I. Introduction The Temptation of Jesus February 18. 2018 Matthew 4:1-11 As many of you know, today is the first Sunday of Lent. The six weeks before Easter is called the "Lenten Season." It is a time to focus on the suffering, death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Lent, which means spring in Old English, originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a time of preparation for Easter. It was a time when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism which was done on Easter morning. Although it isn t commanded in the Bible, traditionally, it is a season for Christians to spent time reading and studying God s Word, for meditation, for prayer, and for self-examination. For some this includes fasting as a means of self-examination and denial. It doesn't take too much reading of the Bible to see that forty is a special number. The great flood lasted forty days. Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai when God gave him the Ten Commandments. Moses and the Hebrew people wandered for forty years in the desert after leaving Egypt and we could go on. In particular, the forty days of Lent represent the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert at the beginning of his public ministry. On the 6 Sundays of Lent, we will consider 6 different activities in the Life of Jesus Christ. On this 1 st Sunday, it seems appropriate that we look at The Temptation of Jesus. Please turn to Matthew 4:1-11. As we consider the temptation of Jesus, we need to consider the word tempt. We have verses in the Bible like James 1:13 which says, When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. Then we have verses like the verse from the Lord s Prayer: Lead us not into temptation. And then there is the first verse of today s text Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. The Greek word πειράζω is translated here as tempt ; it really means to test. Whether testing is for good or for evil depends on the intent of the one giving the test. For example, if Toyota reports about tests on one of their new cars, the purpose is to demonstrate the positive features of that car. However, if Consumer s Report or GM were to run tests on the same car, they would be looking for its bad or negative points. In these verses, Satan wanted to get Jesus to disobey God and sin, i.e. to show His bad points. God, on the other hand, wanted to demonstrate Jesus sinlessness and worthiness. This is God s plan for all of His children. Christians cannot be tempted in a way that God cannot use it for their good and His 1
glory. That s why we read in James 1:2-4: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Whether testing is by God s initiative or is sent by Satan, God will always use it to produce good in us when we, like Jesus, meet the test in the power of the Holy Spirit. Matthew had several reasons for reporting about Jesus temptations or testings in the desert. First, he wrote to show that Jesus, as God s Anointed One, was able to resist Satan and his temptations, i.e., He was the sinless Lamb of God. Secondly, Matthew wanted to show the reader that just as Jesus in His humanity and in the power of the Holy Spirit was able to resist temptation and be victorious, we, as God s children, can also, in the power of the Holy Spirit, resist Satan and be victorious. II. The Timing One of the great truths of life seems to be that after a victory, temptation often comes. That s why Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:12, If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! When we have succeeded in something difficult or important, we are often tempted to think about how powerful or great or intelligent we are. Pride is more than ready to take over at a moment s notice. When we are successful, we feel that we are unbeatable and we let down our guard. That s when temptation comes, and if we aren t ready, we will fall. Do you remember the prophet Elijah and the contest with the 450 prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18? After winning the contest, God answered Elijah s prayer to send rain. Elijah had had a great victory we might say He had a mountain top experience. Do you remember what happened next? In 1 Kings 19 we read that when Queen Jezebel threatened to kill him, the victorious prophet Elijah fled into the desert afraid and completely depressed. He took his eyes off of God, looked only at himself, and he fell. Jesus had just had a mountaintop experience at His baptism by John the Baptist, He had been anointed by the Holy Spirit and God had called out of the clouds that Jesus was His beloved Son. Mark 1:12 says that Then He went right away. Immediately following His baptism, Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted or tested. After waiting 30 years, Jesus was ready to begin the work He had come to do. But before He could even start, the devil tried to turn Him away. III. The Testing As well as proving what He could do, experiencing the temptations the testings prepared Jesus to be our sympathetic High Priest. Turn to Hebrews 4:14-15. Jesus understands what we are going through He s been there. He faced His temptations in His humanity as a man not as the Son of God. His first words to Satan were Man shall not live by bread alone. Jesus temptations were real and like 2
all temptations, they involved the will. We are also shown that sinning is not in being tempted but in yielding to the temptation. By yielding to the Father instead of Satan, a good outcome occurs from this and any other temptation. Look at these temptations from Satan. A. The 1 st Temptation. Satan s 1 st temptation tried to take advantage of the fact that Jesus had been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. Satan s test involved God s will versus Jesus will and love of self. The devil said, If you really are loved by God, why are you hungry? If He really were your Father, He wouldn t let you starve to death. Go ahead, you are the Messiah the Chosen One, make Your own food. You deserve it. Don t wait for God, take care of yourself. At Jesus baptism, God had said, This is My Son whom I love (Matt. 3:17). If Jesus had made the stones into bread, He would have been doubting God s word and His love. Jesus would have been working independently of the Father and He wouldn t be doing what the Father wanted. Jesus had come to live a truly human life not creating food for Himself whenever He wanted. As Jesus said in John 6:38, I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. Jesus came to obey the Father and to do otherwise was to sin. Jesus, obviously, had it within His power to change stones into bread. Later, he miraculously multiplied loaves and fishes to feed over 5000 at one time and over 4000 people a second time. But it was not God s will for Him to acquire food miraculously here. Jesus had come to live a truly human life, one that goes through the normal means of acquiring food. For Jesus to turn stones into bread would lead Jesus out of the Father s will for Jesus life on earth. Satan was trying to break Jesus trust and submission to God through His physical cravings; we might say His lust of the flesh. Instead of falling, Jesus answered from Deuteronomy 8:3, Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Jesus was saying that we are better off to obey God and depend on Him, waiting on His provisions, than to grab satisfaction for ourselves in ways that disobey or in any way compromise His Word. We need to wait for the Lord, Paul put it this way in Philippians 4:19: My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. B. The 2 nd Temptation. Having failed to get Jesus to use His divine powers to serve His own selfinterests and thus sin against the will of the Father, Satan next tempted Jesus to put the love and power of the Father to a test. Although he twisted it a little, Satan even used Scripture to try to prove his point. Paraphrasing Satan: If You really believe the Scriptures, jump from this high point. Let s see if the Father really cares for You. Prove that Scripture is right and that He can take care of you. Go ahead, prove it! Jump! This was the 2 nd temptation: Test God in order to fulfill your selfish wants. 3
Jesus saw through this, too. This was testing God. No matter how noble or important a reason may be to test God is to doubt Him. To doubt God, not trusting Him, is sin. When we take risks simply to fulfill our own ambitions or to put God to the test, we are sinning and then we have no promise from Him to rest on. On the other hand, when we risk our prestige, our money, our lives, our families, or anything else to fulfill the Lord s calling, we can rest in His care for all that we need. C. The 3 rd Temptation. Satan gave one last attempt. He said, It seems that God, whose Son You claim to be, has abandoned You. He won t or can t feed You or even protect You. But if You bow to me, I will take care of You. I will give You all this all the kingdoms of the earth right now. Jesus knew that God s plan was that He had to suffer and die on the cross before He would be raised to glory. Satan was saying that if Jesus would bow down just once, He would be able to enjoy all the glory without suffering. Jesus would rule now not later. This was the 3 rd temptation: Worship Satan to bypass any suffering. Now Jesus lost patience with Satan. Satan had overstepped his authority. Jesus commanded him to leave. There was no debate about whether or not Satan is capable of making this claim; Jesus just answered him with Scripture. Using words that leave no doubt about what should be done, Jesus replied with Deuteronomy 6:13 Fear the Lord your God, serve Him only. Satan had said nothing about service, but Jesus knew that whatever we worship, we will serve. Worship and service go together. Only God is to be worshipped and only God is to be served. IV. The Triumph Finally, after Jesus testing we see His Triumph. Satan s temptations had failed. God s testing succeeded Jesus was triumphant; He passed the test with flying colors. Jesus response had been the same all along I trust the Father. I will do His will. I will accept His gifts from His hand, in His own way, and in His own time. Satan was defeated but, as we see throughout the Gospels, he didn t cease to tempt Jesus. Winning a victory over Satan doesn t guarantee freedom from further temptation. If anything, it just makes Satan try harder. After Satan left, angels came. The Father acknowledged Jesus worthiness not only in words but by sending angels to minister to Him. When we have gone through a trial, He will do the same for us Jesus said in Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. After Jesus had defeated Satan, He was ready to begin His ministry. He proved Himself to be the perfect King who is worthy of our respect and our obedience. Just as He in His humanity was obedient, He can expect us to be obedient with His help. As Hebrews 2:18 says, Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. IV. Conclusion: 4
Turn to 1 John 2:15-16. These are the 3 main ways Satan and his demons tempt us; those who grew up with the KJV know them as: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life. Or to put them a different way: cravings for physical pleasure, cravings for everything we see, pride in everything we have and do. Satan uses the same kind of arguments today as he did 2000 years ago: If you are a child of God, where is all the bounty? If you are a child of God, why doesn t He take care of you? Why does He make you suffer? Satan suggests that the world of business, the world of fame, or the world of whatever your heart desires can be yours if only... We can get what we want, we can fulfill our lusts and our fantasies; we can be somebody. All we must do to get those things of the world is to go after them in the way of the world Satan s way he says: All this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me. Satan is a counterfeiter. He appears to offer what seems to be the same as what God offers, and his price seems to be much cheaper. God wants you to prosper, doesn t He? Satan asks. Well, I ll give you prosperity a lot sooner and for a lot less. Why set your standards so high? What s the use? You can get what you want by cutting a corner here; shading the truth there. Why wait for your heavenly reward, when you can have what you want now? Give in once in a while; don t be such a prude. That s the way to success. The basic argument is always a form of the idea that the end justifies the means. But compromising truth misusing Scripture is never right. And if it s not right, it is sin. When Jesus was tempted, He didn t argue with Satan or try to rationalize what was happening. He quoted Scripture. When we are tempted, we need to quote Scripture and go to God. James 4:7 says, Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Ephesians 6:17 reminds us that we resist by using the Sword of the Lord God s Word. David wrote in Psalm 37:1, Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong. Rather, as Philippians 4:12 says, My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus just look at what God did for Elijah or the children of Israel or Paul or... In the midst of trials we are not left on our own 1 John 4:4 says, The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. We can be victorious over temptations because we walk with God and in His power. Let me close with a familiar poem: One night I dreamed a dream. As I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, One belonging to me and one to my Lord. After the last scene of my life flashed before me, 5
I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints. This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. "Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You'd walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me." He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you Never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you." Because of all that He experienced when He was here on the earth including His temptation Jesus understands what we are going through and He will be there to help us be triumphant. Just trust Him. We can be triumphant over temptations if we walk with God and in His power. 6