Matthew 4:1 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Then was Jesus led up, &c.— Then, that is to say, immediately after his baptism, was Jesus led, or borne by a strong impulse of the Spirit on his mind, (see Luke 4:14.) into the wilderness: which Mr. Maundrel is of opinion was the wilderness near Jordan; a miserable and horrid place, according to his account, consisting of high barren mountains; so that it looks as if nature had suffered some violent convulsions there. Our Lord probably was assaulted in the northern part of it, near the sea of Galilee; because he is said, Luke 4:1 to be returning, or going back to Nazareth, whence he came to be baptized. See Mark 1:9. Hither Christ retired to prepare himself for the discharge of his great office; and hence obtained so much the greater glory, that he conquered the devil in a wilderness, who subdued our first parents in paradise, where with joint strength they ought to have resisted him, and might easily have overcome him. Christ, the second Adam, was to remedy all the evils of the fall. The original word διαβολου signifies properly a slanderer, or a false accuser, and answers to the Hebrew Satan: it is found in the Scripture only in the singular number, and signifies that evil spirit who tempted our first parents; and who is represented in the sacred writings as the head of the rebellious angels, and the adversary of all good men. See 1 Thessalonians 3:5. 1 Peter 5:8. The existence of good and bad spirits, is the plain doctrine of Scripture; and we must be perfect Sadducees, to doubt or deny the being of either, upon the faith and credit of the divine word. It may be proper just to observe, than an ingenious writer has endeavoured to shew that this very remarkable transaction was not real, but visionary; grounding his arguments upon the many difficulties which occur to our understandings in the literal account of it. I conceive that by the same arguments it would be easy to prove almost any part of the sacred history to be visionary. There is no intimation of any thing of this sort in the sacred historians; the detail of facts is plain, and in their usual manner: it is positively said, that Jesus was led up, that he fasted, that he hungered, &c. &c. Nor does there appear any thing in the letter whereupon to ground the idea, that what is here related was not real. That the whole event was most wonderful and extraordinary, we readily allow; and may as readily allow, that from the very short narration we have of it, it is not possible for us to enter completely into the whole meaning and purport of it. But this should be no objection against our receiving and acknowledging the truth of the fact; which, the more miraculous it is, the more it requires the submission of our faith, and the humble adoration of our minds. See more on Matthew 4:8 and Farmer's Inquiry into the Temptation of Christ.