Matthew Henry

Every valley shall be filled in, and every mountain and hill made low. The crooked ways shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth.

“But it seems rather to be meant of the gospel of Christ, of which that was the introduction. The humble shall by it be enriched with grace: Every valley that lies low and moist shall be filled and be exalted.”

Then John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

“In Matthew he is said to have preached these same things to many of the Pharisees and Sadducees, that came to his baptism ( Matt. iii.”

John answered all of them: “I baptize you with water, but One more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.

“John was a prophet, yea more than a prophet, more so than any of the Old-Testament prophets; but Christ was a prophet more than John, for it was both by the Spirit of Christ, and of the grace of Christ, that all the prophets prophesied…”

With these and many other exhortations, John proclaimed the good news to the people.

“Fourthly, He was an evangelical preacher, for so the word here used signifies, euengelizeto -- he preached the gospel to the people; in all his exhortations, he directed people to Christ, and excited and encouraged their expectations of him.”

But when he rebuked Herod the tetrarch regarding his brother’s wife Herodias and all the evils he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in…

“The evangelist mentioned John's imprisonment before Christ's being baptized, though it was nearly a year after it, because he would finish the story of John's ministry, and then introduce that of Christ.”

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily form…

“What was promised to Christ, he must obtain by prayer: Ask of me and I will give thee, &c. Thus he would put an honour upon prayer, would tie us to it, and encourage us in it. When he prayed, the heaven was opened.”

Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry. He was regarded as the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,

“And some suggest that the supply which our translators all along insert here is not right, and that it should not be read which, that is, which Joseph was the son of Heli, but which Jesus; he was the son of Joseph, of Eli, of…”

the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,

“But, as to that, it is sufficient to say that the Seventy Interpreters, who, before our Saviour's time, translated the Old Testament into Greek, for reasons best known to themselves inserted that Cainan; and St.”

the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

“Matthew draws the pedigree from Solomon, whose natural line ending in Jechonias, the legal right was transferred to Salathiel, who was of the house of Nathan, another son of David, which line Luke here pursues, and so leaves out all the kings of Judah.”

The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

“First, Because he would not do what Satan bade him do, for that would have looked as if there had been indeed a compact between him and the prince of the devils.”

Then the devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.

“Satan here first tempted Christ to turn the stones into bread, which would be good for food, and then showed him the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, which were pleasant to the eyes; but in both these he overpowered Satan, and…”

So if You worship me, it will all be Yours.”

“First, He would have him worship him himself. Perhaps he does not mean so as never to worship God, but let him worship him in conjunction with God; for the devil knows, if he can but once come in a partner, he shall soon be…”

For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You carefully;

“It is true, God has promised the protection of angels, to encourage us to trust him, not to tempt him; as far as the promise of God's presence with us, so far the promise of the angels' ministration goes, but no further: "They shall keep…”

He taught in their synagogues and was glorified by everyone.

“There he taught in their synagogues, their places of public worship, where they met, not, as in the temple, for ceremonial services, but for the moral acts of devotion, to read, expound, and apply, the word, to pray and praise, and for church-discipline; these came…”

“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.

“By the merit of Christ sinners may be loosed from the bonds of guilt, and by his Spirit and grace from the bondage of corruption.”

“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.

“This text gives a full account of Christ's undertaking, and the work he came into the world to do. Observe, First, How he was qualified for the work: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”

and He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

“This was enough to introduce a great deal: This day is this scripture fulfilled. Note, [1.] All the scriptures of the Old Testament that were to be fulfilled in the Messiah had their full accomplishment in the Lord Jesus, which abundantly proves that this was…”

Then He added, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.

“Familiarity breeds contempt; and we are apt to think meanly of those whose conversation we have been accustomed to; and they will scarcely be duly honoured as prophets who were well known when they were in the rank of private men.”

But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great…

“1 , that in the third year Elijah showed himself to Ahab, and there was rain; but that was not the third year of the drought, but the third year of Elijah's sojourning with the widow of Sarepta.”

And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. Yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

“And yet we do not find that Elisha cleansed them, no not for a reward of their service, and the good tidings they brought, but only the Syrian; for none besides had faith to apply himself to the prophet for a cure.”

On one occasion, while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret with the crowd pressing in on Him to hear the word of God,

“It was foretold concerning him that to him shall the gathering of the people be. Christ was a popular preacher; and though he was able, at twelve, to dispute with the doctors, yet he chose, at thirty, to preach to the capacity of the vulgar.”

When Jesus had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

“Peter having attended upon Christ in his preaching, Christ will accompany him in his fishing. He staid with Christ at the shore, and now Christ will launch out with him into the deep.”

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees. “Go away from me, Lord,” he said, “for I am a sinful man.”

“Note, Even the best men are sinful men, and should be ready upon all occasions to own it, and especially to own it to Jesus Christ; for to whom else, but to him who came into the world to save sinners, should sinful men apply…”

and so were his partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus said to Simon. “From now on you will catch men.”

“Peter and his part-owners were gainers by this great draught of fishes; it was a rich booty for them and therefore it transported them, and their joy was a helper to their faith.”

And when they had brought their boats ashore, they left everything and followed Him.

“It is observable that they left all to follow Christ, when their calling prospered in their hands more than ever it had done and they had had uncommon success in it.”