Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit descended like a dove and rested on Jesus in Matthew 3:16. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested to show Jesus completely obey God.
The wilderness was not far from where John was baptizing. The wilderness area had few or no people living in it. There was not much food and water in the wilderness.
### Why did Jesus say that “man shall not live on bread alone”?
When Jesus said, “Man shall not live on bread alone,” he said the same thing Moses wrote (see: Deuteronomy 8:3). God gave manna to the people who followed Moses through the wilderness. This was a miracle which God used to teach the people that the word of God is more important than food.
### Why did Satan say, God “will command his angels to take care of you”?
When Satan said that God “will command his angels to take care of you,” he said the same things written in Psalm 91:11-12. He told Jesus that if he were to throw himself down from the highest place of the temple, God would protect him. Satan wanted Jesus to forget that God the Father cared for Jesus.
### Why did Jesus tell Satan, “You must not test the Lord your God”?
Jesus told Satan, “You must not test the Lord your God” because he understood that Satan wanted Jesus to not trust God the Father and to disobey God the Father. Jesus only wanted to serve and obey God the Father.
Satan wanted Jesus to forget about his loyalty to God the Father. If Jesus became loyal to Satan, then Jesus could have the entire world as his reward. Satan wanted Jesus to disobey God.
### How will Peter and Andrew become “fishers of men”?
When Jesus said that Peter and Andrew would become “fishers of men,” this was a metaphor. He wanted them to know that they would help other people to believe in Jesus and obey Jesus.
### Why did Peter and Andrew immediately follow Jesus?
Peter and Andrew left their jobs fishing to become disciples of Jesus. Matthew wrote that they immediately left their nets to follow Jesus. Some scholars think that Peter and Andrew had heard about Jesus before this. Other scholars do not think they heard about Jesus before this.
James and John mended their nets. Fishermen always mended their nets after they finished fishing because the nets would have holes or garbage in them. James and John were getting their nets ready so that they could fish again later or the next day.
**Advice to translators**: When someone mended their fishing net, they fixed any holes in the net.
The word translated “epiliptic” is a word which meant “moon-struck.” In ancient times, a popular belief was that when a person had seizures, his health was under attack by the moon. Jesus healed the epileptic person. He controlled the moon.
**Advice to translators**: A seizure is a type of illness that causes someone to shake violently and they cannot control it.
### What was a paralytic?
A paralytic was a person who had no control over his body.
### What was the Decapolis?
The Decapolis was a group of ten cities in ancient Syria. People in these cities spoke Greek and Latin. They were great cities in the Roman empire.
See Map: Decapolis; Syria
### Why does Matthew speak of Galilee and the Decapolis, Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan?
Matthew said that great crowds followed Jesus from Galilee and the Decapolis, Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan river. Many different groups of people lived in these places. They spoke many different languages. Matthew wants us to know that many different groups of people loved Jesus. He also wants us to know that Jesus welcomed all people to follow him.
See Map: Galilee; Decapolis; Jerusalem; Judea; Jordan River
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