Matthew 4:1-17

Afterward, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to experience the ordeal of testing by the accuser. And after fasting for forty days, Jesus was extremely hungry. Then the tempter came to him and said, “How can you possibly be the Son of God and go hungry? Just command these stones to be turned into loaves of bread.” He answered, “The Scriptures say: Bread alone will not satisfy, but true life is found in every word that constantly goes forth from God’s mouth.” Then the accuser transported Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem and perched him at the highest point of the temple and said to him, “If you’re really God’s Son, jump, and the angels will catch you. For it is written in the Scriptures: He will command his angels to protect you and they will lift you up so that you won’t even bruise your foot on a rock.” Once again Jesus said to him, “The Scriptures say: You must never put the Lord your God to a test.” And the third time the accuser lifted Jesus up onto a very high mountain range and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all the splendor that goes with it. “All of these kingdoms I will give to you,” the accuser said, “if only you will kneel down before me and worship me.” But Jesus said, “Go away, Satan! For the Scriptures say: Kneel before the Lord your God and worship only him.” At once the accuser left him, and angels suddenly gathered around Jesus to minister to his needs. When Jesus heard that John the Baptizer had been thrown into prison, he went back into Galilee. Jesus moved from Nazareth to make his home in Capernaum, which is by Lake Galilee in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. He did this to make the prophecy of Isaiah come true: Listen, you who live in the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, along the road to the sea and on the other side of the Jordan, and Galilee—the land of the Gentiles! You who spend your days shrouded in darkness can now say, “We have seen a brilliant Light.” And those who live in the dark shadow land of death can now say, “The Dawning Light arises on us.” From that time on Jesus began to proclaim his message with these words: “Keep turning away from your sins and come back to God, for heaven’s kingdom realm is now accessible.”