Matthew 4:1-11 (click title for audio access)
"Temptations" • 5.2.10 • Calvary Colton Sunday Morning
Intro.
- Matthew has kept to his purpose: Prove to the Jewish people that their Messiah had come and His name is Jesus.
- In chapter 1, he showed us that Jesus had legal claim to the line of Abraham and David.
- In chapter 2, he showed us that people from distant lands recognized His rightful place and wicked men sought to destroy Him.
- In chapter 3, Matthew records that God the Father himself puts His seal of approval on Jesus, dramatically appearing at Christ's baptism.
• Matthew 3:17 : "And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'"
- Christ's earthly ministry public ministry has commenced. The glory of the moment fades and the scene dramatically shifts. Now, the King is visited by the devil himself.
- This story fits Matthew's theme perfectly, as these particular temptations can only effect the Messiah! It seems that Matthew is saying, "Look, even the devil recognized Jesus!"
- Jesus battles against our enemy on our behalf. In the process, we'll see some very clear principles that will help us understand the enemy's tactics, as well as how to emerge victorious.
- Let us notice:
I. The Occasion (v.1-3)
II. The Outrage (v.3-10)
III. The Outcome (v.11)
Text
I. The Occasion (v.1-3)
• Matthew 4:1-3a : "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him..." : This event immediately followed Christ's baptism, a moment of blessing. It also precedes His public ministry.
- He dried off and walked into a fight. He went at the leading of the Holy Spirit, alone into the wilderness. The Judean wilderness is the picture of desolation.
- This is a first hand account from Jesus Himself. It was Jesus and the devil. Notice the occasion: After a spiritual victory.
- Let it be known principally, that spiritual victory precedes spiritual attack! We are least aware of danger when we are the most pleased with our success!
- Jesus was led up by the Spirit. This was God's will for His Messiah. The word for "led up" comes from the same word that means to "launch out" to sea.
- Christ's first act as Messiah would be to face head on, the temptation of the enemy.
- Let's talk a little about temptation here. First, it is no sin to be tempted. Everyone is tempted. Giving into temptation, when desire gives birth to action, then sin has occurred.
- Additionally, the word used here is translated both temptation and test. Whenever it's employed next to God, it's a test. When it's next to the devil, it's a temptation.
- In this event, Jesus will both prove the durabilty of His position, as well as His strength against sin. Some might point out here that these temptations could have no power against Christ.
- Jesus Christ was fully man and He faces them as a man. But he was also fully God, so there was no chance that Jesus could sin.
- Remember, that Jesus was virgin born born, thus He was born without a sin nature
- Proverbially, He had no sinful birth defect. But could He not now become a sinner by practice? This will be the enemy's intention to determine.
- Jesus, as our representative, will face every temptation that the enemy has on our behalf.
- Just to make it fair, Jesus, after going into the wilderness then abstained from food for a full forty days, something indeed miraculous, and not intended to be tried at home!
- After 40 days, the Bible says that Jesus was hungry! DUH! This means more than it says.
- Physiologists tell us that when one goes through a prolonged fast they will lose the sensation of hunger. It will only return at the verge of death. Jesus was literally starving to death!
- Jesus was tempted after 40 days and nights of fasting. 40 is the number of testing in scripture.
- Israel failed to believe in God's power to bring them into the promised land and walked in the desert, the wilderness for 40 years. Jesus is about to fulfill their experience as well.
- Notice those next words: "Now when the tempter came." This is home court for the devil!
- He loves to come when he has all the advantage.
- This is the testing place, where Jesus stands as the representative of the redeemed.
II. The Outrage (v.3-10)
• Matthew 4:3,4 : "Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, 'If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.' But He answered and said, 'It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" : In the first temptation, the tempter comes with a temptation that is physical in nature, dealing with the natural appetite.
- The tempter suggests that Jesus command stones to become bread.
- In the last chapter, John declared that God could raise children to Abraham from stones, so bread would be a piece of cake...or bread, as it were!
- His suggestion was clever. Why not use a little bit of your position to satisfy your hunger?
- "There is nothing wrong with eating a little bread is there?"
- This is well within the means of Jesus the Messiah. He will make bread on a few occasions. But to use it for his own sake, at the time of His choosing, would signal a breach of confidence.
- Interesting, God has given each of us gifts that are meant to glorify and honor Him. The enemy will seek to have us wrongfully employ them for our glory!
- The fact that Jesus has been fasting implies a covenant with His Father to do so.
- The implication is that God the Father will determine when the fast is over. By refusing even something as "small" as bread, Jesus shows true submission to the Father.
- Jesus will face three temptations and three times, He will answer with the words "it is written." Jesus will answer each time with the Word of God.
- Turn over to Deuteronomy 8. God is speaking to the people of Israel, who are about to enter the promised land. We'll read a little bit more for context.
• Deuteronomy 8:1-4 : "'Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you."
- God allowed Israel to be humbled, allowing them to hunger. Jesus has entered into that same experience.
- He understands what they missed out on, that God would provide for their physical needs in His time, not theirs! Jesus perfectly submitted to His Father's timing in this regard.
- The tempter will turn things around. He'll tell you that whatever physical desire you have is fine to provide for yourself. God says, "That's mine to provide for you."
• Matthew 4:5-7 : "Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him 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 shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' Jesus said to him, 'It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'" : The second temptation takes place on the highest part of the temple. This temptation is spiritual in nature. It's obvious from the text that this was a visual understanding, not a physical relocation.
- There was a belief that was commonly held among the Jews, that the Messiah would show Himself in this way. At 450 feet in the air, such a show would be fairly memorable!
- Why not do an "air show" Jesus? Sensationalism today is boring tomorrow!
- Satan tells Jesus to throw Himself off so that the angels would save Him, like the Bible says, Satan quoting from Psalm 91, verses 11 and 12.
- Did you catch that? Satan also says, "It is written." Satan quoted scripture! He knows the Word of God! Notice however, that he takes things out of context.
- The tempter left one little bit out: God promises the man that trusts in Him, safety and deliverance as he walks IN HIS way! The issue here is one of presumption.
- I can say with confidence that when I am walking where God calls me to walk, that He will keep me safe from dangers. I need not fear.
- However, if I decide to go and invite trouble just to show that God will protect me, then I had better be sure that trouble will find me!
- This temptation centers on our desire for recognition from people, as well as from God! We want people to know what we know: We are great!
- The devil says, "Make a show of yourself. Get some recognition. You deserve it!"
- Jesus replies a second time from Deuteronomy 6:16. This time Jesus left off the end portion, which reads "You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you did in Massah."
- What happened in Massah? For the answer to that, you'd need to look over at Exodus 17.
- The people had come a few days out of Egypt and found that there was no water to be had. They contended with Moses at that place and the cry of their heart was "Is God with us or not!?"
- The implication is that when the pressure gets turned up, and we do not see the provision, we tend to say, "Is God really with us?," as if to say, the only proof we will accept is if He meets us now with what we want in that moment.
- In those moments of doubt, we make rash comments or we take rash actions.
- What Satan was getting at here was the temptation to show off what Jesus was really was. After all, He deserved to be shown, not as a pitiful servant, but as the righteous King.
- The enemy tells us to stand up and make everyone recognize our greatness. God says that the Kingdom rule is to let Him exalt the humble.
- Satan says, forget that humility garbage! Go out and take what is rightfully yours!
• Matthew 4:8-10 : "Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, 'All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'" : This is Satan's climactic moment. Again, this must have taken place in a vision or in the mind of Christ.
- Much of what we will face when tempted by hell will take place in our minds. That's why we are committed to renewing it!
- He shows Jesus all the Kingdoms of the world and their glory and says, "they are yours if you worship me!" There is no argument. Jesus accepts the Satanic claim.
- Satan's device here is the temptation to take the shortcut. Why go the long way? Why take the route of pain and suffering? Here are the kingdoms of the world. Just take them now!
- Forget humility and suffering. Put aside being known as a sacrificial servant. In this third temptation, Satan says, "Who needs the cross!"
- What is wrong with this picture? Simple. Jesus would have been given the Kingdom without a redeemed people to fill it!
- The temptation of the immediate. To have now is better than to have later, if at all!
- How many have given up the benefits of the proven for the fleeting satisfaction of the immediate? Jesus answers for the third time from Deuteronomy 6:13.
- God told the Israelites that He was to be their God, especially as they were going to be exposed to other nations who worshipped at the altars of strange gods.
- Today, our altars are status and position. Jesus was clear that in His response that He worshipped God and served only Him. He did not serve Himself!
- That means, we receive from the Lord our status and position and we are entrusted with it by the use of His methods! We are never justified in employing worldly methods to gain godly ideals.
- Jesus has been confronted with Satan's three best weapons: The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. He has bested Satan each time.
- Turn with me to Hebrews 4. The writer of Hebrews lays out the practical, encouraging implications of this for us.
• Hebrews 4:13-16 : "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
- How did Jesus beat the devil? Did He use His mystical magical powers? Jesus was tempted as a man and then as the template of the Man of God, defeated Satan as a man!
- At each turn, Jesus quoted the Word. Each time from Deuteronomy. Most believe that this points to Jesus' devotional life.
- The storehouse of God's Word treasured in our hearts, may not come forth immediately, but when it is needed, we need to be sure that it's there!
- To be ignorant of the truth of the Word is to be poorly armed for the fight.
III. The Outcome (v.11)
• Matthew 4:11 : "Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him." : "The devil left Him." Satan took his leave, but only for a time.
• Luke 4:13 : "Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time."
- Time would come again and Satan would be ready to attempt to derail Christ again.
- Here we will do well to understand a few points about temptations. First, to be tempted alone is not a guaranteed loss. Many people will say, "I was tempted and HAD to give in." WRONG!
- Turn with me I Corinthians 10. Paul writes some famous words here.
• I Corinthians 10:12,13 : "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."
- We do not have to give in to sin, especially those of who are in Christ.
- Second, notice that the devil left him. He went away from Christ. The enemy of our souls cannot continue to work against us, if we are working against him!
• James 4:7 : "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
- This brings me to my final realization as we look at this passage: The time of tempting always comes to an end! Temptations, trials and tribulations are all experiences that have a beginning, a middle and an end!
- At this time, just as with us, Jesus passes through the temptation, and is given a time of reprieve. The angels came and ministered to Him. They attended to, served Jesus.
Conclusion
- At the end of the day, know that our enemy is determined to derail us and his goal is that we would stop serving Christ, and serve ourselves.
- Whether that is with physical desires, spiritual desires or shortcuts.
- Thankfully, God's Spirit has made His home in us. Because of His strength, we need not fail!
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