K  IF  Akz.github.io

chapter 4
1. Then the Spirit led Yeshua up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Adversary.
The Adversary. Greek diabolos (usually transliterated "devil") translates Hebrew salon, "adversary, opponent, rebel." In Isaiah 14:11-15, between the lines of a taunt against the king of Babylon, can be read the downfall of a creature who was once both powerful and beautiful but who in pride rebelled against God and came to oppose him; Ezekiel 28:11-19 is similar. On the other hand, Job 1-2 is explicit in showing Satan as the opponent of both God and man.

In Genesis 3 as the serpent he tempts Adam and Eve to disobey God; equating the Adversary with the serpent is clear from Rv 12:9, which speaks of "that ancient serpent, also known as the Devil and Satan {the Adversary), the deceiver of the whole world." The satan is a created being, in no way equal to his Creator; yet he is the background source of all sin, evil and opposition to God. The book of Job teaches that the reason why an omnipotent and good God permits such opposition is a mystery, but that God remains in perfect and unthreatened control. This we see most clearly in Job 40-41, where "Behemoth" and "Leviathan" are seen to be stand-ins for the Adversary, because when God challenges Job to deal witJi them he repents "in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6). Both the Tanakh and the New Testament lake for granted the existence of a supernatural realm of good, obedient angels who serve God and evil, rebellious ones (demons) who serve the Adversary.

2. After Yeshua had fasted forty days and nights, he was hungry.
3. The Tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order these stones to become bread.”
Son of God. (See 1:1N on "son of.") This theologically important New Testament term can mean: (1) a godly person (without divine or supernatural overtones); (2) the special one sent by God; (3) the son of God in the flesh, as described in Chapters 1-2 above and Luke 1-2; (4) a human whose presence on earth required a special creative aci of God, hence either Adam or Yeshua, who is therefore called "the second Adam" (Lk 3:38 Ro 5:12-21, I Corinthians 15); (5) the Yeshua who could in his earthly lifetime relate to God as his personal Father, calling him "Abba"; and (6) the divine, eternally existent individual or Word who always has and always will be within the inner "structure" of Adonai and, in that structure which is the one God, is in his essence the Son in both equal and subsidiary relationship with the Father (Yn 1:1-3, 14; 10:31; 14:9-10, 28; Pp 2:5-11). Here, from the mouth of ihe Adversary, it probably carries all six meanings.

The Tanakh says little explicitly about these things, yet it does offer strong r'mazim ("hints"; see 2:15N) at Isaiah 9:5-6(6-7), Micah 5:1(2), Psalm 2:7, Proverbs 30:4 and Daniel 7:13. In ancient Jewish literature Enoch 105:2 and 4 Ezra 7:28-29, 13:32-52, 14:9 refer to the Messiah as the Son of God. Compare 8:20N on "son of man."

4. But he answered, “The Tanakh says, ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of Adonai’” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
5. Then the Adversary took him to the holy city and set him on the highest point of the Temple.
6. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “jump! For the Tanakh says, ‘He will order his angels to be responsible for you... They will support you with their hands, so that you will not hurt your feet on the stones.’”. (Psalm 91:11–12)
7. Yeshua replied to him, “But it also says, ‘Do not put Adonai your God to the test.’”. (Deuteronomy 6:16)
8. Once more, the Adversary took him up to the summit of a very high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their glory,
9. and said to him, “All this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me.”
10. “Away with you, Satan!” Yeshua told him, “For the Tanakh says, ‘Worship Adonai your God, and serve only him.’”. (Deuteronomy 6:13–14)
The Tanakh, the Old Testament rendered "Scripture" or "it is written" in most translations. The Hebrew word "Tanakh" is an acronym formed from die first letters of the three parts of the Hebrew Bible:
(1) Torch ("Teaching") — the Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. Numbers, Deuteronomy).

(2) N'vi im ("Prophets")—the historical books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings), the three Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel), and the twelve Minor Prophets.

(3) K'tuvim ("Writings") — Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the "five scrolls" (Song of Songs. Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther), Daniel, Ezxa-Nehemiah and Chronicles. If you are the Son of God. Satan presents Yeshua with each of the three categories of temptation named by Yochanan (I Yn 2:15-17&N): "the desires of the old nature" or "flesh" (Ro 7:5&N) — "If you are the Son of God, order these stones to become bread"; "the desires of the eyes" — the Adversary... showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their glory, and said to him, "All this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me"; "and the pretensions of life" — the Adversary took, him to the holy city, Jerusalem, and set him on the highest point of the Temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "jump!"

Satan was already using the same three kinds of temptations in the Garden of Eden: "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food" (desires of the flesh), "and that it was a delight to the eyes" (desires of the eyes), "and a tree to be desired to make one wise" (pretensions of life), "she took of the fruit and ate" (Genesis 3:6).

The difference is that "the first man" did not resist the Adversary (Ya 4:7), but "the lastman"did(Ro5:12-2I&N;lC 15:21-22,45-49&NN; MJ 4:15). Yeshua, showing the power of the Word of God in resisting the Adversary (Ya 4:7), quotes the Torah in answer to all three temptations — Deuteronomy 8:3 at v. 4, Deuteronomy 6:16 at v. 7, and Deuteronomy 6:13 at v. 10. But Satan, "the inventor of the lie" (Yn 8:44), can misuse Scripture to deceive — Psalm 91:11-12 at v. 6.

11. Then the Adversary let him alone, and angels came and took care of him.
12. When Yeshua heard that Yochanan had been put in prison, he returned to the Galil;
See 14:3ff.

13. but he left Natzeret and came to live in K’far-Nachum, a lake shore town near the boundary between Z’vulun and Naftali.
K'far-Nachum (Capernaum; the Hebrew name means "village of Nahum") was located on the northwest shore of Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee; see v. 18N) and site of much of Yeshua's activity as described in the New Testament. Now an archeological park supervised by the Roman Catholic Church, it is a standard stop on Christian tours of Israel. An octagonal 5th-century Byzantine structure amidst earlier ruins is said to mark where Kefa lived (8:14); if so, the older remains may be part of the first Messianic Jewish congregation building. The walls of a fourth-century synagogue still stand.

14. This happened in order to fulfill what Yesha‘yahu the prophet had said,
15. "“Land of Z’vulun and land of Naftali, toward the lake, beyond the Yarden, Galil-of-the-Goyim —
16. the people living in darkness have seen a great light; upon those living in the region, in the shadow of death, light has dawned.”. (Isaiah 8:23(9:1)–9:1(2))
Isaiah 8:23-0:1(9:1-2). SeeLk 1:79N.

17. From that time on, Yeshua began proclaiming, “Turn from your sins to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!”
18. As Yeshua walked by Lake Kinneret, he saw two brothers who were fishermen — Shim‘on, known as Kefa, and his brother Andrew — throwing their net into the lake.
Lake Kinnerel is the name used in Israel for the body of fresh water formed by Ihe River Yarden (Jordan) in the Galil (Galilee); it is so called because it is shaped like a harp (kinnor in ancient Hebrew). English versions of the Bible identify it as the Sea of Galilee; at Yn 6:1, 23 and 21: i the Greek text calls it "the Sea of Tiberias." Kefa is the name Yeshua gave Shim'on Bar-Yochanan (Yn 1:42&N); it means "rock" in Aramaic. The Greek word for "rock" is "petros," which is usually brought into English as "Peter." Occasionally, instead of translating "Kefa" as "Pelros" the Greek text transliterates "Kefa" as "Kephas"', this appears in English versions as "Cephas."

19. Yeshua said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men!”
20. At once they left their nets and went with him.
21. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers — Ya’akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan his brother — in the boat with their father Zavdai, repairing their nets; and he called them.
Ya'akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan, usually rendered "James the son of Zebedee and John." English-speakers are usually unaware that the name "James" comes from the Hebrew name "Ya'akov" ("Jacob"). "Ya'akov" was transliterated into Greek as "lacobou"; in Latin this became "lacobus" and later "Jacomus" from which comes "James." The seemingly Gentile name "James" thus displays its Jewish roots, as we saw above is also the case with the name "John" (3:1N).

22. At once they left the boat and their father and went with Yeshua.
23. Yeshua went all over the Galil teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing people from every kind of disease and sickness.
Good News is the JNT's rendering of Greek evangelion, which gives English such words as "evangelism." The more common English translation of the word is "gospel," which means "good news" in archaic English.

24. Word of him spread throughout all Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill, suffering from various diseases and pains, and those held in the power of demons, and epileptics and paralytics; and he healed them.
Demonized people. Greek daimonizomenoi is sometimes rendered "demoniacs" or "people possessed by demons." As noled in 4:1N above, the Bible takes for granted the existence of a spirit-world. According to the New Testament, demons — also called unclean or evil spirits, lying spirits, and angels of the devil — can affect people by causing physical illness, mental aberrations, emotional malaise and moral temptation. "Demonized" means "affected by demons" in one or more of these ways. Actual "possession" or "ownership" of a human being by a demon is not taught in the Bible.

25. Huge crowds followed him from the Galil, the Ten Towns, Yerushalayim, Y’hudah, and ‘Ever-HaYarden.