Passage Research
Matthew 4 — Sermon Preparation
Jesus faces three temptations in the wilderness, begins his Galilean ministry, and calls his first disciples by the sea. Below is a research summary for Matthew 4, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.
- 25
- verses
- 428 / 173
- Greek words / lemmas
- 45
- classic sermon excerpts
- 11
- preachers & commentators
Matthew 4 in the Greek
Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.
| Greek | Transliteration | Strong's | Count | KJV renderings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Γαλιλαία | Galilaía | G1056 | 5 | Galilee |
| διάβολος | diábolos | G1228 | 4 | false accuser, devil, slanderer |
| γράφω | gráphō | G1125 | 4 | describe, write |
| ἀδελφός | adelphós | G80 | 4 | brother |
| Ζαβουλών | Zaboulṓn | G2194 | 2 | Zabulon |
| ἀκολουθέω | akolouthéō | G190 | 3 | follow, reach |
| θάλασσα | thálassa | G2281 | 3 | sea |
How preachers through history handled this text
45 public-domain excerpts on Matthew 4, from the church fathers to the Puritans.
“Wherever Christ went, he confirmed his Divine mission by miracles, which were emblems of the healing power of his doctrine, and the influences of the Spirit which accompanied it. We do not now find the Saviour's miraculous healing power in our bodies; but if we are cured by medicine, the praise is equally his. Three general words are here used. He healed every sickness or disease; none was too bad; none too hard, for Christ to heal with a word. Three diseases are named; the palsy, which is the greatest weakness of the body; …”
— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise), on Matthew 4:23–40 (Public Domain)
Places in the text
Based on ancient-geography data
- Galilee 1— Matt 4:12
- Judea 1— Matt 4:12
- Capernaum— Matt 4:13
- Nazareth— Matt 4:13
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