Tag: Temptation

Our Failure and Christ’s Faithfulness – Matthew 26:31-46

Matthew_26_30-46-1024x576

Our Failure and Christ’s Faithfulness

Matthew 26:31-46

To encourage a timid young preacher, Paul wrote to him the timeless truth, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13). This fragment from an ancient hymn resounds with powerful truth for us today. We all know that we are prone to faithlessness. Robert Robinson in his hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (1758) expressed his own faithlessness, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.”[1] I don’t suppose there has ever been a follower of Jesus who has not at some time been faithless or failed the Lord. The Bible is very transparent about the failures of even its most famous men of faith. Noah, a man who was called “a righteous man, blameless in his generation” (Gen. 6:9, ESV), was guilty of drunkenness (Gen. 9:21). Abraham, the father of faith (Rom. 4:16), feared for his life and practiced deception (Gen. 12, 20). Moses, the great law-giver, disbelieved the Lord and disobeyed in his anger (Num. 20:11-12). David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14), committed adultery and murder (2 Sam. 11).

In contrast to men’s failures, God is always faithful. Psalm 36:5 says, “Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” Psalm 89:1, “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.” And Jeremiah writes in Lamentations 3:22-23, “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”

These two contrasts of our unfaithfulness and the faithfulness of God are nowhere better illustrated than in our text this morning, Matthew 26:31-46. More →

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Protecting Little Ones

matthew-the-kingdom-of-heaven

Protecting Little Ones from Stumbling

Matthew 18:5-9

Last time we began to study Matthew 18 which contains the fourth great section of Jesus’ teachings in the Gospel of Matthew. Here, Jesus is teaching us as believing children how to relate to God and one another in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus’ disciples prompted this teaching when they asked, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matt. 18:1). The disciples were jockeying for position in Jesus’ kingdom, each desiring to be the greatest, the most honored disciple.

In response, Jesus called a small child, set him right in the middle of them all, and told them, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). In their pride and self-seeking, the disciples thought they merited greatness in the kingdom. But Jesus made it clear that the kingdom of heaven is not about our merit at all. That minor child had the least accomplishments, wisdom, and abilities of anyone in the room. In the eyes of the disciples, he was insignificant. Yet, he is the epitome of greatness in the kingdom. In fact, no one can even enter the kingdom unless they turn away from self-merit and humbly come to Jesus as a little child.

No one gets into the kingdom of heaven on their own merit. We don’t deserve the kingdom and we could never earn a place in the kingdom. Like a child, We must enter by faith in the merits of Jesus Christ. The only people who are in the kingdom of heaven are those who have come humbly, without merit, trusting in Jesus Christ alone to save them from sin and give them eternal life. It is only by God’s mercy and grace shown to us in Christ that we get in.

Since everyone enters the kingdom the same way, then how could we ever think that we are greater than anyone else in the kingdom? How could we ever think that someone else is lower than us? Do you see how incompatible that attitude is with Christ’s kingdom? A true Christian attitude is “I am the least important person here, and I come, not to see how good I can be treated, but I come to serve you because you are so important to Christ.” This attitude of humility forms the foundation of all kingdom relationships that Jesus teaches about in the rest of Matthew 18.

The disciples needed to learn the attitude of humility because they were stumbling and tripping over each other to be named the greatest. They were being an offense to each other.

That leads us to today’s passage because the key word in Matthew 18:5-9 is “offenses”. You see it three times in Matthew 18:7, “Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!” The Greek word is σκάνδαλον (skandalon), meaning a trap, snare, or stumbling block. It pictures something that trips up and causes someone to stumble and fall—thus something that offends or causes sin. Jesus used this noun in Matthew 13 in the parable of the wheat and tares concluding, “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 13:41-42). Jesus also used it when Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked Him for saying that the Son of Man must suffer and be killed (Matt. 16:21-22).  Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (Matt. 16:23). Peter was being used by Satan as a stumbling block to hinder Christ from going to the cross to die for our sins.

The verb form of this word, σκανδαλίζω (skandalizō), is also used three times in our passage. You see it in Matthew 18:6 translated, “cause … to sin”. Literally, the verse reads “But whoever shall offend (or cause to stumble) one of these little ones who believe in Me…” The same verb is in Matthew 18:8,9 where Jesus says that if your hand, foot, or eye “causes you to sin” cut it off or pluck it out. Again, the idea is that it offends or causes you to stumble and fall.

So, an offense is a stumbling block that trips up or hinders people from coming to Christ and believing in Him. How do we keep from stumbling and help keep others from stumbling?

First, Jesus teaches us a…

1. Condition: Receive believers in Christ (Matt. 18:5)

In Matthew 18:5 Jesus says, “Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.” Remember—Jesus has a little child with Him. The child pictured the lowliness and humility of those who come to Jesus without any merit, accomplishments, or ability of their own. Jesus is talking not just about receiving and welcoming children—that is certainly important to Jesus as we see in Matthew 19—but He is really talking about receiving believers. In Matthew 18:6, He calls them “these little ones who believe in Me.” So this applies to anyone who by grace believes in Jesus with humble childlike faith—no matter their age.

To “receive” means to accept with open arms, minds, and hearts, welcoming someone with gracious hospitality. The term was often used of receiving honored guests and meeting their needs with special attention and kindness. We are to receive other believers in Christ like they are honored guests. Why? Because we receive them “in His name”. That is, we receive them not based on their merits, not based on what they can do for us in the church, not based on their ability or accomplishments, but simply because they belong to Christ. We receive one another the same way we entered the kingdom, on the merits of Christ.

It is such a temptation for us to assign value to people based on how they look, what they do, how much money they have, and what they can do for us. Jesus says that none of that matters in the kingdom. None of us is more important than anyone else in the kingdom. Therefore, we receive each other based on the merits of Christ alone. We accept each other and treat each other with loving kindness for one reason only—because we all belong to Christ by grace.

Jesus identifies with each lowly and insignificant believer. When we receive each other, we are receiving Christ Himself because Christ Jesus is in every true believer. Jesus values each and every one of those who trust in Him with humble faith, and He watches carefully to see that they are treated rightly by others. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 10?

He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward. (Matt. 10:40-42).

To keep from causing others to stumble, we must receive other believers the same way that Christ received us. We welcome others on the basis of the merits of Christ alone. He has loved them, accepted them, saved them, and qualified them just as He did us.

This brings us to our second point where Jesus gives a stern …

2. Caution: Refuse to cause others to stumble (Matt. 18:6-7)

Matthew 18:6 says, “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

Literally, Jesus speaks here of an upper-millstone—a stone that was used in the grinding of grain on a mill. It was so large and heavy that it had to be harnessed to a donkey by a large beam, so that the stone could be turned by brute force. It was so big that, if it were tied to a man’s neck and he were thrown into the sea, he’d sink directly to the bottom and not come up. What’s more, Jesus speaks of throwing such a man into the depth of the sea—a punishment that is severe and permanent.

The warning is even stronger than the picture Jesus gives. Notice that Jesus isn’t simply saying that someone who harms one of His little ones should have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea. He is saying that such a person would be better off if that were done for them than what will happen to them. Jesus is warning that an unspeakably worse destiny awaits such a person than anything that could be done with a millstone and the sea! He speaks in Matthew 18:8,9 of being ‘cast into the everlasting fire‘ (v. 8), or of being ‘cast into hell-fire‘ (v. 9). It is better to drown in the waters of the ocean than to burn in the fires of hell.

The Judge of all the earth is putting the people of this world on notice never to mess with any of His little believing ones. No one had better ever interfere with their faith, or hinder them from coming to Him. And once they come, no one had better ever cause them to stumble in their faith or tempt them into falling away! Obviously our Lord is serious about not causing our brothers to stumble. You would be better off to tie yourself to the ocean floor than to have Jesus catch you offending His little ones.

Now, Jesus understands the fallen world in which we live. He says, “Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!” (Matt. 18:7). A “woe” here is an expression of sorrow as well as a pronouncement of judgment. Jesus pronounces “Woe!” on the world because of its offenses. We live in a world that is full of snares, traps, stumbling blocks, and offenses. John writes in his first epistle,

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17).

John said watch out for the world, don’t love it, it’s a trap, it causes people to stumble. It will drag you into things that will lead you into judgment. Our world advertises sin in almost every commercial. The world takes pride in immorality, greed, and deception. There is no way to live in this world and not be confronted by its stumbling blocks. The devil has devised them to keep people from believing in Jesus and finding life in His name. Jesus said, “offenses must come,” stumbling blocks are inevitable. But listen—they may be inevitable, but He did not say they are acceptable. The second “woe” that Jesus pronounces is on those who put them there, “but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!” (Matt. 18:7). We are responsible before God not only for our own sins, but for our part in causing others to stumble as well.

There are a number of examples of causing others to sin in the scriptures. For example, Jeroboam was the first king of the northern ten tribes of Israel that broke away from Judah after the reign of Solomon. King Jeroboam set up high places of idolatrous worship to rival the temple in Jerusalem. His name became a byword for idolatry. The prophet Ahijah says about Jerobaom that God “will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and who made Israel sin” (1 Kings 14:16). The evil kings who came after Jeroboam “walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin” (1 Kings 15:26,30,34; 16:19,26; 21:22; 22:52).  

Greg Allen applies what Jesus warns this way:

Woe to that man or woman who keeps ‘little ones’ from coming to Jesus. Woe to them when they undercut a growing faith in Him; or when they deliberately keep those little ones from church; or when they deliberately mix the pure gospel message up with the philosophies and religions of this world in order to confuse them or hide its truth from them. Woe to the teacher or college professor who mocks and belittles the faith of Jesus’ little ones; or who makes it their aim to destroy the faith of those unfortunate believers who end up in their classroom. Woe to those who recruit Jesus’ little ones to cults and false religions though the pretense of professing the truths of the Christian faith; thus embittering their poor victims from the pure claims of His word. Woe to anyone who would dare to lead one of Jesus’ little ones into sin in order to justify their own sinful inclinations. And especially, woe to those who ever dare to lay a hand on any of Jesus’ precious little ones as an object of their own vile lusts![1]

Jesus doesn’t pronounce the woe on the sinner who stumbles, but on the one who caused them to stumble. You don’t want to be the one to hinder others from coming to Christ or walking with Christ. The point is: Refuse to be the cause of others’ stumbling.

Warren Wiersbe says about these verses: “The truly humble person helps to build up others, not to tear them down. He is a stepping-stone, not a stumbling block.”[2]

To keep from offending others in Christ, we must receive them on the merits of Christ and refuse to be the cause of other believers stumbling.

Third, Jesus gives a …

3. Correction: Reject enticements to stumble (Matt. 18:8-9)

Jesus says in Matthew 18:8-9,

8 “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire. (Matt. 18:8-9)

If you want to avoid causing other people in stumble, you must first take care of the stumbling blocks in your own life. And so, Jesus tells you to get rid of anything in your life that causes you to sin. If there is anything in your life that would lead you to cause one of His little ones to stumble and fall into sin, it would be better for you to take whatever drastic measures are necessary to sever yourself from it.

Jesus uses very graphic imagery – cutting off your hand or foot, gouging out your eye. Jesus gave similar instructions back in Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount. There he was talking about the sin of adultery and how we should avoid even looking lustfully at another person with our eyes. Jesus is using hyperbole. I don’t believe that Jesus is saying that you should actually physically cut off your hand or foot, and dig out your eye—because, as Jesus taught, sin comes from the heart, not the hands or eyes. Mutilating yourself on the outside will not cure the disease of sin on the inside. Only Jesus can do that.

Sin takes people to hell (Rev. 21:8), and that makes sin something to avoid at all costs. Jesus says that whatever is causing you to sin, take drastic measures to get that thing out of your life. The point Jesus is making is that sin is so horrible that we should go to any extreme to reject it. He is saying that if there is anything in your life that would cause you to harm the faith of even a single one of His little ones who believe in Him—even if it were your hand, or your foot, or your eye—you’re much better off going through life without it.

In other words, you need to get rid of everything in your life that pulls you and other people away from Jesus. Just as it’s better to lose a leg than to lose your life, it’s better to lose things that cause sin than to lose your eternal life. Extreme circumstances call for extreme measures, and nothing is more urgent or extreme than our need to avoid sin and causing others to sin. Nothing is more urgent than believing in Jesus and helping others believe in Him. Anything that hinders that is expendable.

If you tolerate adultery in your own life, it will cause others to stumble. If you tolerate drunkenness in your own life, it will cause others to stumble. If you tolerate crudeness, or gossip, or jealousy, or strife, or lust, or any other sin in your own life it will cause others to stumble. The point is to reject anything that causes us or others to sin.

Charles Spurgeon commented on these verses: “Two hands, two feet, and two eyes will be of small advantage if cast into everlasting fire.” (Charles Spurgeon. The Gospel of the Kingdom: An Exposition of the Gospel of Matthew.) Or as someone else put it: “It is better to go limping into heaven than leaping into hell.” (Frederick Bruner, Matthew Volume 2, p. 640) No sacrifice is too great. No matter what you must do to get rid of sin in this life, it is worth it.[3]

God is holy. We are sinful. Life is short. Eternity is long. We are responsible to God not only for our own sins but for all the ways we cause others to stumble and fall. God is fiercely protective of His children—so should we be. Therefore, receive others in Christ. When you receive them, you receive Him. Refuse to be the cause of others’ stumbling. And reject all enticements to sin in your own life.

Listen—the gospel message is this: Jesus took the millstone from your neck and put it on His own. He died for your sin. He paid the debt you owed. When you believe in Jesus who died for you and was raised again, God accounts all your sin to Christ and accounts His righteousness to you. You get in on the merits of Christ. Let us give Him all the glory and honor. Jude writes, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24-25).

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[1] Greg Allen, Jesus and the Little Ones, https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2007/093007.htm

[2] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 65.

[3] Quoted by Ray Fowler, Causing Sin, https://www.rayfowler.org/sermons/matthew/causing-sin/

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Deliver Us From Evil

Lords Prayer

Deliver Us From Evil

Matthew 6:13

“And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.”  (Matthew 6:13)

We come this week to the last of the six petitions that Jesus teaches His disciples to pray in the Lord’s Prayer. It sounds like two petitions, but it’s really one petition expressed in two ways. It is probably a form of parallelism, a literary device that the Jews would know well because the Hebrew scriptures use it extensively in their poetry. It is a major form of writing in both the Psalms and Proverbs. We see parallelism when two or more lines of a Hebrew poem correspond closely with one another in order to make a point.[1] The prayer has us asking God for the same thing in two different ways, namely, that He would keep us from the full assault of the evil one. What we are asking for in this part of the prayer is protection.

On one level, this petition is very simple. We are asking God to keep us from sin, to protect us from the temptations of the evil one. But, on another level, this petition raises some very serious questions. What does “And do not lead us into temptation” mean? Does this imply that God can lead His children into temptation? If so, what kind of temptation are we talking about?

Because we know the holy character of God, we instinctively recoil against the thought that God would lead us into temptation to sin. And because we are realistic about the prevalence of evil, we understand God does not lead us into a life that is free from temptations.

One key to understanding what this phrase means is to understand that the word “temptation” has two basic meanings. It can mean to tempt with the goal of causing one to sin or it can mean a test or trial to prove the validity of one’s faith. It can mean a difficult trial, or it can mean a solicitation to do evil. And sometimes these two ideas are connected.

Let me show you. For instance, James 1:2 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” The Greek word for “trials” is the same word used in Matthew 6:13 for “temptation.” Why should a Christian rejoice when facing trials? James 1:3 tells us, “knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” The trial is a test where God proves our faith and develops Christlike character in us. Peter also writes about rejoicing in the trials that test our faith,

6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, (1 Pet. 1:6-7)

Testing from God is for our good, that God would produce patience in us through faith, perfecting us and maturing us in our faith. James goes on in James 1:12 to say, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12).  Again, the word “temptation” is the same as the “trials” in James 1:2 and the purpose of it is to test us in order to show us approved by God.

Now, look at the very next verse, James 1:13, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.” Here, the very same word in the verb form is translated “tempt” and “tempted”. The same word that was used in a positive sense in James 1:2 is used in a negative sense in James 1:13. The same biblical writer, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, uses one Greek word with two different meanings in the same passage without any contradiction at all.

James is clear: God never tempts anyone to evil, but He does test us for our good. God does not solicit his children to do evil. He will never lead you to a place where you are forced to do evil. Said another way, God never sets us up to fail. To do that would contradict both His holiness and His love.[2]

So, if God promises not to tempt us to sin and it is also good and necessary that He leads into trials for testing, how are we to understand this prayer “lead us not into temptation”? This still leaves us with questions, doesn’t it? If it means solicitation to do evil and if we know that God does not solicit us to do evil, when we pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” are we not asking God not to do that which He said He would never do? On the other hand, If we know that trials and testing are good for us and necessary for our spiritual growth, and we should rejoice in them, and they build us up in the faith, then when we pray, “Lead us not into trials and testing,” are we not asking God to exempt us from that which is necessary for our own spiritual maturity? How can we ask God to lead us away from that which is ultimately for our good?

Do you see the problem? We know God isn’t going to lead us into sin, but we do know He’s going to put us through trials and testing. And Jesus teaches us to pray, “And do not lead us into temptation.”

Here is how the two ideas are connected and why James could use the same word in the same passage to mean two different things, one positive and one negative. Trials have a way of putting us on the edge of temptation. What God gives to us as a trial or test is almost always used by Satan as a temptation.

The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness offers a clear example of this principle. Matthew 4:1 tells us that “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Who did the leading?  The Holy Spirit.  Who did the tempting? The devil. Did God know what was going to happen when He sent His Son into the wilderness? Yes, God intended from the beginning to demonstrate that his Son would not yield to Satan’s temptations. Was God tempting His own Son to disobey His commands? No. Was God putting Jesus in a place where He could be tempted by the Devil? Yes. God designs it as a test. The devil uses it as a temptation.[3]

So, what are we praying when we ask, “And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one”? We are praying to:

1. Apprehend the reality of Spiritual Warfare.

The Bible is clear that we live in a world that is overrun with evil and under the influence of the evil one. We are in a constant spiritual battle. The way to resist temptation is to lean heavily upon God’s grace to strengthen and enable us to stand against the wiles of the Devil. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, Paul tells us,

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.

In Ephesians 6:10-18 he writes,

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. (NKJV)

The apostle John writes that the world that is against us is made up of three things.

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world.  (1 John 2:15-16).

There is the “lust of the flesh” – which means the desires of the flesh
There is the “lust of the eyes” – desiring the things that are not ours
There is the “pride of life” – involves putting self on the throne of our lives.

The devil always tempts us to sin in these three areas. The first place in the Bible where we see temptation is Genesis 3. God instructed Adam not to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden of Eden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). It was a test. But in Genesis 3, the serpent took the test and turned it into a temptation.

1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. (Gen. 3:1-7)

Looking at this account we see the clear elements of temptation and how it may lead to sin:

  1. Deceit – The first step in temptation is the least obvious. Satan gives false impressions that whatever wrong we are contemplating really is not that serious. He does this by deceit. He said to Eve, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” By questioning the word of God, he gets her to doubt the word of God. “Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”” The serpent implies that God is withholding something desirable from them. He implies that God is not good. Of course, he is lying. He is deceiving. Jesus says the devil is a murderer and a liar and that there is no truth in him (John 8:44). Satan will always try to get us to doubt God’s word and doubt God’s goodness.
  2. Delight – Satan makes us see something, or someone, or some situation that he is sure will appeal to us. He did this with Eve. Genesis 3:6 is key here, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” The fruit was pleasant to the eyes, it was good for food. She “saw” the tree not only with her eyes but she pictured it in her mind.
  3. Desire – Again Genesis 3:6 says she saw it was “ … a tree desirable to make one wise …” It is natural to desire what you delight in. So, in this stage, a desire is actively aroused. We want the benefit or pleasure that we think will come. James points out that this is how temptation leads to sin: “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed” (James 1:14). Desires may or may not be sinful. We all have longings, cravings, and natural desires. When it becomes sinful is when we seek to fill this desire with something that God has forbidden. It was not sinful for Eve and Adam to desire to be wise or even to be like God. In fact, God had created them in His image. But they sought to fill this desire by breaking God’s commandment. In doing so their desire was the bait that lured them to Satan’s trap.
  4. Deliberation –Notice how Eve thought about taking the fruit in Gen. 3:6. She deliberated on it. Measured the pros and cons. Turned it over in her mind. That is a dangerous place to go when we begin to toy with the idea of breaking God’s commandments. We fantasize about it. It is at this point we have already begun to fall for Satan’s deception.
  5. Defeat – Eve “… took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. …” If we are going to give in to the temptation at some point we decide to cross the line. We proceed to act on that what was presented to us. But the moment we give in we are dismayed and disgusted by our own defeat. Genesis 3:7, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked…” That leads to:
  6. Despair – We try to hide our sin. Again Genesis 3:7, “…and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” We attempt to excuse or conceal this matter from God and others. It breaks our fellowship with God (Gen. 3:8), “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

Adam and Eve went through all six of these stages when they were tempted in the garden. Deceit happened when they believed Satan’s lie about the consequences of disobeying God. They were delighted with the fruit. They desired it. They deliberated, thought about it, though not long. And they were defeated when they took the fruit and ate it. Their despair was obvious when they hid from God after their sin.

And we know that the same could happen to us. That’s why we pray, “Lead us not into temptation.”

The spiritual battle is real. When we pray this prayer we are recognizing that.

Also when we pray this prayer we are praying to:

2. Admit our deficiency in dealing with temptation.

We need to remember, everyone is vulnerable to temptation—no one is above falling. No matter how old we are or how mature in our faith we are. Although the strength of certain temptations may diminish somewhat with age, we are never free from temptation as long as we live in this world. Paul explains, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man…” (1 Cor. 10:13a). In the verse right before that, Paul writes, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Cor 10:12).

Remember Simon Peter? Jesus warned him (Luke 22:31), “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.” Jesus did allow Peter to be tested. He told Peter (Luke 22:32), “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Jesus did not remove Peter from the test, but He prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. Satan came after Peter. Peter was not ready for the test, and it became a temptation, it turned into a terrible sin of denial just as Jesus predicted. Peter was so sure of himself. He told Jesus (Matt. 26:33), “… Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Peter failed to take the warning of Jesus seriously when He told him (Matt. 26:41), “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Jesus implies that our prayers play a role in keeping us from giving into temptation. His advice is “watch and pray” because “the flesh is weak.”

We are all weak in the flesh. We are only strong in the Lord (Eph. 6:10).

In praying, “And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one,” we admit that we cannot face temptations successfully on our own. We need the Lord. That is why we pray this prayer.

Finally we when we pray this prayer we are praying to:

3. Ask for deliverance

Jesus says to pray, “… But deliver us from the evil one.” Certainly, Jesus has provided the way to be delivered from the evil one by His death on the cross. As Jesus thought about His coming death, He said in John 12:31, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” Satan has been judged (John 16:11) at the cross. Satan will not have the ultimate victory even if we sometimes lose the battle with sin. As we pray, we know that we have victory over sin through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 7:25) as we walk according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:1).

We need to pray for spiritual protection for ourselves and one another. God can deliver us. Like Peter, He may not keep us from the test, but He can keep us from giving in to the temptation to sin. As Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “… but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

As we ask for deliverance, we are not passive, expecting God to rescue us from temptation while we do nothing. The Bible gives us things we are to do to put feet to our prayers:

  1. Fight – James 4:7, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” In the battle, first we “submit” to our commanding officer, obeying His commands. Second we “Resist the devil.” Have a battle plan. Put up your defenses. “Watch and pray!” You don’t just let Satan walk over to you and take you captive. Resist!
  2. Follow – Jesus defeated temptations and Peter tells us to follow his example, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:” (1 Peter 2:21). If we are more focused on following Jesus than we are on the things of this world, then we will be much stronger to face temptations.
  3. Flee – Sometimes it’s wise to just run away. After Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God will make a way of escape, 1 Cor. 10:14 says “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” 2 Timothy 2:22 says, “Flee . . . youthful lusts.” So there are at least two things in the Bible we are told to run way from: idolatry and immorality. We should not try to face those temptations in the flesh, we should run from them like the plague. We know that humanity doesn’t have a good track record of defeating idolatry and immorality. Just look at Israel in the OT. These are two sins that they continually had problems with. When Jesus wrote to the churches in Revelation we find that even the church had problems with those two temptations. Sometimes the best equipment for overcoming temptation is a good pair of running shoes!
  4. Feed – When Jesus was tempted in the desert by the devil, He fought the devil with the Word of God. Every time Jesus answered with God’s written word saying, “It is written …” (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10). Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

So Jesus teaches us to pray this prayer of protection. And He will answer that prayer.  Jude 1:24 says, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” God is able to keep us and present us without fault; however, much of this grace is only given when we faithfully cry out, “Lord, do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Prayer is key to spiritual protection and spiritual victory. It’s a recognition of our weakness and God’s strength. As we pray this, may the Lord aggressively snatch us out of the clutches of habitual sin, the draw of the world, and the traps of the devil. May we faithfully pray this for our own good and that of others.

Maybe you are not yet a believer, but you are feeling the pull of a strong temptation in your life, and you are beginning to think, ‘I need help; I need deliverance; I need a Savior.’ Well, Jesus is the Savior you need. God answers your need by grace. You don’t have to earn salvation and you can do nothing to deserve it. You can only receive it freely from God with the open hand of faith. So I want to invite you, right now, to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ: Ask Him to save you. Ask Him to make you His own. Then you will be able to say with all of God’s people,

Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.
Through many dangers toils and snares I have already come
Tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

 ——————————————————-

[1] Parallelism, https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/parallelism

[2] Ray Pritchard, https://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/does-god-lead-his-children-into-temptation/

[3] Pritchard, ibid.

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The Temptation of Jesus, Part 3

matthew-the-kingdom-of-heaven

The Temptation of Jesus, Part 3

Matthew 4:8-11

We have come in our study of Matthew to the devil’s third temptation of Christ. We have seen that these temptations from the devil are also God’s testing and proving of His Son. It was God’s intention that Jesus fight this spiritual battle with Satan. Remember that it was the Spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matt. 4:1).

One purpose that God had in sending His Son into the wilderness to be tempted was to prove Him to be the King and High Priest who would suffer for our sins. Hebrews 2 says, “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings” (Heb. 2:10). Jesus Christ was proved to be the perfect High Priest, the captain of our salvation, through His sufferings. Again Hebrews 5 says, “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest ‘according to the order of Melchizedek,’ ” (Heb. 5:8-10). That is, Jesus’ sufferings taught Him obedience, perfecting Him as the King and High Priest who provides eternal salvation.

Christ’s temptations also allow us to see clearly the sinless perfection of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4 says, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4:15). Jesus’ temptation displayed His sinless obedience to His Father and to God’s word. We saw that Jesus’ temptations echo Adam and Eve’s temptation in the garden of Eden as well as Israel’s testing in the wilderness, teaching us that Jesus succeeds where our first parents and Israel had failed.

In His first temptation, we saw that the devil came to Jesus after He had fasted 40 days and nights and tried to get Jesus to use His miraculous powers wrongly. “If you are the Son of God,” said the devil, “command that these stones become bread” (Matt. 4:3). In other words, “Jesus, you’re about to die. Take care of yourself. Save your life!” But Jesus replied from Deuteronomy 8:3: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” (Matt. 4:4). Jesus knew from the scripture that life was more than physical life. He also knew that fasting was part of the test that God had prescribed. So, He would not use His powers to cut short the test, but trusted that God would provide for Him.

When the devil saw how Jesus countered the first temptation with God’s Word, he decided to use scripture too. Taking Jesus to the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem, he said, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” (Matt. 4:6, with the devil referring to Psalm 91:11-12).

Surely, the devil implied, God will protect you since you are the Son of God! But Jesus saw the evil in that proposal. Forcing God to rescue Him by unnecessarily exposing Himself to danger would trying to force God to act. He would be saying, in effect, “I’m jumping, God. Save Me!” Jesus would not do it, but again turned to Deuteronomy, this time Deuteronomy 6:16. “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’” (Matt. 4:7). Jesus knew that the purpose of the Scriptures is not so that we will test God, but so that we will trust God. Testing God is counterfeit faith. God may test us because He is God. He may require us to trust His faithfulness and obey. For us to test God is doubt, not trust; presumption, not obedience.[1]

Today, we come to the third and climactic temptation that Satan gave to Jesus, the ultimate test of His trust in God His Father. Satan had offered the Lord instant food and instant fame; now he offered Him instant fortune, the throne of the world without a cross.[2] Once again, the setting changes to match the temptation. Matthew 4:8 says, “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.” From this vantage point, the devil presents Jesus with a vision of the kingdoms of the world and all their splendor– Egypt with its magnificent pyramids and treasures; Greece and Athens and Corinth with all their finery; Rome with its power and wealth; and all the rest of the world’s kingdoms. Notice the devil shows Jesus the glory only, not the sin, the wickedness, the iniquity, the storms of envy and strife that characterize all the kingdoms of the world.

Why would this be a temptation for Jesus? Because the Messiah is the true heir to the kingdom and the glory. These kingdoms were exactly what Jesus Christ had come to earth to get. He came in order to win the world, that he might be Lord and King over all; that he might be exalted, as man, to the highest position in the universe; that every tongue should confess and every knee should bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God.[3]

The Old Testament declares that the Son of God is the rightful heir of the world. Psalm 2 says, “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.’ ” (Psa. 2:7-8). That is a messianic promise from God to the Messiah, the Son of God. In Daniel 7 the prophet records,

“I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.” (Dan. 7:13-14).

Psalm 72 prophesies about the Son, “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth. … 11 Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him. (Psalm 72:8, 11).

The New Testament declares that God has appointed His Son to be heir of all things (Heb. 1:2). Revelation 11 proclaims the kingdom of Christ: “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’ ” In Revelation 19 at His second coming we see Jesus with the name, “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:16). There was nothing wrong in Jesus thinking about the kingdom and His inheritance.

So having shown Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, the devil then hits Him with the temptation—Matthew 4:9, “And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’ ” Satan is offering to give Jesus immediately what will one day be rightfully His.

You might say, why did Satan think he could offer all this to Jesus? Could he actually follow through on this offer? And here again, we see the subtle deceitfulness of Satan. In one sense he has temporary ownership of this world, but in a greater sense, God already owns it all. Jesus calls Satan the ruler of this world three times in the Gospel of John (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). Paul calls him “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2), and ‘the god of this age’ (2 Cor. 4:4). In 1 John 5:19 the apostle declares, “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” But Satan is the usurper, not the rightful ruler.[4]

It is a lie that Satan can give these things at his pleasure. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.’ Daniel 2:21 says of God: “And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings.” And Daniel 4:25 says, “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”[5] And as we saw, God had already promised it all to His Messiah. God had promised it in the end, but Satan was offering it now. Satan was offering Jesus a shortcut – a way to obtain all the kingdoms of the world without having to go to the cross.[6]

Satan can only offer a cheap imitation of the promise of God. Satan’s kingdom is corrupted by evil, broken by rebellion and death, populated by sinful, rebellious men. The Father had promised the Son the Kingdom of Heaven, united in peace and righteousness, filled with people who know and reflect the glory of God. Of course, there was no way to inherit such a kingdom apart from redemption, apart from changing sinful human beings to make them fit for the kingdom, for without redemption there would never be righteousness or peace in the world.

At Jesus’ baptism, the Father’s voice spoke words that united Davidic messiahship and suffering servanthood (Matt. 3:17); here the devil enticed Jesus to enjoy the kingdom without the suffering. Small wonder that when Peter made a similar suggestion, Jesus would rebuke him saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (Matt. 16:23). “Jesus had in mind from the very beginning of His earthly ministry the combination of royal kingship and suffering servanthood attested at His baptism and essential to His mission.”[7] The cost of the kingdom of God would be suffering and death for Jesus.

 What cost would the devil substitute? The devil said, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me” (Matt. 4:10). Satan’s boldness is astounding here. He is done being subtle. The devil drops the mask and shows his true nature in one final desperate attempt to achieve his goal.[8] It is almost as if the devil realized he was not winning, and so with nothing to lose he calls for Jesus to worship him. His purpose was to prevent the saving work of the king, the work for which He had come into the world.[9]

The word worship means to bow down before or prostrate yourself. He was asking Jesus to simply bow to him, show him the respect due to a king and ruler. Satan didn’t tell Jesus not to worship God, he just asked Jesus to also bow to him, just this once. And by the way, do you know that’s what the devil says all the time. “Go ahead, compromise. You can have what you want, and you deserve it. All you have to do to get it is just bow to me.” Every time we sin we bow to Satan. Every time you sin you do his will.

How did Jesus answer this temptation? Matthew 4:10, “Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” ” Jesus again goes to the scripture for His strength, this time to Deuteronomy 6:13. Deuteronomy is Moses’ sermon to the nation of Israel as they are about to cross into the land God promised their fathers. Moses reminds the present generation that in the promised land they will face the same temptation their fathers faced in the wilderness:  Will they be faithful to the Lord or not? Moses had already reminded them of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5—the first one being, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Deut. 5:7).

In Deuteronomy 6 he reiterates that command:

 13 “You shall fear the LORD your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. 14 “You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you 15 “(for the LORD your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the LORD your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth. (Deut. 6:13-15)

Jesus recognized that Satan’s suggestion entailed depriving God of His exclusive claim to worship.[10] Only One is worthy of worship, the One who redeemed Israel from Egypt, the Lord God Yahweh Himself. Jesus would not give in for one minute on that issue.

The issue was worship of the One true God. This is still the main issue in life. It is the issue that all people must come to terms with. Will I worship the one true God who has revealed Himself in scripture and in His Son Jesus Christ? Or will I worship something less?

Worship is bowing down, communicating your understanding of your relationship to the King. He is your Lord and you are dependent on Him. Worship is not just singing that we do externally. Worship is an internal state of our hearts. Worship is a deep fundamental inner attitude that I recognize who I am in relationship to God. I acknowledge that He alone is God and that I am utterly dependent on His grace and mercy. I bow my knee to Him and acknowledge that He is my provider, my creator, my savior, and my Lord.

Jesus insisted on worshiping God alone. By the way, we have already noticed from the story of the wisemen in Matthew 2 that Matthew’s Gospel has a theme of worshiping Jesus (Matt. 2:2; 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 20:20; 28:17). What does this say about who Jesus is? It is more evidence for His divinity.[11] John MacArthur writes,

Not only is He the King by genealogy, not only is He the King by birth, not only is He the King by adoration, not only is He the King by attestation of Old Testament prophecy, not only is He affirmed the King by the forerunner John the Baptist, not only is He the King by virtue by His baptism and the spirit coming upon Him in the declaration from the Father in heaven but He is the King by virtue of His power over the current ruling monarch, Satan, and He shows His blazing power.[12]

What have we learned from these temptations? Satan will tempt us to distrust the care and provision of God. He doesn’t want us to believe God when God says He’ll supply all our needs according to His riches by Christ Jesus. Secondly, Satan will tempt us to presume on God. To go after the spectacular regardless of the consequences and expect God to rescue us or put the pieces back together. And thirdly he’ll tempt us to ambition, to fulfill our ambition his way, to forego the discipline and suffering of being a follower of Christ to seek worldly wealth and fame.

How do we face the temptations of the devil? The same way Jesus did, by the word of God, by scripture. It is the word of God wielded in the power of the Spirit by faith in the Son of God that gives us the victory. The weapon that won the battle was a reliance upon God’s Word.

Ray Stedman wrote:

This is very important. Our continuing struggle comes because we are so reluctant to take our stand on God’s revelation. We feel the force of the devil’s alluring lie that we will gain something by this action or thought or attitude that is tempting us. We think if we don’t do this thing, life is going to pass us by — we’re going to lose something. And if we do it, we will gain a hidden kingdom which will be a satisfying and blessed experience. That is the force of the temptation. But when we retreat to what God says is the truth about it, then we discover immediately the end of the struggle. You see, when it looks as though we are going to gain by disobeying, our one retreat must always be into the Word of God, for here is the revelation of things as they really are. This is the way to confront temptation, not with our weak, failing humanity, but with the power of the Word of God himself. When Satan finds himself up against that, he turns tail and runs.

Matthew 4:11 says, “Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”  Although Satan later continued, in subtle ways, to tempt Christ to turn to the left or right from the path that led to the cross, after being vanquished in this encounter, Satan would be ultimately defeated at the cross. Satan’s temptation failed but God’s test succeeded. Once Satan had left, it was fitting that the angels would come and minister to Jesus, undoubtedly providing food to restore His physical strength and prepare Him for the task ahead.

Jesus triumphs over Satan. He has proven the ability to take you out of the kingdom of darkness ruled by Satan and bring you to the kingdom of light, through the forgiveness of sin, based on His death and resurrection in your behalf.

—————————————————–

[1] Hugh T. Blevins Jr., The Third Temptation of Jesus, https://bible.org/seriespage/7-third-temptation-jesus-matthew-48-10 accessed 07/08/2022

[2] John Phillips, Exploring the Gospel of Matthew: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch, 2014), Mt 4:8–9a.

[3] Ray Stedman, The Temptation of Christ, https://www.raystedman.org/thematic-studies/the-life-of-christ/the-temptation-of-christ accessed 07/08/2022

[4] Thomas Manton, Christ’s Temptation Sermon 5 – Matthew 4:8-9. https://www.apuritansmind.com/puritan-favorites/thomas-manton-1620-1677/the-works-of-thomas-manton-volume-1/christs-temptation-practically-explained-and-improved-in-several-sermons/christs-temptation-sermon-5-matthew-48-9-by-dr-thomas-manton/ accessed 07/08/2022

[5] Thomas Manton, Christ’s Temptation Sermon 5 – Matthew 4:8-9. https://www.apuritansmind.com/puritan-favorites/thomas-manton-1620-1677/the-works-of-thomas-manton-volume-1/christs-temptation-practically-explained-and-improved-in-several-sermons/christs-temptation-sermon-5-matthew-48-9-by-dr-thomas-manton/ accessed 07/08/2022

[6] Ray Fowler, Beating Temptation, http://www.rayfowler.org/sermons/matthew/beating-temptation/ accessed 07/08/2022

[7] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 114.

[8] John MacArthur, The Temptation of Christ. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-84/the-temptation-of-christ accessed 07/08/2022

[9] Allen Ross, The Temptation of Jesus, https://bible.org/seriespage/6-temptation-jesus-matthew-41-11 accessed 07/08/2022

[10] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 114.

[11] Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 85–87.

[12] John MacArthur, The Temptation of Christ. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-84/the-temptation-of-christ accessed 07/08/2022

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The Temptation of Jesus Part 2

matthew-the-kingdom-of-heaven

The Temptation of Jesus Part 2

Matthew 4:1-11

Last time we met, we started on this very important section of Scripture. Remember that Jesus had just stepped out of the baptistery waters. He had just been anointed by the Holy Spirit and declared to be the Son of God in whom His Father was well pleased (Matt. 3:13-17).

Now it is time for His testing. “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matt. 4:1). This testing was the will of God for Him and He was obedient to the Spirit’s leading. His testing took place in the wilderness, just as the nation of Israel was tested in the wilderness before going into their inheritance in the promised land.

The tempter was the devil. The word “tempted” can mean either to tempt or solicit to sin or it can mean to test or try to prove character.  God tests our faith. Satan tempts us with sin. As something the devil does, it must be taken as to tempt, in the sense of to try to entice to sin. But what the devil sees as a temptation, God uses as a test to prove Jesus’ faithfulness.[1] What the devil means for evil, God has designed for good.

Already we have seen Jesus withstand one temptation.

After He had gone 40 days and 40 nights without food, Matthew 4:3 says, “Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”” The tempter hit Jesus with a legitimate physical need but he desired for Jesus to fulfill that need in an illegitimate way. It was a temptation to use His sonship for His own comfort rather than depending on the provision of His Father and the leading of the Spirit.

But instead of succumbing to that temptation, Jesus reassured Himself of what to do by quoting Scripture in Matthew 4:4, “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” More necessary than bread for Jesus was obedience to God’s Word.[2] Jesus overcame the temptation to turn stones into bread to satisfy His own hunger by believing the word of God. Jesus focused on the spiritual not the physical, on the word of God not the word of the tempter, and on obedience to His Father not filling His own needs. The test demonstrated His qualifications as the obedient Son of God and the Savior of the world.

Today we will briefly look at Jesus’ second temptation. Here the setting changes from the wilderness to Jerusalem. Matthew 4:5 says, “Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,” (Matt. 4:5). This was probably the top of what was known as Herod’s royal portico at the southeast corner of the temple enclosure. This pinnacle was the greatest height around the temple and overlooked the Kidron valley, some 450 feet below.[3]

From that height the devil said to Jesus, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” (Matt. 4:6) Jesus overcame His first temptation by appealing to the word of God. Taking note of His devotion to scripture, the devil then used scripture against Jesus. John Phillips writes this about how the devil used the scripture:

Satan quoted Psalm 91:11–12 not from the original Hebrew manuscripts, but from the Septuagint translation, the same version Jesus had used in defeating the first temptation. In this second temptation the Septuagint was particularly useful to the devil because the translators had added the words “at any time.” Satan not only seized on the unwarranted addition; he also was careful to leave something out: “to keep thee in all thy ways.” And he omitted Psalm 91:13, which speaks of the Lord treading on the lion and adder and trampling the young lion and the dragon under His feet. Naturally Satan did not even want to think about that verse! Thus in handling Scripture, Satan used a convenient translation, paraphrased it to serve his own purpose, eagerly accepted an addition, deliberately left something out, and ignored the context. The Lord knew His Bible better than to be taken in by Satan’s garbled version of a great and much-loved Messianic Psalm.[4]

Be careful, not everyone who quotes scripture is using it properly or teaching it accurately. The devil twisted a scripture about God’s protection into a temptation to presume on God’s care. His aim was to pin Jesus into a corner with the Scriptures.

Why would this be a temptation to Jesus? It does help to understand some of the Jewish expectations of the day. From reading the Gospels, it is clear to us that the Jews expected the Messiah to arrive on the scene with a bang. Everywhere we look, they want to see miraculous signs from Him (Matt. 12:38; 16:1; John 2:18; 4:48; 1 Cor. 1:22).

One such miracle that the Jews looked for was a miraculous arrival of the Messiah to the temple. Malachi 3:1 prophesies, “1 “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the LORD of hosts.” Some Jews thought this even meant that the Messiah might descend from heaven to the temple. The devil tempted Jesus to do something spectacular, a real sign of being the Son of God. He said, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down” (Matt. 4:6). It would be a guaranteed proof of His Messiahship.

How many today have been suckered in by that same temptation? Go out and prove you believe God. Make God prove He can deliver. They step out and do something utterly foolish, for no other reason than to make God prove Himself. In an extreme sense this is what the serpent handlers and the poison drinkers do. In a less extreme sense, this is what anyone does when they ignore the obvious and hold out only for the supernatural. “Satan was urging the Lord to be presumptuous, not trusting. There is a fine line between trusting God and tempting God.”[5]

How did Jesus answer this temptation? Matthew 4:7, “Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ ” ” Jesus again appeals to the word of God quoting Deuteronomy 6:16. Jesus knew that Scripture never contradicts itself. This section of Deuteronomy is a warning against disobedience. Listen to Deuteronomy 6:16-19:

16 “You shall not tempt the LORD your God as you tempted Him in Massah. 17 You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. 18 And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the LORD swore to your fathers, 19 to cast out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has spoken.” (Deut. 6:16-19).

The Israelites had put the LORD their God to the test at Massah by demanding water (Exodus 17:1-7). Of course, God had promised to provide water for them, but they wanted God to make it appear at their demand. They wanted to force God to honor His word right then. They were questioning God’s presence with them, putting God to the test. And if He didn’t come through as they wanted, they threatened to go back to Egypt. So in Deuteronomy 6, God commanded them never to do that again.

Let us remember something valuable here. God tests us, we don’t test God. We are the ones on trial, not God. God has nothing to prove to us, we have everything to prove to Him. God is not some genie in a bottle Whom you can demand to show up whenever you desire to put Him on display. His Scripture is given not so that you can use it against Him or demand things from God. His Scripture is given so that you will know His will and His nature and His Savior Jesus Christ—and that you will trust Him.

Jesus trusted God, but He did not test God. Jesus is our Lord and our example. Last week we learned to focus on God and His word, not your needs and wants. God will take care of the bread, you seek the kingdom. This morning we learn to patiently trust God. Don’t try to force Him to instantly appear and do something spectacular for you. Instead, trust that God has a plan. Trust that He is able to complete it. Trust and obey. Look to Jesus. Hebrews 12:1-2 says,

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:1-2).

Today we have the privilege of obeying the Lord by observing the two ordinances the Lord Jesus gave to His church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. As we saw in Matthew 3, Jesus at His baptism identified Himself with sinners. Now in believer’s baptism, we identify ourselves with Christ, His death and resurrection for the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of a new resurrected life. We make a public profession of our faith in Jesus who died for us and was raised from the dead.

In the Lord’s Supper, we remember the sacrificial death of our Lord and His blood which cleanses us from sin. We proclaim the Lord’s death and our faith that He is alive and will come again. As we sing our invitation hymn, take this time to examine yourself and your relationship with God. Are you saved? Have you believed on Jesus Christ to forgive your sins? Have you been born again as a child of God? Are you trusting Him and His word daily to overcome temptation and keep you from sin? Turn to the Lord Jesus Christ today.

—————————————————————–

[1] Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 83.

[2] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 113.

[3] John Phillips, Exploring the Gospel of Matthew: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch, 2014), Mt 4:5.

[4] John Phillips, Exploring the Gospel of Matthew: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch, 2014), Mt 4:6b.

[5] John Phillips, Exploring the Gospel of Matthew: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch, 2014), Mt 4:6b.

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The Temptation of Jesus

matthew-the-kingdom-of-heaven

The Temptation of Jesus

Matthew 4:1-11

Last week we looked at Jesus’ preparation for ministry through His baptism in the Jordan. But there was another preparation God had for Him before He could begin His public ministry, and that was a period of testing in the wilderness. Just as Adam and Eve were tested in the Garden, and just as Israel was tested in the wilderness, so Jesus had to go through His time of testing in preparation for ministry.

This passage is both unique to Jesus as the Son of God and a pattern for us as believers in Christ. All of us are tempted to sin. Not a day passes without the fiery darts of the enemy assaulting us. The soul of every true believer anguishes at the impulse of temptation, knowing that to yield to sin grieves the Holy Spirit who has sealed us to the day of redemption and hinders our fellowship with Christ.

Is there any hope for us to be delivered from temptation’s snare? This passage tell us “Yes,” our hope is found in the Son of God, Jesus Christ! Having suffered temptation in every way that we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15), ” He is able to aid those who are tempted.” (Heb. 2:18). He knows our weaknesses; He understands the pull of human desires and the fierceness of Satan’s attacks. And He has shown us how to battle temptation in the power of the Spirit by the Word of God. Our Lord’s temptation is both triumphant and instructive, and remains an assurance that the Lord knows how to deliver the godly from temptation (2 Pet. 2:9).[1]

This text stresses the fact that Jesus was the “Son of God” (Matt. 4:3, 6). Remember that this account follows directly after His baptism by John in the Jordan (Matt. 3:13-17) where God the Father declared “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). We know that the New Testament affirms both the deity and the humanity of Jesus Christ. We saw His human genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17. But we also saw His divine genealogy as He was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20).

The Bible declares that “God cannot be tempted by evil” (James 1:13). Yet the God-Man, Jesus Christ was tempted. As a man Jesus faced temptation, but as God He could not be tempted, nor could He sin. Theologians call this the impeccability of Christ. “One might argue that Christ’s impeccability is a function of his deity but must not be taken to mitigate his humanity, and Christ’s temptability is a function of his humanity but must not be taken to mitigate his deity.”[2] This is the mystery of the nature of the God-man Jesus Christ. As Jesus’ baptism declared Him to be King, His temptation demonstrated that He is King.[3]

Matthew 4:1-11

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’

and,

‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”

8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

This text is full of spiritual truth and examples. We could do an entire study on the strategies of Satan: how he attacks during a weakness (Jesus was hungry), after a victory (Jesus was just baptized), and before a ministry (Jesus was about to begin).

We could do an entire study on the nature of temptation: physical temptation (involving bread), emotional temptation (involving security and protection), spiritual temptation (involving worship). We could relate each of these to the temptations of Eve in the Garden and to the three categories of the things of the world, “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” that 1 John mentions.  

We could do an entire study on overcoming temptation: how Jesus followed the leading of the Holy Spirit; how He responded with Scripture; and how Jesus resisted the devil and he “left Him.”

And yes, we will apply some of these ideas from the text. But our main purpose is to see Jesus as Matthew presents Him here. Matthew wants us to see the tremendous obedience of Jesus to see a true demonstration of His righteousness. For it is in His temptation that true nature of Jesus as the victorious King comes shining through.[4]

1. The Setting of the Temptation (Matt. 4:1-2)

Let me make some important observations about the setting for our Lord’s temptation.[5]

First, our Lord’s wilderness experience identified Him with the nation of Israel in the Old Testament.

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. (Matthew 4:1-2).

Matthew has already linked Jesus to Israel by His genealogy (Matt. 1:1-17) and by the fulfillment of prophecy (Matt. 2:13-23). The number 40 and the wilderness again connects Jesus with the nation of Israel. The “desert” is not only a place associated with demonic activity (Isa 13:21; 34:14; Matt 12:43; Rev 18:2) but the place where Israel experienced her greatest early testings.[6] Just as Israel first underwent its “baptism” (“all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,” 1 Cor. 10:2) and then was led into the wilderness for 40 years where God tested them, so after His baptism Jesus was tested in the wilderness for 40 days. Moses reminds Israel of their testing in Deuteronomy 8:

1 “Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. 2 “And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 “So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. (Deu 8:1-3 NKJV) (Deut. 8:1-3).

Jesus quotes this verse in His answer to the first temptation. Again we see that Jesus is the “true Israel,” and the “true Son of God.” Whereas Israel failed their testing, Jesus was victorious, which shows Him to be qualified as the King who would atone for our sins on the cross and who will judge the world with fire.

Second, I want you to notice that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matt. 4:1). Mark’s Gospel is even stronger, saying “the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness” (Mark 1:12). Jesus was compelled by the Spirit to this deserted place to be tempted.

The Holy Spirit played a significant role in the life of our Lord during the 40 days of fasting and temptation. We will see that Jesus relied on the Word of God to battle the devil. Thus, it was both the Word of God and the Spirit of God that guided and enabled our Lord as He prevailed over Satan in His temptation.

Third, the tempter was the devil. The Greek word diabolos strictly means “slanderer”; but the term is the regular rendering in the Greek translation of the Hebrew “Satan” (e.g., 1 Chronicles 21:1; Job 1:6–13; 2:1–7; Zech 3:1–2) He is the chief opposer of God, the archenemy who leads all the spiritual hosts of darkness (cf. Gen 3; 2 Sam 19:23; John 8:37–40; 1 Cor 11:10; 2 Cor 11:3; 12:7; Rev 12:3–9; 20:1–4; 7–10; Maier). [7] 

Fourth, Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for the entire 40-day period. You might get the impression that Jesus was led into the wilderness for 40 days and nights and then was tempted at the end of this period. But Mark and Luke record that Jesus was “being tempted for forty days by the devil” (Luke 4:2; also Mark 1:13). The three temptations that Matthew and Luke record took place at the end of 40 days, but this whole period was a time of testing and temptation. The word “tempted” can mean both to test and to tempt.[8] As something the devil does, it must here be taken as to tempt, in the sense of to try to entice to sin. But what the devil sees as a temptation, God uses as a test to prove Jesus’ faithfulness.[9]

Fifth, during His 40 days and nights in the wilderness, Jesus voluntarily fasted from food. So Matthew 4:2 says, “And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.” This is not because there was no food at all in the wilderness. John the Baptist lived in the wilderness for a long while, eating locusts and wild honey (Matt. 3:4).

There are two different views concerning our Lord’s “fasting” in the wilderness. There are those like Chrysostom[10] and John Piper[11] who believe that Jesus’ fasting gave Him spiritual strength, preparing Him to be victorious over Satan’s temptations. And then there are others, like Calvin and Luther,[12] who do not see our Lord’s fasting as strengthening, but as weakening.

What we see here is a great contrast between the temptation of Eve and that of our Lord. Adam and Eve had no lack of food or water in the garden, and they fell by choosing to eat the one forbidden food. Jesus had no food, and yet He resisted Satan’s temptations. Matthew shows our Lord’s spiritual strength at His physically weakest moment.

That brings us to,

2. The First Temptation (Matt. 4:3-4)

Matthew 4:3 says, “3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.””

Notice that Matthew refers to Satan here as “the tempter.” Mark calls him “Satan” (Mark 1:13), while Luke calls him “the devil” (Luke 4:2). Matthew is doing more than merely identifying our Lord’s opponent; he is describing his nature and his character. This is who Satan is; this is what Satan does. He is the “tempter,” and then, if he is successful, he becomes the “accuser” (see Revelation 12:10; Zechariah 3:1).[13]

Here, as Jesus was literally starved and with nothing to eat, the tempter came to Him suggesting that He ought to use His power as the Son of God to turn the stones into bread and eat. Jesus, of course, could have done that. He could change water into wine. He could multiply a few loaves and fishes and feed thousands.

What was the nature of this temptation? The point of each temptation must be determined by closely examining both the temptation and Jesus’ response.

Notice that the tempter sought to appeal to Jesus’ sense of self. He said “If You are the Son of God …” (Matt. 4:3). Satan was not denying that Jesus was the Son of God, the sense of His words are “Since You are the Son of God.” Satan was seeking to appeal to any selfishness in Christ. It was a temptation to use His sonship for His own comfort that would be inconsistent with His God-ordained mission.[14] Jesus did not come to satisfy His own cravings, but to do the will of His Father (John 5:30). Jesus would say to His disciples, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34).

Satan attacked God’s provision: “Certainly the Savior of the world needs His strength. You need food, no one in their right mind would go a second longer. But You are in the wilderness, and there is nothing to eat. Not to worry, You have the power to turn stones into bread. That’s what you ought to do.” What a simple, yet sinister type of temptation! It appealed to sense of self. It was rooted in a genuine need. It was within Jesus’ power as the Son of God. But it came in such a way as to undermine the provision of God and the word of God.

This might not seem to us that serious but if Jesus had given in to that thought, salvation would have been impossible. For in that moment Jesus would have put His own will ahead of God’s will. It was the Holy Spirit who had led Jesus into the wilderness and led Him to fast for those 40 days and nights. To use His divine power to feed Himself would be to disobey the clear leading of the Holy Spirit and His Father. And that selfishness would have rendered Jesus unfit as an offering for sin.

How does Jesus answer? With the word of God. Matthew 4:4, “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Isn’t it instructive that the very first words we hear from the lips of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew showed His absolute confidence in the written Scriptures as the authoritative Word of the living God. The question of errancy or irrelevance never occurred to Him. Those notions are of Satanic origin (Genesis 3:1). In tempting Eve, the devil set out to get her to distrust or distort the Word of God. Jesus picked up and wielded the weapon that she so foolishly neglected in her struggle with the tempter.[15]

Jesus took the thought that He could turn stones into bread, but when He laid that thought up against the Word, it was clearly seen as false. Jesus quotes here from Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” as I showed earlier. Now if you read the context for that verse in Deuteronomy you will notice these things: 1) God sent Israel in to the wilderness to test them (Deut. 8:2); 2) God purposefully let them get hungry (Deut. 8:3); and God fed them with manna they did not know (Deut. 8:3); 4) God did this so that they would learn “that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD” (Deut. 8:3).

In other words, God made them hungry and fed them with heavenly food to teach them a lesson. And the lesson was: “God has all of your physical needs under control, so all you need to be concerned with is your spiritual needs. According to Deuteronomy 8:4-6 God did the same thing with their clothing. He supernaturally provided their food and clothing so that they would see that God has that under control. They didn’t need to worry about them. Jesus will teach this very thing in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matt. 6:31-33)

Israel demanded its bread but died in the wilderness; Jesus denied himself bread, retained His righteousness, and lived by faithful submission to God’s Word.[16] Israel’s hunger had been intended to show them that hearing and obeying the word of God is the most important thing in life (Deut 8:2–3). Hebrews 5 says that “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Heb 5:8). More necessary than bread for Jesus was obedience to God’s Word.[17] Jesus overcame the temptation to turn stones into bread to satisfy His own hunger by believing the word of God. Jesus focused on the eternal, on the spiritual, on the word of God, on His Father, on obedience.

Jesus followed the leading of the Holy Spirit. He trusted in God’s word. He trusted in God’s provision. Jesus overcame temptation. He passed the test. The test demonstrated His qualifications as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Rather than turning stones into bread to satisfy His hunger, He became the living bread to satisfy the hunger of all who believe in Him. In John 6 Jesus said,

48 “I am the bread of life. 49 “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 “This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” (John 6:48-51)

The bread that God gave Israel in the wilderness sustained physical life, but it did not grant eternal life. Jesus, the “true bread,” does provide eternal life through His sacrifice on the cross. And Jesus demonstrates His commitment to be obedient to the Father’s will here at the very beginning.

This is the first “face-off” between Satan and the Savior, though it will not be the last. But in this encounter with His arch enemy, Jesus prevailed. Matthew is informing his readers, I believe, that this is a foretaste of “things to come.” He lets us know early in his Gospel that Jesus always wins over Satan. Our Lord’s victory in the wilderness is the “first fruits” of the greater victory which our Lord will win on the cross of Calvary, the very thing Satan’s success in temptation would have prevented.[18]

  1. The Second Temptation

 

  1. The Third Temptation

 

 

 

————————————————–

 

[1] Phil Newton, South Woods Baptist Church, Tempted and Triumphant. http://archive.southwoodsbc.org/sermons/matthew_04.01-11.php accessed 06/29/2022

[2] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 115.

[3] John MacArthur, The Crisis of Temptation, Part 1. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/2191/the-crisis-of-temptation-part-1 accessed 06/29/2022

[4] Bro. Rory, FBC Spur, https://fbcspur.org/testing-king-part-1-matthew-41-11/ accessed 06/29/2022

[5] Robert Deffinbaugh, The Temptation of Jesus, Part 1, https://bible.org/seriespage/5-temptation-jesus-part-i-matthew-313-44 accessed 06/29/2022

[6] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 111–112.

[7] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 112.

[8] Strong’s Concordance cited by Larry Pierce, Outline of Biblical Usage, at https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3985/nkjv/tr/0-1/

[9] Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 83.

[10] See Fredrick Dale Bruner, The Christbook: A Historical/Theological Commentary (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1987), vol. 1, p. 103. Cited by Deffinbaugh.

[11] John Piper, Man Shall Not Live on Bread Alone. https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/man-shall-not-live-on-bread-alone Accessed 06/29/2022

[12] “Luther had never seen a right fasting or a fasting that did not encourage trust in good works; right fasting is to accept God-sent hardships … Calvin, 1:124-135, points out that neither Jesus nor Moses fasted every year, but only once in their lives according to the biblical records.” Bruner, p. 104. Cited by Deffinbaugh.

[13] Robert Deffinbaugh, The Temptation of Jesus, Part 1, https://bible.org/seriespage/5-temptation-jesus-part-i-matthew-313-44 accessed 06/29/2022

[14] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 113.

[15] John Phillips, Exploring the Gospel of Matthew: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch, 2014), Mt 4:4.

[16] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 113.

[17] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 113.

[18] Deffinbaugh, ibid.

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