Matthew 4

It’s good to read these familiar passages when it’s not Christmas, nor Lent.
Did you spot the jump of about 30 years between chapters 2 and 3? John and Jesus
clearly did a lot of growing in those years, but especially in their understanding of their
God-given roles. Matthew gives us a few details of the birth of Jesus, but wants to move
us quickly to the significance of his birth as it unfolds in the last three years of his life.
He quotes a lot of Scripture as he shows us how Jesus fits in with and fulfils the Old
Testament: God’s written word. The encounter between John and Jesus at the baptism
results in the witness of God’s spoken word. Let’s listen in carefully as we read on.

The Revd. David Hildred