Tests within the Test

Responding to the Tests Right, pt. 2

Matthew 4:2-4

ETS: Jesus responded to the testing of Satan in the wilderness.

ESS: We should respond as Jesus did to the testing of Satan in our lives.

OSS: [MO: Devotional] {SO: I want the hearers to learn from the response of Jesus to Satan and practice the same response in our own testing.}

PQ: What tests are included within the first major test in this passage?

UW: Tests

Intro.: [1: AGS] The tip of the iceberg is typically all that is visible above the surface. Yet, it is the smallest portion of the iceberg. [2. RGS] Our lives resemble this same pattern, often. When issues arise, the issue that surfaces is usually only a by-product of the true issue that lies beneath the surface that isn’t as easily seen. This is also true sometimes within a biblical text. [3. TGS] Today, we continue our study of Jesus’ response to the testing of Satan in the wilderness by examining the first test. Within this first major test, though, there is actually more than one test that lies beneath the surface of the test that is typically the focus of study.

TS: Let us examine together the tests included in the first major test in the wilderness.

The test of obedience vs. disobedience (Vv. 2-3)

The Greek preposition suggests a first class conditional structure that most translate as “if,” but it could also be translated as “since.”

Satan led the first major test by setting up this test within it: reminding Jesus, perhaps with a hint of sarcasm, of the power He would possess as the Son of God.

The test in this statement is simply obedience vs. disobedience: would Jesus surrender this power to God the Father, submit obediently to His plan, and glorify God through this, or would Jesus claim the power for Himself and disobediently use it for self-glorification?

We who are believers are also children of God. We have the power of God living within us through His Spirit. When we encounter the testing of Satan, we are tempted just as Jesus was. What we do with this power is vitally important.

The test of physical vs. spiritual. (vv. 2-4)

Verse 2 suggests that Jesus was physically hungry because He had been fasting. Thus, Satan’s command to Him- the direct appeal His physical need, would have been a factor. Additionally, the wilderness would have likely contained stones that could have resembled the shape of a loaf of bread bringing this physical need even to a more heightened awareness toJesus.

In one way, the test is simple, hinging from the previous test: use the power to satisfy your physical need.

In another way, the test becomes more complex: considering the spiritual need of those whom Jesus came for.

Concerning which, one author suggested that had Jesus chosen in that moment to turn the stone into bread, it would not have met the deeper need. William Barclay stated this would have been an act to “remove the symptoms without dealing with the disease.” (Barclay 78)

Jesus’ response proved that His focus was on the greater need- Spiritual- that involved giving up His own physical needs. (Quoted Deut. 8:3 from the wilderness account in the OT where God taught the Israelites that life was about more than satisfying physical needs)

An important feature to note here is this: v. 2 states that Jesus was hungry. Physically, He was weak and vulnerable. Yet, v. 2 also states that He had fasted for 40 days- affirming that He was likely spiritually strong. His response also suggests this.

Often times, Satan attacks areas in our life where we are physically vulnerable; yet, beneath each physical need presented (to feel valued; to feel accepted; to be satisfied; etc.) lies a deeper spiritual need. What we choose to focus on between the two is vitally important.

Conclusion:

[1. Relational- my problem] Each of us face the testing of the enemy that is usually brought on through some physical need that we have in our life. Yet, beneath each physical need lies a deeper spiritual need.

[2. Textual- summary of message] Jesus was tested in the same way as we are today- Satan attacked an area of physical vulnerability. Yet, Jesus, being near to His Father and focused on the greater Spiritual needs, responded in a manner that glorified His Father and pointed to the deeper need: spiritual nourishment.

[3. Invitation- call for response] How do you respond to the tests of the enemy? What do you need to do different in your response to the testing of the Enemy?