Matthew 4

This chapter covers a lot! It opens with what may be one of the most under-stated things in the whole Bible: "And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry." (4:2, NASB). Maybe they didn't have words like starving or famished, but after that long without food Jesus most assuredly was *very* 'hungry'. Satan takes this opportunity to tempt Him, but Jesus rebuffs him by quoting back scripture in each instance. That is an excellent example to us of how we should resist temptation: memorize passages of God's Word on various topics, so that we can recall them and recite them in stressful situations. David said it well in the Psalms: "Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You." (119:11, NASB)

At some point after the temptation, Jesus got word that John has been taken prisoner (by Herod as we'll later find out, though a different person of the same name than was king at Jesus' birth). He relocated to another part of Israel to begin His ministry, in turn fulfilling yet another prophecy (Isaiah 9:1-2), and started recruiting his disciples. Four are named in this passage, all fishermen, and in fact two pairs of brothers: Peter, Andrew, James, and John. With them in tow, Jesus began to travel - preaching, teaching, and healing as He went... amassing quite a crowd of followers in the process.