The Purpose of the People of God - 4:1-11
The Purpose of the People of God - Matthew • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 45:06
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The Purpose of the People of God
The Purpose of the People of God
Today we come to a familiar passage, the temptation of Jesus
Deuteronomy Only?
Old Testament Only?
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 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, 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 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.
Let’s Pray
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Led by the Spirit - referential to the Spirit in 3:16
16 And after being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him,
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
“into the wilderness” - I hope this phrase is jumping out at you
“to be tempted by the devil”
Temptation of God
“this is only the humanity of Jesus” - NO
To challenge this, I want to explore our understanding of temptation.
πειραζω - test
1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.
18 But Jesus, knowing their wickedness, said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?
Not limited to the gospels, but can go to the letters as well
15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things like we are, yet without sin.
We’re not limited to the New Testament either
21 “Now I took your sinful thing, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain. 22 “Again at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked Yahweh to wrath.
2 Therefore the people contended with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you test Yahweh?”
What about James?!
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Finally, we have a new character “the devil”
This is his first mention, and it is specific, hence we see “the devil” in English
This means there is shared understanding between Matthew and his audience as to who the devil is.
Who is the devil?
The devil is a real character
He appears in the Old Testament
6 Now it was the day that the sons of God came to stand before Yahweh, and Satan also came among them.
Satan comes among the sons of God
Angel is a role, it means messenger. Not a “being” as we have come to call them
Other passages in Scripture allude to Satan being of a similar kind.
Elohim and Sons of Elohim
Ezk 28 and Isa 14
1 Then Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to number Israel.
Satan stands against Israel and specifically against Israel’s king
1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Yahweh, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
Satan brings accusations
2 And Yahweh said to Satan, “Yahweh rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand delivered from the fire?”
Satan stands in opposition to God
What follows in this story:
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. 4 And he answered and spoke to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have made your iniquity pass away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.”
This is what Satan stands in opposition of
Without leaving the Old Testament, we’ve already begun to make a character profile of who is the devil.
Let’s keep reading:
2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.
This is here because it is needed background information for what comes next. It is to show that Jesus, being fully God and fully man, is in a state of hunger.
That being said, many people have asked the question why did Jesus fast?
Without getting too sidetracked, I want to make a simple distinction about fasting. Fasting is not to bend God’s will or desire.
The practice of fasting is to deny the flesh and ensure that our motives are aligned with God’s. It is not about changing God’s perspective, it is about making sure your own is aligned.
This is what Jesus is doing, He has denied the flesh, hence He is hungry, to ensure that entering this temptation, His desires align with the Father’s.
3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
New characterization of the devil here “the tempter” “the tester”
He leads with a proposition:
4 different conditional clauses (If statements)
1st class, means it is true
The devil knows who Jesus is
not a son of God, THE son of God
ONLY BEGOTTEN
Command! is a command to Jesus
1st attempt - an appeal to His need/desire
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.’”
1 “The entire commandment that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which Yahweh swore to give to your fathers.
2 “And you shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
Catch the parallels here!
in the wilderness!
40 years <> 40 days
He might humble you, testing you! the same Greek word!
who led Jesus to the wilderness? God did! led by the Holy Spirit!
3 “And He humbled you and let you be hungry and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh.
Jesus quotes the LXX which says “every word”
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.’”
Jesus is likening his 40 days in the wilderness fasting with Israel’s 40 years of wandering.
Matthew is heavily emphasizing the Israel narrative with the focus of coming out of the wilderness.
What did Moses do in Deuteronomy?
He reapplies the law for a people coming into the land
What will Jesus do in Matthew?
He reapplies the law for a people coming into the kingdom
So what does Jesus mean in this statement? That man doesn’t need to eat to live? No.
Life is at the provision of God. God led Him to the wilderness, God will supply His need.
5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,
The devil travels, he moves
took (takes) - Historical present, emphasis added
holy city - Jerusalem
pinnacle of the temple - Disagreement over which corner this is, but it is a prominent place
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.’”
The same first class condition - You are the Son of God
Throw Yourself down! - another command
For - why!
it is written
whereas Jesus responds to the devil with Scripture previously, here the devil does likewise.
the devil knows Scripture! How much more should we?!
Context!
11 For He will command His angels concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. 12 On their hands they will bear you up, Lest you strike your foot against a stone.
Who is this written about?
1 He who abides in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to Yahweh, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”
He who abides
Certainly this would include the Son of God?! Absolutely!
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.’”
Many have written about the temptation here being a public proclamation of Jesus as the Messiah.
If that were the case, it seems that the author would have specifically mentioned crowds of people, or others that could see.
If Jesus were to throw Himself down, He would no longer be serving the Father, but forcing the Father to protect and serve Him.
I do not believe the temptation here is a public proclamation of being the Messiah, but a request to test the relationship between the Father and the Son.
7 Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
16 “You shall not put Yahweh your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.
1 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of Yahweh, and they camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.
2 Therefore the people contended with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you test Yahweh?”
3 But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to put us and our children and our livestock to death with thirst?”
6 “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7 So he named the place Massah and Meribah because of the contending of the sons of Israel, and because they tested Yahweh, saying, “Is Yahweh among us or not?”
Massah - Test
Meribah - Quarrel
7 Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Harkens back when Israel tested God in not believing for His provision.
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.”
Matthew places this here on purpose. He reorders this account for the Kingdom narrative.
You may remember:
17 and behold, there was a voice out of the heavens saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Comprised of 2 texts: Isa 42 and Ps 2
8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth as Your possession.
These nations are already Jesus’ inheritance. He knows this.
So what is the offer of Satan?
It is a shortcut. Satan is offering Jesus dominion without the cross. He’s telling Jesus there is another way.
But what the devil is offering Jesus is dominion without redemption. Dominion without relationship.
God created you for relationship with Him.
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”
At this, Jesus has had enough.
Jesus commands Satan to Go.
Once again, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy, this time 6:13
Last week, we covered Deut 6:4-9 as the first section of the Shema
The Shema
Deut 6:4-9 - Greatest Commandment and responsibility to future generations
Deut 11:13-22 - Urgency to love and obey God
Num 15:37-41 - Reminders and Remembrance of who God is and what God has done
10 “Then it will be, when Yahweh your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you, great and good cities which you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you will eat and be satisfied,
12 then beware, lest you forget Yahweh who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
13 “Yahweh your God you shall fear; and Him you shall serve; and by His name you shall swear.
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”
Jesus quotes immediately after the Shema, the statement of one’s love for Yahweh and the responsibility to teach that to the generations.
When confronted with a shortcut around the cross, Jesus focuses keeps the main thing, the main thing.
11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
Whereas previously, the devil tried to coerce Jesus into forcing God to send His angels, here they show up as the Lord’s provision.
What do we do with this?
Takeaways:
Where do you seek provision?
As Jesus stated, all provision comes from the Lord.
Not a provision for laziness
2. Do we seek to serve God, or to make God serve us?
We do this with grace. Because we know of God’s forgiveness and its guarantee, we take it for granted
Confess your sins. This will help keep you from repeating them.
3. God created you for relationship with Him
21 “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
4. Think long term
We live in an age of instant gratification
Maturity, discipleship, takes time.
Jesus took the long way for the better outcome
Fellowship with Jesus is the way
Let’s Pray
Benediction Scripture
21 “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
