The Temptation of Jesus

Matthew 4:1-11 From the moment we were baptized and became God's children through faith in Jesus, we have been targets in the devil's sights—him trying to wrench us away from God and destroy our faith in Jesus by leading us into some great, faith-destroying sin. 

That's the way it has been for all people from the beginning.  Adam and Eve faced temptation and failed.  The children of Israel faced temptation and failed.  The great heroes of the Bible faced temptation and failed.  So it went until Jesus entered the battle.

            Jesus was not defeated by Satan’s temptation.  He was the new Adam who got it right because he listened to his Father’s words.  He was the faithful Israel who walked with his heavenly Father in holiness.  The Bible says that:  He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin—and that because of him we can with confidence draw near to the throne of grace and find mercy and help in time of need. 

What we're going to learn today from God's Word is that Jesus’ holy obedience and steadfastness in the face of temptation is the best possible news for us—because God counts it as our own through faith!  We are going to learn how Jesus remained steadfast. 

The Bible says that:  Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  I want you to realize that you are not being tempted because you are a bad person or because you are weak—anymore than Jesus was tempted for these reasons. 

You are being tempted because you are a child of God.  The devil does not have you-- and he wants you.  Being tempted doesn’t mean that you have lost your faith—it’s the struggle against temptation that means you are still a believer.

            There is a spiritual battle that rages against us- and in us- and each of us must fight against temptation.  From the very beginning, Satan and his evil angels have done everything in their power to destroy mankind--to wreck the fellowship that were created to have with God--and that certainly included tempting Jesus who was not only a human being like we are--but also the heaven-sent Savior of us all.

            Right before his temptation, Jesus had been baptized--the Spirit had descended on him--the Father had announced his pleasure in him, identifying him as his Son--and yet immediately Jesus faced temptation from Satan.

Jesus did not seek this out--he did not put himself in harm's way--he wasn't looking for a fight--it simply came to him because he was filled with the Spirit and led by the Spirit.  It came to him because he was God’s Son. 

In the same way, we should not intentionally put ourselves in harms way spiritually.  If we have a problem with alcohol we should stay away from places where it's served.  We should be circumspect in how we interact with the opposite sex.  We should avoid TV and movies that undermine Christian faith and morals.  And so on.

But even when we do all that we can to avoid it, temptation will still come to us because Satan is a robber and a thief and we are his prize.  The Bible says that:

After fasting forty days and forty nights, Jesus was hungry.  And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

            If you remember the stories of Israel wandering in the wilderness, you know how they struggled with trusting God to meet their physical needs--how they grumbled about God’s provision and would have gone back to being slaves in Egypt just for the food. 

            Now please understand--being hungry is no more a sin than being thirsty is a sin or desiring companionship is a sin.  God made us physical creatures with physical appetites.  But on account of sin, our physical appetites have become distorted and misdirected and the devil tempts us to meet them sinfully. 

Adam and Eve ate the one thing they were forbidden to eat.  Noah served God and kept mankind from complete annihilation in the flood by building the ark but got drunk to celebrate.  David sinned sexually with Bathsheba.  The list of people sinfully satisfying their physical appetites goes on and on and includes us--but not Jesus.

            There was no sin when Jesus became hungry in the desert.  There would be no sin in turning a stone into bread.  Certainly it was within his divine power to do so.  But what he would not do was take his cue from Satan on how to meet a legitimate bodily need. 

            Jesus was the faithful Adam who listened to his heavenly Father and said "no" to Satan.  He was the faithful Israel who was satisfied with his Father's provision no matter what it is.  He was the faithful person that God wants all of us to be.

            Jesus' faithfulness is our salvation and his method of remaining steadfast is something that every child of God can make use of.  Jesus responded to every temptation in only one way:  by saying “It is written” and taking his stand on the Word of God. 

The Bible says that we are to take up the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.  This doesn't mean that we simply quote some verse of the bible when we are tempted—though there is power in that.  What it does mean is that who we are and what we desire and the direction and purpose of our lives is to be drawn from the Bible. 

            The devil and the world want us to believe that we are nothing but biological creatures--merely animals-- who are at the mercy of our appetites-- and our flesh wants us to believe that lie.  But we are much more than that.  We are God's children for we were created in God's image and we find our life in his Word.  The Bible says that:

The devil took him to the holy city and 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 will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”  Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

            I don’t think that any of us would consciously put the Lord to the test—which implies that we doubt his word and demand some kind of tangible proof of his existence or promises.  We wouldn’t do in consciously…

But how often do we say or think to ourselves:  “Well, if God really loved me…then this or that would take place”. 

Who we are in God’s sight and what his attitude is towards us is certain!  His Word tells us of his love-- and the sacrifice of his Son is the enduring sign of it.  But Satan tempts us to seek certainty in some external sign.

Satan tempted Jesus to put God’s promise to the test and cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple with the promise that the angels would catch him-- as a sign to himself- and a testimony to all looking on- that he really was God’s Son.  But at his baptism, Jesus had already heard God’s Word concerning his identity. 

The same is true for us.  When we were baptized God said to us:  you are my child.  He has not changed his mind.  We can return to God’s baptismal promise again and again no matter what is going on in our lives—no matter how we are being tempted-- and be certain that it is true and unchanging. 

We need to lay claim to that promise again and again because Satan is not going to give up on us and we face temptation every day in this world.  The Bible says that:

The devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan!  For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”

            The really sinister thing about Satan's temptations is that truth and lies are always twisted together.  When he tempted Adam and Eve with the forbidden fruit, he promised them that they would be like God—knowing good and evil.  And so they did.  But what they discovered was that they were evil and God was good and they weren't like God at all but had lost the image of God and become subject to death. 

That's the way it always is with temptation--Satan shows us the pleasure in some sin--but hides the spiritual danger.  The glass of wine with a meal that becomes an early death and a ruined family through alcoholism--the innocent friendship at work that becomes a destroyed marriage through an affair—the work ethic that becomes a cover for greed--and so on.  Spiritual danger in some good thing that Satan ruins.

            That is how Satan tempted Jesus.  He showed him what was rightfully his:  kingdoms and glory and power and honor--the kings of the world casting down their crowns before him--every knee bowing before him in submission--and all he had to do was one small thing--to render one act of worship to Satan. 

Who would ever know--they were all alone--why go through the rejection and suffering-- when what is rightfully yours-- can be yours-- right now?  Why go to the cross and die when you can have it all right now?

              This temptation cut to the very heart of Jesus' mission.  He had come to die. This was his work--to offer up his own life upon the cross as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world--to do what we have failed to do in giving our whole lives to God. 

            But Jesus did not fail--he did not abandon the way of the cross.  He set his face towards Jerusalem and the cross and never looked back.  After his death and resurrection he ascended to the Father and took his rightful place at the Father's right hand.  The ceaseless worship of angels and archangels and all the company of heaven sing his unending praises BECAUSE the way of glory went through the cross.  The Bible says:

The devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

            This is one of the most tender, poignant moments in the Bible.  The great evil angel has left Jesus alone in the wilderness and the good angels come to his aid.  The whole scene was set before their eyes:  would this second Adam go the way of the first and fall victim to temptation?  No!  This time there was a great victory for mankind in Jesus Christ and all the hosts of heaven rejoiced in it.

            The Bible says that there is a spiritual battle that rages around us--that:

We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.             

            Each one of us has our own part to play in that spiritual battle.  The devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh are allied against us.  They are mighty foes—but they are not greater than Jesus Christ. 

Throughout his public ministry the devil was right there beside him trying to undermine his mission and destroy his purpose.  But Jesus was faithful each step of the way—going to the cross—laying down his life—rising again and descending to hell to announce—not only his own victory—but ours as well.

  What we see before us in God’s Word today is that Jesus’ faithfulness at the devil’s temptation is God’s promise to us -of our own victory over Satan -as we put our faith in Jesus- and take our stand on his Word.  Amen.