were permitted by God. Secondly, as they were executed by the tempter.
The reasons for which God permitted his Son to be tempted of the devil were such as these: 1. That he might become a faithful and merciful high-priest, one who can succour his people in time of need, and pity them when they happen to fall by temptation. The apostle assigns this reason expressly, Heb 2:17-18; Heb 4:15. 2. That his example might be a complete pattern of all purity, virtue, and excellence: Jesus, like a wise and valiant general, underwent himself all the hardships attending his service, that we his soldiers might be animated to sustain them together with him. He has gone before us, not only in poverty and reproach, and contempt of sensual pleasure, but was given up to be tempted of the devil, that his people might not be dismayed by such dispensations of Providence, but be taught to expect them, especially after having had proofs of the divine love and manifestations of his presence: also that we might know both what sort of an enemy we have to encounter, and the kind of temptations that he will assault us with; particularly that there is no impiety or wickedness so gross, but he will tempt even the best of men to commit it.
Farther, it was designed to shew us, that the devil, though a strong enemy, may be overcome, and by what means; and to stir us up to constant watchfulness. Hence this conflict, though managed in the sight of God and the angels only, was in due time made public for the instruction of mankind. 3. That our Lord might with the greatest advantage begin and carry on his ministry, in the course of which he was to accomplish the salvation of men, it was necessary that he should first vanquish the strongest temptations of the old serpent, who had formerly brought ruin on mankind. His sustaining the temptations of the devil, therefore, when he entered on his ministry, teaches us, that no man is so rightly qualified to preach the Gospel, as he who by temptation has been fortified against luxury, ambition, pride, lust, covetousness, and such like passions, with which the devil overthrows the minds of the unstable.
On the other hand, the motives which induced the devil to undertake this temptation, might be, 1. His general desire of seducing men to sin: 2. Some particular end which he proposed to accomplish thereby. It is reasonable to believe, that God’s gracious intention to save the world by his Son, was not intirely concealed from the evil spirits. If so, they might be led by the prophesies to conjecture, that this was the period fixed in the will of heaven for the advent of God’s Son. That the devils are acquainted with the Scripture is evident from the citation which we find the tempter making out of the Psalms on this occasion. Besides, they might be confirmed in their opinion, by the general expectation of the Messiah, with which the east was now filled. If therefore they had any how received intelligence of the wonderful things which accompanied the birth of Christ; or, having been witnesses to the descent of the Spirit upon him at his baptism, some of them had heard the voice from heaven declaring him the Son of God; they could not but have a great curiosity to know whether he was really the grand personage so long expected by men.
The resolution of this point was undoubtedly of the greatest moment to them; because the part they were afterwards to act, in carrying on their own projects for destroying the human race, depended in a great measure upon it. Wherefore, all the time Jesus was in the wilderness, the chief of the evil spirits, as being best qualified for the undertaking, beset him with a multitude of temptations, in order, if possible, to discover who he was: the form in which two of his temptations run, seems to favour this conjecture. If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down. Besides, unless the tempter had been in doubt as to the character of Jesus, it is not to be imagined that he should have attempted to seduce him at all.
Satan’s conduct in the present instance is a lively example of what St. Peter has told us, 1Pe 5:8. Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: the malice, the cruelty, and the fury with which the evil spirit attacks mankind, is but faintly represented by the fierceness of the most ravenous wild beasts. The devil, on this occasion, seems to have assaulted our Lord in some visible form, and with an audible voice. He could hardly do it otherwise, the human nature of Jesus being incapable of sinful thoughts. Commonly, however, his strongest temptations are those wherein he least appears; for example, when he suggests evil imaginations, in order to raise evil desires. A man, therefore, in such cases, should enter into himself, and, with the help of the Spirit of God, should courageously expel those detestable sentiments, the devil’s auxiliaries, by which he takes and keeps possession of the soul. And as for the assaults which he makes upon us by means of things without us, they must be sustained and repelled by a firm resolution through Almighty grace, as waves by a rock. The Christian has good encouragement thus to exert himself with vigour; for his Master has shewed him, that there is in the word of God applied by the divine Spirit sufficient armour to preserve him invulnerable against all the fiery darts of the adversary. Farther, as Christ, after having vanquished the devil, was ministered unto by angels; his followers, who endeavour to do their duty, shall have such assistance as is necessary to their continuing im-moveable amidst the rudest shocks of temptation. They may be amid legions of devils; but their integrity shall be happily preserved. See Macknight.
We observed on Mat 4:23 that the Gospel is glad tidings, a joyful message: and could we effectually represent the full purport of this JOYFUL MESSAGE, so as to make you sensible what a solid and superlative happiness it imports, your hopes must presently be raised, and all your desires engaged in dependence on the grace of God in pursuit of the promised good: but though all men incessantly seek after happiness, yet they are too commonly so mistaken in their notions of it, that these heavenly tidings make no impressions on them.
Consider we then, that happiness of every kind requires a proper disposition for its enjoyment. Without bodily health we cannot relish the pleasures of sense; and, for the same reason, without holiness, which is the soul’s health, we cannot participate of spiritual joys. To judge, therefore, what interest we have in the Gospel, or glad tidings of the kingdom of God, consider the holy angels, who are its native inhabitants: they, doubtless, are happy in the supreme degree; but their happiness is the result of a more intrinsic part of their character, viz. holiness. And this brings to my mind a fine saying of a modern writer:
Then, to be good, is to be happy; angels Are happier than men, because they’re better.
They are perfectly happy, because they are perfectly holy. Now holiness consists in having only pure desires: that is to say, just desires: they cannot desire any thing but what is just, fit, and proper for them: and thence, although their desires may be various, yet they can never be (as in the human race) inconsistent; but, being excited with due subordination and harmony among themselves, they are all fully gratified. In a word, duty and pleasure are the same in heaven. The angels have all they can wish, because they can wish only for what they ought to have. And the more intense their desires are, the higher are their graces and virtues, and the greater their beatitude.
Things are quite contrary in the present state of the human nature; for holiness is so distinct a thing from the gratification of our natural desires, that it principally consists in denying them. Our natural desires, viz. our appetites and passions, are often unjust; and so exorbitant, that, for the sake of our own ease, and the little happiness which can be found here, we are bound to resist and subdue them. And herein (quite opposite to the angelical nature) consists the human excellence. To refrain from what we wish; to choose what we are averse to; to reject the poisonous sweet, and prefer the wholesome bitter; to strive against sloth and voluptuousness, with other numberless vices and follies, to which we are prone; and climb the arduous rugged paths of duty; these are our first task, in which we shall often miscarry. But this will not always be the case: we shall not always be left to our own mismanagement; for, if we persist in using the grace bestowed upon us, God will at length take us under his more immediate and peculiar government; and, by a faithful service in a constant, simple and entire dependence on divine grace alone, we shall enter into his kingdom.
This momentous truth, grounded on the great sacrifice and intercession of Jesus, is the genuine Gospel of Christ: such are the glad tidings which he publishes; assuring us, that God’s kingdom is accessible, is near; so that all may enter it, who will in true repentance lay hold of Jesus Christ in all his offices, and in simple faith cast themselves on his alone power to save.
REFLECTIONS.1st, Jesus, being now prepared for the battle, enters the lists against the great enemy of souls, whose kingdom he came to destroy. We have,
1. The time of this conflict.Then, immediately after he had received the attestation of God to his Sonship, and the fulness of the Spirit for the exercise of his office as Mediator. Note; (1.) Before God calls us into temptation, he will furnish us with spiritual strength, with which we may conquer, if we be faithful. (2.) Great manifestations are often the prelude to our severest conflict. (3.) The confidence of our adoption of God will be the most effectual shield to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
2. The place.In the wilderness, far from the abode of men, amid lonely wastes, where only the savages of the forest roamed, to give the enemy every advantage against him, and therein more gloriously to display his own power and all-sufficiency. The first man fell in a paradise of delights; the second man stood unmoved against every blast of temptation, firm as the rocks of the wilderness, his present dreary dwelling.
3. The preparatives to the combat. He was led up of the Spirit, by a divine impulse on his mind, into the higher, more mountainous, and uninhabited part of the country; and this with design to meet the tempter, and defeat all his wiles. And hereunto he condescended. (1.) That, feeling what sore temptations mean, he might be a compassionate high-priest, having been tempted in all points as we are, only without sin. (2.) To encourage us to trust him in every time of need. He who defeated that enemy once himself, can by the same strength make the faithful soul more than conqueror. Forty days, like Moses in the mount, he continued there alone, and without sustenance: at last he felt all those acute cravings of hunger which, as man, he was subject to in common with us, and which gave the enemy another advantage against him, and rendered the Redeemer’s triumphs more illustrious. The first representative of mankind, when enjoying the utmost plenty, was tempted by one forbidden tree; the last, though famishing for want, is deaf to every solicitation of the wicked one.
4. The temptations themselves; a threefold cord, and yet broken with ease. The design of them was, to shake Christ’s confidence in God, and lead him to some dishonourable step, which, had it been possible, must have utterly unqualified him for the work of redemption.
[1.] In the first temptation the devil sought to lead him to a distrust of God’s providential care and goodness; and, in order thereto, the tempter came to him. He had possibly by his secret suggestions, during the forty days before, sought to disturb the mind of Jesus, but in vain; (see the Inferences;) now therefore he assumes a visible form; not such a fearful figure as our early misguided apprehensions suggest, and our delusive prints hold him forth, but some pleasing human shape, or perhaps transformed into an angel of light. The tempter well knew the circumstances of our Lord, and directs his assault where the weakest side appeared: he hoped that the cravings of hunger might lead him to some undue means of relief. Thus vigilant and crafty is the wily adversary to suit his temptation to our situation and condition; and particularly, in want and distress, to suggest some sinful expedient to extricate ourselves from our troubles, without waiting God’s leisure, or consulting his will. He often says, Better steal than starve; though God says, ‘Tis better die than sin. He prefaces his temptation with a sly insinuation; If thou be the Son of God, as if he doubted the fact, though so lately the voice from heaven had affirmed it; and he desired to shake the faith of Jesus, suggesting, that if this really were the case, it was inconceivable that God would leave such a one to starve in the wilderness. Or, seeing thou art the Son of God; he perhaps admits the fact, and wishes to see a present exertion of his divine power in a miracle so necessary for his own support; command that these stones be made bread. (See the Annotations.) Note; (1.) The great battery of the devil is raised against our faith; for if the foundation of our confidence be removed, the superstructure must needs fall. He is ever striking at this to make the children of God doubt their adoption; and, in order thereto, he urges against them sometimes their outward distresses, sometimes their inward weakness and infirmities, as if both the one and the other were inconsistent with the relation that they claim. (2.) If once the enemy can engage us to entertain hard thoughts of God, then he is sure to prevail.
Christ repels the assaults of the wicked one with the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and therein teaches us how to ward off the like temptations. He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. The Lord has other ways of supporting men’s bodies than by bread merely; and therefore it was not so absolutely necessary for his sustenance, but that he could be supported without it; nor would he at Satan’s instigation do that which might look like distrust of his Father’s care, doubt of his word, or suspicion of his relation to him. Note; (1.) The written word is the only rule of our faith and practice: if Christ himself adhered to that alone, let no pretences of the Spirit’s superior teaching lead us off from this sure guide. (2.) God’s time is the best time, and he that believeth will not make haste; will take no rash step for his own relief under his trials, but patiently expect the salvation of God.
[2.] The first attack being repelled, a second is prepared: since he cannot lead the Saviour to distrust or despair, he will try to puff him up with presumption. So unwearied is the tempter, and often changing his wiles, according to our circumstances, from one extreme to the other.
He taketh him up by divine permission, with the consent of Jesus, or leadeth him into the holy city, Jerusalem, so called from the peculiar privileges that it enjoyed of God’s worship and ordinances; and set him upon a pinnacle or wing the temple; one of the battlements probably, which was of an immense height. And since Jesus had expressed such confidence in his Father, and unshaken dependence on his word, he grounds thereon his temptation: If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, and give an incontestable proof of it to the priests and people worshipping below, who will, no doubt, receive thee as the Messiah, when thus coming as if immediately from heaven into the temple: nor will there be any danger in the experiment, since, it is written, and therein thou art fully satisfied, He shall give his angels, &c. The application of which words to Christ was right; but a part of the text is artfully suppressed, in all thy ways; for out of the way of duty we may never hope for protection. And it is misapplied, being designed not to tempt men to rush into temptation, presuming upon the divine care; but to engage the believer to trust God in time of trial, assured of divine support. From all which we may observe, (1.) That one grand engine of the tempter is, to make our heads giddy by setting us up on high. The pinnacle of the temple is a dangerous exaltation. Those who are eminent in station, fortune, or reputation; advanced to dignities in church or state; or distinguished with abilities, gifts, graces, or even success in their ministry; need to tremble for themselves, and, the higher they stand, to cleave the faster to Jesus their temple, lest their exaltation prove their destruction. (2.) Though the devil can tempt, he cannot compel. Sin is our own act; and without our consent the most dire temptations fasten not the least evil on our consciences. Should we be tempted to the greatest crimes, to self-murder, or blasphemy, the Son of God was himself thus tempted, yet without sin. (3.) Scriptures may be suggested by the enemy to the minds of God’s people, much to their distress and discouragement on the one hand, or, on the other, to lull their consciences in fatal security; therefore we must search the Scriptures diligently, that we may know what is God’s mind therein, and be kept from those dangerous errors and delusions, which often the Scriptures are vouchsafed to patronize. (4.) We must never separate the means from the end, nor expect out of God’s way the protection of his providence and grace. Though Jesus is a Saviour to the uttermost, we may not sin that grace may abound.
The same word of truth supplies our Lord with a full confutation of Satan’s sophistry; for in the Scriptures there is an answer ready for every case; and we can be in no circumstance or temptation, but that word will afford us direction, strength, and comfort. It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. The tempter had said, It is written: but the Scripture cannot contradict itself; and therefore to know the mind of God, we must compare spiritual things with spiritual, and not mutilate the word of truth, nor apply it contrary to the intention of the Spirit. To trust God is duty; to tempt him is sinful. Christ needed no confirmation of what he was already assured; nor was he called unnecessarily to make an experiment of God’s power in such a miraculous preservation.
[3.] Once more, though baffled, the enemy returns to the charge; and, summoning up all his force in one blow, by the most glaring display of this world’s glory tempts our Lord to the horrid crime of idolatry. The severest of our temptations is sometimes reserved for the last, that God’s power and grace may be more gloriously displayed, and the devil’s malice most bitterly disappointed.
Again the devil taketh him up, perhaps transported him through the air, into an exceeding high mountain, that the fictitious scene he was about to display might appear real; and there he shewed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. (See the critical notes.) Whatever grandeur, wealth, pleasure, reigned in them, were set before him in the most enlivened colours, to catch his fancy, and engage his admiration: and all these he proffers to bestow on him, on one condition, which thousands, without any such reward, were daily complying with; if thou wilt fall down and worship me;a proposal so horrid as would not bear a thought, and is rejected with detestation: Get thee hence, Satan; such insolence provoked the Saviour’s righteous indignation, and he drives the tempter from his presence, unable to endure such a daring attempt upon the majesty of Jehovah, the only object of worship; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Note; (1.) The minds of God’s greatest saints may be sometimes harassed with the most blasphemous suggestions, and they should not count this as if some strange thing happened unto them. (2.) The glory of the world is the grand snare that the enemy lays for men’s souls; and it looks very desirable to the eye of sense; but true and effective faith sees through the delusion, beholds vanity stamped on every thing beneath the sun, and scorns all this which Satan offers as dung and loss, compared with the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, and the glories of his grace. (3.) Some temptations come under the guise of plausibility and harmlessness, and require recollection before we can discover the craft of the devil; others bring the brand of hell in their forehead, and would bear men down merely with the weight of the present advantage thence accruing: these must not be parleyed with a moment, but rejected with abhorrence. (4.) God is alone the object of worship; and whatever else be made the idol of our adoration, whether the horrid forms of monsters in a pagod, or the images of saints and virgins, and crucifixes in a popish chapel, it is no better than falling down to the devil.
5. Satan, now vanquished and unable to resist the commanding word of Jesus, quits the field. He found him more than man, invulnerable in every part, and feels himself a vanquished foe. Thus shall the faithful sons of God, through this great Captain of their salvation, tread Satan under their feet; enabled to wrestle with spiritual wickedness, and to prevail against the powers of darkness, Though hard the conflict, the victory is sure to all who stand fast, strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
6. The angels, the attendant servants of Jesus, now visibly appeared, and ministered unto him. They had beheld, as spectators, the conflict and triumphs of the Lord, and now congratulate his victory, and supply him with those needful refreshments which his exhausted body wanted. Note; (1.) Christ alone obtained the victory for us; his own arm hath brought salvation unto him. (2.) Though our relief be for awhile delayed, it shall assuredly come at last, if we continue to cleave to Jesus: Trust in the Lord therefore, and verily thou shalt be fed. (3.) Our Master was himself tempted, that he might feel for us, and supply us with all needful supports, when we are in like manner sore thrust at that we should fall.
2nd, Christ now having entered upon his ministry, began to publish the glad tidings of that salvation he came to procure. Many events are recorded which intervened between his temptations and his abode at Capernaum: these we shall meet with in the other evangelists. Matthew hastens forward to the time when John was cast into prison; on which occasion Jesus departed from Nazareth to Galilee, and fixed his abode at Capernaum, a city in the tribe of Nephthali, bordering on Zebulon, situate on the sea of Tiberias, called elsewhere the lake of Gennesareth. The men of Nazareth had rejected him, Luk 4:29 and therefore God justly leaves them to themselves, and sends his Son and his Gospel to a place which will more cheerfully welcome them.
1. Especial notice is taken of the fulfilment of the Scripture in this removal of our Lord; as Isaias had before of old prophesied,that the people in these regions of Zebulon and Nephthali, called Galilee of the Gentiles from the intermixture of a multitude of strangers of other nations among the Jews; which sat in darkness, in spiritual darkness and ignorance; saw a great light, Christ the sun of righteousness arising with healing in his wings, and bringing life and light and liberty to those which sat in the region and shadow of death, dead in trespasses and sins, till quickened by the power of the Saviour’s grace, and enlightened by the glorious Gospel that he preached. Note; (1.) They who are destitute of the knowledge of Christ are in darkness respecting all the things which make for their everlasting peace, and near the borders of eternal death. (2.) Christ is to the soul what the sun is to the world; yea, more; for he is not only the author of light, but gives, in the different stages of grace from initial salvation, the faculty of vision also, without which the light would shine in darkness, and the darkness never comprehend it. (3.) The way in which spiritual light is chiefly diffused is by the preaching of the Gospel.
2. We are told what was the subject of his ministry from the time he began to open his commission; Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; the same words and the same subject on which John his harbinger had preached before; for in the great essential doctrines all faithful ministers of the Gospel perfectly agree.
3rdly, Christ being now about to erect his kingdom in the world, he is pleased to make choice of certain persons to be the constant attendants of his ministry and spectators of his miracles, that they might afterwards go forth to tell of the things they had heard and seen, and spread the Gospel of their Master to the ends of the earth.
1. The persons he made choice of were such as to human view were very unfit instruments for the work; but the more evident would it be that the power was of God, and not of them, when afterwards they appeared so mighty in word and deed. They were by occupation fishermen, whom Jesus, as he walked by the sea-shore, saw employed in their honest and laborious vocation: the first two were casting a net into the sea, brethren by blood as well as business, their names Simon and Andrew, men unlettered, unknown, and unnoticed; the next two were of the like employment, and with their father Zebedee mending their nets. Note; (1.) Not only to the poor was the Gospel preached by our Lord, but from them the great pillars of the church were taken: let them therefore never be despised. (2.) It is happy in a family when brethren in blood are brethren in the Lord, and heirs together of the grace of life. (3.) Industry is highly commendable, and Jesus wills that all his servants should be found well employed: idleness is the sure characteristic of Satan’s service.
2. They had, it seems, before (see Joh 1:37.) become acquainted with Christ; but now they are called to constant attendance upon him, Follow me; and, by an image taken from their present employment, he lets them know the more honourable service for which he designed them, I will make you fishers of men, the instruments of gathering souls by the Gospel into his church. And what he calls them to, he will qualify them for: in following him they shall learn a wisdom which the schools can never teach them. Note; (1.) Unless ministers have a divine call, they will run without being sent, and can expect no blessing in their work. (2.) None can truly preach Christ who have not first faithfully followed him. (3.) If, in our ordinary vocations diligence is necessary, how much more needful is it that fishers of men should be indefatigable and laborious, when the gain of immortal souls will so amply repay their toil.
3. These disciples immediately obeyed the call, quitting their employment, and leaving their dearest relatives to devote and attach themselves intirely to their divine Lord and Master. Note; (1.) There are seasons when, for the sake of Christ, we must be ready to part with all. (2.) Those who are employed in the ministry have especial need to detach themselves from worldly concerns, that they may give themselves wholly up to their awful trust and charge.
4thly, We have,
1. Christ’s labours as a preacher. All Galilee heard his teaching; he appeared publicly in their synagogues, and published the Gospel of the kingdom, the glad tidings of salvation, exhorting his hearers to that repentance and newness of life which became those who had received the grace of God in truth.
2. His cures as a physician, wrought in confirmation of his doctrine. He did good to men’s bodies as well as souls, and by a word healed all manner of sickness and diseases among the people, however violent, inveterate, or of long standing: the incurables of other physicians went from him restored to perfect health and soundness. Nor did he merely relieve the most tormenting disorders of the body, but the more deplorable ones of the mind: the lunatic recovered the perfect exercise of his reason; and the possessed, whose bodies by divine permission Satan’s legions had seized and miserably harassed, were set free, and the foul fiends ejected. No painful operations, no tedious course of medicine almost as bad as the malady, were employed: a word, a touch, completed the cure; and all was freely done, without money and without price. The most wretched, the poorest, never applied in vain. No wonder that his fame spread through the adjacent coasts of Syria, and that multitudes of patients sought this great Physician’s help. His cures bespoke his character, and vouched for his mission; they were innumerable, public, immediate, perfect, such as none could dispute or gainsay, his very enemies being judges. And they represent the more noble cures of men’s souls by divine grace from all the diseases of sin, wherein we see the Saviour’s power still displayed.
3. His popularity arising from both. An immense auditory, from all parts, near and distant, assembled, curious to hear, or desirous to be healed, or convinced by his preaching and miracles, or enviously waiting for an opportunity to destroy him. Note; (1.) The preachers of the Gospel will generally be popular; their message engages the attention of an auditory. (2.) Multitudes hear the Gospel; but too many refuse to receive it in the love of it to the salvation of their souls.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 4:25 . ] a strip of land with ten cities (Josephus, Vit . 9), chiefly inhabited by the heathen, on the other side of the Jordan, in the north-east of Palestine. As to the towns themselves, which were reckoned as included in it, and to which Scythopolis, Gadara, Hippo, and Pella certainly belonged, there was, so early as the time of Pliny ( H. N. v. 16), no unanimity of opinion, Lightfoot, Hor . p. 563 ff.; Vaihinger in Herzog, III.; Holtzmann in Schenkel’s Bibellex .
] as in Mat 5:15 , Mat 19:1 , Mar 3:8 , a geographical name: Peraea (Josephus, Bell . ix. 3. 3; Plin. v. 15), the land east of the Jordan, from Mount Hermon down to the river Arnon.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
Ver. 25. And there followed him great multitudes ] A good housekeeper shall not (likely) want company. “O thou that hearest prayer” (and so solicitest suitors), “to thee shall all flesh come,” Psa 65:2 . Christ’s miracles drew multitudes after him then; and should still affect us with admiration and strong affection for the gospel, as the author to the Hebrews showeth, Heb 2:3-4 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
25. ] A district principally east of the Jordan, so called from ten cities, some of the names of which are uncertain. Pliny (Nat. Hist. Mat 4:18 ) says, “Jungitur ei lateri Syri Decapolitana regio, a numero oppidorum, in quo non omnes eadem observant. Plurimi tamen Damascum. Philadelplhiam, Raphanam, omnia in Arabiam recedentia; Scythopolin Gadara Hippon, Dion, Pellam. Galasam, Canatham.” Josephus appears not to include Damascus in Decapolis, for he calls Scythopolis (B. J. iii. 9. 7): and Cellarius thinks Csarea Philippi and Gergesa should be substituted for Damascus and Raphana. See Mar 7:31 .
. . ] Pera. The country east of the Jordan, between the rivers Jabbok and Arnon. See Jos. B. J. iii. 3. 3.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Galilee. App-169.
and. Note the Figure of speech Polysyndeton. App-6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
25. ] A district principally east of the Jordan, so called from ten cities, some of the names of which are uncertain. Pliny (Nat. Hist. Mat 4:18) says, Jungitur ei lateri Syri Decapolitana regio, a numero oppidorum, in quo non omnes eadem observant. Plurimi tamen Damascum. Philadelplhiam, Raphanam, omnia in Arabiam recedentia; Scythopolin Gadara Hippon, Dion, Pellam. Galasam, Canatham. Josephus appears not to include Damascus in Decapolis, for he calls Scythopolis (B. J. iii. 9. 7): and Cellarius thinks Csarea Philippi and Gergesa should be substituted for Damascus and Raphana. See Mar 7:31.
. .] Pera. The country east of the Jordan, between the rivers Jabbok and Arnon. See Jos. B. J. iii. 3. 3.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 4:25. , multitudes) The plural is used on account of the various places from which they came.-, from Decapolis)[165] situated on both sides of the Jordan. Samaria is not mentioned in this enumeration.-, beyond) i.e., -from the country beyond.
[165] The region called Decapolis comprehended the ten cities of Scythopolis: Hippos, Gadara, Dios, Pella, Philadelphia, Gerasa, Canatha, Capitolias, and Abila.-W. Hughes.-(I. B.)
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
followed: Mat 5:1, Mat 8:1, Mat 12:15, Mat 19:2, Mar 3:7, Mar 6:2, Luk 6:17, Luk 6:19
Decapolis: Mar 5:20, Mar 7:31
Reciprocal: Mat 3:5 – General Mat 13:2 – great Mat 14:35 – General Mar 1:5 – there Luk 5:15 – great Joh 6:2 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
4:25
The preceding verse makes a general statement of the territory from which the afflicted people came; this specifies some parts of that vast area.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 4:25. Great multitudes, lit, many crowds. These came from all parts of Palestine; from Galilee, where he preached, Decapolis (meaning ten cities), a district principally east of the Jordan; according to Ritter, settled by the veterans of Alexander the Great, Jerusalem, the capital, Judea, the southern part of Palestine, and from beyond the Jordan, here referring to the northern part of Perea, on the east of the Jordan, south of Decapolis. The compact style of the original requires the omission of from (italicized in common version), except in the case of the locality last named, from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, How affecting our Saviour’s ministry was at first: multitudes throng after him; they come from all parts to attend upon his ministry, when he first began to preach among them. His ministers find it thus also; at their first coming amongst a people, their labours are most acceptable, and they do most good: our people’s affections are then warmest, and our own zeal perhaps is then greatest. Happy is that minister that improves all opportunities and advantages for the good of souls: “for he that winneth souls is wise.”
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mat 4:25. And there followed him great multitudes Affected with the sight, or fame of his miracles, which was now very great, from Galilee Its many and populous towns and villages. See note on Mat 4:15. From Decapolis A tract of land on the east side of the sea of Galilee, which had its name from , ten, and , a city, because it contained only ten cities, which were situated near each other, and formed into a distinct district, the metropolis of which was Damascus.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 25
Decapolis, a remote and wild region on the north-eastern border of Lower Galilee, inhabited by Gentiles.