Matthew 4:1-11 The Temptation of Jesus
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” (Psalm 91:11-12)
7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” (Deuteronomy 6:16)
8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”
10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’[Deuteronomy 6:13]”
11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.
It sounds crazy. Jesus has just been baptized by John the Baptist at the Jordan River, and God has sent His Holy Spirit down as a dove showing His divine approval. God has even thundered from heaven, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” Sounds as if Jesus should be ready to lace up his sandals and jump into ministry, right? After all, God has graphically demonstrated His favor, so what more might Jesus possibly need? Many of us would be ready to strut off, assuming God is about to give us a wonderful ministry. But it’s at this point that the same Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness.
Why? What’s the point? There’s nothing out there in the Judean wilderness apart from sand, rock, a lot of heat, and whatever animals survive there. By day, the sun is scorching hot, and at night, Jesus must find shelter in a cave to remain warm. There’s no food out there, although there is water, so Jesus has nothing to eat for forty days, nearly six weeks. And then, when Jesus is weak from hunger, Satan shows up to tempt Jesus.
Notice something: God ALLOWS Satan to show up. God doesn’t merely send Jesus into the wilderness, but God already knows Satan will come, hitting Jesus when he is most vulnerable…and God has already planned that encounter. Why? What’s so important about the three choices Satan dangles before Jesus? We need to examine those choices carefully, for they present themselves to anyone in ministry, not once but repeatedly.
- The choice to take care of yourself first. After forty days of fasting, Jesus is very hungry. Now Satan suggests to Jesus that if Jesus is REALLY the Son of God, he prove it by turning some stones into bread. Actually, Jesus might have turned stones to bread at any point during the forty days; however, he has refrained. Satan probably says something along the lines of “Look you’ve completed your forty-day fast successfully. Isn’t it time to think about yourself a little? Go ahead, treat yourself. After all, if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to minister.” Satan employs just enough truth to sound really convincing, even concerned.
The temptation to care for ourselves first remains throughout ministry. Years before we entered missions, one missionary of our acquaintance raised funds for a vehicle, only for the head of the mission to commandeer those funds because his support had fallen short. Such redirection of funds without donor approval constitutes breach of contract, but the abuse occurred anyway. Such temptations never disappear, and the choice to be selfish can seem totally reasonable. Now Jesus answers Satan, “‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” By this statement, Jesus is giving God his Heavenly Father the option to feed him or not. Not only is Jesus referring to the Word of God as Scripture, but also to an individual word from God. God has directed Jesus to fast, and Jesus is leaving God to direct him when and where to break that fast, a decision in which Satan has no part.
- The temptation to test divine protection. Recently, news has come about the sufferings of Christians in Northern Nigeria, Southern Sudan, and other parts of the world. These people died for their faith, not because they were doing something extraordinary but because they were engaged in normal activities such as weekly worship. But what about a minister or missionary who takes unnecessary risks or who puts an undue emphasis on church growth and winning above all else? In an article on the Firebrand website entitled “Church Leadership Scandals and the Miracle of Ordinary Faithfulness,” Matt Reynolds makes an important point. “Cheryl Bridges Johns noted on Twitter several years ago, “The move from an emphasis on discipleship to an emphasis on leadership has cost us a generation or two. It created some ‘leaders’ who were never disciples.” https://firebrandmag.com/articles/church-leadership-scandals-and-the-miracle-of-ordinary-faithfulness
“Leaders who were never disciples…” OUCH! Discipleship demands we humble ourselves and learn from God, constantly subjecting our will to His perfect Will, and practicing self-discipline, refraining from promoting ourselves. Jesus spent the first thirty years of his life as a disciple, not as a leader. Now in that desert, when Satan is suggesting Jesus test God’s divine protection, Jesus refuses, not because God does not protect but because testing God is fundamentally wrong and a violation of His nature. Jesus remains a disciple and he respects God, his Master.
- The temptation to gain earthly power quickly by worshiping Satan rather than God.
Jesus has already undergone baptism at the Jordan and the Holy Spirit has rested on him. It’s likely that Jesus’ face shines with the glory and love of God, rendering him incredibly attractive to those around him. If Jesus were to enter ministry without facing this temptation, he might fail, and all mankind with him.
Here, the temptation is to take a shortcut to success, and nobody is immune. Nobody wakes up one morning thinking, “I’m going to follow Satan today!” There are many gifted Christian workers at all levels with charismatic personalities-ministers, missionaries, youth leaders, and others. All of these people have incredible influence over others. The test of a ministry is simple: does this man or woman point you to God, or do they encourage you to honor them instead, viewing them as your way to God? One of the challenges we face during fund raising is to give glory to God for what He is doing rather than featuring information about ourselves. Once more, the comment about “leaders who were never disciples” becomes relevant. The problem is simple: If leaders FAIL to remain disciples, ultimately, their ministries will also fail.
So, we see that God sent Jesus into the wilderness to confront the temptations he would face during his ministry. Each time a new temptation arose, Jesus countered it with appropriate Scripture, remaining grounded and humble. Jesus used Scripture appropriately while Satan twisted it, but Jesus knew the difference. Jesus also relied on God to help him and not on any power he had, even though he was the Son of God. May God help us, so that we will remain humble disciples, handling God’s Word properly, and allowing God to be our defense. Temptations will always come, but God will always be there if we allow Him to.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to continue to be disciples all our lives. Thank You for sending Jesus to show us how to handle temptation. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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