Matthew 4

Matthew 4:1:
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

God's Spirit led Jesus into the combat zone, rather than letting Satan make the first move. God and Satan have a part and plan in every temptation that befalls us. Satan's design in temptation is always to kill, steal and destroy. For those who love the Lord, and are called according to His purposes, God uses it for a more eternal purpose. Interestingly, this occurred just after His baptism and before entering his full public ministry. Satan was aware of who Jesus was. But wanted to see if He was real. Was He riding the fence in both kingdoms? Just how devoted was He? There were apparently no human witnesses to this event. So for Matthew (and Luke) to write of this would have to be under divine inspiration. The temptations also undermine the theory that "temptation" plays only on our weaknesses. That would imply that Jesus had all these weaknesses. Not likely.

"Into the wilderness" is significantly suggestive. In the hour of bitter struggle and testing, the human heart is often conscious of peculiar loneliness and isolation.

The attack against Christ's humanity was a genuine temptation that would have overcome any normal man. However, Jesus was no ordinary man. As the virgin-born God-man, His divine nature could not sin (cf. I Sam 15:29) and thus held His human nature in check. --Liberty Commentray

Matthew 4:2-3:
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

Matthew 4:4:
But 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.

Deuteronomy 8:33
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

The New Testament is saturated with the Old. That is, the inspired writers of the New Testament quoted the inspired writers of the Old as a source of authority. Jesus Himself said, “It is written” (Matt. 4:4), meaning, “It is written in the Old Testament;” and He said that “ ‘the Scriptures must be fulfilled’ ” (Mark 14:49, NKJV)— meaning the Scriptures of the Old Testament. And when Jesus met two disciples on the road to Emmaus, instead of doing a miracle to show them who He was, “beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself ” (Luke 24:27, NKJV). -ELDER DR MASIMBA MAVAZA

In the wilderness, God had humbled the Israelites by letting them go hungry. Then He fed them with manna so that they would have to depend on Him alone for daily provision. Manna was a type of food that was previously unknown—no one had ever had manna before (Exodus 16:15). This food symbolized God’s divine intervention to sustain their lives. If they tried to provide for themselves by hoarding manna for the next day, the food always spoiled. Each day and each step of the way, the people had to be fed by Yahweh. Through this wilderness test, the people of Israel came to understand that their survival did not depend on one of God’s gifts alone, whether bread or manna, but on every word that came out of the mouth of God. Their existence depended on obeying every single one of God’s commands. - Got Questions

Whilst God’s Word makes the human spirit come alive—buoyant with faith, hope and love, unwholesome words poison and destroy the human spirit. Such negative information that are harmful to the human spirit proceed from giving attention to
the wrong things. The effect of feeding on wrong information in the life of a Christian may not be seen overnight; but with time, such a person gets weaker and weaker spiritually. Before long, he’s no longer as fervent in spiritual things as he used to be. Then, his life takes a completely different turn from God’s original plan.
Give attention to the right information. Fortify and energize your spirit for success with God’s Word. The forces of life are domiciled in your spirit; as you feed your spirit with
the Word, you’ll be able to produce every good thing you want in life from within you. Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things”
(Matthew 12:35). -Bummyla

The word that proceeds out through the mouth of God is every word of the Bible. Hence, the Bible is nothing but the word that proceeds out through the mouth of God.
Therefore, we can draw a very clear, simple, and accurate conclusion: the Bible is the word of God spoken by His Holy Spirit through the mouth of man.
-On Knowing the Bible, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee

Every temptation has a very far-reaching consequence. When Satan tempted Jesus to turn the stones into bread, he targeted that which is common to all people in all cultures. “Appetite” speaks of hunger and legitimate need. In and of itself, hunger is not a sin. People hunger for food. People hunger for love, acceptance and intimacy. The need for relief of pain, whether it be physical or emotional, is a very real need. Hunger/need is not the problem. How we respond to those needs can create a problem. By definition, sin is an illegitimate answer to a legitimate need, hunger or desire. Satan is relentless in putting those “illegitimate” options in front of us. How many lives have been ravaged, wrecked and ruined as a result of choosing Satan’s option rather than God’s answer.
We don’t have to look far to find someone who’s life is in a downward spiral because of one bad choice after another. Perhaps, you are that person. God offers forgiveness for our failures and mercy for our mistakes. In God, we can start over. Only God can turn a mess into a miracle. The role of the church is not that of judge and jury. Ours is a message of redemption and restoration. When it seems Satan has come at us from every direction, we need more than a “high five” and a “you’re an overcomer in Jesus’ Name” word. Instruction must follow encouragement. Jesus responded to Satan’s temptation with the unchanging truth of God’s Word: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” God’s Word will strengthen, sustain, and satisfy us in every situation. -Mississippi Assemblies of God

By today’s new ‘Church Leadership’ standards Jesus was a clueless leader who obviously wasn't in tune with the 'worship experience' needs of His time and culture. Fact is, when you read the New Testament biographies you don’t read about Jesus discussing the latest leadership philosophies, church branding strategies, church marketing practices or the latest ideas for designing and creating holistic audio visual environments to help create the perfect mood for people to have an engaging worship experience.

Instead, when you read the New Testament you discover that Jesus often taught outside and Jesus’ teaching events were far from seeker-sensitive. When you compare Jesus' leadership practices to the new and improved leadership principles of Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Leadership Network and others you'd have to conclude that Jesus was a complete failure as a leader and was in the dark when it came to meeting the felt needs of His target market.

A prime example of Jesus' utter cluelessness is found in the Gospel of Mark chapter 8. In the opening verses of that chapter we learn that Jesus held, for lack of a better term, a three day long “outdoor church conference” where He was the featured speaker. Here’s what Mark records about the event.
“In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” (Mark 8:1–3)
Yes, you read that correctly! Those who attended Jesus' three day long ‘outdoor church conference’ were outside, exposed to the sun, the wind and the elements. Oh and there was no food provided until the END of the event. What was Jesus thinking?!
Can you imagine the comments that Jesus and His disciples received in the customer satisfaction response surveys after the event? I’m sure they got responses like the ones listed below.
Question: Were you satisfied with the location for this conference? Answer: Are you kidding me?! The Judean countryside is no place to hold a three day long church conference. Not only did I get a sunburn and a windburn, but the stench from 5,000 sweaty men being baked alive for three days totally ruined my ‘worship experience’.
Question: What did you think of Jesus' teaching? Answer: First of all it’s difficult to listen to a man drone on and on and on for THREE DAYS without anything in your stomach. Why didn’t Jesus just keep His teaching down to 30 to 45 minutes? Seriously, how does Jesus expect us to remember all of that stuff? Laptops, the internet and Twitter haven’t even been invented yet and most of us are poor uneducated people and don’t have the resources to even take notes. It would have been way better if Jesus had passed around some handouts with fill in the blank sentences so that we could at least have some way of applying His relevant points to our lives and experience some ‘life change’. This was no way to motivate people to become world changers.
Question: What did you think of the food? Answer: We were baking and starving in the sun for three days before the the first and only meal was served. Jesus waited until we were all ready to pass out from hunger and exposure before He decided to throw us a bone and miraculously divide up some bread and some fishes. Why did Jesus wait until the end of the conference to feed us? Why didn’t Jesus do that neat little miracle two or three times a day during the conference so that we didn’t have to listen to him on an empty stomach?
Question: What were your overall impressions of the conference and what would you like to see done differently at our future conferences? Answer: Aside from the fact that I was hot, got sunburned, windburned, had to endure the smell of 5,000 sweaty Judean peasants while listening to a Bible teacher drone on for THREE DAYS without the ability to take notes or follow along on Powerpoint, with no porta potties and no food in an environment that is nearly impossible to have a descent worship experience...I thought the conference was a raging success (that was sarcasm). I’d rather be boiled in oil by the Romans than attend another outdoor teaching conference hosted by Jesus.
By the way today’s Church Leadership Gurus talk you’d think that the New Testament was just brimming with Leadership wisdom ready to be picked and applied by today’s innovative visionary leaders. Yet, when I read the Gospel accounts, the leadership that Jesus modeled doesn’t even remotely look like the ‘new leadership’ that today’s gurus are selling. The reason for these differences is that Jesus' Leadership Model NEVER had anything to do with customer satisfaction or positive customer experiences.
I know that I am running the risk of being branded as a "Leadership Heretic" but I think that there was obviously something FAR MORE IMPORTANT happening at Jesus' three day long 'outdoor church conference' than religious consumers having their felt needs met or customers having a 'life changing experience'. The key to understanding what that "more important thing" was can be found in Matthew 4:4 which states: “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” [c]2010 Chris Rosebrough

January 22, 2022:
Man Cannot Break Natural Law so he only has life through Jesus Christ
"But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”" --Matthew 4:4
Jesus was stating a fact. A truth. A reality. The body was created with the requirement that it be nourished and fed. Hence, the need for for bread and to drink. It was also through the mouth of God that all things came into existence during creation. Beginning from Genesis chapter one..."In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth..." He set the planet, the stars, the universe into motion all by his word. With it, the natural laws which rule over the earth...like gravity. Man cannot break these natural laws. Hence, it is through the words of God's creation that man can exist and live. Attempting to break those laws results in death, So man cannot live by bread alone....he also has to live with the natural laws God has placed upon the universe in which he resides. The first and foremost law which confronts man is death. Death is caused by sin. It is a natural law that God established at creation. Man must face his mortality. If there's a way around the "sin" problem man may not escape the physical death, but can escape the eternal one. The good news is that there is a way: through Jesus Christ.

So, Jesus, in the verse above, was not reminding Satan of any commandment. He was simply verbalizing a natural reality: Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God." Through the mouth of God came life at the beginning and it has never changed.
"For in him we live, and move, and have our being.." Acts 17:28

This is quite the contrast from the words of the serpent who had the upper hand in the Garden, and Jesus who had the upper hand in this initial temptation. The serpent spoke with no authority and misquoted, and Adam (with a little help from his "an helpmeet" Eve) went for his bait. The difference is the outcome in that one brought death, and the authority of Jesus brought life. Jesus had authority and rather than wait for the serpent (devil) to come to Him, He went to him (it, whatever). I presume Wonder Bread and Sara Lee might want to downplay this whole bread comment a bit, but I, and my body mass index, are somewhat thankful for a no-carb eternity! :-) But, in the meantime, praise the lord and pass the low carb bisquits! (I think if I read 5 verses for every carb, it will balance out:-)

Man does need bread to survive. "Bread" in this text means more than just bread as we commonly think it. It covers the whole visible economy of life: supplies, helps, and supports that men depend on to survive. It covers the economy of food, drink, and shelter, prestige, honor, power, among other things. The world theory is that it is by those things that we live. In fact, the man who pursues those things usually becomes enslaved to them. They become his reason for living and breathing and through all his efforts to pursue them, actually becomes a slave to them. The purpose being to pursue these things to live a life of comfort, but he must struggle to attain comfort. And spend his life struggling to be comfortable and kind of like a dog chasing his tail, it is just a futile excercise. But he cannot survive on that alone. He must have every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Not some words, not a few words, but every word. In fact, it is the word of God which brought man into existence. And he cannot just survive by tasting it, he needs to survive on it.

Every word of God contains a revelation and a commandment. Whenever God speaks by any of His voices, it is first to tell us some truth which we did not know before, and second to bid us something which we have not been doing. Every word of God includes these two. Truth and duty are always wedded. There is no truth which has not its corresponding duty. and there is no duty which has no corresponding truth. We often try and separate them. We want to learn truth as though there were not duties attached. Or we try and do duties as if there were no guidelines of truth to follow. When every truth is rounded into its duty, and every duty is depends on its truth, then we shall have a clearness and consistency and permanence of moral life which we can hardly dream of.

If man is to truly live he must satisfy his deeper cravings first.

It does not necessarily follow that because the temptations are described separately, that they took place separately, one ceasing before the other begann. Temptations may be simultaneous or interlaced and, in describing these temptations, Matthew and Luke are not in agreement about the order.

There is nothing wrong in having bread in itself. In fact, Jesus broke bread at the last supper and provided bread for feeding the 5,000 and the 7,000. Bread is good for you, but it does not contain all that you need. Along with bread you need some fruits, vegetables and the meat or protein. Eating just bread will cause you to get sick and your body will fail to function correctly. Even those who don’t believe in God will tell you that you need to eat a well-balanced meal. -Insights from Tom

Matthew 4:5:
Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

Matthew 4:6-7:
"And (Satan) said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’

Jesus was told to throw himself from the highest point of the temple. On this one occasion the Devil himself quoted scripture. Again, the challenge to Jesus was to misuse his power. But it also asked Jesus to prove that he was the Messiah and that God really cared for him. This question was an important one for Jesus to deal with because he would be faced with it again and again as people questioned his identity and authority.

Jesus responded to all three of the devil's temptations with Scripture. Notice He didn't say, "Hold on a minute, Devil, while I look up this verse." He had God's Word hidden in His heart, so that He wouldn't sin against God (Psalm 119:11). As Christ followers, we need to be in God's Word every day, not just pulling the Bible off the shelf "in case of emergency." When Paul described the armor of God in his letter to the church in Ephesus, he called the Word of God the "sword of the Spirit" (Eph. 6:17). It is the only offensive weapon in the entire arsenal. And don't miss the purpose for the full armor of God in the first place. Ephesians 6:11 says it is so that "you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." -James Jackson; Bible Studies for Life

There is far more here then just an improper challenge toward God. There is something here that flies in the face of any type of "name it-claim it" or prosperity messages. It is tempting God. Satan quoted a couple Bible verses. Psalm 91:11 and 12. He did not misinterpret them. But he did challenge God to fulfill them (at east verbally anyway). Jesus understood. Instead of saying "hey that's really out of context and not applicable here," he said "You shall not tempt the lord your God." (Duet 6:16) The Bible is not a book of spells and incantations even though many a prosperity teacher seems to apply th‏e selected verses that way. Using it in the way Satan did is an example of how manipulative people function--and those who desire to subvert the Bible to a book of spells and incantations. That's not how this works...that's not how any of this works. If we live or act carelessly and expect that God's grace will be there to cover our errors...we may be presuming upon Him something he has not promised. When God created the heavens and earth He established natural laws...like gravity. Gravity describes the inescapable affect that everything that goes up will come down. It is what keeps us on the ground and not floating recklessly into space. If you wish to quote a scripture to help you defy gravity....you would be making a big mistake. Gravity is like a host of other cause and affects (reap what you sow, etc), are an inescapable reality. That's why prosperity messages fail. They promise gain that if you do this and this will happen. It doesn't work that way. That's not how any of this works. It is an act of presumption. And very vain presumption. It presumes that if I say this verse...I will defy gravity. Or if I say this verse...then I will become rich. Or if I give you money, God is required to pay me back times ten. If your motivation is to "get" and using scripture to "get" it, you may be Tempting God.
---Zorek Richards; Two Bits Media; 6.20.21

Matthew 4:8-10:
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’

Matthew 16:23:
But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
James 4:7:
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

The tempter took Jesus to the peak of a high mountain; here, he showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and asked for a compromise……Evil has a way of taking what it can get. If it cannot get all of a man’s devotion, it will endeavor to get a little. Consider the man who has experienced the evils and heartaches of alcohol. With the help of God he stops drinking. The tempter does not urge him to get drunk; he knows this approach will not work. He simply says, “Just take one drink. What harm can that do? Just take one to be sociable.” This is the compromise.

Matthew 4:10 in French (Francais) (Matthieu 4:10)
"Jésus lui dit: Retire-toi, Satan! Car il est écrit: Tu adoreras le Seigneur, ton Dieu, et tu le serviras lui seul."

In this response, Jesus sounds righteously angry. He tells Satan to "be gone" and quotes from Deuteronomy 6:13. This sin of worshiping false gods—which in practice is often worshiping Satan in disguise—is the exact rebellion that brought God's wrath and judgment down on Israel many times. It's not surprising Jesus sounds angry with the Devil.

You may not notice this at first but there is something missing between Satan’s “wonderful” plan for Jesus’ life and the Father’s plan. What is missing is the cross. Satan was offering Jesus a kingdom without a cross but Jesus would get a kingdom through the cross.
You realize of course what, or perhaps who is hanging in the balance here. It is people; sinners like you and me. If Jesus takes the offer, among other things he will not save sinners. Satan’s game was to avoid the cross because the cross is where Christ would tread upon his head (Gen. 3:15). It is the cross that is the great redemptive pivot upon the skull of the serpent. You better believe he wanted to give a crown without a cross. And you better believe Christ wanted a crown through a cross.

It should come as no surprise to us who are Christians to find that Satan’s chief temptation of us is to have us forget the cross. Satan is not so concerned with moral living as much as moral living apart from Jesus. Satan is not concerned with emptying churches of people as much as he is emptying the pulpit of the cross of Christ. Satan is not so concerned with busy church calendars as much as he is with busy churches that have assumed or forgotten the cross. Satan is not so concerned with people who pray as much as he is concerned with people who pray broken, grace-grasping, desperate prayers in the shadow of the cross.
--Ordinary Pastor

"But, God doesn't mind if I do this...." as long as I serve Him also. Maybe, but more than likely not. Jesus was offered everything in all of Creation and, in fact, creation itself. So there is no list of things that anyone can put before God and serve Him also. There is no also.
Jesus said: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." (Matt 10:27). Jesus also said: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Matt 6:24). It was not a command. He did not say "don't serve two masters." He said you can't. Man is not capable to have that kind of double attention. He can like do to multiple things..but He can only be devoted to one over all.
In the end, it's like trying to drive car with two front ends. You won't get anywhere at all.
I recollect once having a girl say she "loved me," but that she also loved someone else. She seemed OK with that. Actually, what she was saying was that she loved herself and wanted the best of both worlds. That is what people who call themselves Christians do who claim to serve God but also romance the ways of the world. It is only about them. Not Christ and not whatever part of the world they are claiming devotion to. Their allegiance will depend on whatever is expedient at the time. So there is nothing you can have before God---and as was the case when Jesus was tempted: nothing in all of Creation.

Contention Point: The tempter took Jesus to the peak of a high mountain and here he showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and asked for a compromise. It doesn't necessarily mean that there was a mountain peak high enough to see everything in the world. But that Jesus was taken to a remote place and Satan showed him all things possibly by way of a vision or something along those lines.

Verse Matthew 4:10. Get thee hence — Or, behind me, οπισω μου. This is added by a multitude of the best MSS., VERSIONS, and FATHERS. This temptation savoring of nothing but diabolical impudence, Jesus did not treat it as the others; but, with Divine authority, commanded the tempter to return to his own place.
In the course of this trial, it appears that our blessed Lord was tempted,
1st. To DISTRUST. Command these stones to become bread.
2dly. To PRESUMPTION. Cast thyself down.
3dly. To worldly AMBITION. All these will I give.
4thly. To IDOLATRY. Fall down and worship me, or do me homage. There is probably not a temptation of Satan, but is reducible to one or other of these four articles.
From the whole we may learn:
First. No man, howsoever holy, is exempted from temptation: for God manifested to the flesh was tempted by the devil.
Secondly. That the best way to foil the adversary, is by the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, Ephesians 6:17.
Thirdly. That to be tempted even to the greatest abominations (while a person resists) is not sin: for Christ was tempted to worship the DEVIL.
Fourthly. That there is no temptation which is from its own nature, or favoring circumstances, irresistible. God has promised to bruise even Satan under our feet.
As I wish to speak what I think most necessary on every subject, when I first meet it, and once for all, I would observe,
First, That the fear of being tempted may become a most dangerous snare.
Secondly, That when God permits a temptation or trial to come he will give grace to bear or overcome it.
Thirdly, That our spiritual interests shall be always advanced, in proportion to our trials and faithful resistance.
Fourthly, That a more than ordinary measure of Divine consolation shall be the consequence of every victory. -Clarkes Commentary

Matthew 4:10:
You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.

The primary obligation of man is to worship and serve His creator. What is the difference between worshiping God and serving God? The word for ‘serve’ here (LATREUO) is a special word used only in a religious context. The basic meaning is to serve religiously. A different word (DOULEUO) is used for serving man and God in the more general sense. The basic meaning of the word for ‘worship’ (PROSKUNEO) is to express, by words or by bowing down, profound and submissive respect or adoration. In some versions LATREUO, and the related noun LATREIA, have been translated as ‘worship’ rather than ‘serve’ in certain passages. The two concepts are different, yet worship (PROSKUNEO) is vain if it is not accompanied by a life of religious service to God (LATREIA). Paul says: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present you bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (LATREIA)” (Romans 12:1). This was also true under the Old Covenant. “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 10:12). The word here for ‘serve’ in the Septuagint Greek translation of the Old Testament is LATREUO. See also Deuteronomy 11:13 “serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Thus, serving God involves all that we do, walking in all His ways, whereas worship is an expression of adoration on specific occasions. And if that sounds time consuming, then you have heard it right. It takes everything.
Satan tempted Christ to idolatry. The glory of the world is the most charming temptation to the unthinking and unwary; by which they are most easily imposed upon and ensnared.

Matthew 4:11:
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Victory is possible, and after the conflict comes glad refreshment for all who fight with the sword of the spirit and trust in the Son of God.

Matthew 4:12-16:
Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

Matthew 4:17-18:
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

In order for ones encounter with the Lord to be successful, repentance is essential. Repentance was the first note of John's message. It was also the first note n the message of Jesus. (4:17) It was Joshua message when the children of Israel were facing the Jordan before entering the Promised Land. Their leader said, "Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you" (Josh 3:5). Preparation is always necessary for great events, even from the crossing of the Jordan to the coming of the kingdoms. So the challenge is to repent, to get ready, to make amends, to clear the way, to break dead branches from their wickedness.

Matt 4:19:
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

Researcher George Barna has discovered that nine out of ten people who attempt to explain what they believe to other people come away from those experiences feeling as if they have failed. Get that—9 out of 10 feel like failures when it comes to sharing what they believe. No wonder we don’t do much evangelism. It’s not fun to do something that makes you feel like a failure 90% of the time. Barna concludes that “despite the divine command to spread the Word, many Christians redirect their energies into areas of spiritual activity that are more satisfying and in which they are more likely to achieve success.” -Keep Believing

Søren Kierkegaard

It is well known that Christ consistently used the expression “follower.” He never asks for admirers, worshippers, or adherents. No, he calls disciples. It is not adherents of a teaching but followers of a life Christ is looking for.
Christ understood that being a “disciple” was in innermost and deepest harmony with what he said about himself. Christ claimed to be the way and the truth and the life (Jn. 14:6). For this reason, he could never be satisfied with adherents who accepted his teaching – especially with those who in their lives ignored it or let things take their usual course. His whole life on earth, from beginning to end, was destined solely to have followers and to make admirers impossible.
Christ came into the world with the purpose of saving, not instructing it. At the same time – as is implied in his saving work – he came to be the pattern, to leave footprints for the person who would join him, who would become a follower. This is why Christ was born and lived and died in lowliness. It is absolutely impossible for anyone to sneak away from the Pattern with excuse and evasion on the basis that It, after all, possessed earthly and worldly advantages that he did not have. In that sense, to admire Christ is the false invention of a later age, aided by the presumption of “loftiness.” No, there is absolutely nothing to admire in Jesus, unless you want to admire poverty, misery, and contempt.
What then, is the difference between an admirer and a follower? A follower is or strives to be what he admires. An admirer, however, keeps himself personally detached. He fails to see that what is admired involves a claim upon him, and thus he fails to be or strive to be what he admires.
To want to admire instead of to follow Christ is not necessarily an invention by bad people. No, it is more an invention by those who spinelessly keep themselves detached, who keep themselves at a safe distance...
---Søren Kierkegaard

Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men: In that day, it was customary for a rabbi to have disciples; there was nothing cult-like about Jesus asking these men to be with Him constantly and to learn from Him. In some aspects, Jesus offered them a traditional education at the feet of a rabbi; in other aspects, this was very different from a normal rabbinical education.
i. Follow Me “would immediately suggest the disciples of a Rabbi…who literally followed him around to absorb his teaching, though this was by their own choice, not by his summons.”
ii. “He, however, went further than John, who could only announce and point to another. Jesus immediately followed the announcement with the word spoken to individuals, ‘Follow Me,’ thus claiming the position of King.”
c. They immediately left their nets… And immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him: The immediate response of these disciples is a great example to us. Then the first disciples did what all disciples of Jesus should do: they followed Him.
i. Following Jesus means leaving some things behind. The Samaritan woman left her pitcher, Matthew left his tax table, and blind Bartimaeus left his cloak to follow Jesus. -Enduring Word

Follow me — Come after me, δευτε οπισω μου. Receive my doctrines, imitate me in my conduct - in every respect be my disciples. We may observe that most of the calls of God to man are expressed in a few solemn words, which alarm, the conscience, and deeply impress the heart.
I will make you fishers of men. — Ezekiel Ezekiel 47:8-10, casts much light on this place; and to this prophet our Lord probably alludes. To follow Christ, and be admitted into a partnership of his ministry, is a great honour; but those only who are by himself fitted for it, God calls. Miserable are those who do not wait for this call - who presume to take the name of fishers of men, and know not how to cast the net of the Divine word, because not brought to an acquaintance with the saving power of the God who bought them. Such persons, having only their secular interest in view, study not to catch men, but to catch money: and though, for charity's sake, it may be said of a pastor of this spirit, he does not enter the sheepfold as a thief, yet he certainly lives as a hireling. -Study Light

Matthew 4:20-25:
And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.