Matthew 4:1-11: When the Tempter Calls
Notes
Transcript
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
Sons of ancient kings were tested to prove their right to the throne
Think of the movie Black Panther
40 days in the wilderness - ties to Israel’s 40 years. Israel in their hunger turned their backs on Yahweh, but what would the Son of God do?
3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
The tempter, that same serpent from the Garden and the same great dragon spoken about in Revelation, comes forward to try to make this human fall as he had gotten every other one to do, even every chosen one of Yahweh throughout history
He starts by attacking Jesus’ identity and power,
He tries to utilize the human frailty of hunger and appetite to cause the God-man to fall. This tactic, using food and pleasure, worked on the first Adam. Would it work on the last Adam?
Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3, a reference to the Israelites wandering in the wilderness and the primary lesson they should have learned from God’s provision for their needs: our sustenance is from God and not from food. Israel grumbled and almost rose up against Moses to run back to their slavery in Egypt!
But Jesus resists the temptation, succeeding where Israel failed.
But he is not done in his testing.
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
The tempter then takes him to the holy city of Jerusalem and puts him on the pinnacle of the temple.
He then responds to Jesus’s defense of using Scripture by using Scripture himself. Satan quotes Psalm 91:11-12
This Psalm is one that proclaims God’s great power by telling of all the ways he will protect those he loves. From war and plague, from pestilence and beasts, the LORD will maintain and protect those who seek him for their shelter.
Satan twists this and basically says, “If God really does love you, he will prove it by saving you! He says it right here in the Scriptures!”
This temptation is one of knowledge of the will of God through the knowledge of the Scriptures.
How does Jesus respond to the misuse of the Word of God?
By quoting from Deuteronomy again. This time from 6:16 which is a retelling of the lesson learned at a time when Israel put God to the test in the wilderness, saying “If God is really among us then he needs to give us a sign by giving us water!”. The lesson, the commandment in Deut is “you shall not put the LORD your God to the test”.
Jesus resists the temptation to test God’s love for him and succeeds where Israel failed
This takes him to his final temptation.
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
In the final temptation, the Serpent changes tactics. Instead of questioning Jesus’s identity or power, Satan plays the biggest card he holds and offers Jesus the glory, adoration, and total authority of all the kingdoms of the world. All of this will be Jesus’s if only he will bow before the tempter.
Now, you might be thinking or have been taught that this was simply a lie from Satan. That it would be quite simple for Jesus to scoff at this offer and reject it because Jesus knew that the devil didn’t actually have the authority to offer the nations of the earth to Christ, but I would beg to differ. Don’t get me wrong, God alone has ultimate authority over all the world, but consider this:
Satan is called “the prince of this world”(John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) and “god of this age” (2 Cor 4:4) throughout the New Testament
Demonic entities were said to rule over pagan nations (Dan 10:13, 20–21)
If this was a true test and temptation, then the offer had to have been realistic
God allowed Satan to have authority over the nations because of their rejection of God and Satan is offering this authority and glorification he gets through their sinful worship to Jesus.
Satan was offering Jesus what Jesus would get through fulfilling his Father’s will, an inheritance of nations (Daniel 7:14), without having to become the suffering servant prophesied in Isaiah. Without having to face the greatest stressor of Jesus’s life, the thing that caused him to sweat blood and plead for another way to fulfill the will of the Father. Satan was offering Jesus the inheritance of nations without having to face the cross and the burden of the wrath of the Father against sin.
This was not some falsity of Satan, this was a true test of Jesus’s dedication to fulfilling his Father’s will. What would he do?
Jesus responds by rebuking the Serpent and sending him away
Preaching
Jesus provides a model for victory in a time of testing
Jesus provides a model for victory in a time of testing
All of our great spiritual forerunners spoken of in the Bible have gone through times of testing and it is because of that testing that they learn that dependence upon God to win the day is the way to overcome the tests
Christ passed all the tests that Israel failed
If you want a few practical ways to help prepare to face temptation, here are some takeaways from Jesus’ example:
Jesus overcame the first temptation by depending on God
Jesus’ trusted God would sustain him, even in a painful or uncomfortable situation
Too often we don’t believe that God has our best interests in mind and so we take matters into our own hands
The base cause of all sin is that we don’t trust God
Jesus overcame the second temptation by having a knowledge of God and His Word
We are foolish and prideful if we think we can skip spiritual disciplines or studying theology and understanding what is good doctrine or bad doctrine and then easily overcome temptation that faces us
Jesus overcame the third temptation by trusting God’s plan
When the tempter offered to give Jesus a great prize, but at the cost of the honor and glory of the Father, Jesus rejected the offer and told Satan to get lost!
If we desire to overcome temptation, these are the foundation upon which we must stand firm
we must depend on God for His sustaining power, for his already defeat of the serpent through the perfect life, the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus
We must be knowledgeable of the Word of God and sound doctrine, because even Satan knows the Bible and can quote it
we must trust God’s good plan for us, that he has our best interests in mind when he gives us instructions to follow
A separate note, you are not Jesus, you cannot stand up to the tempter alone. If you are a Christian, you have been brought into a family that is striving for the same goals you are, to become more like Christ. Share your burdens with us, do not cling to your pride so much that you allow the infection of sin to fester and take control of you in darkness. Drag it into the light so your brothers and sisters can help you kill it.
Also, you’re not Jesus and the Serpent is not God. Satan is not omnipresent and cannot tempt everyone himself. So you are most likely not being tempted directly by satan. You also must recognize that the more you feed sin the more it gets a stranglehold on your life. Sometimes, your temptation is simply a product of your sinful proclivities.
It’s not always the fault of Satan and his minions, sometimes you are tempted because you still like your sin.
Satan is a defeated foe
From this point forward, we start to see incredible developments in matters spiritual battles.
In Matthew 12:29 Jesus introduces this idea of binding the “strong man” and plundering his house.
We see this in action with every exorcism, every healing, and every pronouncement of sin being forgiven
Jesus has bound the strong man and even as evil lashes out it is only the death throes of a defeated enemy
29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
Jesus has given his people his representative authority and now the only power Satan now has over the people of Christ is through deception
So, Christian, when the tempter calls, remember this:
So, Christian, when the tempter calls, remember this:
Jesus has been exactly where you are and has succeeded - you are not ignorant of how to overcome temptation
Jesus has been exactly where you are and has succeeded - you are not ignorant of how to overcome temptation
Lean into God for the strength to overcome
Look to the Word of God for wisdom in how to respond to the temptation
Jesus has already defeated the tempter - you are not powerless in your temptation
Jesus has already defeated the tempter - you are not powerless in your temptation
Satan does not own you, Christ and his righteousness has purchased you from the clutches of the evil one
You are not strong enough to free yourself from temptation and sin in your own strength, but Jesus is strong enough
Jesus has called you to his people - you are not ALONE in your testing
Jesus has called you to his people - you are not ALONE in your testing
you have a family that encompasses millennia and the entire earth, you also have a family of brothers and sisters right here in this room
Don’t be afraid to bring others into your struggles. You are not strong enough to bear this burden alone and that’s okay. Invite us to share it so that you may be free from your sin
Jesus is good, he is powerful, and he desires your complete freedom from sin - you can run to him for help and he will help you
Jesus is good, he is powerful, and he desires your complete freedom from sin - you can run to him for help and he will help you
This does not mean there will not be suffering
Even Jesus went through immense suffering!
“A Mighty Fortress” by Martin Luther
“A Mighty Fortress” by Martin Luther
A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper he, amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
does seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing,
were not the right Man on our side,
the Man of God's own choosing.
You ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
The Lord of Hosts his name,
from age to age the same;
and he must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God has willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo! his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.
That Word above all earthly powers
no thanks to them abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts are ours
through him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill:
God's truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever!