TEMPTATION
[Matthew 4:1-11]
V1. Note that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. This stands in contrast to what the Lord taught us to pray for ourselves, “lead us not into temptation.” Why the contradiction? The answer is substitution. Christ was not only our substitution as payment for our sin on the cross; but he substituted for us in every aspect of our lives. His substitution counts for our sin [Romans 3:25], our sorrow [Isaiah 53:4], our sickness [Isaiah 53:5] and even the temptations that confront us day to day. We can trust in his substitution that he forgives us of sin [1 John 1:9], will grant healing when we ask for it in faith, give us joy in times of sorrow [Romans 14:17], and deliver us from temptation. It’s one thing to ask God to forgive us after we have sinned; but Christ’s substitution goes so far that it gives us the right to call on his name for deliverance from temptation even before sin is committed! He is our refuge.
V2. There is a parallel between Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness and Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness. Forty years/days has throughout the Bible been a symbolic period of testing/purifying/or establishing. In Israel’s case, many died in the wilderness and weren’t allowed into the promised land because of unbelief [Hebrews 3:17-8]. Those who were allowed to enter were a purified, set apart people. Those who did believe and were counted righteous [Genesis 15:6], still had to go through their 40 years of wilderness. In Christ’s case, he was holy and righteous from the beginning; but still had to endure the temptation for the sake of being the perfect sacrifice. The ability to remain sinless through temptation was the validation of his identity.
The story tells us that Jesus was hungry. This represents the empty void in our lives. We try to fill that void with the things of this world and never quite find satisfaction. Christ chose [as we should…] to fill that void with the Word of God rather than bread [the things of this world].
V3. Satan’s first challenge was an attempt to make Jesus doubt his identity. Jesus [although God] was in a human body with a human brain; a brain in which memory can recall experience according to things seen, heard, smelt, tasted and touched within the duration of the brain’s existence. I don’t believe Jesus had a recollection of creating the world or walking with Adam in the cool of the day. His knowledge of his own identity came from the inborn truth given to him by the Father; not to mention the countless prophecies about himself that his understanding was no doubt opened to [see Luke 4:18-21]. I will qualify this by saying that this is only my theory and no formal doctrine taught by orthodox Christianity. This is an aspect of Christ that most do not ponder. I’m persuaded to believe that it must be this way if we are to claim that Jesus was completely human. Satan’s first word to Jesus was “if.’ This was an attempt to spark doubt. This was the same tactic that he used with Eve in the Garden of Eden [Genesis 3:1]. Doubt is one of Satan’s favorite tools. He wants us to doubt our salvation. He wants us to doubt the truthfulness of the Bible. He wants us to doubt the existence of God. He wants us to doubt our identity as children of God.
The first temptation was two-fold. If the Devil couldn’t get Jesus to doubt his identity, maybe he could get Jesus to act without waiting any longer on the Father. “Command these stones to be made bread.” In trials, it’s always best to wait on the Lord. Sometimes we may see a way of escape that seems perfectly logical. We must request the Lord’s counsel or we may be putting ourselves into an even worse situation. It would have been easy for Jesus to turn those stones into bread and eat, but he preferred to wait on deliverance from his Father. There is also a component here that shows another aspect of Jesus’ Character. Jesus never did anything for himself. His power was always used for others.
V4. Jesus used the scriptures to combat the devil. The devil had no choice but to desist from the attack and choose another approach.
V6. Satan will also use God’s Word; but remember that he is the Father of lies [John 8:44], and he corrupts the Word. He will use bits and pieces taken out of context, omitting words and phrases in an attempt to manipulate and distort. If he can’t use doubt in a frontal attack, he’ll start with confusion, then lead a person into doubt. It is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL to learn and become grounded in the Word! Verse 6 is a great example of how Satan uses this device. He quotes from Psalms 91:11-2. The phrase, “to keep you in all your ways,” is conveniently left out by Satan. This changes the meaning of the scripture in a dramatic way. The left out phrase would divulge that God promises his protection as someone ministers or goes about their business as normal. It excludes a person who has gone out of their way to tempt God. A good juxtaposition to demonstrate this would be a comparison between Paul gathering firewood on the island of Malta and the practice of snake handling in some Appalachian Churches. Paul was gathering wood to build a fire; a perfectly normal routine for anyone shipwrecked on an island. Paul was simply about his business, or “[in] his way.” He was bitten by a poisonous viper, but was supernaturally protected by God. The Maltese thought he was a god. This obviously gave Paul the credibility he needed to preach a Gospel to them that would be readily received. It turned out for God’s glory. The snake handlers [in accordance with their interpretation of Mark 16:18], on the other hand, engage in their practice to prove their faith or their spirituality. Although they may be sincere, they are unwittingly tempting God. In fact, many have died from snake bites. Satan knows the Bible very well. His use, however, is contra-contextual and manipulative. What’s even more dangerous is that he energizes false prophets with unholy power. He bestows evil gifts, such as supernatural influence and mind-manipulation ability on his servants. David Koresh, Jim Jones and Adolf Hitler are a few examples of people who through the power of Satan were able to manipulate and persuade masses to do the unconceivable [2 Thessalonians 2:7-12, Ephesians 2:2-3, 1 John 4:3]. The same spirit that will give the Antichrist his power is in the world today. How important it is to know God’s Word!
V7. Once again, Jesus fights temptation with scripture and wins!
V8. To this point, the devil has tested the Lord with doubt, carnality [physical rather than spiritual bread], and testing the Father [one who has faith doesn’t need to test God]. Now, finally, he tempts Jesus with wealth and power.
V9. Note that the fall of man to a desire for wealth/power always involves the worship of something other than God. One can have doubt and still be a worshiper of God. One can temporarily fall to a carnal temptation in the moment and still be a worshiper of God at heart [look at David]. I think all of us have put God to the test. It’s not right, but God always proves himself. However, when one compromises his principles and convictions for wealth [1 Timothy 6:10] or earthly power, they have made the object of that desire their god. From this verse, I am almost persuaded to believe that the worship of anyone or anything besides God, is the worship of Satan himself. God help us.
V10. As always, Jesus uses the scriptures to ward off Satan’s attack. Each and every temptation was defended against using God’s Word! How important it is to diligently study the scriptures [2 Timothy 3:16]. The devil had no choice but to leave at this point. The 40 days were over and Christ had suffered all temptation necessary to be our perfect substitution.
Conclusion:
I believe that the most important theme that the Holy Spirit wants to establish behind this study is the importance of knowing God’s Word. It is the weapon he has given us to battle temptation. To the new Christian, I have two pieces of advice:
1. Commit totally to learning from the Word. Read the Bible everyday. Pray for God’s help to understand it, and wisdom to know how to apply it to every situation. READ!!
2. In the meantime, hold to foundational verses such as 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 [We’ve been given the power to take our thoughts captive], and James 4:7.
These are a couple of good passages for a new Christian to start out with as memory verses.
