Chapter 6
THE TEMPTATIONS OF JESUS
(Matthew 4:1-11)
Before we begin our study about the temptations of Jesus and how they relate to you and I, let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the Name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father we ask You to please guide us through the temptations that Your Son Jesus experienced. Cause us to better understand what He went through and how His experience relates to our walk with Him.
Amen
We begin our study right after Jesus was water baptized by John the Baptist and baptized in the Holy Spirit by God the Father. After this event we find that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert. During His stay in the desert Jesus was tempted by the devil. To see this let us read from,
Matthew 4:1
"[1] Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil."
As we explore what happened in the desert we will,
1. Find that Jesus over came all three of Satan's temptations to sin.
2. Learn how you and I can also overcome the temptations that Satan brings to our doorstep.
With this brief introduction let us now review and explore,
THE TEMPTATIONS OF JESUS
To do this we will examine each of the three temptations to determine what they were and how Jesus overcame them.
FIRST TEMPTATION … CRAVINGS OF THE FLESH (Food, drink, etc.)
A record of this temptation can be found in,
Matthew 4:2-4
"[2] After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. [3] The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." [4] Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'""
In reflecting upon the above we can see that,
To quench His hunger Satan challenged Jesus to take independent action. He did this by tempting Jesus to prove that He was the Son of God and exercise His own authority and power. Remember, it was God the Holy Spirit Who led Jesus into the desert.
To more fully understand the depth and significance of Jesus' response, let read the Scripture He quoted. It is an excerpt from the book of Deuteronomy where Moses was reminding the Israelites about God's past dealings with them.
Deuteronomy 8:2-3
"[2] Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years; to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. [3] He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."
In this passage the Bible teaches us that, contrary to this world's way of thinking, we are totally dependent upon God for all things, such as food, clothing, shelter, etc. Yes, we are to work for our physical provisions. To see this let us read from,
2 Thessalonians 3:6-12
[8] … nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, [9] not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. [10] For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. [11] For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. [12] Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.
However, let us also consider the following Scripture,
John 3:27
"[27] To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven."
Consequently, our Lord Jesus Christ instructs us to pray as follows:
Matthew 6:9-11
""[9] This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, [10] your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. [11] Give us today our daily bread."
SECOND TEMPTATION - PRIDE and/or LACK OF FAITH IN HIM
A description of this temptation can be found in,
Matthew 4:5-7
"[5] Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. [6] "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" [7] Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'""
Notice how Satan can and will twist the Scriptures. To see this a bit more clearly, let us read the passage from which Satan quoted. To do this we go to,
Psalm 91:11-12
"[11] For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; [12] they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."
Now some might ask: "What is the perversion? What is the concern?" The answer to these questions is twofold.
The first concern is one of pride.
The implication of Satan’s temptation was for Jesus to prove He was the Son of God by jumping off the Temple peak to prove that God the Father would make good on His promise of protection. In other words, Satan asked Jesus to challenge or test God the Father’s promise of protection. However, Jesus responded to Satan by saying; "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
It is the same for us. We are not to deliberately put ourselves in harm’s way or in a compromising position with the expectation that because we are a born again believer, God will protect us.
The second issue or concern surfaces by reading the verse Jesus quoted from. It is an excerpt from a sermon Moses gave to the Israelites. In this sermon Moses reminds them of all the trials and tribulations during their journey in the desert. This particular quote is from,
Deuteronomy 6:16
"[16] Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah."
This raises the questions of: "What happened in Massah? And “What was Moses referring to?" To find out let us read from,
Exodus 17:1-7
"[1] The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. [2] So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?" [3] But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?" [4] Then Moses cried out to the LORD, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me." [5] The LORD answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. [6] I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. [7] And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?""
In thinking about the above incident one might ask as to: "Why were the Israelite’s demands so bad; after all they were thirsty and were in a desert?" To find out let us recall why they were in this wilderness. To do this we go to,
Exodus 3:16-17
[16] Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; [17] and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’
As we reflect upon the above Scriptures we come to see that verse 17 records God’s promise to bring Israel into the land flowing with milk and honey, which means the land will produce abundant fruits. Thus, as we read in Exodus 17:7 by contending with Moses during their journey to the Promised Land they were in effect questioning God’s ability and/or willingness to fulfill His promise. In other words, they were challenging or putting God to the test.
As we read the New Testament we discover that as God promised the Israelites to bring them into the Promised Land of Canaan, God has also given the born again believer a similar promise. To see this let us read from,
John 14:1-3
[1] “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. [2] In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
Let us now read Paul’s prayer for us as recorded in,
Philippians 1:3-6
[3] I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, [4] always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, [5] for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, [6] being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
Consequently, the Holy Spirit warns us to not do what the Israelites did. To read an excerpt of His warning we go to,
1 Corinthians 10:9-11
[9] … let us not tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; [10] nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. [11] Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
THIRD TEMPTATION - LUST OF THE EYES (power, wealth, success, etc.)
A description of this temptation can be found in,
Matthew 4:8-11
"[8] Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. [9] "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." [10] Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'" [11] Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him."
This is a very interesting temptation. The Bible teaches us that Jesus was to inherit all these things anyway. To see this let us consider the following excerpt from the Gospel according to John,
John 13:3
"[3] Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;"
Notice that the power and inheritance Jesus received was from God the Father. The Bible also teaches us that Jesus received it because of His obedience to Him. To see this let us prayerfully consider the following excerpt from Paul's letter to the church in Philippi.
Philippians 2:8-11
"[8] And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! [9] Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should(must) bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Thus, Satan was tempting Jesus to avoid all the trials and sufferings He had to endure. Satan was trying to get Jesus to circumvent the Father's will and receive the power that was now temporarily under his, Satan's, control.
It is interesting to note that we too have an inheritance in the Kingdom of God. To refresh our memory let us read from,
Romans 8:16-17
"[16] The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. [17] Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
Let us notice the following verses,
16 … The born again believers in Jesus Christ are children of God.
17(a) … Hence, we are heirs of the Kingdom.
17(b) … However, before we can share in His glory, as Jesus did, we may also have to share in His sufferings.
Now that we have read about Satan’s temptations for Jesus to sin and how Jesus successfully overcame them, the question arises as to: "What about us?" "What are we to do to overcome the temptations to sin?"
First of all we must understand and believe that,
WE HAVE WITHIN US THE SPIRITUAL POWER TO OVERCOME SIN
To see this we begin by reading Paul’s prayer to ask God to enlighten us with respect to the spiritual power that is available to the born again believer. This prayer is recorded in,
Ephesians 1:15-21
"[15] … ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, [16] I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. [17] I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. [18] I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, [19] and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, [20] which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, [21] far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come."
For this study, let us pay particular attention to verse 19. To do this, let us reread this verse as it is translated in the Amplified Bible.
“And so that you can know and understand what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength …”
In reflecting upon the above one might ask: “What did Paul ask God to show us?” The answer is that he asked our Lord to grant us the ability to understand and comprehend the great spiritual power that is available to the born again believer. In the last half of Ephesians 1:19 and then in verse 20 this power is described as the same tremendous power and authority that raised Jesus Christ from the dead and seated Him above all things!
With the above glimpse of the spiritual power that is available to us in Jesus Christ, the question arises as to; “What by faith can we ask for, knowing that it is in God’s will to answer it?” To find out, we begin by noting that,
WE HAVE BEEN REDEEMED FROM THE POWER OF SIN
Thus, the first step in exercising our faith to resist sin and the attacks of the evil one is for us to truly believe that Jesus Christ redeemed us from the power of sin. In addition, we must also bring to mind that we were crucified with Christ and in baptism we buried our old self and was raised to a new life in Christ Jesus. Consequently, as the Bible states, sin shall not be our master. This truth is recorded in,
Romans 6:14
"[14] For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."
In reflecting upon this promise from God we are greatly encouraged. However, when the temptation comes; “What do we do?” “How do we not succumb to Satan’s wiles, trickery and power?” To find out we go to,
GOD’S DEFENSIVE PLAN
The defensive plan our Lord has given us to use at the time of temptation to sin and/or the spiritual attack of the evil one is provided in,
James 4:7
"[7] Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
Notice the above verse contains three parts. The first two parts teaches us what we must do when facing temptation. Specifically, we are to (1) submit to God and (2) resist the devil or the temptation to sin. In the third part of the above Scripture God promises that if we do our two parts then the devil or the temptation will flee from us. In other words, He will restore us.
To help us better understand God's defensive plan, let us now explore each element or part in a bit more depth.
As we read in the above Scripture (James 4:7) at the time of temptation the first thing we are to do is to,
Submit To God
The reason for this is that we must remember that in our old natural self we cannot effectively fight off sin and the evil one. Thus, we must come to our Savior for help. Let us recall that Jesus came to this earth as a man to set you and I free from the law of sin and death. To refresh our memory, let us read,
Romans 8:1-4
"[1] … there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, [2] because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. [3] For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, [4] in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit."
Let us notice the following verses,
1-2 … Because Jesus set us free from the law of sin and death we are no longer under condemnation. In other words, in Jesus Christ the born again believer no longer lives under the law of sin and death but lives under a new law, the law of the Spirit of life.
3-4 … In other words, we could not and cannot comply with God's ways in our natural self, that is our old sinful nature. Thus, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ God condemned the sin that is in sinful man. He did this so that through faith in Jesus Christ we can now live with the power of the Holy Spirit, Who, through His love, will fulfill the law for us.
Thus, during the time of temptation, knowing it is God's will to fulfill all these promises for us, we submit to Him and confidently pray for help. To see this, let us read from,
Hebrews 4:14-16
"[14] … since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. [15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. [16] Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
After we have submitted ourselves to God and are waiting for His deliverance and grace to come, God the Holy Spirit in James 4:7 tells us to,
Resist the Temptation to Sin and the Strategies of the Evil One
We do this by standing firm in the strength of our Lord, knowing that we are His and that He will deliver us. To see this, let us read,
Ephesians 6:10-17
"[10] Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. [13] Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. [14] Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, [15] and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. [16] In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [17] Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Let us notice the following verses,
12-13 … Our struggle is not among ourselves, which is not between flesh and blood or fellow human beings. Our struggle is with all the spiritual forces of evil. This is why it is so necessary for us to wear the full armor of God and stand firm. Notice the Scripture does not tell us to attack, but tells us to stand firm.
14-17 … This is the armor of the born again believer: (1) we have God’s Word, the Truth, fastened around our waist, (2) we carry Jesus’ righteousness around our heart, (3) we step into shoes of readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace, (4) we place our faith in God, not in the weapons of this world, (5) we put on the helmet of knowing we are saved and belong to God Almighty and finally (6) as Jesus did we are pick up the sword which is God’s Word and use it to extinguish the lies and half truths of the evil one.
After we have submitted to God, put on our armor and resisted for a period of time, God promises that as it was with Jesus,
THE EVIL ONE WILL FLEE FROM US
To see this, let us reread,
James 4:7
"[7] Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
Before we close let read,
A Word of Encouragement
Suppose I fail? Suppose my faith wanes and I fall into sin? Does this mean I am no longer His? Does it mean that I do not belong to Him? No! We must not forget we are not perfect and we are sinners, saved by God’s Grace and Mercy. Thus, at the time when we recognize our sin, we are to be sorry, humble ourselves and confess it to God. To see this, let us read from,
1 John 1:9-2:2
"[9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. [10] If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."
"[2:1] My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. [2] He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.’
Blessed be the Lord Forever!
Amen and Amen