YR#1 - The Necessity of Scripture (Matthew 4:1-11)
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[SLIDE 1] Introduction
Good evening everyone.
I want to welcome you to the youth retreat 2026.
Our theme this year is called Scripture.
Every year at the youth retreat, we will always have messages.
In these messages, we get to study God’s word.
Perhaps for some of you, you have been looking forward to knowing the theme and the messages of the retreat.
I know that because some of you have asked one of the leaders what the theme will be.
Now, perhaps, for some of you, this is not what you came to the retreat for.
You came for the fun and friends.
That’s totally fine too.
I’m glad that you’re able to come, relax, and enjoy the retreat.
However, this year’s theme is important.
When we talk about Scripture, we are essentially talking about the Bible.
There are multiple ways to teach this theme.
We could use this week to explain to you why the Bible is reliable and trustworthy.
However, some of you have attended the Apologetics Conference where you have learned about the history of the Bible.
So, we won’t touch on that the messages, but you’re free to ask questions about the Bible if you aren’t sure if we can trust the Bible.
We could use this week to go through the major teachings about what the church believes about the Bible.
For example, we can talk some of the big words, such as Inspiration and Inerrancy.
We will touch on those big words, such as necessity, authority, sufficiency, canonity.
However, I think those topics by themselves may be quite deep, but you are free to ask us questions about those topics.
So, there is another angle we will look at.
And that is this: “How did Jesus view Scripture? What did He have to say about the Bible?”
If you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, then you should follow and believe whatever Jesus have to say about Scripture.
Jesus is probably the best apologetics or the best defense of the trustworthy and reliability of the Bible.
Jesus is the best teacher on the Bible.
The question you have to wrestle with in this retreat is this:
Can I trust Jesus’ view on Scripture?
Illustration
Before we look at this passage, I want to begin with a question.
When was the last time you read your Bible on your own?
This question isn’t just aimed at the students, but it’s also aimed at the leaders.
I’m not talking about our time in the youth retreat because you obviously will open your Bible for the message and for memory verses.
I’m not talking about your parents or your church leaders telling you to read the Bible.
I’m not talking about the time you were at church.
What I am talking about is the time you actually read it on your own - in your room, at school during lunch time, or at the bus stop - because you needed it.
You and I are living in the 21st century.
We actually have more access to the Bible than any generation in history.
We don’t only have printed Bibles, but we also have Bible apps on our phones.
With AI and Google nowadays, we can search for verses and find answers to our questions almost immediately.
But, I wonder, if we’re honest with ourselves, we don’t always open and read the Bible for ourselves.
Maybe, you don’t feel like it’s necessary to read the Bible.
Perhaps learning the Bible once/twice a week on a Sunday or Friday night may be enough for you:
“I’m all good bro! Church on Sunday feels like an All You Can Eat Spiritual Buffet, I’ll be full for the rest of the week.”
But if you think about it, you still eat a meal the next day even after an AYCE, right?
Here’s the thing, I don’t you to feel like reading the Bible is merely a religious duty.
I want you to understand that the Bible is necessary for you life.
You need Scripture in your life.
Not only that, I want you to love Scripture.
Here’s thought-provoking question: “Did Jesus need the Bible? Was it necessary for Him?”
He is truly God and truly Man.
He is the Son of God.
He is the Word according to John 1:1.
However, we’ll learn in a moment, Jesus needed Scripture, and so do you.
Jesus will show that Scripture is absolutely necessary in our lives.
You need Scripture as if your whole life depends on it.
You need Scripture because it is matter of life and death situation.
You need Scripture, especially when you face trials and temptations as you growing up in this society.
Context
So, I invite you to please turn in your Bibles to Matthew 4:1-11.
Before this passage, you may remember that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist at the Jordan River.
And the very next thing that happened is that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness.
He did not lead Him away from danger.
He led the Lord Jesus into it.
Before Jesus preached a single sermon...
Before Jesus healed anyone and performed any miracles...
Before He even had a single follower...
Jesus Christ is immediately led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for 40 days and 40 nights.
And we know that Jesus overcame the devil’s temptations.
This is a familiar story in the life of Jesus Christ.
In this passage, I’m going to show why you need Scripture through the life of Jesus.
This brings us to the main idea that I want you to remember for this message:
[SLIDE 2] Jesus depended completely on Scripture, and so must we.
In this lesson, there are two categories to consider:
First, you need Scripture because of what you face.
Second, you need Scripture because of what it is.
Exposition
First, you need Scripture because of what you face.
You will face temptation.
You will rely on your feelings.
You will question you identity.
1A: You will face temptation.
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. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
Perhaps, some of you may not believe that the devil even exists.
Well, guess what? That’s what he wants you to think.
The devil is a real person with crafty plans.
The devil came and tempted Jesus 40 days and 40 nights.
Matthew (and Luke) only tells us three temptations, but it is highly likely that there were more temptations that are not recorded.
The devil is very strategic in the way he tempted Jesus.
He lays out three traps for him, and also for all of us.
First Trap: Give In To What You Want
3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
During this time, Jesus was hungry.
He hasn’t eaten by 40 days and 40 nights.
So, the devil tempts Jesus to give into what He needs by performing turning the stones into loaves of bread.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to eat when you’re hungry.
The point of Jesus’ temptation was to compromise His God-given mission and His obedience to His Father.
The devil gave the same temptation to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3.
We know that Adam fell into temptation by eating the fruit and violating the law of God.
But, we know later on in the story, Jesus - the 2nd Adam - conquered the devil’s temptation.
Each of you has needs and wants.
Second Trap: Prove Yourself And Get Attention
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.’ ”
Satan tempts Jesus by throwing Himself down and let the angels catch Him.
What’s interesting is that Satan even quotes Scripture from Psalm 91 correctly, but misapplies it.
Did you know that Satan knows the Bible very well?
Except Satan misinterprets and misapplies and twists the Bible, just like in Genesis 3?
Satan is subtle and clever, right?
Satan wants Jesus to prove Himself to the world that He’s the Son of God.
Satan wants Jesus to obey God’s word if Jesus is truly living by the God’s word.
Satan wants to ragebait Him.
Satan was saying. “Why don’t you demonstrate your sonship and prove the truth of God’s Word by putting Him to a test—a scriptural test? If you won’t use your own divine power to help yourself, let your Father use His divine power to help you. If you won’t act independently of the Father, let the Father act. Give your Father a chance to fulfill the Scripture I just quoted to you.”
For you guys, this may be pride and peer pressure from your friends.
One of the objections of Christianity is that non-believers would say that prayer doesn’t work.
They would test Christians by telling them, “Well, the Bible says that prayer should heal everyone. If you go to the hospital, then surely, your prayer should heal. So far, that’s hasn’t happened yet. Therefore, you can’t trust the Bible.”
Such objection is real, but they often misinterpret the Bible in order to reject Christianity. In other words, they misrepresent what the Bible says.
Third Trap: Look At All The Power And Stuff You Could Have
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.”
For you guys, Satan tempts you with materialism and status.
You are given the pressure to chase after money, popularity, or influence at any cost.
It’s tempting to chase after the world.
If Satan were to give you all the money and fame if you bow down to him, then will you do it?
Will you sell your soul to the devil?
26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
So, you need Scripture because of what you currently face.
1B: You will rely on your feelings.
Jesus was hungry.
He hasn’t eaten for 40 days and 40 nights.
Can you imagine Jesus being a very skinny man?
He was most likely exhausted and tired and alone.
Hunger also weakens our moral and spiritual resistance.
In other words, we tend to be more vulnerable to anything that might provide relief from our present distress.
We are more concerned about ourselves than with others.
Satan usually attacks most fiercely when we’re at our weakest and vulnerable point.
All of us may have grown up and were taught to “follow your own heart.”
We are told to live our truth.
Trust our feelings.
Do what seems right to us.
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
What is your a season of trial or weakness?
You may not be hungry, but what is something that you desperately desire?
It could be a desperate longing for relationship.
It could be a desperate desire to look in a certain way.
Good grades.
Again, those things are not inherently bad things.
However, you can start to idolize them.
You feel that if you just got what you want, then you feel satisfied.
Satan can manipulate or take advance of your feelings
Your feeling is not a reliable guide because it changes.
1C: You will question your identity.
Twice, Satan told Jesus, “If you are the Son of God...”
Satan taunts Jesus to prove Himself and to the world that He is indeed the Son of God.
Jesus just came from the Jordan River.
He was just baptized.
And God said in Matthew 3:17
17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Satan knew what the Father said from heaven, and he went straight to the attack on the Father’s words.
Satan wanted Jesus to disobey God by relying on Himself instead of obeying His Father.
Similarly, Satan attacks Christians.
He wants them to question their identity.
Perhaps he attacks you by accusing you.
You are too far gone.
You are too sinful to be loved by God.
“If you are a child of God, then shouldn’t you be like this and that?”
“If you are a child of God, then why are you sinning so much? Are you sure you’re saved?” So Satan attacks your assurance as well.
So, you need Scripture because of what you face.
You will face temptation.
You will rely on your feelings.
You will question you identity.
I want to talk about the second category in this passage: You need Scripture because of what it is.
2A: You need Scripture because it is your spiritual weapon.
The Bible says that Scripture is the Sword of the Spirit in Ephesians 6.
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
So, how did Jesus respond to the temptation from Satan?
He responded with God’s word three times to three of the temptations.
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.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
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.’ ”
For Jesus, He had the word of God ready.
However, I don’t think Jesus was carrying a Bible around because He didn’t have a physical copy of the Bible like ours.
Scripture back then was a scroll, but I also don’t think he was carrying a scroll.
So, how did He have the word of God ready?
I believe He memorized Scripture.
Particularly, He was most likely meditating the book of Deuteronomy - the 5th book of the Bible.
Why do I say Deuteronomy?
If you look at all the quotes that Jesus used against Satan, they’re all from the book of Deuteronomy.
Every time, Jesus goes back to Scripture by saying, “IT IS WRITTEN.”
Jesus appeals to Scripture in His defense against Satan’s temptations.
Scripture was His sword against the enemy.
He lived out Psalm 119:11
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
If you were in an actual war, would you be carrying a weapon?
Did you know that you’re in a spiritual warfare?
Do you have your weapon ready?
You cannot draw a weapon you do not carry.
Now, I’m not saying you have to memorize the whole Bible even though that’s a good idea.
You’ll be doing a lot of that during the youth retreat.
But, memorization of Scripture isn’t just merely earning points.
I hope you can look at it as combat preparation.
I also do appeal to you be serious of viewing Scripture as a major necessity in your spiritual life.
Remember what Satan did in Genesis 3.
In the Garden, Satan did not attack God directly.
He attacked God’s word by saying, “Did God really say?”
He twisted and misquoted God’s word, which then confused Eve because she didn’t know God’s word accurately.
She even misquoted God’s word as well.
So, you need God’s word.
You need to read it.
You need to love it.
You need to memorize it.
You need it because your survival depends on it.
2B: You need Scripture because it is your spiritual food.
Jesus says something very important in response to one of Satan’s temptation.
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.’ ”
Jesus was specifically quoting Deuteronomy 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.
In that context, God allowed Israel to hunger in the wilderness on purpose in order to teach them that physical bread is not the deepest thing that sustains life.
It is the Word of God.
For Jesus, He believed what Deuteronomy 8:3 said.
He literally lived it out for 40 days and 40 nights when He was under pressure.
Here’s the application: Nobody treats eating as optional. All of you eat every day unless you’re fasting.
You do not skip meals for weeks and call it a spiritual discipline.
You eat because if you do not, you die.
You can probably survive without food for maybe a month, but more than that, you’ll probably die.
Jesus wants you to apply that same logic to the word of God.
You need God’s word because it is your spiritual food.
Yet, some of you probably skip your meal for a week or 4-5 days.
Or worse, some of you have not read God’s word for at least a month.
The reason you may be spiritually weak is not that Scripture is insufficient.
It is because you are not tasting and eating Scripture.
If you’re not reading God’s word, then you are not growing spiritually you ought.
If you’re not reading God’s word, then you’re not knowing God’s will for your life.
If you’re not reading God’s word, then most likely, you are not obeying His word.
So, you need Scripture because of what it is.
It is your spiritual sword.
It is your spiritual food.
Conclusion
Big Idea: Jesus depended completely on Scripture, and so must we.
He needed Scripture when He was in the wilderness.
We need Scripture as well because we are journeying in the wilderness until the Lord brings us back to Himself in heaven.
Throughout this week, we’ll continue to learn about how Jesus viewed Scripture
The Bible teaches us in 1 Peter 5:8-9.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
