Matthew 4: 1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “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 by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’
Jesus had it made! Baptized by John and acknowledged as the Messiah, singled out for heavenly attention – now to start a successful ministry, right? A few miracles, a few crusades, and Jesus would be ready for the big time….right? Not exactly! Immediately after a scene at the Jordan River that could have come from a Hallmark movie, the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Why wouldn’t God let Jesus just charge off into the work He was calling Jesus to do?
It’s interesting that Satan thought he was tempting Jesus while all the time God was using Satan to emphasize to Jesus how His ministry would have to function. And the first test was a highly practical one. Jesus had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and was hungry. Satan’s first challenge to Jesus works on several levels: “IF you are the Son of God” – tempting Jesus to prove to Satan and himself that He really was God made man. Both Satan and Jesus knew that Jesus certainly could change the stones to bread, if he so desired. But had Jesus yielded to that temptation, his ministry would have been controlled by earthly appetites and not by the Word of God. Jesus not only knew who he was but he also knew why he had come and it wasn’t for cheap magic shows. And Jesus, hungry as he was, was willing to trust that at the right time God the Father would give him food. Jesus didn’t need to be his own providence.
Another thing to learn from Jesus: he did not answer Satan on His own; he quoted the Scripture accurately and used the Scripture as his defense. The Bible tells us that we are to trust in God’s word. Psalm 130:5 says “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope.” Bible memorization is critically important if we are to be successful in spiritual warfare. Only the word of God can turn away Satan. Psalm 119:11 says “In my heart I store up your words, so that I might not sin against you.” Jesus grew up memorizing scripture and when he needed that knowledge, it was readily available.
Yet another thing to notice is the timing of the temptations. Many times, we may have a wonderful success, only to fail shortly thereafter because we are not being careful enough. This is another reason we need to study the temptations of Jesus. Satan loves to attack us when we feel sure of ourselves and confident that we can’t possibly fail. 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” As we go about our work, let us be careful to remember that Satan is waiting to tempt us to prove our power, to be our own providence, to take short cuts, and to become overconfident.
PRAYER: Father, today help us to remember the way Jesus faced temptation and help us to copy him. Thank you that you are always with us to help us, to guide us, to protect us, and to provide for us. Help us to trust you as Jesus did. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
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