Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”]’ Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him 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.”]’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”]’ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”]’ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
The first thing I notice here is that it was the Spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness. The “wilderness” often represents for us a dark place, or a place of confusion. It is truly a frightening thing to be lost in the woods. I know, because it has happened to me more than once! Often, when our lives are led into a dark place, it seems like Satan is the one leading us there, not God. Sometimes it is, in fact, Satan leading us there, but remember, Satan can only do what God permits him to do. But let’s not let our minds be so distracted by the question of whether a test is directly from God, or whether God has just allowed it, that we miss the point of why this was recorded. The fact is, God does not always shield us from the trials of this life, because He often uses them to accomplish a higher purpose. Our response is what determines the outcome, no matter the source. The Spirit led Jesus to a place of vulnerability, and then Satan brought on the attack.
Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights and He was hungry. The temptation to sin can often come to us when we are in a place of physical weakness. Things may seem worse than they really are because when something has made us weak, all our attention can become so focused on that one thing that we do not think clearly. The stronghold that the problem has on our focus blinds us to the solution, which can be much closer than we ever imagine. I am reminded of the story of Esau:
Genesis 25:29-32
Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.) Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”
Esau was very hungry because he had been out working or hunting. I seriously doubt that he would have died if Jacob had not immediately given him something to eat. But it seemed to him as if he were going to die. His empty stomach caused his thinking to become irrational. Have you ever lost a job and immediately started worrying about how you are going to pay your bills, and worrying that your house is going to go into foreclosure? I admit that I have. I used to worry about it more when I was a younger man, but I have lived through so many unexpected changes, that when things of that nature happen now, I am much better at not going into panic mode, because I can look back over the course of my life and be reminded of MANY times when God has brought deliverance out of situations that seemed impossible. I am not saying that little temptation to worry is completely gone, but I tend to freak out a lot less than I used to. That just comes with age and experience, I guess. Esau, because of his impatience and fear, lost one of the most important things for a man in his culture, his birthright. Don’t let fear lead you into a place that makes things worse instead of better.
Jesus was hungry, just like Esau was hungry. Satan came to Him with a question of doubt, “IF you are the Son of God”… Satan knew full well that Jesus was the Son of God, but he tried to make Jesus doubt. Don’t ever let anyone else make you doubt who you are. If God has told you that you are His child, nothing anybody else says can ever change that. “tell these stones to become bread.” In other words, prostitute the words of God in order to meet your immediately perceived need. Many men, throughout the course of time, have twisted the Word of God to their own ruin. Just because someone uses the Word of God, does not mean they use it rightly. That is how cults get started. Did it ever occur to you that since Satan quoted Scripture, that he knows Scripture? Satan knows what the Bible says! He just uses it wrongly. Many people have read the Bible and know it, they just don’t believe it, or apply it the right way. Knowing the Scripture is not sufficient to save us. We have to KNOW the one who wrote the Scripture.
Jesus would have none of Satan’s twisting of the Word of God. It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Every word, because every word depends on every other word. We must let Scripture interpret itself, and not take words out of context to suit our own preconceived ideas. We can have all the bread and meat in the world to consume, and if we do not base our lives on the Word of God, we have no real life. Are the walking dead.
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the highest point of the temple. ‘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.
God is not going to protect us if we do stupid and foolish things we know we shouldn’t do. God does not supernaturally protect us from the common law of cause and effect. If I jump off a very high building, there is a very strong likelihood that I am going to die, or at the very least, be seriously mangled. Again, this is a misapplication and perversion of the Word of God. The passage of Scripture Satan quotes is from Psalm 91. The context is God’s protection and blessing over the man who makes God first in his life, the man who honors God. It has nothing to do with a presumptuous man doing something foolish to test God. Satan’s misapplication of God’s Word, and suggestion to Jesus reminds me of the people who think they can handle snakes and prove they are God’s anointed by not getting bitten by the snake. Do not put the Lord your God to the test.
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.
This is probably one of the biggest temptations for many men in this world: Power. Money represents power in this world’s system of things. There is nothing good or bad about money itself. Money is just a thing. People often misquote the Scripture and say, “Money is the root of all evil.” The Bible never says money is evil. It says, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” It is making money your god. Exodus 20:3, the first of the ten commandments says, You shall have no other gods before me. When money becomes your god, you are an idolater. But men set up many different kinds of idols in their hearts, not just money.
Your reputation, what other people think of you, can be an idol. A relationship can be an idol. One of the biggest fallacies of the idea of romantic love is that the perfect mate can fulfill all your needs. That can only be done by God. The whole idea of “Soul-Mate” puts another person in the place of God. That is idolatry. This is not to say that God does not orchestrate the circumstances of two people’s lives in such a manner that the two people that are right for each other meet and marry. He certainly does. He did it for me. But I do not expect my wife to meet soul needs that can only be met by God.
Some people make an idol out of their appearance. I like to work out and stay fit, but I do not worship my body and torture myself to obtain that physique you see on the front of a muscle magazine! Some women and men worry too much about their looks as they age. Sure, stay attractive for your mate as much as it is in your ability to do so, but if you are sixty years old, there aren’t enough beauty products in the world to make you look like you are 25 again, so relax and be who you are!
Don’t get hung up on some title or position you have in a company. That is not who you are, and all that can change at the drop of a hat.
Anchor your life in Jesus. Then, when life throws you the unexpected problems, hardships, temptations, and lies, God will make you stand. The Holy Spirit will minister to you, as the angels ministered to Jesus when He had stood his test. Don’t throw your life away for a hot bowl of soup!
Danny's Stump 