Testing & Temptation - Matt. 4:1-11

Good morning!

It is good to be with all of you again, especially since I have been out of the pulpit for the last two weeks.

And I am grateful for Dennis and for Seth who faithfully filled in while I was away.

And while the time away was good, it is even better to be back with you because I love you and I love opening God’s word with you

So let’s all take out our Bibles and turn to Matthew 4.

If you do not have a Bible, there should be one under a seat nearby.

But let’s all make sure that we have our eyes on a copy of God’s word, because we are a church that is anchored on God’s word, so we take it very seriously.

Last week, in chapter 3, we saw Jesus being baptized

Matthew told us that after coming up out of the water, the Spirit of God descended on him, anointing him for his earthly ministry, and God the Father speaks from heaven, declaring, “This is my son in whom I am well pleased.”

So in chapter 3, Jesus’ identity as the Son of God was declared by God

And now in chapter 4, we will see that identity tested by Satan

Now, before we get to the text, I want to make sure we are all on the same page about temptation.

James tells us in James 1 that temptation is directly linked with desire

I am tempted because something is enticing

I am not tempted by things I don’t want

I am tempted when there is something that I want that isn’t good for me, it isn’t right right, but I desire it anyway

And this temptation comes from three different places:

My own flesh - There are things that in my human, sinful nature I just naturally desire

They comes from within me as I war against the flesh and its sinful desires

The world - There are things that the world says I should want and when I am in the world enough and when I listen to the voices of the world enough, I start to want what the world says I should want

Satan - Satan and his demons are fallen angels and if Angels are messengers of God’s word and ministers to God’s people, then Satan and his demons are manipulators of God’s word and they tempters God’s people.

And these three areas of temptation, my flesh, the world, and Satan, all work together to divide my heart according to the things that I desire

And I find myself wanting things that God does not want for me

And I find myself being pulled in two directions: One direction toward sin and the other toward God

And it is a fight!

At least, it should be

This is why Paul says in Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

And if we are to win the fight, to overcome temptation, we need to see what it looks like to resist temptation and we need to follow that pattern.

And Jesus, as his identity is tested through temptation, will show us how he conquers temptation, and it will give us a pattern to follow as well for conquering temptation in our own lives.

So let’s give these words our full attention.

Matthew 4:1–11 ESV

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.’ ” 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.

These are God’s words for us

Big Idea: By conquering temptation, Jesus proves His identity and secures our victory. [7:00]

Now, before we get into the details, I want to make sure that we are all on the same page about something

This temptation that Jesus faces is not a random event - It is a necessary event that has been coming since the beginning of time.

If you remember in Genesis 1-2, God created a good world and made mankind in his image, to be a reflection of him, stewarding creation as they lived in full submission to God and his way.

But in Genesis 3, the man and the woman are tempted by Satan to question God's word and desire for themselves something other than what God had commanded

They were tempted to not submit to God, but instead to replace him by becoming gods of their own lives, determining for themselves right and wrong so they would no longer need God's word but could just live however they wanted.

And the consequence of that was that brokenness and sin and death came into the world.

And every person who descended from them inherited this same brokenness and sin and death.

But God promised in the garden that he would send an offspring of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent

And so the question is: How will he crush the serpent’s head?

It will have to begin by him facing the same temptation by the same adversary from the beginning where it all went wrong.

Where Adam and Eve failed, the promised son would have to conquer

This is why Paul calls Jesus the second Adam

Where the first Adam failed and brought a curse on the world

The second Adam, Jesus, would succeed and undo that curse.

So Jesus begins the process of crushing the head of the serpent by conquering temptation, thus proving his identity as the son of God and securing our victory as his followers.

And in this passage we are going to see 4 actions that Jesus takes to conquer temptation

And they are 4 actions that we also must take if we are to resist temptation in Jesus’ name.

[Outline]: Jesus conquers by:

Submitting to God’s Sovereign Leading (1) [10:00]

Look at v. 1

Matthew 4:1 “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”

The same spirit that descended on Jesus to anoint him for his ministry is the spirit that leads Jesus out into the wilderness

For the express purpose of being tempted by Satan.

He is led by God according to God’s sovereign plan

Now this might be surprising to you - that God would lead his son into the wilderness for the express purpose of being tempted.

To make sense out of this we need to look more closely at the word Matthew uses for tempted.

The word tempted here can be translated a few of ways - Tempted, tested, prove, try

The word itself is a greek word that means “discovering the true nature of something”

Like testing precious metals with heat to find out how pure they are

God is leading Jesus to face temptation because it will reveal the true nature of Jesus

That he is able to conquer where everyone else has failed.

And listen: God allows us to face temptations too.

He does not tempt us with sin, but he does in his sovereign wisdom allow temptations to come

Because in the testing of our faith it reveals the true nature of our faith

When I am tempted to sin, how I respond to that temptation speaks volumes about the state of my faith

It gives me insight into where I need to grow, where I am vulnerable, where I need help, where I need accountability, how I need to be praying and how I need to be asking people to pray for me.

Jesus was led into temptation to reveal the true nature of his identity as the Son of God

And when you and I are tempted, the true nature of our own hearts are revealed.

I can assure you that the true measure of your faith and the true test of the status of your relationship with Jesus is not measured by how you look when you're around other believers and you know how to act and how to speak.

The true test of the state of your faith is revealed when you are by yourself and you are tempted.

So just ask yourself: How and where have I been tempted recently?

And how have I responded?

And what does that say about where you are at in following Jesus?

If I am constantly giving in to temptation in that area of my life - It reveals that I need help! I need accountability! I need prayer. I need to tell other believers that I am struggling, because I can’t fight this battle alone.

I am not doing nearly as well as everyone thinks I am doing, and I have to stop living the lie and keeping my struggle in the dark

I have to bring it into the light and expose it so that I can grow past it.

But listen: When you are tempted and you resist it, it reveals how God is growing you to desire what he wants for you and it validates the work of the Spirit in your life.

And it should motivate you to continue to pursue sanctification because God is faithful to conform you to the image of his Son.

Temptations will come

But we can face temptation knowing that in God’s sovereign leading it will reveal the true nature of our faith.

So that is the first way. The second way that Jesus conquers is by…

Relying on God’s Sustaining Grace (2) [15:00]

Matthew gives us some details that would be very easy to breeze over, but we must not do that.

Matthew tells us that after fasting, Jesus was hungry.

I hear people say something like “Well of course Jesus could resist temptation and live a sinless life. He was God.”

But that commits what one theologian calls the “Superman heresy”

You remember Superman - He was from another planet and pretended to be a human, Clark Kent

But when things needed super powers, Superman came to the rescue, not Clark.

He had special powers no one knew about and he would tap into them when the situation called for it.

And if you have ever said, “Of course Jesus could do it - He was God” then you have expressed a Superman view of Jesus.

That though he appeared to be human, he could just tap into his divine powers to make being a human easier.

While Jesus is, has always been, and will forever be God, when he took on flesh and walked among us he became truly, fully human.

So he was and has always been truly and fully God

And he also became truly and fully human

This is what we call the doctrine of the two natures of Christ

In the one person, Jesus Christ, two natures are united

But not confused or compromised

So what does this mean for the temptation of Jesus?

It means that the temptation that Jesus experienced as a person was a true and full human temptation

Yes, Jesus could have tapped into his divine power to make being human easier, but he didn’t.

Remember what he said to Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane when Peter tried to keep Jesus from being arrested?

Matthew 26:53–54 “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled…?”

He is saying, “Don’t you know I have to power to do anything I want? But I have a mission and so I won’t use that power to get in the way of the mission.

Jesus was fully God and fully man, but he chose not to exercise his divine rights

SO THAT HE WOULD TRULY LIVE A HUMAN LIFE!

And because he truly lived like us and was tempted like us, he can truly sympathize with our weaknesses as the one who was truly and fully tempted, yet without sin.

So how did he endure as a human?

By depending on the grace of God to sustain him

Matthew tells us that his fast lasted for 40 days and 40 nights

And this should recall to our memory the various people in the Old Testament who depended on God for similar periods of time

Noah and his family in the Ark for 40 days

Moses on Sinai fasting for 40 days

Elijah at Mount Horeb, fasting for 40 days

Israel wandering in the wilderness for 40 years

And what does God say to Israel about that time of wandering?

Your clothes and your shoes did not wear out and you had food to eat and water to drink

Why? Because the Lord was looking after you.

Nehemiah, remembering israel’s wandering for 40 years, prays:

Nehemiah 9:21 “Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing..”

Matthew intends for us to remember God’s sustaining grace for his people and to know that God is sustaining Jesus in his humanity as well.

And because Jesus was truly tempted like us, then when we are tempted we can rely on the same sustaining grace to endure, because we know that Jesus can sympathize with our weaknesses..

While we might not be without sin like Jesus, we have been set free from the power of sin by Jesus

And the grace of God will sustain us in temptation, if we will depend on it, just like Jesus did.

The third way that Jesus conquers is by

Trusting God’s Infallible Word (3-10) [20:00]

Now, Matthew devotes most of this passage to this issue, so we are going to camp out here for a bit.

A common misinterpretation and misapplication of this temptation narrative is that Jesus conquers temptation simply by quoting scripture.

While that certainly is true of his actions, it is not true that the means by which he conquers temptation is simply quoting scripture.

Consider for a moment:

Adam and Eve knew God’s command and could quote them, but they gave in to temptation

Israel knew God’s commands and they could quote them, but they gave in to temptation many times

So the knowledge of scripture and the ability to quote scripture are not the necessary preconditions to conquering temptation.

No, Jesus does not fight temptation by quoting scripture

Jesus fights temptation by submitting scripture and that's why he quotes it.

When you and I are tempted, our only defense against temptation is for us to be submitted to what God's word says rather than submitting to what the flesh wants.

And the result is that we will be guarded against temptation.

And we see three specific temptations in this passage that trusting God’s infallible word guards against:

God’s word guards against:

The Temptation of Self-Sufficiency (3-4)

Matthew 4:3 “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

Notice, God said, “This is my son”

And now Satan implies - “Is that really true?”

Listen: Temptation is often rooted in a question about your identity

Doubt your identity in Christ and you will look for your identity in other things

Relationships, money, success, a bigger house, a nicer car.

And the first step in doubting your identity is to look at what you lack.

This temptation is essentially Satan saying “Aren't you God’s son? Why would God let his own son go hungry? You really need to look out for yourself because it really doesn't seem like God's providing what you need. I guess he must not love you.”

When we are tempted to look at what we lack and from that draw conclusions about who God is, we are lured and enticed by the temptation of self-sufficiency.

And we will then prioritize the pursuit of those things we lack

When money is tight, I doubt God’s provision, so I make my focus the earning of money

When I am single, I doubt God’s care for me because I am lonely, so I make getting married the focus of my life.

When I am insecure, I doubt God’s approval of me, so I make success the way that I measure my worth.

In things like these, what is happening is my physical and worldly wants and needs become primary and my spiritual needs take a back seat.

The temptation of self-sufficiency starts with doubting God’s goodness and provision

And it takes the form of taking things into your own hands when God hasn’t delivered what you thought he would.

And Jesus’ responds to the temptation of self-sufficiency by saying

Matthew 4:4 “But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ””

This is a quotation from Deut. 8, when Moses is recounting when the people of Israel were hungry in the wilderness.

They were grumbling that things were better back in Egypt in slavery because at least they had food to eat and so they despised the fact that God had set them free.

This is the temptation of self-sufficiency, to ignore what God has done for you, to blame God for what you don’t have, to not depend on him for what you need, and to take matters into your own hands to get those things

It is the temptation to neglect God’s ways because you desire other things more.

And the way to resist temptation is to recognize that the most important thing in my life is what God says, not what I want.

My physical needs and wants do not take priority over God’s commands for my life

I must not trade faithfulness to God for a loaf of bread.

Church family, listen to me: The best way for you to wreck your home and ruin your marriages and estrange your children is to care most about your career and finances and material possessions and the pursuit of more.

Because you will start living for those things instead of living for God’s glory and everyone that God has placed in your life will have to live through the collateral damage of deprioritizing God’s way for the pursuit of lesser things..

The way to fight against the temptation of self-sufficiency is pursue becoming more dependent on God, not less

To care more about what he says than what your heart wants.

Jesus conquered the temptation of self-sufficiency by valuing God’s word above physical needs.

When we follow his pattern, we can do the same.

The Temptation of Self-Interest (5-7)

The second temptation that Jesus faces is to twist scripture in order to manipulate God's promises out of self interest.

Look at what Satan says:

Matthew 4:5–6 “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.’ ”

He is quoting here from Psalm 91…

But Psalm 91 is a song about God's faithfulness to protect his people when they are attacked by their enemies.

That when you fear the Lord no one else can harm you, because God will protect you

It is not a psalm about doing reckless things and God has no choice but to protect you.

But the temptation of self-interest entices us to twist Scripture to gain some kind of self-advantage.

It is all too common for people, in the pursuit of the desires of their hearts, to misquote, misuse, and abuse Scripture to pursue their own ends.

And they always have a verse to justify whatever selfish, evil thing they are trying to do.

A friend of mine often says, “Every heretic has a verse.”

What does that mean?

It means that every person who ever taught something false about God and his purposes used a verse in the Bible to do it.

When a preacher on TV claims that God will make you rich if you give money to his ministry and then he quotes scripture to justify it, that is the manipulation of scripture in the name of self-interest

When leaders and churches use Scripture to justify same-sex marriage or transgenderism or any other distortion of God’s purposes in gender and marriage, that is the manipulation of God's word in the pursuit of self-interest

And someone might say: What do you mean “self-interest”? Isn't that love?

Yes: Love of self.

Claiming to be a Christian but not wanting the world to get mad at you

Wanting all of the benefits but none of the sacrifice.

Thinking that the opinions of the world determine the approval of God.

Self-interest, in the name of love.

And the way that Jesus responds to the manipulation of scripture is other scripture that brings clarity.

Matthew 4:7 “Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ””

Jesus combats the twisting of Scripture by quoting other Scripture.

The best interpreter of Scripture is Scripture

The best way to combat the twisting of Scripture is to allow Scripture to bring clarity

When the preacher tells you that God will make you rich if you give to his ministry, Peter’s words in 1 Peter 5 confront that self-interest when he says that church leaders should not be pursuing financial gain.

When someone twists Scripture to justify same-sex marriage and transgenderism and related ideas…

They will often appeal to verses like Galatians 3:28 “there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

But when we allow the whole bible to speak to the issue:

God made them male and female in the garden, when things we the way they were supposed to be

Jesus affirms this in Matthew 19 as the pattern for human relationships, so he upholds the intended design

And Paul distinguishes between genders in issues of marriage and church roles in 1 Cor chapters 7, 11, and 14, and in 1 Tim 2 and Titus 2

And Peter distinguishes between men and women in the home in 1 Pet. 3.

So the rest of Scripture maintains the distinction of male and female, so what Paul says about there being neither male nor female in Gal. 3, he isn’t saying that gender doesn’t matter anymore in human relationships.

He is saying that salvation is for all, regardless of what lines of distinction the world might try to draw.

It is too easy for self-interest to drive how we use our Bibles, but we can guard against it letting all of Scripture inform our thoughts.

And as a church anchored on God’s word, we protect ourselves from the temptation of twisting Scripture for self-interest by knowing what the whole bible says and submitting to it.

The Temptation of Self-Exaltation (8-10)

Look at v. 8-9

Matthew 4:8–9 “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.”

The temptation here is to have your own kingdom rather than God’s kingdom.

Reject God’s kingdom

Build your own and have a great life.

That’s the temptation.

But I want you to notice something: Satan can’t actually make good on this promise.

He doesn’t have the authority.

The world will promise you all kinds of benefits and blessings if you will just go along with with them and forget about God’s way.

It is so tempting to pursue your own kingdom to make your own name great, but it won’t deliver what the world says it will deliver

Jesus knows this and responds by saying…

Matthew 4:10 “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.’ ””

While the promises of Satan and the world never come through, God’s word is infallible - It will never fail.

When you and I worship God alone and him only we serve, our lives will be exactly what God intends for us - Living for his glory by following his word

And enjoying his blessing.

Satan and the world can’t deliver on their promises, but God always does.

Jesus conquered the temptation of self-exaltation by doing things God’s way for God’s glory

So it is for us as well.

And the last action for conquering temptation, Jesus conquers by:

Receiving God’s Tender Care (11) [37:00]

Matthew makes two brief statements without unpacking them, but they are significant for us

First he tells us that Satan left him.

The only power that Satan has in temptation is the power that you give him by giving in.

Jesus resisted temptation, commanded Satan to leave, and Satan has no choice but to obey.

And James says that when we resist the devil, he will flee

That doesn’t mean that all temptation disappears, because our flesh and the world still tempt us,

but it does reinforce that Satan has no power where power is not granted.

So Satan flees…

But Jesus is not left alone.

Next, Matthew tells us that Angels came and we were ministering to him

Why does the son of God, the one who commands angels, need angels to minister to him??

Because he faced a truly human temptation and so he then receives the same care that God provides for human beings.

Angels are spiritual beings that minister to God’s people

They didn’t used to be humans

They have always been angels - Totally different beings that exist to bring God’s word and help God’s people.

And when Jesus took on flesh, they ministered to him as well.

And listen: When you and I are weary from life and the battle against temptation, God’s angels minister to us as well.

We should never worship angels

We should never pray to angels

We should never be infatuated with angels

But we should also never act as if they do not serve God purposes

They served his purposes here with Jesus as they cared for him

They serve his purposes now as they care for us

[CONCLUSION]

One theologian who I read is Craig Keener, and he wrote this: “Disciples are destined for testing, but Jesus, their forerunner, has gone before them and shown them how to overcome.”

Jesus conquered by…

Submitting to God’s sovereign leading

Relying on God’s sustaining grace

Trusting in God’s infallible word

Receiving God’s tender care

That is how Jesus proves his identity and secures our victory.

That is how we can follow him as we fight temptation as well.

Amen

[40:00]

Communion

Bread and cup - Reminder of Jesus’ body and blood

This does not save you and there is nothing special about the bread and cup, but it is the Spirit’s presence in us that makes this a significant means of God’s grace in us.

For believers (visitors, guests) - If not a believer…

We must be careful how we take this

Do not mock the cross by taking the bread and cup while living in conflict with God or one another

Repent of ongoing sin

Reconcile with one another

Then take the bread and the cup as a reminder of what Christ paid to purchase our forgiveness and reconciliation.

Two cups - Gluten Free Option

Lower sections - Back sections

We are going to sing a new song - It is a great reminder of sustaining grace of God through Jesus as we face temptation in this life

The band will sing over us as we come and get the elements and then we will sing together after we have taken the bread and the cup

1 Cor. 11