Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: Mark 1:12-13; Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13

Theme: Adam, when tempted, failed.

So Christ, “the last Adam” (1 Cor.

15:45) must now be tempted, in order that by his victory over the tempter he may, for all who believe in him, undo the results of the first Adam’s failure.

In the 4th chapters of both Matthew and Luke, we have much longer accounts of the temptation of Jesus, and I’ll be depending on them to some degree.

Mark, known for his brevity, summaries it in just two verses.

But in his brevity he gives us three phrases that suffice to give us a good 3-point outline for tonight’s message: Jesus was led by the Spirit, Jesus was tempted by the Devil, and Jesus was strengthened by the Angels.

The temptation of Jesus has always been something of an enigma to me.

As the Son of God, he was incapable of sin.

Being the 2nd Person of the Trinity Jesus does not have the sin nature that all other men are born with.

Like men, Jesus hears the tempter’s voice whispering in his ear.

But unlike men he could not be “drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire” (James 1:14).

But as the Son of Man, the temptations were, nevertheless, real.

With every temptation that Satan confronts him with Christ discerned immediately that the proposals coming to him from Satan were evil.

But the struggle to which these temptations gave rise — was real even for Christ.

That said, lets look at what the text says.

I. JESUS WAS LED BY THE SPIRIT

"At once the Spirit drove him out into the desert," (Mark 1:12 , NIV)

1. Jesus had just experienced — quiet literally — heaven at His baptism

a. vv.

10-11 tell us that as he came up out of the waters of the Jordan, that He saw heaven opened, the Spirit of God descended upon Him, and He heard the voice of God proclaim His acceptance of the son

1) now, my baptism was pretty meaningful to me, but I never experienced anything like that

2. immediately after His baptism, Mark writes that the Spirit drove him out into the desert

a. immediately is one of Mark’s favorite words ... using it a dozen times in his gospel

b. it implies that Jesus felt a strong inner compulsion to go into the wilderness

1) if you’re like me, you might wonder, “Why would the Spirit compel Jesus to go into the wilderness in order to be tempted?”

2) the New Testament helps provide the answer ... let me offer three reasons

A. JESUS WAS LED INTO THE WILDERNESS TO BE ALONE WITH GOD

1. there are a number of instances in the Gospels where Jesus separates Himself from the crowds, and even His disciples, to go off alone to pray and seek the Father’s will

a.

we see Him spending entire nights in prayer – often on mountain tops

“7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.”

(Hebrews 5:7, ESV)

b. even though He was the Son of God, as the Son of Man he needed periods of refreshment and intimacy with the Father

2. time spent with the Father gave Him the words to say to the people

a. how could Jesus say the things He did?

1) the Gospels tell us that the people marveled at his teachings and exclaimed that no man had ever said the things that Jesus said or taught the things that Jesus taught

b.

Jesus said the things He did because of the time He spent with the Father

"Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner."

(John 5:19, NASB95)

“ ... the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me." (John 14:24, NASB95)

3. one of the reasons He felt compelled to go into the desert was to spend time with the Father

B. JESUS WAS LED INTO THE WILDERNESS TO LEARN OBEDIENCE

"Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered."

(Hebrews 5:8, NASB95)

1. one of the places where Jesus learned obedience was in the wilderness during His 40 days with God

a. the reason that Jesus could humble himself and become obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross was because He had learned obedience to the Father long before He made that great sacrifice

2. Jesus suffered long before He dies on a cross and in that suffering He became obedient to the Father in all things

C. JESUS WAS LED INTO THE WILDERNESS TO GIVE US HOPE

"For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin."

(Hebrews 4:15, NASB95)

"For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted."

(Hebrews 2:18, NASB95)

ILLUS.

Erwin Lutzer says that “Temptation is not a sin; it is a call to battle.”

1. Jesus sympathizes with us when we are tempted — He knows how it feels

2. Jesus comes to the aid of those who are tempted — He know how to give us victory

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.

God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

(1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV)

II.

JESUS WAS TEMPTED BY THE DEVIL

“And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan.

... .”

(Mark 1:13, ESV)

1. this is where we will turn to Matthew to help fill in the gaps

A. SATAN TEMPTED JESUS TO TREAT HIS PHYSICAL NEEDS AS IF THEY WERE HIS ULTIMATE NEEDS

"And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

(Matthew 4:3, NASB95)

1. Jesus was hungry after a long fast

a. everything I’ve read about prolonged fasts tells me that a normally-fed, healthy individual can go approximately thirty days without food before serious health complications begin to appear

b.

Jesus had gone forty days

c. his need for sustenance was critical

2. Satan knew this and chose a vulnerable time to tempt our Lord

a. the temptation obviously had a powerful appeal

3. Satan tempted Jesus to act as if food were the most important thing in life

a.

Jesus knew better

"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.’ ” (Matthew 4:4, NASB95)

4. Satan frequently tempts us to place our priority in physical things rather than God

a. in case you haven’t figured it out by now, we live in a hedonistic culture

1) hedonism is that philosophy which maintains, pleasure and the pursuit of pleasure is man’s chief aim in life

ILLUS.

The motto of the hedonist is, “If it feels good: Do it!”

The author and playwright, Oscar Wilde echoed this sentiment over 100 years ago when he wrote, “The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it!”

2) hedonism is not unique to our modern culture

b. the result of this philosophy as a life-style is that it puts our physical needs above all else

1) Jesus addressed this very issue in his Sermon on the Mount

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.

Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

... 32 "“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matthew 6:25, 32-33, NASB95)

2) Jesus could preach that because he had done it himself

B. JESUS WAS TEMPTED TO SENSATIONALIZE HIMSELF INSTEAD OF GLORIFYING GOD

"Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand 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, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’

” (Matthew 4:5-6, NASB95)

ILLUS.

For Jesus to have followed Satan’s suggestion would have been, in the eyes of many Jews, sure proof of His messiahship.

That is exactly the sort of proof other would-be messiahs of that day were trying to give.