The Temptation of Jesus Mark 1:12,13 (NKJV)

Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, February 4, 2018 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister MESSAGE 3 in Making A Difference Series (A Study of The Gospel of Mark) The Temptation of Jesus Mark 1:12,13 (NKJV) Today as we continue with our series of messages from the Gospel of Mark I would like to ask you to please open your Bibles once again to Mark chapter one. And let's read verses 12, 13. MARK 1:12, 13 (NKJV) 12 Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. 13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. P R A Y E R ***************** I N T R O D U C T I O N In our message last Lord's Day, Mark told us about that glorious day when Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee to be baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. I told you that was the first of two major events that happened around the time Jesus began His earthly ministry. In today's message we are looking at the second of those events and that is The Temptation of Jesus. ************

Hebrews 4:15 (NKJV) 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. Ever since Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden of Eden, every human being who has ever lived has battled temptation. Every human being has done battle with Satan, the enemy of our souls. Every human being has been enticed to do evil...to have something he should not have...or to do something he should not do. Every human being has been tempted to give into the desire to exchange long-term goals and dreams for short-term temporary pleasures. And Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, is no different! When He left the splendor of heaven and stepped down into humanity, he became the primary target of Satan. In I Corinthians 15:45-49 the apostle Paul refers to Jesus as the last Adam or the second Adam. Now stay with me here because this gives us insight into what The Temptation of Jesus was all about. In the beginning when Satan tempted the first Adam and his wife Eve to sin, Satan's goal was to ruin God's greatest creation. His goal was to destroy the relationship and the fellowship and the oneness that God enjoyed with the man he had created. And as we know, Satan succeeded and this world has been plagued by sin ever since that day.

When Satan tempted Jesus Christ... the second Adam...his goal was to ruin God's divine plan of reconciling man to Himself through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Taking down the first Adam was a great prize. Taking down the second Adam would be even greater. That is what The Temptation of Jesus is really all about. Now having said all that, let's go to our text. First of all, I would have you to notice... I. The TIMING Of Jesus' Temptation (v.12) 12 Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. 1. The word immediately tells us that the temptation of Jesus began the very moment His baptism was completed. There was no lapse in time. One moment He was seeing the heavens open, and receiving the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and hearing His Father say, You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And the very next moment Jesus finds Himself led away by that same Holy Spirit into the remote, desolate wilderness to be tempted by Satan. 2. In an instant, Jesus went from the mountain top spiritual experience of His baptism to the depths of spiritual assault in the wilderness.

3. In an instant, Jesus went from the event that would inaugurate the beginning of His earthly ministry to the event that would threaten to sabotage His earthly ministry. 4. There is a valuable lesson for all of us here and that is this: We are never more vulnerable for an attack from Satan than when we are coming from a spiritual mountaintop. Satan loves to attack us when we think we are the strongest spiritually. He loves to attack us when we have a burning desire to devote more time and energy to the LORD and spiritual matters. He loves to attack us when we have a renewed passion and zeal for Christ. 5. It is in those times of spiritual victory...spiritual mountaintops...and spiritual highs that Satan loves to bring us down. He tried to do that with Jesus and he will try to do it with you and me too. He may use your job...he may use your health...he may use an old sinful habit...he may use a close friend...he may even use the members of your own family to discourage you and bring you down spiritually.

6. In recent weeks and months I have seen several of you stepping up your level of commitment to the Lord and his Church. You have become more faithful in your Church attendance. You have become more diligent in your prayer life and in your study of God's word. Your desire to serve the LORD and to grow in your spiritual life is very obvious. And I commend you for your renewed commitment; and at the same time I want to warn you that right now you are very vulnerable to an attack from the enemy. This is why we must never let down our guard. Remember the warning of the apostle Peter in I Peter 5:8... Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 7. Satan timed his temptation when Jesus was on a spiritual mountain-top. Let that serve as a warning to us all that Satan often times his attacks on us when we are on a spiritual mountain-top.

Secondly, I would have you to notice... II. The TERRITORY of Jesus' Temptation (v.12) 12 Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. 1. The wilderness in the Bible is a double symbol. On the one hand, the wilderness was a place where one encountered God. Remember it was in the wilderness Moses encountered God at the burning bush. It was in the wilderness the Israelites encountered God in the form of the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. It was in the wilderness that Moses encountered God on Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. It was in the wilderness that Elijah was fed by the ravens sent by God to the brook Kerith. It was also in the wilderness that God sent His angel to feed Elijah when he was so despondent he wanted to die. In the Christian life we often find ourselves in a spiritual wilderness...a place where our soul is thirsty for God...a place where we feel as though our spirit is all dried up. Quite often it is when we find ourselves in those spiritual wildernesses that we have a close encounter with GOD that revives and refreshes our soul and renews our vision for the work God has called us to do.

2. But the wilderness in the scriptures was also symbolic of a place of testing...a place of temptation...a place of spiritual attack. The Jewish people thought of the wilderness as a place of danger and gloom...the dwelling place of demons. For the Jews the wilderness represented everything that was evil, the place where one was isolated and separated from God. So the wilderness symbolized the place where one encountered God, and it symbolized the place of trial and temptation. For JESUS, the wilderness was both of these. 3. I want to draw your attention to two details about Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. First of all note... (A) The LONELINESS (v.13) In the wilderness, Jesus was cut off from all His family and friends. In fact, He was completely cut off from all humanity. There was no sign of a human dwelling place anywhere. In fact, notice Mark mentions a detail not mentioned by the other gospel writers. He says in verse 13 that Jesus was with the wild beasts.

Why did Mark mention this particular detail? Perhaps to emphasize just how barren and desolate the wilderness was. Perhaps Mark mentioned it to emphasize how dangerous the wilderness was: in Jesus' day the wilderness regions were inhabited by lions, hyena, wild boars, and jackals. These were all fierce, predatory animals that might have stalked Jesus, making His time in the wilderness even more dangerous. I believe by mentioning the fact that Jesus was with the wild beasts Mark is pointing to God's PROTECTION over Jesus throughout this whole ordeal. The point is the wilderness was a place of intense loneliness for Jesus. But we must remember the Spirit of God was also there, and Mark tells us the angels ministered to Him. Matthew tells us that happened at the end of His temptation. The second detail I want to draw your attention to is... (B) The LENGTH (v.13) By length I mean the length of time Jesus was in the wilderness. He was there forty days. The number 40 in the Bible is symbolic of times of testing... probation...and preparation.

The Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness. Moses spent 40 years on the backside of the Midianite desert. The Israelite spies spent 40 days spying out the land of Canaan. The rains fell for 40 days and nights during the great flood in Noah's day. Matthew 4:2 tells us that Jesus fasted for forty days and nights in the wilderness. True fasting isn't just about not eating food, it is about spending time alone with God and drawing close to God in order to prepare for something of spiritual importance. Jesus was preparing Himself for a showdown with the enemy. He was preparing Himself for the temptations. You and I must also be prepared for temptation. Satan can attack us any day of the week at any time of day or night. We must stay close to God. We must be in close communion and fellowship with God in order to prepare ourselves for spiritual battle. Well we have looked at THE TIMING OF JESUS' TEMPTATION and THE TERRITORY OF JESUS' TEMPTATION. Thirdly, let's look at...

III. The TRIALS of Jesus' Temptation 1. Mark does not provide us with any detail about the three temptations Satan put before Christ. For those details we must look to Matthew and Luke's gospels. For the sake of time, let's focus on Matthew's account. We find this record in Matthew 4:1-11. (A) The First Temptation: Turn the stones to bread. Matthew 4:3 (NKJV) Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. There are two things going on in this temptation. First, Satan questions the Son's relationship with the Father. If You are the Son of God. Remember at Jesus' baptism, the Voice from heaven spoke and said, You are My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased. (Mark 1:11) And secondly, in this first temptation Satan is mocking Jesus' POWER. If Yo are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. Luke's gospel tells us this first temptation came after the forty days of fasting. It came at a time would Jesus would have been extremely weak physically, a time when He would have been the most vulnerable to yield to His hunger pangs. There is no doubt Jesus had the power to turn the stones to bread. But if He did so, He would have been yielding to the will of Satan rather than the will of His Father.

(B) The Second Temptation: To Jump off the pinnacle of the Temple Matthew 4:5,6 (NKJV) 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. Notice that for a second time Satan attacks the Son's relationship with the Father, If You are the Son of God. The pinnacle of the Temple was 450 feet above the ground. If one jumped from the pinnacle of the temple and survived it would require an absolute miracle. That is exactly what Satan was tempting Jesus to do. He was tempting Him to perform a miracle. Remember when Jesus' mother Mary asked Him to do something at the wedding feast in Cana because they had run out of wine? Remember what Jesus told her? He told His mother, Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come. Jesus would not perform a miracle until the precise time His heavenly Father told Him to perform a miracle. Once again if Jesus had miraculously jumped off the pinnacle of the temple and survived he would have been acting upon the will of Satan rather than the will of His Father. (C) The Third Temptation: Dominion over the whole world. Matthew 4:8,9 (NKJV) 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. Satan was tempting Jesus to take the earthly CROWN and by-pass the CROSS. In essence he was telling Jesus, You can skip Calvary and have the whole world at Your feet. But notice the stipulation: I will give you this power if You will fall down and worship me.

That is what Satan has always wanted. He has wanted to be worshiped as God. Well there was certainly a crown in Jesus' future, but that crown would come on the other side of the cross. The first temptation targeted the PHYSICAL realm: Turn these stones to bread. The second temptation targeted the EMOTIONAL realm: Jump off the pinnacle of the Temple. And the third temptation targeted the SPIRITUAL realm: Bow down and worship me. This brings us to our final thought and that is... IV. The TRIUMPH of Jesus Over Temptation 1. How did Jesus triumph over temptation? Did He do it through sheer human will-power? NO! Did He put His hands over His ears and just tune out the devil? NO! Did He do something miraculous or supernatural? NO! 2. Jesus triumphed over His temptations in the same way you and I can triumph over ours' and that is BY THE WORD OF GOD. (A) When Satan tempted Jesus to turn the stones into bread. Jesus triumphed with the word of God: He said, It is written: 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4 NKJV) (B) (C) When Satan tempted Jesus to jump off the pinnacle of the Temple Jesus triumphed with the word of God: He said, It is written: 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God. (Matthew 4:7 NKJV) And when Satan tempted Jesus to bow down and worship him Jesus triumphed with the word of God. He said, For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only shall you serve. (Matthew 4:10 NKJV)

3. One of our most practical and powerful weapons against temptation is the word of God. Satan's temptations are filled with lies and hollow promises. And the best way to combat Satan's lies is with God's truth. 4. When Satan tempts you and me he would have us to believe that we have no other choice than to give into the temptation. But God's word tells us the truth: James 4:7 (NKJV) Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 5. When Satan tempts you and me he would have us to believe he is a formidable opponent who cannot be defeated. But God's word tells us the truth: I John 4:4 (NIV) You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 6. When Satan tempts you and me he would have us to believe there is no escape. But God's word tells us the truth: I Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV) 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. 7. Jesus triumphed over temptation with the word of GOD; and the word of GOD is our key to victory as well.

C O N C L U S I O N The late Charles Spurgeon once gave this advice concerning temptation... What settings are you in when you fall? Avoid them. What props do you have that support your sin? Eliminate them. What people are you usually with? Avoid them. There are two equally damning lies Satan wants us to believe: 1) Just once won't hurt. 2) Now that you have ruined your life, you are beyond God's use, and might as well enjoy sinning. "Learn to say no to temptation: It will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin."