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UPDV Updated Bible Version

Matthew Chapter 4 — The Early Galilean Ministry

Overview

UPDV chapter 4 covers the beginning of Jesus' public ministry in Galilee: his initial preaching (4:1), the calling of four disciples (4:2-5), a sequence of healings and controversies in and around Capernaum (4:6-26), the call of Matthew (4:27-30), and the fasting question (4:31-34). This material is drawn from canonical Matthew 4:17-22, Mark 1:21-28, and canonical Matthew 8-9 — restored to Mark's original chronological order.

This chapter represents the UPDV's most significant structural intervention in Matthew. The compiler of the canonical Gospel rearranged Mark's early Galilean ministry into an architecturally deliberate pattern: a teaching block (the Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5-7) followed by a healing block organized into three triads (chapters 8-9). The UPDV undoes this editorial architecture and restores the narrative to the order found in Mark, where teaching and healing are interwoven as they would have occurred in the actual ministry.

A methodological note is important here because this chapter involves more aggressive reconstruction than any previous chapter. The UPDV's rule for Markan material operates on two levels. First, where the compiler included a Markan pericope but rearranged it, the UPDV uses the compiler's own text — his vocabulary, his abbreviations — but restores it to its Markan chronological position. Editorial additions within the pericope (formula quotations, proof texts, theological expansions) are stripped, but the compiler's abbreviations of Mark are kept, following the additions-versus-abbreviations principle established in chapter 3. Second, where the compiler deleted a Markan pericope entirely — as with the Capernaum synagogue exorcism — no Matthean text exists, so the UPDV restores the passage directly from Mark's text. The result is still recognizably Matthew's Gospel: the compiler's voice, vocabulary, and narrative choices are preserved wherever they exist, but the editorial architecture that rearranged the tradition is dismantled.

Jesus Begins Preaching (4:1)

"From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." This verse comes from canonical Matthew 4:17, itself based on Mark 1:15. Davies and Allison note that the compiler deliberately shaped this declaration to be identical to John's preaching at 3:2, dropping Mark's "the gospel of God," "the time is fulfilled," and "believe in the gospel" to create the parallel. As discussed in chapter 3, the specific phrasing is the compiler's editorial condensation of Mark 1:15, not an editorial addition — an abbreviation of traditional material rather than a fabrication — and is retained as the summary introduction to the public ministry.

The Calling of the First Disciples (4:2-5)

The calling of Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John comes from Mark 1:16-20 via canonical Matthew 4:18-22. Davies and Allison identify the literary model as the call of Elisha by Elijah (1 Kings 19:19-21) — the same four-part structure appears in both: the prophet appears, finds someone at work, issues a call, and receives immediate obedient response.

Despite this literary shaping, Davies and Allison argue strongly for a historical foundation behind the account. Five convergent indicators support this: (1) the Synoptics and John independently agree on these same disciples, (2) the pattern of Jesus actively choosing disciples reverses normal rabbinic practice where students chose their teacher, (3) the phrase "fishers of men" has a recognizably Semitic structure suggesting Aramaic origin, (4) the saying specifically demands a context involving fishermen — it would make no sense addressed to anyone else, and (5) Andrew's mention is striking since he plays virtually no role elsewhere in the Synoptic tradition, suggesting he was remembered because he was genuinely present at this moment.

The Capernaum Synagogue Exorcism — Restored from Mark (4:6-13)

This is the most notable restoration in the chapter. UPDV 4:6-13 contains the Capernaum synagogue exorcism from Mark 1:21-28 — a passage that the compiler of Matthew omitted entirely from his Gospel. In Mark's narrative, this is the first public act of Jesus' ministry: he enters the synagogue on the Sabbath, teaches with authority, and is confronted by a man with an unclean spirit who recognizes him as "the Holy One of God." Jesus commands the spirit out, and the crowd is astonished.

The compiler of Matthew chose not to include this episode, likely because he had reorganized the early ministry material into his sermon-then-miracles architecture (chapters 5-9), and this exorcism did not fit his editorial design. Because the compiler deleted this pericope entirely, no Matthean text exists — the UPDV restores it directly from Mark's text, as outlined in the methodological note above. It belongs to the earliest stratum of the Galilean ministry tradition — Mark places it as the very first thing Jesus does after calling the disciples, and its vivid detail and narrative immediacy (Mark's characteristic εὐθύς, euthys, "right away" appears repeatedly) suggest early eyewitness tradition. The crowd's astonished reaction — "What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits" — establishes the pattern of authority that defines the subsequent ministry.

Peter's Mother-in-Law and Evening Healings (4:14-16)

In the canonical text, the healing of Peter's mother-in-law appears at Matthew 8:14-15, part of the compiler's first triad of healing stories. The UPDV returns it to Mark's position (Mark 1:29-31), immediately after the synagogue exorcism — in Mark, Jesus goes directly from the synagogue to Peter's house. The evening healings summary (4:16, from Mark 1:32-34 via canonical Matt 8:16) follows naturally: word of the synagogue exorcism spreads, and by evening the whole town brings their sick.

The compiler's formula quotation at canonical 8:17 — "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, 'He took our infirmities and bore our diseases'" (Isaiah 53:4) — is omitted as editorial. Davies and Allison confirm it follows the standard formula-quotation pattern.

The Leper Cleansed (4:17-19)

The leper's healing appears at canonical Matthew 8:1-4 but comes from Mark 1:40-45. The compiler relocated it to follow the Sermon on the Mount ("when he came down from the mountain" at 8:1 is the compiler's editorial transition). The UPDV restores it to Mark's sequence, after the evening healings summary.

The account is notable for its directness. The leper says, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." Jesus touches him — a striking detail, since lepers were ritually unclean and contact would render Jesus unclean under Torah law — and says, "I will; be made clean." He then instructs the man to show himself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, demonstrating respect for the Torah's purity procedures even while transcending them through direct healing.

The Paralytic: Authority to Forgive Sins (4:20-26)

The healing of the paralytic (canonical Matt 9:1-8) returns to its Markan position (Mark 2:1-12). This is one of the most theologically significant healing accounts because it involves a controversy over authority — the scribes object when Jesus pronounces the paralytic's sins forgiven, calling it blasphemy. Jesus responds by healing the man as visible proof that "the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins."

Davies and Allison confirm this is Markan material. The compiler abbreviated Mark's vivid account — removing the detail of four men digging through the roof to lower the paralytic (Mark 2:3-4) — but preserved the core controversy. Following the methodology outlined in the overview, the UPDV uses the compiler's own abbreviated text here, not Mark's. The roof-digging is not restored because the compiler's abbreviation is condensation, not fabrication. However, the crowd's concluding reaction is a different case. The compiler replaced Mark's "We never saw it on this fashion" (Mark 2:12) with "they glorified God, who had given such authority to men" (canonical Matt 9:8) — an editorial change that broadens the authority claim beyond Jesus to the church, introducing an ecclesiological meaning absent from the source. This is not abbreviation but theological addition, so the UPDV restores Mark's original wording.

The Call of Matthew and the Sinners Controversy (4:27-30)

The call of Matthew the tax collector and the subsequent controversy over eating with sinners (canonical Matt 9:9-13) come from Mark 2:13-17. The UPDV follows this Markan sequence. Mark calls the tax collector "Levi son of Alphaeus" (Mark 2:14); the compiler changed the name to "Matthew" to identify him with the apostle. The UPDV retains the name "Matthew" — this is the compiler's vocabulary for the character within his Gospel, and changing it back to "Levi" would contradict the principle of preserving the compiler's text where it exists. The identification may be editorial, but it is not an addition of new content; it is the compiler's rendering of a name within a Markan pericope he chose to include.

Jesus' response to the Pharisees' criticism — "Those who are whole have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners" — is early tradition attested in both Mark and Luke. The UPDV omits the compiler's insertion of Hosea 6:6 ("Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice") found at canonical Matt 9:13a, which Davies and Allison identify as a characteristic Matthean editorial addition — the same citation reappears at 12:7, one of the compiler's favorite proof texts.

The Fasting Question (4:31-34)

The chapter closes with the question about fasting (canonical Matt 9:14-17, from Mark 2:18-22). John's disciples ask why Jesus' disciples do not fast as they and the Pharisees do. Jesus answers with the bridegroom metaphor — fasting is inappropriate while the bridegroom is present — followed by two parables about the incompatibility of old and new: unshrunk cloth on an old garment and new wine in old wineskins.

Davies and Allison confirm this is Markan material with no evidence of a non-Markan source. The bridegroom saying and the cloth/wine parables represent early tradition about Jesus' understanding of his own ministry as a time of celebration that supersedes the old order.

What the UPDV Removes from This Section

Several pieces of the canonical text are omitted from this chapter:

  • Matt 4:23-25 (editorial ministry summary): Davies and Allison call this "a redactional summary which draws on Mark 1:39 and 3:7-12." It is nearly identical to 9:35, forming an inclusio — a literary bracket — around the compiler's teaching and healing blocks. The UPDV removes it as editorial architecture.
  • Matt 8:17 (Isaiah 53:4 formula quotation): Editorial, following the standard formula-quotation pattern.
  • Matt 9:13a (Hosea 6:6 insertion): The compiler's editorial addition, reused at 12:7.
  • Matt 8:1 ("when he came down from the mountain"): The compiler's editorial transition from the Sermon to the healing stories.

These removals are consistent with the UPDV's principle throughout: strip editorial framework, retain the traditional narrative material, and restore it to the chronological order preserved in Mark.

References

  • Davies, W. D. and Dale C. Allison Jr. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew. 3 vols. International Critical Commentary. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1988–1997.