"The Temptation of Jesus"_Matthew 3b-4a Apr 28 2024

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 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.’ ”

Matthew 4:7–11 ESV

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 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.’ ” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

(Pray…)

So far - we’ve seen in Matthew, events surrounding Jesus, the Son of God who came to Earth

We looked at the genealogy of Jesus, which verified the reality that Jesus is real

We’ve read major regional events surrounding the birth of Christ -

We read about the angel who came to Joseph and told him to not fear, the Holy Spirit will conceive, and that he should call his name Jesus, “for he will save his people from their sins.” [1:21]

The Wise Men came to seek Jesus

King Herod became jealous and tried to conspire with the Wise Men to find out where he was

But the Wise Men visited with young Jesus and worshipped him with gifts - and they avoided going back to Herod after being warned in a dream from the Lord

And then an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream to warn him to take his family to Egypt for protection because of Herod

Herod realizes he was tricked by the wise men, puts out an order to kill all male children under the age of two -

and even this was a fulfillment of prophecy

After Herod died -

an angel of the Lord again appeared to Joseph - take his family back to Israel

But Joseph then learned that the son of Herod was now in control - and again, he was warned in a dream - so he moved his family to Galilee - to Nazareth

Pause for a moment: Do you see what an important part Joseph had in the life of Jesus, especially when he was young?

We tend to focus on Mary, but Joseph had a huge role in the life of Jesus

Joseph is in the genealogy of Jesus

He’s always mentioned with Mary

When he was going to divorce Mary - before he knew the truth - an angel appeared to Joseph and told him to not divorce her

The Bible says that Joseph was faithful to not know Mary intimately until after the birth of Jesus

An angel appeared to Joseph a 2nd time to tell them to flee to Egypt

Again, for the 3rd time, an angel appears in a dream to Joseph to tell them to return to Israel

But Joseph was afraid because the son of Herod was now king - so now the 4th time, he has another dream with an angel appearing and was told to go to Galilee

And Matt 2:23 is the last time in this Gospel - that we read anything else about Joseph

No one is sure about this - but it’s likely that Joseph somehow died before Jesus died on the cross -

Because he’s not mentioned later

In Chapter 3: John the Baptist comes

All this time, Matthew is leading up to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry

Two main events before Jesus begins his earthly ministry:

The baptism of Jesus

The temptation of Jesus

And so the end of Chapter 3, Jesus was baptized

This is the first dialog in Matthew from Jesus himself

Matthew 3:13–17 ESV

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

John’s message to the people was for them to repent and to be baptized

But Jesus himself told John to baptize him

Jesus here humbles himself to be baptized

Certainly not that he was in need of repentance

The phrase, “it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” is debated among scholars

I just see it simply that Jesus was being obedient to the Father

This is also a clear picture of the triune nature of God:

Jesus, the Son of God, coming up from the water

The Spirit of God coming down from Heaven to rest on the Son

And the voice of the Father, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

All three Synoptic gospels relate the event of the baptism of Jesus and also the temptation of Jesus

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness in order to be tempted by the devil

Verse 1 of chapter 4 - it says the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, “to be tempted by the devil.”

The temptation came at the end - after he had fasted for forty days

The text does not really say anything what Jesus did those forty days - other than, he fasted

I think he was in close communion with the Father - I think he prayed constantly as he prepared himself for his great ministry

There are two comforting verses we get from the temptation of Jesus - both from Hebrews

Heb 2:18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Heb 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

I’d like to point out a parallel here: between God’s chosen children, Israel - and God’s only begotten Son, who was beginning his ministry

Israel was delivered out of Egypt

Jesus was taken out of Egypt after Herod’s

Jesus entered the wilderness for forty days and was tempted, but never failed

Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years

The other thing I notice as I read this text is that there is an implicit emphasis on the humanity of Jesus

Jesus was fully God and fully man

In his humanity, he had needs - notice the phrase in verse 2 after he fasted forty days & nights: “he was hungry”

That’s a human need, being hungry

That’s something we can understand - we all have needs

Notice that the devil didn’t tempt Jesus with something about the structure of his ministry

He didn’t say, “If you’re the Son of God, you only need six disciples,” or, “If you’re the Son of God, you should begin your ministry in Judea, not Galilee.”

No - the devil went right to Jesus’ stomach

Why do I mention this?

The devil likes to go to our weakness

I don’t want to skip over the fact of what Jesus was doing for forty days & nights - even though the Bible does not spell-out what he was doing

For one minute, I don’t think he was sitting around, doing nothing - playing solitaire

I know my Lord, and I know Jesus had a deep relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit

We just saw an intense picture of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit during his baptism - and I think there was an intense intimacy in that time in the wilderness

I think the responses Jesus gave the devil for these three temptations were not just clever little answers -

You know, like a script

“When the devil says this, then quote this verse”

I think the responses of Jesus came deeply from his heart, out of a close relationship he had with his Father

When Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God,” I think that was heartfelt

Jesus quoted Scripture because Scripture had ministered to him

Jesus didn’t need to turn stones into bread because he knew the Father would supply his needs

The devil was suggesting that God was there to serve him - but Jesus knew he was there to serve the Father

I think during the forty days of not eating , I imagine Jesus must have said that verse from Deuteronomy to himself over and over

That verse must have ministered to him while he struggled with his hunger

The devil tempted Jesus with the very thing he was dealing with - and it was the very thing the Father and the Spirit was ministering to him about

When Jesus quoted that verse, it wasn’t as a cute, clever comeback - Jesus quoted what was deeply special to him

All of us need to be in a close, meaningful relationship with the Lord

We all need to allow the Word of God to deeply minister to us - so that when the temptations come, we have something more meaningful to lean on

Look at the difference

Eating bread has meaning to it, but the phrase “every word that comes from the mouth of God” has much greater meaning

Do you see what I’m saying?

Every temptation has warped truth to it -

You will feel pleasure

You will be relieved

You will have more money

Those are all meaningful, in the right context

But there’s something more meaningful - our relationship with the Lord, through our obedience to him, and to our connection we have with his Word

There is a deceitfulness to every temptation because there is an element of truth in just about every temptation

Eating bread is wonderful, in its proper context - we need to eat in order to nourish our bodies

And there’s nothing better than fresh, hot bread

Jesus would have nourished his body right then, but he would have lost to the devil!

Do you see how insidious sin is?

The temptation promises something wonderful - because there is something wonderful about it - but that’s only a half-truth

Sin is insidious because it gives us something wonderful, but it takes us away from a close communion with the Lord - it brings consequences - and it brings destruction

Sin seeks to destroy our relationship with the Lord

It cheats us and lies to us

It steals our joy

It hurts our relationships - and hurts our ministry for the Lord

It brings on consequences

It destroys our confidence in the Lord

And it gets in the way of our walk with the Lord

Here’s a definition of sin:

Not loving God, and not trusting God

But temptation never highlights anything bad about our sin - only what seems wonderful at the time

You ask: How can there be anything wonderful about lying, stealing, cheating, and even murdering?

All of those types of sin seek to solve your problems

Temptation lies to you and only highlights the good things might result -

“Just lie and you won’t hurt anyone’s feelings” -

“Lying will get you out of this sticky situation”

“Just go ahead and steal because you could really use that thing”

“Go ahead and have coffee with her - she’s having problems with her husband - maybe she can help you with your wife”

Temptation is deceitful - and sin is insidious

Do you see how important it is that we need to be plugged into God’s Word everyday?

And to allow the Lord to develop that relationship with you?

Rather than me trying to draw all sorts of parallels to each of the three temptations - and really analyze each response Jesus gives - I’d rather we examine the motivation of Jesus

I want to look at this passage maybe in a different way you’ve thought of

What was he going through during this time of fasting?

What was his prayer life like during those forty days?

How was he preparing himself for ministry?

Jesus used Scripture in his responses to the devil because the Scriptures gave him comfort

Our relationship with Jesus controls how meaningful Scripture is

I don’t see Jesus quoting Scripture as some sort of a system of apologetics

These verses poured out of the abundance of his heart because of the close walk he had with the Father - and because of the Spirit’s anointing on his life

Nothing like this can pour out of our hearts unless we have a close walk with the Lord

Imagine the constant prayer Jesus had during that forty days

Jesus responded with Scripture at each temptation, because he was so plugged into it - and because he walked so closely with the Father

I’ve heard this passage preached many times before - and many times the summary is this:

Jesus quoted Scripture each time the devil tempted him - therefore you should quote Scripture when you’re tempted

As if, merely quoting Scripture is some magical formula

A relationship with Jesus says, “Let me show you how meaningful Scripture is - and how much you desperately need it”

It wasn’t just those verses he quoted - it was Jesus giving such a deep, meaningful response from the heart, which was based on his sweet relationship with the Father and the Spirit who had led him to this point

I know the text doesn’t say what he did those forty days - but I know my Lord - I don’t think he spent most of time taking naps

I don’t think this was just an interesting field trip for him

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

Jesus said that because he felt it - he knew it - it was his life to live by every word from his Father

Notice, twice, in the first two temptations, the devil said, “IF you are the Son of God”

And the second time, the devil adjusted his tactic and tried to quote Scripture himself

But Jesus could instantly see it was so blatantly taken out of context

His response was almost, “How dare you - Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

Jesus made it clear - you don’t know the Father, but I do - I know he loves me because I walk closely with him

And then the devil, in an act of desperation, takes him to a high mountain, shows him the kingdoms of the world and says, “I’ll give it all to you - just fall down and worship me.”

And listen to how Jesus responded - it came from a heart of devotion with the Lord:

Matthew 4:10 ESV

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.’ ”

I think, during those forty days, the Father was preparing Jesus for the rest of his days on Earth

I think Jesus realized what was about to happen in his life - he’s 30 years old - he’s about to begin the most important ministry of his life

He’s about to change the whole world - soon he will pick his twelve -

he’ll preach and teach

he’ll heal others

and perform miracles

he’ll confront the Pharisees

he’ll love others and be hated

he’ll pour into his disciples but will be misunderstood

he’ll be betrayed by one of the twelve

and his ministry will end with a trial, torture, mockery, death on a cross, and a Resurrection

I think all of this was on his mind, and he drew closer to the Father and relied on Scripture during those forty days

I’m convinced that our best defense against temptation is to walk closely with the Lord and keep his Word close to our hearts

I don’t believe quoting verses like a religious mantra does anything

I think Jesus is coming soon - and we can’t mess around anymore

If you don’t know the Lord - repent, call out to him, and draw close to him

My encouragement is for you to walk closer and closer to Jesus

That your daily prayer life,

And your daily Bible reading brings you closer to him

So that your obedience to him pours out of an abundance of your heart

And he helps you lose interest in anything which could interfere in your relationship with him

(Pray…)

Communion

Luke 22:19–20 ESV

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.