The Temptation of Jesus
Matthew 4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 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 shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 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.’” 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.
“Tell these stones to become bread”
Use Your power to your own benefit
“Throw Yourself down”
Use Your spiritual insights to impress others and test God
“Worship me”
Use Your freedom to bow down to one other than God-so you can gain power
The Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eyes, the Pride of Life
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[d] is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
The CONTEXT: Just after Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit descends, the Father speaks from heaven saying “this is my beloved Son. Hear him”. Jesus is lead into the wilderness to be tempted.
Our greatest temptations often come after a time of spiritual victory.
After the time on the mountaintop retreat we have to return to the valley.
After times in the forest we always have to come back to the city.
These are the times when the enemy will often attack, when we think we are at our best. As Paul said
“11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation[c] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[d] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[e] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:11-13
So we have three sections to the temptation part one is:
“Tell these stones to become bread”
Use Your power for your own benefit (rather than for the benefit of others-1 Cor. 12:7)
Kenneth Hagin suggests the following prayer:
“I thank you Jesus, I loose the resurrection and healing power working within me now, rebuilding, repairing, and restoring any damage that was done. I loose the resurrection and healing power of the Holy Spirit upon my mind, my emotions, and my body in the name of Jesus.”
He continues with this advice: “Speak out your specific problem in conjunction with this confession, claiming healing and deliverance.”
I realize this recommendation comes from someone who probably genuinely wanted to help people, but, doesn’t it sound a lot like Satan’s advice? “Use the power of God to feed your tummy, to make you strong, to bring you health and wealth”.
Part of this same doctrine is that you can simply speak new realities into existence-speak to the stone & tell it to be bread.
One time I told someone I had a headache. She asked if I’d like her to pray for me. I said “sure!” She said “Lord I thank you that Ken does not have a headache.” I was happy for her to pray because I HAD a headache-claiming it does not exist does not make it go away. It is God who does such things, He invites us to learn to live in humility and to submit to and cooperate with His will-using His gifts to bless others-NOT to focus on our own needs. Our needs and health and strength are most fully realized when we use the power and gifts God has given us to meet the needs of others (again- 1 Corinthians 12:7)
The point of prayer is not to accomplish our will on the earth, but to conform ourselves to His will. When we do this, He will do creative and miraculous work on our behalf.
So the 1st temptation is
“Tell these stones to become bread”
Use Your power for your own benefit
“Throw Yourself down. As it is written . . .”
Use Your spiritual insight to impress others and test God
Malcolm Muggeridge wrote an essay, which eventually became a book on the subject of “Christ in the Media” in it he said this:
“The fact is that, in my experience, experts on communication can very rarely communicate with any degree of skill or clarity. This might seem surprising until one reflects that marriage counselors have usually been divorced, dietary experts are usually chronic dyspectics, extollors of potency—like D. H. Lawrence—are usually impotent, and the roads to private and public bankruptcy are paved with economists.
Such essays in irony are part, for me at any rate, of God’s glory and mercy.”
Malcolm Muggeridge Christ & the Media
The area in which I have studied the most is the Bible. I’m hoping that I might be an exception to MM’s observations this morning.
Often people who become experts in some field use their expertise to claim status or authority or to force people to do their wishes. This is very common, especially in India. You get your “terminal” degree (sounds like a disease) and you, therefore, should be in charge-based on your knowledge you have status. Jesus knew the Word. Satan wanted Him to use that knowledge to do something impressive-to gain advantage by using the teachings of Scripture to do something miraculous and impressive. This is tempting God-it is not our domain.
“Worship me”
Use Your freedom to bow down to one other than God-so you can gain power
Moses to : Nehushtan It’s a thing of brass! 2 Kings 18:4
-Hezekiah had to take the thing God had used in the time of Moses to bring healing and break it in pieces. People had started worshiping it.
-One of the greatest violinists of the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century bought a very expensive Stradivarius violin, in today’s money it would be over 1 million dollars-5 crores- for a single instrument!
He was invited to one of the great theatres of NY to give a concert. There was a buzz as people anticipated hearing this great instrument. Newspapers spoke about the excitement of the community at the opportunity to hear this great instrument.
The master musician came out and played a brilliant 1st half of the concert-the audience was mesmerized by the soaring melodies. “ah! What a wondrous instrument!” “What a lovely tone!” “Such fluidity of melody”. . . those attending were amazed.
About half way through the concert the violinist stopped abruptly, threw his violin on the ground and jumped up and down on it. He destroyed it, leaving it in a thousand shards on the floor of the stage.
The audience was shocked and stunned into silence.
“ladies and gentlemen, I know you came this evening to hear the Stradivarius I recently purchased. I just destroyed a fiddle I bought at a pawn shop down the street. Now, I shall play for you on the Stradivarius”. He completed the concert on the magnificent instrument. His point was well-made. If I were to play a Stradivarius it would not be beautiful or sublime. What makes an instrument glorious is the touch of the master’s hand.
We are often tempted to worship the instrument, to turn our attention away from the One who makes the instrument’s music a thing of beauty. This turning away of attention from God to anywhere else is the work of satan.
Jesus’ response to temptation is consistently “as it is written . . .”
He uses the Bible-the Word of God to defeat the distortions and temptations of the enemy. Rather than entering a power contest with satan (there was no contest-it would not have been a fair fight. Jesus could simply have said “I am and you’re not” and his adversary would have simply ceased to exist). Instead Jesus answered words of unreason with the Eternal Word.
This, of course, meant Jesus had large portions of the Bible memorized-maybe the whole volume. He was ready; even when twisting of Scripture was used to influence Jesus away from His Father’s best Jesus knew how the Bible should be properly handled.
The temptation of Jesus is, surely, a model-we see in it the temptations we each may face. His victory in that temptation is, also, a model for us.
