(Matthew 4:1-11)
“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted of the devil. 2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was
afterward an hungred. 3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of
God, command that these stones be made bread. 4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.5Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him
on a pinnacle of the temple,6And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of
God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge
concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at
any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt
the Lord thy God.8Again, the devil taketh
him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the
world, and the glory of them; 9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou
wilt fall down and worship me. 10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is
written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and
ministered unto him.”
INTRODUCTION
1. One of the blessings of having Jesus as our
Savior is His ability to comfort and aid those who are tempted...
a. This is because He too was tempted
“For in that he himself hath suffered being
tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.”
b. He is sympathetic, and can provide mercy and
grace to help in
time of need
“Seeing then that we have a great high priest,
that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our
profession. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the
feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, ye
withtout sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we
may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
2. One of His greatest periods of temptation was
at the beginning of
His public ministry...
a. Immediately following His baptism by John
“Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto
John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be
baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him,
Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.
Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out
of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit
of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven,
saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
b. Just prior to starting His preaching ministry
“Now when
Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; 13And
leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast,
in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14That it
might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,15The land
of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles;16The
people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the
region and shadow of death light is sprung up.17From that
time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand.”
3. Studying "The Temptation Of
Jesus" can be fruitful for several
reasons...
a. It reminds us that Jesus can understand our
own temptations
b. It reveals how we can be more successful in
overcoming temptation
I. THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS REVIEWED
A. THE SETTING OF THE TEMPTATIONS...
1. Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the
wilderness
a. The same Spirit which descended upon Him in
bodily form as
dove
“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up
straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he
saw the spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:”
b. It was likely the wilderness of Judea, a
desolate place
2. To be tempted by the devil
a. It appears that this challenge was initiated
by the Spirit
b. For it was the Spirit who led Jesus to the
wilderness for
this purpose
3. Where Jesus fasted and was tempted for forty
days
-- Thus it was after forty days of temptation
that we find Satan
approaching Jesus for a "climax"
involving three particular
temptations
B. THE CLIMAX OF THE TEMPTATIONS...
1. The first temptation (Mt 4:1-4)
a. Satan's appeal to the lust of the flesh
1) Having fasted for forty days, Jesus was
naturally hungry
2) Challenging Jesus' identity, Satan appeals to
His
fleshly hunger: "command that these
stones become bread"
b. Jesus responds with Scripture
“And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to
hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy
fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread
only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man
live.”
2) There is more to life than just fulfilling
physical
desires; man is dependent upon the Word of God
to truly
live!
a. Satan
appeals to the pride of life
1) Again challenging Jesus' identity, Satan sets
Jesus on
the pinnacle of the temple, tells Him to "throw
Yourself
down"
2) Quoting scriptures himself, using
“For he shall give his angels charge over thee,
to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou
dash thy foot against a stone.”
b. Jesus responds with Scripture
“Ye shall not tempt the Lord your
God, as ye tempted him in Massah.”
2) While the passage Satan quoted is true, it
would be an
abuse of it to purposely test God
a. Satan appeals to the lust of the eyes
1) Taking Jesus to high mountain and showing Him
the
kingdoms of the world
2) Offering to give Jesus all the kingdoms if He
will
worship Satan
b. Jesus responds with Scripture
“Thou shalt fear the
Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.”
2) Though offered a shortcut to receiving power
over the
nations, Jesus does not take the easy path
Revelation
2:26-27
“And he that
overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over
the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a
potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my father.”
C. AT THE END OF THE TEMPTATIONS...
a. Exactly what they did is not mentioned
b. Perhaps they provided bodily nourishment
2. This would not be the last time Satan would
seek to tempt
Jesus
“And when the devil had ended all
the temptation, he departed from him for a season.”
[With forty days of overcoming temptation behind
Him, especially the
temptation of taking a short cut to His rule as
the Messiah, Jesus was
now prepared to begin His public ministry.
II. OBSERVATIONS FROM THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS
A. WE HAVE THE SAME ADVERSARY...
1. Jesus was tempted by the devil, and so are we
“Be sober, be vigilant; because
your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions
are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”
-- We should not treat him lightly, for the
conflict is real!
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
B. WE HAVE SIMILAR TEMPTATIONS...
1. The lust of the flesh - e.g., immorality,
especially when
young
2. The lust of the eyes - e.g., materialism,
especially when
middle-aged
3. The pride of life - e.g., pride and
arrogance, especially when
elderly
-- These we must overcome, if we wish to have
the love of the
Father
“Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father
is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not the Father, but is of the
world.”
C. WE HAVE THE SAME TOOLS TO OVERCOME...
1. Jesus appealed to the Word of God, and so can
we
“And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”
2. Jesus had faith in the plan of God (victory
through
suffering), we need a similar shield of faith
“Above all, taking the shield of
faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
3. Jesus undoubtedly prayed, for He taught us to
use prayer in
overcoming temptation
“Watch and pray, that ye enter not
into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
-- The Word of God, faith, and prayer...against
these the devil
has no chance!
D. WE HAVE SIMILAR BLESSINGS WHEN WE OVERCOME...
1. Jesus was administered to by angels, angels
will carry us home
“And it came to pass, that the
beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man
also died, and was buried;”
2. Jesus received wonderful blessings when He
ultimately overcame
and ascended to heaven; He has promised similar
blessings for
us
“Fear none of those things which
thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that
ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto
death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”
“And he that overcometh, and
keepeth my works unto end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he
shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be
broken shivers: even as I received of my Father.”
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