Refusing to Break Under Pressure

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Responding to the Tests Right, Pt. 3
Matt. 4:5-7
ETS: Jesus resisted the testing of Satan upon the pinnacle of the temple.
ESS: We should resist the testing of Satan.
OSS: [MO: Devotional] {SO: I want the hearers to commit to glorifying God in their resisting Satan.}
PQ: What observations can we make in this specific account of testing?
UW: Observations
Into.: [1. AGS] As the Union Pacific Railroad was being constructed, an elaborate trestle bridge was built across a large canyon in the West. Wanting to test the bridge, the builder loaded a train with enough extra cars and equipment to double its normal payload. The train was then driven to the middle of the bridge, where it stayed an entire day. One worker asked, “Are you trying to break this bridge?” “No,” the builder replied, “I’m trying to prove that the bridge won’t break.” In the same way, the temptations Jesus faced weren’t designed to see if He would sin, but to prove that He couldn’t. (Today in the Word, March 14, 1991). [2. RS] Just as the builder in the story put extra weight in the cars to test the bridge, Satan adds to the pressure in our lives each day to test us. Whether we realize it or not, we all undergo testing every day of life. Through faith, we can resist the test and refuse to break under pressure. [3. TS] That is precisely what Jesus did. When Satan tested Him, He resisted the test because He knew the will of His Father. He knew the power of His Father, and He relied upon it. Specifically, this account records the second major test of Jesus as Satan commanded Him to live carelessly and pursue personal gain. I want us to examine this account observing the testing and how Jesus responded to it.
TS.: Let us examine together a few observations from the text now.
We observe the location of the testing account. (v. 5)
The location of the pinnacle of the temple which was situated on Mount Zion overlooked the Kidron Valley and dropped off about 450ft.
Each morning, a priest would stand atop the temple and blow a trumpet at the sight of first daybreak signaling to all “the hour of morning sacrifice.” (Barclay 79)
Additionally, rabbinical tradition suggested that the Messiah would reveal Himself from the top of the Holy Place. This would suggest his national leadership as king. Augsburger suggested, “Satan’s temptation suggested that Jesus stand atop that pinnacle and leap down and, by landing unharmed, present Himself to the multitudes as a wonder-worker.” (Augsburger, 49)
APP.: Sometimes, the oddest of places in life are used by Satan to tempt us to misuse the power of God simply to make ourselves look good or something more than we are.
TS: Understanding a little about the location of this account helps us understand the significance of Satan’s next move...
We observe Satan’s misuse of Scripture in the testing account. (v. 6)
Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12. However, he used it largely out of context.
The context of Psalm 91 suggests that the one who places his trust in the Most High God will find protection. However, the key is trust.
Satan uses this verse to promote careless living. His command in this test is “throw yourself down.” However, understanding the location and the details of the location helps us to understand that it would have been a big ordeal. Satan misuses Scripture in this testing, perhaps attempting to provide a sense of support to his command- that though the circumstances surrounding seem humanly impossible (falling off of a 450ft cliff and not being harmed), since Jesus was the Son of God having the power of God, the Scripture used by Satan would assert that the power of God as discussed in Scripture would surely prevail and protect Jesus from being harmed in the occasion that He did follow through.
William Barclay suggested that this sensational style was not an uncommon occurrence of their day. False Messiahs would often make promises to people regarding major sensational acts of which they could not follow through with (Barclay 79-80). [i.e. Theudas promising to part the Jordan; famous Egyptian Pretender promising to lay flat the walls of Jerusalem; Simon Magus promising to fly through the air.] He suggested two issues with this approach: [1] Sensational acts are short-lived and always require greater acts to maintain followings; [2] This would be a misuse of the power of God. (MacArthur added “To test God is to doubt God.” [Mac., 95]
Barclay wrote, “The very faith which is dependent on signs and wonder is not faith. If faith cannot believe without sensational actions, it is not really faith; it is doubt looking for proof and looking in the wrong place. God’s rescuing power is not something to be played and experimented with; it is something to be quietly trusted in everyday life.” (Barclay 80)
APP.: We must be familiar enough with Scripture that we recognize when Satan misuses it to try to persuade us to misuse the power of God.
We observe the response of Jesus as He resisted the testing of Satan in this account. (v. 7)
NASB translates Πάλιν as “On the other hand”
This is a clear rejection of what Satan had just suggested with the misuse of Scripture, and it is a clear resistance to the test. Jesus refused to break under pressure.
Augsburger wrote, “Jesus’ quote from Deuteronomy 6:16 makes clear that faith is not attempting to see how far one can go in pushing God to answer our wishes. Faith is an attitude that opens one’s will to God, that allows God to fulfill His own will through one’s life.”
MacArthur suggested, “God expects us to take risks, any risks necessary, in order to obey His will. When we risk our prestige, our money, our lives, our families, or anything else to fulfill the Lord’s calling, we can rest confidently in His divine provision for all that we need- if we accept the truth that only He knows what our needs really are. But when we take risks simply to fulfill our own ambitions or to put God to the test, He gives no promise on which we can rest.” (Mac., 95)
APP.: We must adopt the same method of Jesus: refuting and resisting Satan with the correct usage of Scripture.
CONCLUSION:
Each of us is tested each day by the enemy. Sometimes it is in the oddest of places that He will seek to persuade us to misuse the power of God to make ourselves look good, to attract a following, or to display some sense of unauthentic faith. He will ensure that the cart is packed extra heavy in order to truly test the bridge.
We must ask this question: Is this genuine faith, or am I doubting God through testing Him?
The issue of response is simple: I want you, today, to commit to being aware of the testing of Satan in your life through the Holy Spirit’s help. If we aren’t intentional, we will be caught off guard. Remember, he used Scripture. We must be committed to the Holy Spirit’s leadership and discernment, to genuine faith that does not doubt God, and to resisting the tests of the enemy. Specifically, commit to doing this through the following actions: 1) Commit to reading and memorizing Scripture more. 2) Commit to praying and relying upon the Spirit more throughout your day.
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