The Wilderness of the Son of God
The Gospel of Matthew • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
Connection:
Only faithful and noble Kings are worthy of following! If the King can’t defeat the foe—then the people shouldn’t follow Him. But if the King knows how to wield the sword, then he can rally the troops and bring them safely to victory! We must rally around the King!
Theme:
The Wilderness of the Son of God
Need:
To behold the victorious King in all his beauty, and to follow Him in righteousness as he rides forth in his conquest and kingdom.
Purpose:
To prove that Jesus is the victorious Son, the true Israel, the faithful Adam, and the conquering King—to comfort the saints in Christ’s fulfilling of all righteousness where we have failed—and to exhort the church to follow our King’s example with the Sword of the Spirit!
Recap:
Last Sunday we saw how Jesus was baptized as the representative Savior of Sinners, and how he was anointed as the King of the Kingdom. Jesus is the true Son and Israel of God—who brings the Kingdom of heaven for all who repent and believe. Just as Israel was called out of Egypt, passed through the waters of the Red Sea, and then was tested in the wilderness for forty years—so too does Jesus come out of Egypt, passing through the waters of Baptism, and is now tested for forty days in the wilderness. This morning we are going to see how Jesus conquers where Israel failed—and how we can join the Army of Christ by the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Open your Bibles to:
Matt. 4:1-11 ESV
PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY
(1) Christ our King is led by the Spirit and lives by every Word - v. 1-4
(1) Christ our King is led by the Spirit and lives by every Word - v. 1-4
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.’ ”
(1) Christ our King is led by the Spirit and lives by every Word - v. 1-4
(1) Christ our King is led by the Spirit and lives by every Word - v. 1-4
Immediately after the Baptism of the Son of God, there was a wilderness to follow. Immediately after his public annointing as King, there was a trial and temptation to come. Immediately after communion with God—there was combat with the devil. And so after the Spirit descended upon Christ, Jesus was led by the Spirit of God into the frontlines.
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Though God cannot tempt us to sin—he will at times lead us into trials as we face sin. Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness, as Abraham was led up by God to Mount Moriah. Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness of testing—just as Israel was tested in the wilderness after the Red Sea.
It was in isolation, solitude, and privacy that Satan came against Jesus with his fiercest attacks, with his fiery darts, with his sharpest arrows (Eph. 6). If we must be alone—we must doubly watch and pray, lest we enter into temptation. For the flesh is weak, but the Spirit is willing (Matt. 27:41). But our King wasn’t just in the wilderness being tested, he was also fasting in prayer:
2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
No doubt he was hungry! This was a miraculous fast. Don’t recommend. This is not for our example! This was to prove the divinity of Christ—and to show his incredible victory against the Devil. Notice that it was in fasting that Christ overcame the evil one—for fasting is a means to be filling with the power and presence of the Lord, to be mighty in the Spirit, valiant in battle, and prepared for Kingdom duties. After his public annointing, he went to fast and pray in communion with God, to be alone, as he prepared for the onslaughts of his Gospel labours. Communion with God must precede service for God. Before we do anything great for the Lord, we must first be alone with the Lord.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
We must be strengthened with power through his Spirit before we can bear the fruits of the Spirit in service. Unction from heaven precedes blessings on earth. But notice that Jesus was fasting for forty days and forty nights. Who else did such a thing in the OT? Moses at Mount Sinai—and Elijah at Mount Horeb (Ex. 34:28; 1 Kings 19:18). Here is Jesus, whom the Law and the Prophets both looked forward to—and he takes up the ultimate task of fasting and prayer in preparation for His Kingdom work (Jn. 1:32; 6:15).
The 1st Adam failed the temptation of Satan in the Garden, the people of Israel failed the testing in the wilderness and had to wander for forty years—but Jesus as the true and better Adam, as the true and better Israel, as the true and better Moses, as the true and better Elijah—he comes to face the dragon, to slay him, and to trample him underfoot (Rom. 5; Gen. 3:15; Matt. 12). And so, let’s pick up with the first temptation from the tempter:
3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
The first temptation was that of self-reliance and distrust in His Father’s provision—which would lead Jesus to prioritize the body over the soul. Last Sunday we saw that Jesus was declared to be the Son of God as he was anointed with the Spirit from on high. Jesus is the Son in whom his Father is well pleased (Matt. 3:17). And so Satan’s first temptation is to try and wreak havoc on Christ’s relationship with his Father. If you are the Son of God.
How do you know you are the Son of the Father, Jesus? Prove it by showing your divine power. Instead of trusting your Father’s Word and Provision—use your own strength and power to display your sonship. And in so doing, don’t trust in your Father—but trust in your own power. Satan’s fiery dart was directly aimed at overthrowing the Son in his confidence and dependance upon the Father. And this is how Satan works as he attacks the sons of God in the church:
Henry: The great thing Satan aims at, in tempting good people, is to overthrow their relation to God as a Father, and so to cut off their dependence on him, their duty to him, and their communion with him. The good Spirit, as the Comforter of the brethren, witnesses that they are the children of God; the evil spirit, as the accuser of the brethren, does all he can to shake that testimony
We must not give in to Satan’s crafty schemes—we must conquer him by the Word and Spirit, just as our King did!
When Satan tempts us to doubt or unbelief, to lust or coveting, to sinful anger, to pride or self-reliance, to slothfulness or lukewarmness. We must trust in our Father, in his Word, and in His Provision. Notice how Jesus responds to this first attack:
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.’ ”
Spurgeon: Out flashed the sword of the Spirit: our Lord will fight with no other weapon. He could have spoken new revelations, but he chose to say, “It is written.” There is a power in the Word of God which even the devil cannot deny.
The heavens can declare the glory of God, but IT IS WRITTEN can conquer the prince of darkness (Ps. 19). Jesus didn’t wait for an impression. Jesus didn’t try to discern a sign in the sky. Jesus didn’t mystically wait to hear a voice in his head. Jesus went straight to the Scriptures. Jesus went straight to the living Word of God. Jesus went straight for the doubled-edged-sword-of-the-Spirit (Heb. 4; Eph. 6).
IT IS WRITTEN was his battle cry, and IT IS WRITTEN must be ours too. If the Son of God lived by Scripture alone, and by all of Scripture—then surely we must too. If the Son of God lives by the voice of God written—then surely we must too. We must not add or take away from the Book—we must live by all that is written!
To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.
Oh let us see our King conquering the evil one with the Sword of the Spirit and the Shield of Faith! And let us pick up our arms and follow Him into battle! Let us read, hear, understand, cherish, meditate, memorize, delight in, and live by every Word of Holy Scripture!
I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me!
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Israel of old was tested in the wilderness. Would they trust God’s Word for miraculous provision of Manna in his timing, according to his law and promise? Or would they take things into their own hand (Deut. 8:1-4)? And so Jesus, as the True Israel of God passes the test. He keeps the commandments of YHWH. He loved the Lord his God with all his heart. Jesus triumphed!
Carson: Israel’s hunger had been intended to show them that hearing and obeying the word of God is the most important thing in life (Deut 8:2–3). Likewise Jesus learned obedience through suffering as a son (Heb 3:5–6; 5:7–8). More necessary than bread for Jesus was obedience to God’s Word.
Jesus conquered by IT IS WRITTEN. But you have to know what is written, is order to resist the evil one when he tempts you to sin. It is our ignorance of Scripture that keeps us back from being victorious against the devil’s schemes. Let WHAT IS WRITTEN be stored up in our hearts so that the Sword of the Spirit is in our hands, ready for use when the evil one attacks.
Ephesians 6:17 (ESV)
and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.
And when we do fall, and sin—we run to our Lord who was tempted in all ways, yet without sin, that he might sympathize with us in our weakness, build up back up, and send us forth into battle (Heb. 4). The victory of Christ in fulfilling all righteousness is your righteousness before the Father. Jesus obeyed to make you right with God—so plunge yourself in His mercy, repent and believe afresh, and find renewed strength in His mission as you jump back into the battle grounds.
(1) Christ our King is led by the Spirit and lives by every Word - v. 1-4
This leads us to our second point as we see the second temptation from the one who twists the Word of God:
(2) Christ our King is skilled in the Scripture and refutes the Twister - v. 5-7
(2) Christ our King is skilled in the Scripture and refutes the Twister - v. 5-7
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.’ ”
(2) Christ our King is skilled in the Scripture and refutes the Twister - v. 5-7
(2) Christ our King is skilled in the Scripture and refutes the Twister - v. 5-7
The first temptation was toward a distrust of the Father’s provision, and a neglect of the Father’s Word. The second temptation is an attempt to cause Jesus to presume upon his Father and to abuse the promises 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.’ ”
With the first attempt of causing Jesus to sin being resisted—Satan tries to use his own weapon against him. Jesus quotes from Scripture, and so Satan twists Scripture and comes as an angel of light. Jesus fought with IT IS WRITTEN, so Satan tries to use the very same weapon against him.
Note that Satan’s greatest scheme is to cause you to have a misunderstanding of the Word of God. If he knows you believe the Word, he is going to try and make you misunderstand the Word. Satan’s greatest weapon is the Bible. Satan will whisper Scripture in your ear. Satan will speak the Word to you. He will lead you to false teaching, to wolves in a sheep’s clothing—or he will deceive you by tampering with the Word to make it say what you want it to say. False assurance is Satan’s greatest delight. He wants to steal you away from a pure and sincere devotion to the Word of Christ. Hear the Apostle Paul:
Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak,
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
And so Satan quotes from Ps. 91:11-12. But he left out four words. And his omission of four words turned a promise of God’s protection for the righteous—into a presumption of God’s protection in one’s wickedness. The original says God will command his angels concerning you to guard you in ALL YOUR WAYS. In your righteous ways! In the way of the Lord! He protects the righteous! But Satan skips that part and says he will protect you in your foolishness. Throw yourself off from this high place, harm yourself, fail to steward your body—which in essence is failing to honour the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit—and so Satan was tempting Jesus to sin by presuming upon the protection of God, by abusing a promise of God, any by twisting the Word of God. Oh, and he also forgot that Ps. 91 promises that Jesus will trample the serpent underfoot! Yikes! The very Psalm that Satan quotes is the one that prophecies his fall and demise. What a foolish enemy, appearing as an angel of light, as the twister of the Word of God! Beware of his schemes, even today:
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
2 Peter 3:16–17 (ESV)
The ignorant and unstable twist [the Word] their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.
What is Satan’s sharpest weapon in his arsenal? False teachers, immature Christians, and phony pastors—as he deludes them with false understanding of Scripture, to tempt them to think that they are obeying Scripture, when in reality they are living in falsehood, and ungodliness. Beloved, we must always test the spirits—and we must always check Scripture with Scripture, lest we think we know Scripture, when in reality we know nothing. And so Jesus shows us how to counter Satan’s scheme of twisting the Word of God. What does he do? He let’s Scripture interpret Scripture—not his logic, not his reason, not his intuition, not his tradition, not his church, not youtube, not tik tok—he let’s Scripture interpret Scripture as the highest authority and supreme Judge of all of faith and obedience:
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
How did Jesus, and how do we, counter Satan’s misuse of: IT IS WRITTEN? By responding, AGAIN IT IS WRITTEN! When Satan abuses Scripture, we refute with Scripture. Satan said, throw yourself off this high place and let God save you—so Jesus responds, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test! We are not to sin and presume upon God’s blessing and protection. We aren’t to tempt God. We aren’t to demand things of God. We aren’t to go beyond what is written, for that is sinful pride and foolishness (1 Cor. 4:6).
Satan tempted Adam by saying, has God really said? And here Satan temps Jesus by saying, has God really said? Adam should have crushed Satan in the Garden by the Word of God—but he failed. Yet Jesus is victorious! He responds with unwavering confidence in Holy Scripture. Be gone Satan! His Word is more sure than by reason, tradition, or experience. On Scripture alone I rest my plea!
Presumption and false confidence is Satan’s second temptation. But as Jesus said elsewhere, “The Scripture cannot be Broken” (Jn. 10:35). Which Scripture says:
The sum of your word is truth,
and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
God is truth. His Word is truth. And we need to be sanctified in the truth. So let us conquer the evil one, following the train of our King, as we learn to refute error with the living Word of Truth—so that we don’t presume with a false hope upon a false understanding of Scripture. Let us not test the Lord our God by demanding things of him, or by hypocrisy, or false confidence. Some examples of this today are given by one commentator:
Hendrickson: Daily life all around us affords abundant illustrations of false confidence, similar to that which the devil urged Jesus to exercise. A person will earnestly beseech the Lord to bestow upon him the blessing of health; however, he neglects to observe the rules of health. Or, he will ask God to save his soul; however, he neglects to use the means of grace, such as the study of Scripture, church attendance, the sacraments, living a life for the benefit of others to the glory of God. Again, someone will plead with the Lord for the spiritual as well as physical welfare of his children, but he himself neglects to bring them up in the way of the Lord.
God has promised his blessings, as we seek his face—not as he walk in sin and presumption. It is only as we seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness, that we are promised God’s provision and blessings (Matt. 6:33)—not while we are indulging in sin and falsehood.
How can we come to true knowledge of the Word? By diving head first into the voice of the Spirit in Scripture, which can only be understood through diligent prayer, study, fellowship, and the fear of the Lord:
My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
Let this be true of us—so that we can resist the attacks of the father of lies. Let us follow the example of our Glorious King.
(2) Christ our King is skilled in the Scripture and refutes the Twister - v. 5-7
The second temptation was to twist Scripture and to test the Lord our God. Now we come to our third point and the final temptation:
(3) Christ our King is focused on Mission and rejects false Worship - v. 8-11
(3) Christ our King is focused on Mission and rejects false Worship - v. 8-11
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.
(3) Christ our King is focused on Mission and rejects false Worship - v. 8-11
(3) Christ our King is focused on Mission and rejects false Worship - v. 8-11
The first temptation was to distrust God and his Word—the second temptation was to abuse and misapply God and his Word—and the third temptation is to get what God has promised in his Word, by taking shortcuts. The temptation was in essence to get a crown, without a cross. But the Scriptural pattern universally is the cross, before the cross—suffering, then glory. But here Satan says, have the glory! Without the suffering. Look at his 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.”
We often read this temptation in this way: Satan was tempting Jesus to divert his mission to something altogether different than what he came for. Jesus came to bring salvation. Satan tempts him to get the world. But I don’t think this is what is going on here. If we were familiar with WHAT IS WRITTEN, we would know that the Messiah was promised the kingdoms of the world and their glory:
When the Son of God arrives as the Conquering King—the ends of the earth would be his possession (Ps. 2); the ends of the earth would turn to worship the Lord (Ps. 22); he would bring salvation and justice to all the peoples of the earth, by the law and gospel, making them glad in the Gospel (Ps. 67); he would have dominion from sea to sea, from the River, and to the ends of the earth (Ps. 72); he would reign from the right hand of the Father until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet (Ps. 110); all the nations of the earth would be blessed in Him, and the knowledge of the glory of the Lord would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14); the nations would flock to the Church to hear the Gospel and live according to His Law (Isa. 2); his kingdom would start small but progressively fill the earth, crushing the kingdoms of men and bringing the peoples into his kingdom (Dan. 2; 7). These prophecies go on and on and on.
Satan knew that Jesus came to bring the kingdom of heaven, which would conquer and prevail in the earth, before his second coming and the end of world history (Isa. 11; 42; Rom. 11; 15). But what the Jews missed, and what Satan was temping Jesus to forget, was that the King who would bring a victorious Kingdom, is the same King who would be the Suffering Servant who wins redemption by the blood of his cross (Gen. 22; Ps. 22; Isa. 53; Dan. 9; Zech. 12).
France: A universal dominion over all peoples is a theme of some OT hopes for the people of God or their royal Messiah (Pss 2:8; 72:8–11; Dan 7:13–14; Zech 9:10), but the proposed route to this goal by prostration before God’s enemy strikes a new and obviously unacceptable note. [Instead of the crown by the cross, Satan tempted Jesus to go straight to the crown].
And so Satan, as the god of this world, as the prince of the power of the air, who is under the authority of God, but who is the wicked ruler of the kingdoms of men—he offers Jesus the crown, without the cross; only if he would bow down and worship Satan, the most beautifully deceptive of the demons.
But Jesus won’t budge from his Mission. He came to seek and save the lost. And to enter His Kingdom you must be born again, washed by his blood, and given new life by His Spirit. This Kingdom is not for flesh and bones—it is for new creatures in Christ. And if Jesus didn’t go to the cross, then no salvation would be won, and the Kingdom of grace would fail from the outset. Suffering, then the glory—cross, then the cross. And so Jesus resists this temptation—with his eyes fixed upon the Cross—just as it was declared at his baptism that he would die, be buried, and rise to new life for the salvation of his people from their sin. The Kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of redemption—and there is no redemption without the Cross! Are you part of this Kingdom through faith and repentance? Then thank God that Jesus resisted this temptation to bring redemption to the saints. We’re told:
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.’ ”
Resisting all three of the temptations of this wicked snake and dragon—Jesus stands victorious! He crushes the head of the serpent. He tramples underfoot the devil. He stands on the Law-Word of God—and quotes again from Deut. where we are commanded that worship and service is due to God alone! Soli Deo Gloria! No creature is worthy of fear and adoration, of worship and divine service. Only the Lord our God is to be worshiped—Satan was to be hated, crushed, and trampled on—and so he was as King Jesus conquered him in the wilderness, passing the test, and proved himself to be the faithful Adam, the true Son and Israel of God, and the promised Redeemer and King of the world!
And those kingdoms of men, and all their glory? Oh yeah! we are promised that they will all be His as His Gospel goes forth to the ends of the earth. In Revelation, as the city of Jerusalem falls in 70AD, a trumpet is sounded with the promised victory of the Kingdom of God against the Kingdom of Man:
Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
The Gospel will be victorious. The nations will be discipled, baptized, and obedient. The King will be worshipped and served by every nation, tribe, and tongue! All peoples shall serve His dominion, as people from every nation tribe and tongue enter the Kingdom of God, as kings of the earth Kiss the Son and bring their glory into the heavenly Zion. All because of his precious blood on the Cross, and his radiant Crown in heaven. The prophet Daniel foretold:
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
And the Gospel of Matthew ends with Jesus getting a even greater authority than Satan offered him, with the Great Commission and hope of the triumph of the Gospel:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
And all this will happen while King Jesus is reigning above at the right hand of the Father, as He is saving all of his people, and conquering all of His enemies by His Word and Spirit, which shall be victorious before the end of world history.
Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Resisting the temptation of Satan—Jesus is victorious. How goes it Satan? Strike three, you’re out!
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
After holding his ground, and standing firm on the Word of God, in the power of the Spirit of God—with his eyes fixed on the Mission & Kingdom of God—as he is worshipping God the Father—the devil flees, and angels come to comfort him in the travail of his soul!
1 John 3:8 (ESV)
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
France: Where Israel of old stumbled and fell, Christ the new Israel stood firm [as the Victorious Son of God] …Jesus is not just terminating the interview: he is sending his adversary packing.
Praise be to God for the Triumph of the Lamb (Rev. 5).
(3) Christ our King is focused on Mission and rejects false Worship - v. 8-11
And so with the third temptation resisted by our King—Satan was conquered, he shall soon fall from heaven like lightning, and be bound at the Cross of Calvary! In light of such glorious truths of the victory of King Jesus, hear now our conclusion this morning:
(C) Christ our King Conquers by the Word and Spirit—so let us follow Him with the Armour of God!
(C) Christ our King Conquers by the Word and Spirit—so let us follow Him with the Armour of God!
Let us follow King Jesus as He is building his Church, advancing His Kingdom, destroying his enemies, and saving his people!
Jesus calls us to conquer and sit with him on his throne in heaven:
The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
Jesus is currently riding forth conquering by His Law and Gospel:
And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.
The saints must conquer Satan by their faith and obedience to the Word of God:
And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
The world will fight back, and we will suffer—but Jesus will conquer all his enemies and save all his people:
They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
So let us follow our Noble King—wear the armour of God—wield the Sword of the Spirit—and follow Him into this spiritual warfare. And spoiler alert, Jesus wins!
(C) Christ our King Conquers by the Word and Spirit—so let us follow Him with the Armour of God!
(C) Christ our King Conquers by the Word and Spirit—so let us follow Him with the Armour of God!
Amen? Let’s pray.
Discussion Questions:
(1) Why was Jesus tempted/tested for forty days? And how does this prove his victorious kingship?
(2) What were the weapons in Christ’s hand as he engaged in warfare against the tempter?
(3) Describe why each of the three temptations were enticing, and how the same temptations might apply to us today.
(4) How does this passage reveal the means whereby the Kingdom of Christ is set up and advanced in the world?
(5) How can we follow Christ our King TODAY as He is conquering his enemies, and saving his people?
