Matthew 4:11
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Let’s open our Bibles to Matthew 4.
[CONTEXT] At the end of Matthew 3, John the Baptist baptizes Jesus. The Holy Spirit descends like a dove and comes to rest on Jesus. And the Father says, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
After the baptism of the Son, the descent of the Spirit, and the words of the Father, the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness where He is tempted by the devil.
[READING - Matthew 4:2-11]
2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand 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, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, 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 things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ” 11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
[PRAYER]
God brought His people out of Egypt through the wilderness to the Promised Land, but His people were not faithful and they did not take possession of the Promised Land as God commanded.
They did not enter the Promised Land for fear of giants in the land, and then they continually sinned against God as they were tempted in the wilderness.
But Jesus is the true Israel.
Out of Egypt God has called His Son, and during His public ministry Jesus will take possession of the Promised Land by defeating the giants of Satan, sin, and death.
And here in Matthew 4:1-11, we see that Jesus is faithful in the wilderness, perfectly sinless as He resists every temptation.
First, Satan tempts Jesus to provide for Himself.
3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
But Jesus obeys Deuteronomy 8:3…
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”
Second, Satan tempts Jesus to prove Himself.
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, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ”
But Jesus obeys Deuteronomy 6:16…
7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
Third, Satan tempts Jesus to reward Himself.
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 things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”
But Jesus obey Deuteronomy 10:20…
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ”
And then at the end of the passage, we read the verse that I would like us to focus on tonight…
11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
[INTER] Do you believe in angels? Do you believe they minister to you or was that something only reserved for Jesus? If you do believe they minister to you, how do they do that and when do they do that?
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
First, you must believe in angels for the Word of God reveals that they exist.
First, you must believe in angels for the Word of God reveals that they exist.
The OT speaks of angels more than 100 times. The NT more than 165 times. The biblical authors did not share the materialistic bias of our age; they believed in the supernatural realm.
Because the Word of God reveals its existence, we ought to believe in the supernatural realm and the angels that inhabit it.
An angel is a created being who exists to serve and worship God.
We don’t know when they were created, but in the Scripture they often serve as messengers sent from heaven to deliver God’s word and to do His will.
In Matthew 4:11, it was God the Father’s will that Jesus be ministered to by angels after resisting Satan’s temptations in the wilderness.
Various English translations say that...
…they began to serve Jesus;
…they began to take care of Him;
…they began to attend to Him.
This brings us to our second point tonight: you must believe that angels are ministering spirits for the Bible specifically says that they are.
This brings us to our second point tonight: you must believe that angels are ministering spirits for the Bible specifically says that they are.
The author of Hebrews proclaimed Jesus as superior to angels because apparently some of his readers were too enamored with angels.
In Hebrews 1:13, the author says that no angel was ever told as Jesus was to sit at the Father’s right hand until He made His enemies a footstool for His feet.
And then the author of Hebrews says of angels in Hebrews 1:14…
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
There are two things to notice in Hebrews 1:14…
One, angels are ministering spirits.
They are serving spirits, attending spirits, caring spirits.
But, and this is the second thing to notice, the ministering spirits are sent to serve “for the sake of those who will inherit salvation.”
That’s is, they are “sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation,” (CSB).
This means that angels are sent to minister to us just as they were sent to minister to Jesus.
[ILLUS] Elijah was one of those inheritors of salvation as he looked forward in faith to coming of the promised Savior. In 1 Kings 18, he faithfully stood against the prophets of Baal, but then he was threatened by Baal’s biggest supporter, the King of Judah’s wife—Jezebel.
He ran for his life—a day’s journey into the wilderness, and then he asked the Lord to let him die. Then God dispatched one of His ministering spirits…
5 He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat.” 6 Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 The angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 8 So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Elijah was cared for by this angel in practical ways and then strengthened to continue his God-given mission.
Likewise, Jesus was almost certainly cared for in practical ways by those angels that came to minister to Him after His wilderness temptation, and then He too was surely strengthened to continue His God-given mission.
[APP] If we belong to God—if we have trusted in Jesus as our sacrifice, as our Savior, as our Lord—if we are the inheritors of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected—then we can expect that God will send His ministering spirits to care for us in practical ways and strengthen us for our God-given mission.
But—and this our third point tonight—we won’t always know that God has sent His angels to minister to us.
But—and this our third point tonight—we won’t always know that God has sent His angels to minister to us.
Hebrews 13:2 says that we must not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
In the same way, I believe we have often been helped by angels without knowing it.
[ILLUS] The Arameans (a.k.a., the Syrians) once plotted to capture the prophet Elisha. When Elisha’s assistant looked, he saw the Syrian army with horses and chariots circling the city. In a panic, he asked Elisha, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
Elisha replied, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them,” (2 Kings 6:16).
Perhaps, though, Elisha could tell that his assistant wasn’t quite persuaded, so…
17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
What did Elisha’s assistant see? He saw the heavenly army of angelic warriors that he wasn’t aware of before.
They were there before he saw them, but he wasn’t aware of them.
[APP] I think it is that way for us most of the time. We don’t see angels, but even though we are unaware of them, God has them there ministering to us in our times of need.
If God would open our eyes to see tonight, I believe that we would see His ministering spirits here with us now strengthening and encouraging us as we study His Word.
I believe that if God would open our eyes to see behind the scenes of our greatest trials, we would see that He sent His angels to comfort us, provide for us, and strengthen us.
I believe that God especially sends His angels to minister to us after we have been sorely tempted and yet have remained faithful.
And that’s our fourth point tonight—God especially sends His ministering spirits to comfort the faithful.
And that’s our fourth point tonight—God especially sends His ministering spirits to comfort the faithful.
Elijah was faithful before the prophets of Baal, and God sent an angel to comfort him.
Elisha was faithful before the Syrian army, and God sent an angel army to protect him.
Jesus was perfectly faithful in the wilderness of His temptation, and the angels came and ministered to Him.
Resisting temptation and staying faithful to God is a trial that may leave us tired, hungry, and discouraged.
But if we are faithful, we can be assured that God will send His ministering spirits to minister to us.
We may not be aware of His angels; we may not even be aware of their ministry to us, but God’s word assures us of their presence and through them, His comfort.
[APP] Brothers, where are you being tempted?
Are you tempted to doubt God’s goodness to you?
Are you tempted to doubt God’s power to save? His ability to heal? His willingness to provide for you?
Are you tempted to question God’s wisdom and do things your own way? Are you tempted to lean on your own understanding?
Are you tempted toward impatience with your wife? Are you tempted to exasperate your children?
Are you tempted toward lust? Are you tempted by pornography?
Are you tempted to distract yourself with the things of the world rather than seeking first the Kingdom of Heaven and its righteousness?
Are you tempted to be anxious? Are you tempted to be angry? Are you tempted by pride? By bitterness? By envy? By laziness?
No matter our temptation, God has said in His Word…
13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
And when you do faithfully endure the temptation, resisting sin just as Jesus did for you in the wilderness, God will send His angels to minister to you.
Conclusion
Conclusion
But—and this is my last point tonight—God doesn’t just send His angels to minister to us after the temptation; He also sends them to strengthen us during the temptation.
But—and this is my last point tonight—God doesn’t just send His angels to minister to us after the temptation; He also sends them to strengthen us during the temptation.
This wilderness temptation that Jesus faced in Matthew 4 wasn’t the last time Jesus resisted sin for us. Luke concludes his version of that episode in this way…
13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.
There may have been many opportune times when Satan tempted Jesus, but a final one was in the Garden in Gethsemane when Jesus prayed…
42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”
It wasn’t fear of the cross that tempted Jesus.
It wasn’t fear of man or fear of what might happen to His followers.
It was the fear of becoming sin, the very thing that God hates; the very thing had separated God from man in the Garden of Eden so long ago.
In this moment, I believe that Satan was there tempting Jesus.
But Luke 22:43 says…
43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.
Why did the angel strengthen Jesus? Because the temptation was severe…
44 And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.
Strengthened by this ministering spirit, Jesus once again resisted this temptation and went to the cross to die for our sins.
Perhaps the author of Hebrews has this in mind when he calls us to resist temptation by considering Jesus…
3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;
God sends His ministering spirits to not only comfort us after we’ve resisted temptation, but He also sends them to us to strengthen us as we resist temptation.
So, resist, brothers! Resist every temptation to sin!
Resist with such an intensity that, if necessary, your sweat becomes like drops of blood!
Resist like Jesus! Resist by looking to Jesus!
And know that as you do, God has His angels there strengthening you, and they’ll be there afterward to comfort you as well.
[PRAYER]
