Satan: His Ungodly Activity

Now we turn to our text in Matthew 4. There are some foundational truths we need to establish here:

First, the Bible is clear of two things: a.) it was God who led Jesus into the wilderness v.1. b.) it was the devil, not God which did the tempting!

Second, the word “tempted” may have two meanings, and both may be applied here: a.) proving/testing. God proves us in our trials. God led Jesus to the wilderness to be proven, as Hebrews 4:15 “15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” b.), the other meaning of the word “tempted” means a solicitation to evil. Make no mistake, God may have led Jesus to the wilderness (Mark says, he drove Jesus) knowing He was without sin, but the temptation was a real attempt to get Jesus to sin!

You say, Preacher, why are you hammering the temptation of Jesus so hard today?

It is because you need to understand Satan’s Ungodly activity. If Satan had the audacity to tempt his Creator to sin, you can be assured he will not take a second thought in tempting you.

You will notice in this passage the tactics Satan employed. He, first,

Attacked Without Warning

Jesus’ public ministry had just been announced

The passing of the baton from John the Baptist, who was the voice crying in the wilderness, to Jesus, the Messiah, is one of the greatest moments in history

John knew this when he proclaimed John 1:29 “29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

Later John would say when Jesus had begun His public ministry, after His temptation, John 3:30 “30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John knew that his ministry was completed, and a new era was about to begin

Satan knew this too! And if we will pay attention, there is a very important lesson we may learn...

Whenever you win a great spiritual victory in your life…LOOKOUT!

On the heels of Jesus’ baptism, immediately, the attack comes.

Mark 1:12 “12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.”

The wilderness is the place God intended Jesus to be tested, and what a frightening place it was!

Desolate

Wild beasts all around

One would think that in light of the victory, there would be a reprieve.

Listen to me, Satan will attack without warning! He is not going to sit back and wait for a convenient time for you, he will attack when you least expect it!

Now, to be fair here, Jesus expected the attack. He is God after all, but don’t miss the point...

If Satan will attack Jesus, he will attack you.

One of the most dangerous times for a believer is after a great spiritual victory. When we’ve experienced such a time we feel we’re invincible. We must remember that the victory came from God, not from our own strength, or else we will cave into the temptation. We see Satan attacked without warning, next we will see he...

Attacked Without Hesitation

Satan wasted no time in coming after Jesus

Lk. 4:1-2 “1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.”

Mark 1:12-13 “12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. 13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.”

In both of these instances it is clear that Satan did not wait until after Jesus had completed His time of fasting before tempting Him. He acted immediately

We’re not told the exact nature of this early period of tempting only that he was tempted during the entire period, not just at the end.

We do learn something of importance from this, however, if Satan will not waste time in coming after Jesus, then...

Satan will waste not time in coming after you

Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit, we know this because he was “led by the Spirit” to go into the wilderness

Jesus had spent time along with God in prayer and fasting

He was as prepared as He could be.

Still, Satan tempted Him.

Church, we are talking about an enemy that has fought against God for thousands of years. We are talking about an enemy that convinced Pharaoh to kill all the Hebrew male babies. We’re talking about an enemy that convinced Herod to kill all children under two years old. All of this death just to put a stop to Jesus going to the cross.

He will not hesitate to tempt you to do something that will destroy your testimony! You must be aware of the enemy because he will attack without warning, without hesitation, and as we see in his temptation of Jesus, he...

Attacked Without Mercy

Charles Ryrie says of Satan that,

“…he will meet people where they are and use whatever might defeat them in a particular circumstance.”

This is exactly he does with Jesus!

His attacks were not random concerning Jesus

He appealed to his independence v. 3

Jesus was hungry, famished is the literal meaning of the word

Notice how Satan appeals to Jesus’ flesh here

There is nothing, nothing at all wrong with eating when you’re hungry.

God was not withholding food from Jesus to punish Him, but to test or prove Him.

Satan was enticing Jesus to act outside of the will of God!

That is exactly what he will tempt you to do as well!

To act independently of the will of God, to take matters into your own hands, and then you will fall!

That’s what he did with Eve in the garden, “Yea hath God said?”

Jesus did not give in to the temptation, no matter how hungry He was, He would not disobey His Father! Instead of caving in HE quoted Scripture… Deuteronomy 8:3 “3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.”

First attempt; failure. Next...

He appealed to indulgence vv. 5-6

Do you know what he was saying in this passage?

There on the pinnacle of the temple some 350-400 feet to bottom,

Thousands of people in Israel's capital city

Here he says, “Throw yourself down! Let the masses see God miraculously save you!

Then they will believe you, then they will follow you, and after all, isn’t that what you want?

Did you notice what he said?

One of the most dangerous truths of the devil is that he too knows the Bible.

He may be able to quote it, but never accurately!

What is interesting is not so much What Satan said, as what he didn’t say:

Psalm 91:11-13 “11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: The young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.”

He omitted the phrase in verse 11, “To keep thee in all thy ways” this speaks of Jesus’ full obedience to God. Also, he omitted verse 13 altogether!

John Phillips said of Satan in this portion that he, “...used a convenient translation, paraphrased it to serve his own purpose, eagerly accepted an addition, deliberately left something out, and ignored the context.”

Jesus would not be fooled - again He quotes Scripture, still in Deuteronomy 6:16 “16 Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.”

His first two attempts failing, Satan lastly appeals to...

He appealed to idolatry vv. 8-9

Make no mistake. This offer was within his power as the god of this world.

The temptation here was a shortcut.

Jesus, you are here to save these people, but at what cost?

I am offering you the kingdoms of this world without the cross, all you must do is worship me.

Jesus again returned to Deuteronomy 6:13 “13 Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.”

His attacks were not random concerning Jesus, and....

His attacks will not be random concerning you

His tactics have not changed in 6000 years

He still offers these same temptations today, just in different packages

He will come at you just as he came at Jesus

He will appeal to your flesh, and try to convince you to act independently of God’s will for you!

He will appeal to your senses and try attempt to convince you to indulge in something which God does not intend for you.

He will appeal to your pride, to your ambition, the purpose which God has for you and offer you a shortcut.

He is relentless in his temptations. HE will not stop!

Conclusion: How can I hope to fight against the devil?

I’m so glad you asked that question. Suffice it to say, Jesus is our answer. We MUST follow His example. I need to point out that as God, Jesus expected this time of testing. I also need to point out that Jesus didn’t meet this temptation as God, but as man. We see this in His responses, “Man shall not...”.

Jesus endured this temptation to prove that we can overcome the devil, and to be our example as how to do so. We overcome first...

By relinquishing our own strength. That is the reason Jesus spent so long fasting. His physical weakness reminded Him of His spiritual weakness. Thus He spent the time in the wilderness fasting and praying so that He could withstand the temptation.

By relying on the Word of God. Nothing other than the Word of God can defeat the devil. Psalm 119:11 “11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, That I might not sin against thee.”

By resisting the desire to give in. What was the end result of Jesus’s preparation and battle? Matthew 4:11 “11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” James put it this way: James 4:7-8 “7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”

Every head bowed, every eye closed...

Maybe today, you find yourself in a place of spiritual attack. Maybe today you need help in resisting the devil, you need encouragement in drawing nigh to God. You can do that right now.

I wonder today, can you say beyond any doubt that you are a child of God, your sins are forgiven, and you have a home in heaven? If you have that assurance today, would you raise your hand, not ashamed, and wave it at God?

Maybe today you’re not certain about eternity. Maybe you’re saying to yourself, “How can I have this certainty?” It’s simple. Admit to God and admit to yourself that you are a sinner. As a sinner you cannot save yourself, you need a Savior, someone to take your place. That is what Jesus did. He died for you, took your sin. Today, if you will admit your sins, and believe that Jesus died in your place, you can be saved. All you must do is believe. Right now, would you say,

“Preacher, I am admitting that I am a sinner and cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus died for me, took my sins. Right now I am asking Him to save my soul.” If that's you today, would you raise your hand? In a moment we’re going to stand and sing, and as we sing, if you raised your hand, I’m going to ask you to come forward. **PRAY**