The Temptations of Jesus
Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 45:42
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Introduction
Introduction
Jesus’ temptations show the character and purpose of Jesus
He is God’s beloved son - but so was Israel. Will he fail as they did?
His purpose is to bring all peoples to himself. Will he do it God’s way, or his own?
The Setting
The Setting
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
Clearly following the same pattern of Israel
Israel was led into the wilderness by God
They were tested with hunger and thirst in the desert
40 days are parallel with the 40 years
ESV Matthew 4:1
into the wilderness
The wilderness is not an inherently bad place
It was a place of renewing your commitment to God
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. 15 And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord, “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.
Jesus is going to have his commitment to God tested
ESV Matthew 4:2
forty days and forty nights
Matthews Moses and Elijah typology
Moses on Sinai 40 days Ex 24:18; 34:28; Deut 9:9
Elijah in the wilderness 1 Kings 19:8
However, given the Deuteronomy connections it must be Israel’s time in the wilderness for 40 years.
ESV Matthew 4:1
the devil
Also known as
The Tempter Matt 4:3
Satan Matt 4:10
Comes from Greek and Hebrew adversary, accuser, opponent. Devil and Satan used interchangeably.
ESV Matthew 4:1
tempted
πειράζω
Let’s use ‘test’ instead
See how it’s used elsewhere in Matthew
1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?”
18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?
35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.
The test is not a temptation to do wrong but to catch or expose Jesus as a fraud
2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
This test comes right after his baptism
He’s been declared the Son of God
Is he going to live up to his calling?
Twice the question is “If you are the Son of God...”
3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
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 devil is offering Jesus a different idea of what the Son of God could be
At the heart of these temptation is the question - Who is the Son of God?
Not just his identity - Jesus
What is his character?
Jesus defines himself through a number of Old Testament passages
Stones to Bread
Stones to Bread
3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
What is the temptation?
To feed himself
It is not a temptation to feed others to make himself popular
If so, did he cave into this temptation in feeding the 5,000 and 4,000?
Often used as an argument against feeding programs or fellowship halls - find a better argument
It is the temptation to take care of himself
It is beneath the son of God to suffer
He can solve the problem, so why let God make him go hungry?
Parallel with Matthew 27:40
40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
Don’t trust in God to raise you from the dead
Avoid the shame and suffering - save yourself
The challenge - Will you trust God to take care of you?
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.’ ”
Quoting from Deut 8:3
3 And he humbled you and let you hunger 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 man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
God humbled Israel so they would stop trying to solve problems themselves and look to God instead.
God wanted Israel to hunger
He wanted them to learn to depend on him and him alone
It’s more important to follow God’s word than your own stomach
God’s word offers more life than food
Forget about what goes into your mouth, think of what comes out of God’s mouth!
Jesus places himself in the same context. He is in the wilderness to learn the same lesson - obedience and dependence on God no matter the cost. He will not be like Israel in the wilderness always trying to take care of themselves because they doubt God.
The Son of God submits to the Father’s will - even to death.
Leap From the Temple
Leap From the Temple
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.’ ”
The Devil plays to the privileges of Jesus again - he has divine protection, quoting from Ps 91:11-12.
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.
Interesting to note that the Devil assumes this Psalm is about Jesus
There is nothing inherently Messianic about it
It’s a Psalm giving protection to those who take refuge in God and in the temple
The temptation is to stretch this Psalm to the limit. God says he will protect you - so let’s see how he does.
This is not a test to amaze people and be a wonder worker
there’s no audience for Jesus to perform in front of
The gospels are filled with Jesus amazing people through his miracles
The challenge behind this test - Do you really trust in God, or will you need him to prove himself at every step?
Let’s create a situation in which God will have to act
God is bound by his promises - so let’s test them out
Feeds on doubt about God’s faithfulness
Parallel with Matt 26:53
53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?
This is at Jesus’ arrest
God would have sent the angels
God didn’t force Jesus to the cross - he gave him the freedom to back out
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
Quoting from Deut 6:16 which is a reference to Exodus 17:1-7.
16 “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.
How does one test God? Look at what happened at Massah
1 All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
God has done all of these incredible things:
10 plagues
Parting the Red Sea
Fed us with manna
But will he give us water?
Testing God is always letting doubt be in between you and God
I’ll only trust you if you prove yourself first - while conveniently forgetting all the previous times he’s done just that
Like giving your faithful spouse of 25 years a pop-quiz to see if they really love you
The Son of God has full faith in God and has no need to test him. the Son of God does anything the Father commands.
Bow to the Devil
Bow to the Devil
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.”
Possibly a vision. From which mountain can we see all the kingdoms of the earth?
Did he have the authority to offer it?
He is know to be a liar
Consider though:
19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
See’s kingdom and their glory.
On offer is not just access to the kingdoms but their praise and adoration
The idea of a Messianic King inheriting the nations is not alien to the OT
6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 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.
So what’s the temptation if all of this was going to be given to Jesus anyways?
The ends are appropriate - the means are not (Matt 20:20-28)
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.’ ”
21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
When Peter denies the suffering and death that Jesus must endure it is perceived as taking the easy way out and inheriting the nations through power vs. being gifted them by God.
The challenge - will you take the easy way out?
Inherit the nations without the cross
Get what you want and without serving God
All gain - no pain.
Application
Application
What kind of children of God are we?
Do we avoid God’s path so we can take care of ourselves?
Do we let doubt fuel our relationship with God?
Do we serve ourselves instead of God?
