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SERMON:
“Lead
us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”
That’s
what Jesus teaches us to pray in the Lord’s prayer. “Lead us not into
temptation” because we easily fail. “Deliver us from evil” because when we sin,
our only hope is that God will deliver us.
Our
sermon reading for today is the story of how Jesus was tempted in the
wilderness. Here we learn two basic lessons.
First, we learn that when Jesus was tempted, he didn’t sin. If Satan could
just get Jesus to sin, JUST ONCE, then Christ wouldn’t be able to offer himself
as a perfect sacrifice on behalf of all sinners. One wrong thought, word, or
deed, and our Savior would have been unable to save us.
But
Jesus didn’t fail. He remained holy throughout this time of temptation, and
throughout his life. He was thus able to offer the sacrifice which was
required. The sacrifice which has redeemed us from sin and hell.
The second lesson we learn from here is how to overcome
the temptations that Satan and his crew use on us daily.
To
strengthen our faith, we remember how Jesus remained sinless and offered
himself in our place. Our salvation is finished and secure. To overcome daily
temptations, we remember how Jesus overcame temptation—by bringing to mind what
God’s Word says.
▬
The
first temptation that Jesus faced in the wilderness, was a temptation
concerning to his body.
Matthew 4:1-4 (NASB)
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the
wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2 And
after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.
3 And
the tempter came and said to Him, “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 on bread alone,
but on every word that
proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”
▬
Satan is no
dummy. As a spirit being, Satan has no need of food. Seeing that Jesus was
truly human, with a body that longed for food, Satan carefully timed this first
temptation to be most effective.
Jesus was not
doubt exhausted, and ravenous after his forty day fast in the wilderness. But I
can’t see why it would have been sinful for Jesus to just eat something. The
temptation was not so much in the eating of food, as it was in the way that
Satan wanted Jesus to GET the food. Satan wanted Jesus to create bread
for himself by using his Godly powers.
In the book of
Hebrews it 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” (Hebrews 4:15 NKJV).
The Son of God became
human to live a perfect life in our place. If he used his powers as God to make
his life easy, he wouldn’t have been “in all points tempted as we are.”
On other
occasions Jesus did use his powers to provide bread, but not for himself. When
he fed the five thousand, and the four thousand, he did that for others, to
show them he was the Savior sent from God. That use of his divine power was
fitting and proper. Making bread for himself in the desert would not have been.
In the book of First
Chronicles, there’s an interesting passage where king David is preparing to
offer a sacrifice to God. Someone kindly offers to donate the goods needed for
the sacrifice. But to this David replies,
“…No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take
for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me
nothing” (1 Chronicles 21:24).
In the same
way, Jesus refused to offer himself as a partial sacrifice—calling on his God
powers to soften the way. We see this also at the cross when Jesus refused the
narcotic laced drink which would have deadened some of his pain. Jesus came to live
life like us, to feel the full pain of human existence, and to fully suffer the
wrath of God in the place of all sinners. This is why he refused to use his
divine power to make bread for himself in the wilderness.
▬
In response to
Satan’s first temptation, Jesus quoted from the Word of God. Referencing Deuteronomy,
Jesus says…
“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word
that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 NASB).
With these
words Jesus directs us back our surest defense against temptation—the Word of
God.
Our culture
today makes a lot of health and nutrition, sometimes elevating physical fitness
and bodily wellness to the level of a religion. But Jesus notes that the
highest form of life comes from taking God’s Word into ourselves, not from
taking the right foods into our bodies.
Feeding our
souls with the faith sustaining Word of the Gospel is far more important than
following the food pyramid and avoiding trans-fats. With the Gospel flowing
through our minds our grip on eternal life will stay strong, even if our bodies
waste away with disease and illness.
This is why
it’s so important to pick up that devotion book, to read from the actual pages
of the Bible, and to return here to worship with our fellow Christians. Where
the Word is, there life is.
▬
The second
temptation that we find Satan throwing at Jesus had more to do with Christ’s
trust in God that anything else. As strange as that sounds, the second
temptation was a temptation by faith.
Matthew 4:5-7 (NASB)
5 Then
the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand 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 will command
His angels concerning You’;
and
‘On their hands
they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your
foot against a stone.’ ”
7 Jesus
said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
▬
Seeing that
Jesus was well versed in the Bible, Satan tries to get Jesus to read more into
the Scriptures than is really there.
The Psalm that
Satan quotes here is a Psalm that speak of how powerful God is. Powerful enough
that he can protect those who trust in him from even the smallest of injuries
if he wishes to do so.
In this
temptation Satan tries to get Jesus to jump to conclusions, conclusions that
God’s Word simply doesn’t support. Some examples of doing this today might be,
“God will take care of you if you trust in him, so you don’t need to go to the
doctor when your appendix ruptures. Just trust in the Lord!” Or, “God wants to
bless you, so that means if you trust in him enough, God will make you a
millionaire.” Or, “God sent his Son to pay for your sins, so go ahead and do
what is clearly wrong, and God will forgive you anyway.”
Each of these
examples take God’s Word and try to force it to say more than it does. God does
indeed care for those who trust in him as their Savior, but part of that care
is providing good medical resources for our bodies. God does want to bless us,
but he doesn’t promise that we’ll all be rich in this life. God did send his
son to pay for our sins, completely, but his Word also directs us to avoid sin.
And when we do sin, God’s Word moves us to repent and reject that sin, bringing
it to God for forgiveness and setting our hearts to avoid that sin in the
future.
▬
When Satan
tempted Eve in the garden, he started by adding to God’s Word. Satan asked Eve,
“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in
the garden’” (Genesis 3:1 NIV).
When Satan
tempted Jesus this second time, he used a similar approach. “God said he’ll
protect you Jesus, so that means you can jump from the top of the temple and
all will be well. Don’t you trust him enough to do that? Go ahead, jump.” But
that was going beyond what God had really said. God’s promise to protect us
isn’t license to be frivolous and irresponsible.
Jesus wasn’t
buying what Satan was selling. And so, Jesus corrected Satan with God’s Word.
Quoting from Deuteronomy, Jesus said…
“On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the
LORD your God to the test’” (Matthew 4:7 NASB).
In other words,
don’t try to force God to protect you, or provide for you, or forgive you—on
your terms. But instead, bow before God in humility. Wait on HIM to decide how
he will do these things.
At the end of
this set of temptations in the wilderness, God did indeed send his angels to
help Jesus. Verse 11 says,
“Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began
to minister to Him” (Matthew 4:11 NASB).
What did they
do for Jesus? Did they bring him food for his body? Did they encourage him with
their presence, or with a message from the Father? We aren’t told. But we do
know that they didn’t come because Jesus tried to force God to send them. They
came after Jesus had humbly endured temptation and waited for the Father to
provide.
▬
The third
temptation that we find Satan throwing at Jesus didn’t have to do with his
hunger, or his faith. Instead, in this last temptation Satan tried to tempt
Jesus with worldly glory.
Matthew 4:8-11 (NASB)
8 Again,
the devil took Him to a very 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 fall down and worship
me.”
10 Then
Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ”
11 Then
the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
▬
We’re blessed
in this modern age with so many technological wonders. Not only can we travel
from one side of the globe to the other in jet planes, we can also drive into
the wilderness to view the wonders of God’s creation. And if we’re not up to
such travel, we can just sit in front of a television screen, or a computer
monitor and watch films which bring the ends of the earth before our very eyes.
When Satan took
Jesus up on that high mountain, we’re told that he showed Jesus, “all the
kingdoms of the world and their glory.” He didn’t just see what God had
created, but also all the wonderful things mankind had constructed. Gardens,
palaces, cities, temples, ALL the great places which so many people longed to
go to. The world had so much to offer to this young Galilean man, and Satan
said it was his to give.
Satan offered
to give all the glory of the world to Jesus in return for one little thing.
Just bow down to me. It was essentially an offer of everything NOW, at the
expense of everything TOMORROW.
We face
temptations like this all the time, don’t we. The temptation to enjoy something
now, and lose something in the future. The credit card offers instant
gratification, at the cost of financial freedom in the future. Indulging in
food now offers instant gratification too, at the cost of weight or health
issues that we’ll have to work through, or tolerate tomorrow. The thing is, Satan wasn’t just offering Jesus a credit card
or a delectable meal, Satan was offering the world and all it’s glory. All for
the “small price” of spiritual unfaithfulness to God.
And remember,
Satan didn’t have to get Jesus to DO these things. A sinful thought would be
enough to topple the hopes of mankind forever. One covetous thought, and the
Savior would be unable to offer the perfect sacrifice needed to redeem sinners.
But Jesus knew
the Word of God too well. And quoting once again from Deuteronomy, Jesus
said…
“Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the
LORD your God, and serve Him only’” (Matthew 4:10 NASB).
▬
Satan would
have torn us to bits if we had faced this temptation. How often haven’t we
chosen temporary gratification over serving God? Daily.
But Jesus
didn’t. He took up the sword of God’s Word and overcame Satan’s temptations—for
us. He remained holy, and thus able to offer the sacrifice of himself on the
cross which has brought us peace and security forever.
▬
Like I said
earlier, there are two basic lessons to take away from the account of Jesus’
temptation. First, when tempted, Jesus didn’t sin. And because he remained
sinless, the sacrifice he later offered was accepted. Through Christ, we stand
forgiven.
And the second
lesson? Go to the Word of God daily so that you are properly armed when
temptation comes your way. Whether that temptation is one that concerns your
body, or your faith, or the offer of worldly glory. Go to God’s Word, and arm
yourself to fight the good fight of faith. Amen.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts, and your minds, in Christ Jesus.
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