Jesus has returned from the wilderness... Matthew 4:13-18.

 When we last saw Jesus, He had been taken, by Satan, up onto an exceedingly high mountain.

You might ask yourself, why does this guy get so elaborate?

That is because my understanding of scripture is still, to some degree, segmented and broken. This has much to do with the traditional methods with which I was taught when I was young and the fact that the gospel writers told somewhat similar versions of these narratives but inadvertently changed the order of the details or unwittingly left details out.

Is this segmentation I speak of life-changing?

No, but I have an inquiring mind and need to know, so you are going along on my journey, and I hope my digging for answers answers some of your own questions as well.
Seeing as I cannot simply stay glued to Matthew, we will be bringing in the other gospel writers at times to hopefully fill in the blanks or add color commentary.

Several days into this, my wife reminded me that I have Chronological Bible that might be helpful. I looked at it, and it has already done what I am doing with you all. Sorry, bear with me.

On that note, here is a little about the gospel writer, Mark: We have NO record of him interacting with the disciples or Jesus until Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss on the Mount Of Olives. John Mark is the one writing this gospel. 

Adam Clarke's commentary conveys this about John Mark, “John Mark, ...was the son of a pious woman called Mary, who dwelt at Jerusalem: she was an early believer, and the disciples used to meet at her house. Peter, having been delivered out of prison by an angel, came to the house of Mary, mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying, Act_12:12. This very first mention of John Mark assures us of Peter’s intimacy in that family: it is almost universally allowed that Mark, mentioned by Peter, 1Pe_5:13, is this evangelist, and that he is the same with him who is called sister’s son to Barnabas, Col_4:10, and is supposed to have been converted by Peter to the Christian faith.”

Since John Mark most likely picked Peter's brain, and Peter was “competing” with John, the disciple, for Jesus' attention. I would assume that Peter would have told this family friend and young evangelist everything he could think of.

We will also use bits of Luke's gospel and the Apostle John's.

We cannot assume that Dr. Luke saw any of these events first-hand and, therefore, had to glean as much information as possible from the others.

I might add that the Apostle Paul was also known as the “Pharisee Saul” in his younger days and may have had first-hand information concerning the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. I doubt Brother Paul would have spoken about events like that with any pride.

I am still in my introduction, and since our last look at Jesus showed Satan, tempting Him with all the world's kingdoms. It evokes a question.

What is the highest mountain in Israel?

Mount Hermon, which is on the Northernmost border with Syria and Lebanon. A place where war tensions are mounting. It is also the closest mountain to Capernaum, where Jesus established a base camp, at least for a while.

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
Matthew 4:8 NKJV)

But who are we to limit where Satan would have taken Him.

There is a massive clue that we need to consider: The context of the narrative( that makes up the majority of our biblical readings) is the Holy Land. That knowledge does not limit Satan's actions or methods because there is always God. 

I am implying that this high mountain was within the boundaries of the Holy Land; therefore, I don't have to speculate how he might have taken Jesus to the top of Mt. Everest, even though Satan did show Him all the kingdoms of the world.

I am barely getting started on this portion of the trek through Matthew's gospel. As I compare how others, such as Dr. Luke, give you their understanding of the details, I am immediately aware that the order in which these events happen is different. 

Is that a problem?

Only if you do something as I did, and speculate on how convenient it was for Satan, who has been moving Jesus around, has, according to Matthew's account, left Jesus sitting on a pinnacle of the temple. Putting the discomfort aside, he has placed Jesus, who is starving, in the City of Jerusalem, where there is the potential to obtain something to eat. This doesn't work so well if the last stop is a high mountain.

Today's date is 06/23/23, and yesterday I watched a short video where a police investigator shared how when there are multiple witnesses of the same event, most will see things differently.

Much of how we see things has to do with perspective, and we know that Dr. Luke was not among the group of disciples until the end, at best. Luke, therefore, was working off second-hand information and may have inadvertently changed the order of events, which you can see in Luke chapter four.

I am not telling you these things to diminish your perspective of the gospels but to use your brain and logic and trust the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart as you study.

Having been left, by Satan, on a high peak of the temple or on a high mountain, Jesus, who is literally starving, has migrated back to the area where John the Baptizer was operating. We know this because Jesus made passes by John's location on at least two consecutive days after the wilderness experience. You will not get that information out of Matthew.

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water." And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."
John 1:29-34 NKJV)

So much for an introduction. Now onward through the gospel, for the most part.

As you read John's gospel, are you aware that he is sharing information he could only get by being an eyewitness to the event?

This very thing enforces the belief that John was the other disciple that witnessed Jesus being baptized. When John the Baptizer tells us that he witnessed the Holy Spirit descending and remaining on Him, he talks in the past tense. This past tense has an impact on this next piece of information.

“Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "Where are You staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.”
John 1:35-40 NKJV)

Merely saying the words “Again, the next day,” means that Jesus has made it back, at least, to the area where John has been baptizing. It may be that the entirety of this visit is to gather two specific disciples. However, John the Baptist announces to anyone who will hear that Jesus is: “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Try to imagine how this statement sounded to the Jews who were merely gawking. Look at this conversation between Issac and Abraham.

“But Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
Genesis 22:7 NKJV)

Isaac knew that they had come to this place to sacrifice, but since lambs were not merely bought in those days, nor were they simply bounding about, waiting to be caught. Something was not right, or Issac was about to be the sacrifice. Abraham responded.

“Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they both went together.”
Genesis 22:8 WEBA)

For years I missed the enormity of this passage. God provided himself as the Lamb. Look at those words from the Baptizer once again; Jesus is: “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

So the hostile accusations are made, you put Jesus on that cross, when the reality is that He put Himself on that cross.

What did the writer of the letter to the Hebrews (Jewish believers) say?

“looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:2 WEBA)

Jesus comes off the 40 days; what happened next?

He comes back by His cousin.

“The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), “Where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.”
John 1:37-40 WEBA)

Andrew went and found Peter. Jesus then found Philip, and Philip found Nathanael.

“On the next day, he was determined to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
John 1:43-45 WEBA)

Notice that John's account doesn't explain the reason for the rapid migration to Galilee, where He found Philip, but Matthew's does.

“Now when Jesus heard that John (the baptizer) was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee.”
Matthew 4:12 WEBA)

Herod took John the Baptizer, Jesus’ cousin, captive. One of the main reasons Herod had this done was because John refused to keep his mouth shut concerning Herod, and he called him out (the half-Jew/Roman tetrarch of Galilee) for his sin of taking his brother’s wife as his own.

I had often wondered why Jesus told so many people to say nothing about whatever miracle He had just performed. This unusual policy rarely stopped people who were previously lame or blind from saying anything. Many have indicated that His admonishment had more to do with staying below the radar of those who might prematurely kill Him.

Consider this. If my pastor, Jack Hibbs, can say, “You are immortal and cannot be killed until it is your time,” how different was my Jesus?

Jesus had this to say to Pilate.

“.... So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
John 19:8-11 ESV)

Mark’s perspective on going to Galilee. 

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,” Mark 1:14 NKJV)

Matthew at least took Him to Nazareth first. Why Nazareth? That was where His mother was.

“And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,” Matthew 4:13 ESV)

We saw Jesus, close to John the Baptizer, before the forty days in the wilderness and after, and though it was a slow start, two of the Baptizer's disciples began to follow after Jesus.

A situation arose that could have shut most people down. Herod took John, Jesus’ cousin, prisoner. This happened for a couple of reasons:

1. God had a course of action that was uncomfortable for us. If you think of this in light of Joseph, who was sold into slavery and then sent to prison when he was innocent, all to get God's people into Egypt – to save their lives during a coming time of starvation.

2. John the Baptizer, having done his job, was now meant to fade away, which appropriately puts the focus on Jesus, the Lamb of God.

We had already seen John the Baptizer south of Jerusalem because there was water available to baptize, and we logically assume this is the region from which John was taken. It is understood that John refused to restrain himself as he called out Herod (the half-Jew/Roman tetrarch of Galilee).

“Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”
Matthew 3:5-6 ESV)

But then there is this.

“John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized.”
John 3:23 ESV)

The Bible maps place this location in Samaria or on the border of Decapolis, about halfway between Jerusalem and Galilee. Walking from the southernmost area near Jerusalem to Nazareth in a day does not seem practical. And then the fact that Herod's rule was in the region of Galilee.

As you can see, not everything is so clear.

Mark's gospel tells us that He came from Nazareth to be baptized by John.

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” Mark 1:9 ESV)

According to Mark's gospel, He has NOT started His public ministry, nor has He begun to gather disciples. Look at this statement from the Apostle John's point of view, and by the way, he was, most likely, one of the disciples that chose to follow Jesus.

“One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
John 1:40-45 ESV)

We have no record of anyone following Jesus in the moments after His baptism, and we have no narrative of anyone attesting to the fact that he merely disappeared as Philip did later on, nor did anyone tell us that He just walked off into the wilderness. If you read the account above, you saw this “One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah.””

The speaker, whom we assume is John, the disciple, is telling you what happened, but he does not inform you when it occurred. If this was before the wilderness, it is absurd for Jesus to invite Andrew and Simon to see the rock on which he was laying His head at night. So it is clear that there is a large gap between these moments in time.

John first describes this.

“And John (the Baptizer) bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.” John 1:32-40 ESV)

If John can say “the next day,” as he did, then it is clear that Jesus has returned from the wilderness and that they already saw Him the day before, excluding the baptismal. This scenario seems to be spelled out because “Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).”

With little effort, He already has a small following: Andrew, Simon, John?; Philip; and Nathanael. And He has yet to gather disciples.

“and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES--"THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED." From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." “
Matthew 4:13-17 NASB)

“ From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Repent is the Greek word metanoeō means to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider (morally to feel compunction): - repent.

According to Webster's Dictionary, repent means to:

1. To feel pain, sorrow, or regret for something done or spoken; as to repent that we have lost much time in idleness or sensual pleasure; to repent that we have injured or wounded the feelings of a friend. A person repents only of what he himself has done or said.

2. To express sorrow for something past.

Other translations proclaim this statement differently.

- The BBE says, "Let your hearts be turned from sin."

- The CEV, which I am not particularly fond of, conveys that Jesus told His audience to "Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here."

- The Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB) tells the reader to do penance.

Penance applies to The suffering, labor, or pain to which a person voluntarily subjects himself or which is imposed on him by authority as a punishment for his faults or as an expression of penitence, such as fasting, flagellation, or wearing chains that injure and, therefore, remind you of your faults and the need for perpetual repentance.

As a side note, the DRB comes off as works and leans toward ancient Roman Catholic methods of bringing about change.

- The ERV states, "Change your hearts and lives because God's kingdom is now very near."

The problem is that none of us can change ourselves. We needed a savior, and He put himself on the cross, suffered, and died because we could not and would not do that.

- The GNB tells us to "Turn away from your sins."

There are some things in your life, like lust, which are so magnetic; the best advice I could give you is to sprint away from those things. 

- The God's Word translation (GW), "Turn to God and change the way you think and act."

This is in opposition to the idea of simply turning away from sin because you have to displace the “sin” with something. The only reasonable thing is God and His Word. If you choose to turn to God, you have to figure out what turning to God means. I can tell you it is not like taking up a new hobby that you do occasionally. If fly fishing was your new hobby, sometimes pulling out the rod to practice casting will not help you much. A few snags later, and you will give it up.

Can you remember the last time you threw your whole heart into something?

The Father longs for you to turn wholeheartedly to Him.