Matthew 4:1-17
The Temptation of Jesus and the Beginning of his Ministry
Shortly after his Baptism, the Spirit led Christ into the desert, so that Satan would tempt him. (v 1) Of course this was not a touch-and-go situation for God and his Son. The outcome was already determined. It was not as if God would send some “other son” to come down if Jesus failed. Personally, I doubt if Satan really knew with whom he was dealing with.
After not eating for 40 days and nights, Jesus was incredibly hungry and weak. (v 2) Satan thought he saw his chance to take advantage of the situation. He tempts Jesus into using his power to produce food for himself from the stones in the desert. (v 3) This might not seem on the surface as sinful, but if you think about it, his fasting was for God. He could have easily gone back into a city or town and received food. But Jesus was there out of religious devotion to his Father. To eat would go against his meditation and dedication to God, and clearly sin. This is why he responds in verse 4 with a quote from Deuteronomy 8:3: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Our ties and devotion to God should be higher and stronger than any other calling, even eating if it would be against him. We need God more than even food! Christ knew that he would be eating soon enough, and that God would see him through.
The Devil, being thwarted by Jesus, tries a new tactic. He took Jesus to the “holy city” (I’m not sure if this is Jerusalem or perhaps a ruin of a holy site) and to the very top of the temple there, a building of considerable size (v 5). In verse 6, thinking he can fight fire with fire, he requests that Jesus throw himself off the building because it is written in Psalm 91:11, 12 that “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.” But Jesus knew better than to take this verse out of context and replies in verse 7 quoting Deuteronomy 6:16 “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” This temptation we can see more clearly as sin. God is not a tool we control and dictate terms to. We don’t go jumping off buildings or act recklessly knowing that God will come to our rescue. God is not a seat belt, but God himself. To put yourself above him is clearly sinful. Jesus knew that he didn’t need to test God to know that he was protected from the elements and danger. God is control of everything!
Still determined to find Jesus’ weak spot, Satan throws all his chips in. He takes Jesus to a high mountain (I’m not sure if this is meant to be an actual mountain, or even as far as space itself!) where they view “all the kingdoms in the world” (v 8). Satan is willing to give up his paltry power on earth to Jesus if he would just worship him (v 9). This shows Satan’s desperation and self-disillusionment. He was willing to give up everything to win this one battle, but he didn’t realize that God already had all these kingdoms, and that everything in the universe was his. Satan had no ownership of any of it. Jesus knew this as well, and dealt the final blow in this conflict. In verse 10, Jesus rebukes Satan’s arrogance and orders him away with a quote from Deuteronomy 6:13, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Why do we worship him only? Because he has created, saved, and loves us! God “owns” everything including us, and because of his omnipotence and love he should be worshiped and served.
Satan, utterly rebuked, leaves Jesus and we see that God does take care of his people, including his Son, as the angels attend to him. By doing so, God negates each one of Satan’s temptations. Jesus is fed, the angels are commanded to protect him (v 11), and God alone is glorified, still in complete control and authority over all. What I see from these passages is not only the strength and power of the Son of God, but how completely clueless Satan is!
Tested by Satan and found true (of course, was there doubt?) Jesus begins to preach. We find in verse 12 that John the Baptist has been in imprisoned, so the Lord returns to Galilee. After spending time in Nazareth, he went to Capernaum, by the lake in an area of Zebulun and Naphtali,(Northwest of the Sea of Galilee) to full fill what Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 9:1,2.
Jesus’ first message recorded in Matthew is “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (v 17). Much like John’s message, however this is the “real deal” where as John was preparing and acclimating the people to the idea of repentance and the Kingdom. We can do well to still heed our Lord’s words. For if the Kingdom were so close and important that Jesus started with this message, how much closer is it to us today? We need repentance and our Lord’s grace more than ever.
Shortly after his Baptism, the Spirit led Christ into the desert, so that Satan would tempt him. (v 1) Of course this was not a touch-and-go situation for God and his Son. The outcome was already determined. It was not as if God would send some “other son” to come down if Jesus failed. Personally, I doubt if Satan really knew with whom he was dealing with.
After not eating for 40 days and nights, Jesus was incredibly hungry and weak. (v 2) Satan thought he saw his chance to take advantage of the situation. He tempts Jesus into using his power to produce food for himself from the stones in the desert. (v 3) This might not seem on the surface as sinful, but if you think about it, his fasting was for God. He could have easily gone back into a city or town and received food. But Jesus was there out of religious devotion to his Father. To eat would go against his meditation and dedication to God, and clearly sin. This is why he responds in verse 4 with a quote from Deuteronomy 8:3: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Our ties and devotion to God should be higher and stronger than any other calling, even eating if it would be against him. We need God more than even food! Christ knew that he would be eating soon enough, and that God would see him through.
The Devil, being thwarted by Jesus, tries a new tactic. He took Jesus to the “holy city” (I’m not sure if this is Jerusalem or perhaps a ruin of a holy site) and to the very top of the temple there, a building of considerable size (v 5). In verse 6, thinking he can fight fire with fire, he requests that Jesus throw himself off the building because it is written in Psalm 91:11, 12 that “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.” But Jesus knew better than to take this verse out of context and replies in verse 7 quoting Deuteronomy 6:16 “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” This temptation we can see more clearly as sin. God is not a tool we control and dictate terms to. We don’t go jumping off buildings or act recklessly knowing that God will come to our rescue. God is not a seat belt, but God himself. To put yourself above him is clearly sinful. Jesus knew that he didn’t need to test God to know that he was protected from the elements and danger. God is control of everything!
Still determined to find Jesus’ weak spot, Satan throws all his chips in. He takes Jesus to a high mountain (I’m not sure if this is meant to be an actual mountain, or even as far as space itself!) where they view “all the kingdoms in the world” (v 8). Satan is willing to give up his paltry power on earth to Jesus if he would just worship him (v 9). This shows Satan’s desperation and self-disillusionment. He was willing to give up everything to win this one battle, but he didn’t realize that God already had all these kingdoms, and that everything in the universe was his. Satan had no ownership of any of it. Jesus knew this as well, and dealt the final blow in this conflict. In verse 10, Jesus rebukes Satan’s arrogance and orders him away with a quote from Deuteronomy 6:13, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Why do we worship him only? Because he has created, saved, and loves us! God “owns” everything including us, and because of his omnipotence and love he should be worshiped and served.
Satan, utterly rebuked, leaves Jesus and we see that God does take care of his people, including his Son, as the angels attend to him. By doing so, God negates each one of Satan’s temptations. Jesus is fed, the angels are commanded to protect him (v 11), and God alone is glorified, still in complete control and authority over all. What I see from these passages is not only the strength and power of the Son of God, but how completely clueless Satan is!
Tested by Satan and found true (of course, was there doubt?) Jesus begins to preach. We find in verse 12 that John the Baptist has been in imprisoned, so the Lord returns to Galilee. After spending time in Nazareth, he went to Capernaum, by the lake in an area of Zebulun and Naphtali,(Northwest of the Sea of Galilee) to full fill what Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 9:1,2.
Jesus’ first message recorded in Matthew is “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (v 17). Much like John’s message, however this is the “real deal” where as John was preparing and acclimating the people to the idea of repentance and the Kingdom. We can do well to still heed our Lord’s words. For if the Kingdom were so close and important that Jesus started with this message, how much closer is it to us today? We need repentance and our Lord’s grace more than ever.
posted by Ayric Andy | 12:37 AM
1 Comments:
Welcome Miss Kirsten! What a great comment... and one of the whole reasons for puting my thoughts in this format. I love reading and understanding how others see certain passages. Your comments on Christ's full deity and full humanity couldn't be more true. I think when I wrote my comments on Satan, I was trying to figure, that if you knew who Christ really is, why in the world would you try to go toe to toe with Him. If Satan had the omniscience of God he'd know that this is all going to end badly. I absolutely will agree that Satan will do anything, no matter how desperate, for gain.
Thank you for the clarification about the Holy City. I don't know where I keep getting this vision of an abandoned ruined city, empty and deserted.
Amen to the expectant day when we will see the fully glory of God and worship him forever! Thanks again for the first post! :)
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