Thank you for joining today as we seek God’s wisdom together. Let us begin with prayer.
“Lord Jesus, I ask that you search our hearts and see if there be anything wicked in them. We ask that your Holy Spirit show us what you are saying to us today. I ask that the words on this page would jump out to us as you speak to our hearts and minds truth and life. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Matthew 4: 1-11 NASB
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2And after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT COMES OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’ ” 5 Then the devil *took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6and he *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written: ‘HE WILL GIVE HIS ANGELS ORDERS CONCERNING YOU’; ‘ON THEIR HANDS THEY WILL LIFT YOU UP, SO THAT YOU DO NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’ ” 7Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’ ” 8 Again, the devil *took Him along to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10Then Jesus *said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’” 11Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to serve Him.”
What the Word is Saying
We have come to the temptation of Christ. I want you to notice that this takes place immediately after a mountain top for Jesus. He is still fully human and therefore subject to the same experiences that we have. As is so often the case in the believer’s life experiences of great joy is followed by times of testing. Here Jesus is led “by the Spirit” (not by the devil but by the Spirit) to the wilderness to be tempted. What is the wilderness? Well, this was an actual desert or desolate place in Israel, but it also signifies a separation from God. Meaning He no longer was in direct communication with God. God did not leave Him, the Holy Spirit after all had descended upon Him at his water baptism. However, He did not have direct communication with God. I think too often Christians get the idea that when you are in a dry place that God has left you because of something you did nor did not do. However, that is not always the case. Sometimes we are being tested to strengthen our faith and reliance upon Him. Nevertheless, Jesus is now in the desert, and this is what happens next.
Jesus is led into the wilderness and then fasts for 40 days and 40 nights. FO course 40 days and 40 nights has a typology associated with Noah in the Old Testament. Even though God told Noah what was going to occur you have to imagine somewhere in the storm and rain and darkness of the meteorological event that Noah and or His family wavered in their faith. I mean at some point you would have to think they said, “this is never going to end and when it does, we are not going to have enough to survive on until the water recedes.” It is human nature. Anyway, Jesus has now not eaten for 40 days. He has wandered around the desert and not come across anyone to help Him and now He is hungry. Now this is I have not eaten for 40 days hungry. And suddenly Satan appears and gives Him an idea. “Since you are God’s Son why don’t you just changed these stones into bread?” You're hungry and there is nothing here to eat so use the gifts that God has given to you to make a meal. Notice He is not saying to deny God, but rather use the gifts He has been given. I wonder how we would respond in such a scenario. Jesus responds saying “man does not live on bread alone, but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (v.4).”
Then without a break Satan takes Jesus up and puts him on the top of the temple and tells Him to throw Himself down. Jesus says, “you shall not put your God to the test (v.7).” Presumably there was a factor of fear here in the temptation. It had to be uncomfortable to be perched up on that point of the temple and as any man would be tempted to fear. Jesus would have been tempted as well. So, the temptation was not just to see if the angels would catch Him. But also, to deliver Himself from the temptation instead of waiting on God to resolve it. He also is still hungry and there is an element of truth in the temptation given to him.
Lastly, Jesus is taken and shown all the kingdoms of the world and told He would be given them if He would only bow down and worship Satan. Of course, Jesus tells him that “you shall worship the lord your God and serve Him only (v.10).” Again, however there is more to the test than simply worshipping a false God. There is the temptation to sidestep the plan of God and avoid the coming suffering and death He must endure. Can’t you just hear the voices in His head saying certainly this would be a lot easier than the other route. In fact, since the other route involves death God would definitely not want you to endure it. Naturally, He is still hungry, and no other options have materialized for Him in spite of all the fasting and prayer that He has done.
I think it is sometimes lost on us how tempting these temptations of Jesus were. We think that they were easy decisions for Jesus to make. But if He truly faced all the trials and temptations as us but without Sin. Then they had to be more than just an easy decision for Him. Similar, I would say to the prayers in the garden of Gethsemane. HE was willing to do what God wanted Him to do. What He was sent here to do. But still would have welcomed an easier path. Notice now at the end of the temptations. Having passed all the tests that finally the Angels came and ministered to Him. We are not told if they brought food, but presumably they did.
The answers to Jesus’ prayers and reassurance of His decisions to did not materialize until after the temptations were over. IT is often that way with us. We cannot see a way out of the trial that we are going through. Often a “answer” not the “Answer” comes along, and we are tempted to accept it. But we must have the same mind that our savior did and bring all thoughts and ideas to the Lord and wait for clarification. It seems sometimes we miss out on what God had for us by accepting less than his perfect will for us. It is not a temptation if we are not greatly enticed to do it.
If you have not received Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I implore you to do so now. All He asks for is for you to accept the free gift He gave you. Therefore, humble yourself and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of all. He alone is all powerful and you submit to His authority. Next you must believe He did what He did. That is; die on a cross and rise again from the dead. These are both actions of faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for with evidence not seen. Meaning you believe even though you don’t have physical evidence to prove it. I know you made it to this page for a reason and the Holy Spirit is working on your heart. The Father has drawn you and He alone can reveal to you the truth of what I am saying. I know that He is now, and you need to take a step of faith and pray these words with me.
Right where you are; say these words out loud: “Jesus I confess that you are Lord of all, I yield my will to your will for you are greater than me. I believe you came to this world and lived a sinless life; I believe you suffered and died on cross for my sins, I believe they put your lifeless body in a tomb, and three days later you rose from the dead. I confess to you that I am a sinner and ask you to forgive me. I also ask that you send me your Holy Spirit to give me power to live a sanctified life and to lead me into all truth. In Jesus name, Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, I urge you to contact us here so that we might come beside you and hold you up in prayer as you begin your journey with Jesus. I assure you that we have all been where you are. We may have committed different sins, but we are just as guilty, nonetheless. We all needed forgiveness and someone else supported us as we began our Journey with Him.
Thank you for joining me today as we searched the scriptures for What the Word is Saying. I pray that God will send His Holy Spirit into our lives anew and fill us again with His love and His purpose for us. So that we can fulfill the mission He left us in bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.
“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB (New American Standard Bible) Copyright 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” lockman.org.
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