“Baptized, Tempted, Launched”

Series: The Gospel Truth

Text: Matt 3:13-4:17

Introduction: (What?)

We know very little of Jesus from the time His family moved to Nazareth until He walked 70 miles to the Jordan River where His cousin John was preaching and baptizing those who repented. His baptism also became His ordination to the earthly ministry that God had planned for Him. However, before He was able to launch His ministry, He must be severely tested.

Examination: (Why?)

1. A most unusual baptism (3:13-17)

By the time Jesus hiked 70+miles from Nazareth to where His cousin John was baptizing those who repented of their sin, John had baptized numerous people. Most of these were unplanned. People came to hear John out of curiosity only to be convicted by his message and repent and be baptized on the spot. Few churches are ready to baptize people immediately after they make a decision to surrender to Christ. One church in the Nashville, TN area has baptized over 1,000 people in the past year and a half because they are always ready to baptize those who come.

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. But John tried to stop Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and yet You come to me?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Allow it for now because this is the way for me to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him to be baptized.”

John’s reluctance to baptize Jesus came from his knowledge that Jesus had no sin and thus had nothing from which to repent. In we find John’s recognition of who Jesus really is. Jn 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

However, Jesus was identifying with sinners. He knew that ultimately He would bear their sins on the cross so, in effect, at His baptism He was for them. Also HIs baptism pictured His death, burial and resurrection, and forever changed the meaning of baptism. Believer’s baptism, which we practice today, pictures what has happened in the life of one who has surrendered to Christ. Their old life has died and been buried but then they are resurrected into a brand new life. This is the example that Jesus set at His baptism.

“When Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”

The wording in this verse in Matthew shows that only Jesus saw the dove, but those who were present heard the voice from heaven. However, in Mark 1:11 “And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”” and in Luke 3:22 “and the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”” The pronoun makes it seem that the statement was directed to Jesus. However it is possible that even though the Father was speaking directly to the Son, those nearby heard the voice as well. At any rate, this is a clear reference to the Trinity. Jesus, the Son, the Holy Spirit, represented by a dove, and the voice of God the Father make up a Holy Family Reunion. Many times when I have baptized children, their grandparents, aunts and uncles often attend even if they are not members of our church. For Jesus and for those watching, and listening this was confirmation of His earthly ministry. Clearly this was His ordination service. And yet, He was not completely ready to launch out. There was one more thing needed.

2. Tempted and Tried (4:1-11)

Most of the time when we think of the leading of the Holy Spirit, it refers to something very positive; something that He wants us to do or not do. However, in this case it seems that He is actually prodding or coercing Jesus into a very unpleasant experience.

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Hmmm! Really? You mean the Holy Spirit orchestrated the temptation? Yes He did. Mark used a stronger term in Mark 1:12 “Immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness.” It wasn’t as if Jesus had a choice in the matter. If He was to be Messiah, then He had to pass the temptation test.

Now, God did not tempt Jesus, He left that up to the devil. But He put Jesus in a position to be tempted. That is the same thing that happened with Job. God gave permission for Job to be afflicted by the devil. Here He gave permission for Jesus to be tempted by the devil.

In James 1:13 we find this clarification. “No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone.”

Jesus went into the temptation in a physically weakened condition. “After He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.” Man is that an understatement! I’m currently doing intermittent fasting to control my weight. I only fast for 16 hours a day. I’ve been doing this for about 4 months and I want you to know, by 1 p.m. every day I am famished. You need to understand that the devil is not going to tempt you when you are physically and spiritually strong he is going to ambush you when you are tired, worn out and spiritually dry. Although Jesus was physically weakened from His fast, He was spiritually strong because of what He had done during the fast. Although we are not told, we can know from the teachings of Jesus on fasting that He was centered on God during the fast.

Two other OT characters fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses in Deut 9:9 “When I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant the Lord made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I did not eat food or drink water.” and Elijah in 1 Kings 19:8 “So he got up, ate, and drank. Then on the strength from that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.” Both of them were on mission for God. Now Jesus, also on mission for His Heavenly Father, fasts for 40 days and nights in preparation for this testing.

“Then the tempter approached Him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’ He answered, ‘It is written, Man must not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Then the devil took Him to the holy city, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, (about 450 feet high)and said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will give His angels orders concerning You and they will support You with their hands so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ Jesus told him, ‘It is also written: Do not test the LORD your God.’ Again the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. And he said to Him, ‘I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Go away Satan! For it is written: Worship the LORD your God, and serve only Him.’”

During this temptation Jesus was, as we read in Heb 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.” The ways Jesus was tempted are the same temptations that you and I face in our lives. 1 John 2:16 “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world.” In Jesus’s case, the lust of the flesh was extreme hunger; the lust of the eyes was seeing the kingdoms of the world and being given the possibility of of owning them and the pride of life was knowing that He could call angels to protect Him from any injury.

One commentator suggested that the temptations were based on what kind of Messiah Jesus wanted to be. He could be a “bread Messiah” by miraculously feeding people. (Remember that the multitude that He fed then came back hoping to be fed again.) He could be a “spectacular Messiah” performing miracles in order to gain followers, or He could be a “compromising Messiah” by joining forces with the evil one in order to accomplish heavenly purposes. Jesus chose instead to do the Father’s will the Father’s way. The old saying, “The end justifies the means” does not apply at all when it comes to the work of the kingdom of God.

“Then the devil left Him and angels came and began to serve Him.” The very thing that Satan had quoted in his second temptation was now done in God’s perfect timing. Psa 91:11-12 “For he will give his angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways. They will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

3. The Ministry Launch (12-17)

Jesus did not launch His ministry in the same area where John was ministering so that people would not be torn as to whom they would follow. Rather… “When He heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ‘Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, along the road by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”

Jesus left Nazareth because His message and ministry there had been rejected. (Luke 4: 16-30 “He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As usual, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.” They were all speaking well of him and were amazed by the gracious words that came from his mouth; yet they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Then he said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. What we’ve heard that took place in Capernaum, do here in in your hometown also.”

Application: (How should I respond to this message?)

If you have surrendered your life to Christ, you WILL be tempted to live according to the ways of the world instead of the Word of God.

Your prayer in time of temptation should be, as Jesus taught, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (the Evil One).

Your strategy when tempted must be the strategy of Jesus, knowing and quoting scripture that relates to your temptation. Paul reminded us in 2 Cor 10:4-5 “since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.” You can’t overcome temptation by will power. Take it to Jesus.