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Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Matthew 4:1 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
  • KJV Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
  • NKJV Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
  • NASB Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
  • NLT Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. His public ministry begins with a test.

Overview

Immediately after his anointing, Jesus is led by the Spirit into confrontation with Satan, showing the temptation is within God's purpose. As the true Israel and the new Adam, Jesus faces testing where Israel and Adam failed. The episode shows the Savior entering the battle against evil on behalf of his people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • Heb 2:18Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.
  • Luke 4:1–13Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
  • Mark 1:12–15At once the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness,
  • Heb 4:15–16For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.
  • Rom 8:14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
  • Ezek 43:5Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
  • John 14:30I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has no claim on Me.
  • Ezek 3:14So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.
  • Ezek 3:12Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me: ‘Blessed be the glory of the LORD in His dwelling place!’
  • Acts 8:39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.
  • 1 Kgs 18:12I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.
  • Ezek 40:2In visions of God He took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose southern slope was a structure that resembled a city.
  • 2 Kgs 2:16“Look now,” they said to Elisha, “we your servants have fifty valiant men. Please let them go and search for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and put him on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys.” “Do not send them,” Elisha replied.
  • Gen 3:15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
  • Ezek 11:1Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. And there at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders of the people.
  • Ezek 11:24And the Spirit lifted me up and carried me back to Chaldea, to the exiles in the vision given by the Spirit of God. After the vision had gone up from me,
  • Ezek 8:3He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes jealousy was seated.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 4:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 4:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.