“Dealing With Temptation”
Text: Matthew 4:1-11
2-26-2023
Grace, mercy, and peace be unto from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan has been successful in using temptation against the human race. Over and over again he dangles the bait, and we humans fall for it. Satan was so confident of his skills at tempting that he even tried it on the very Son of God. We read about that temptation in our Gospel reading. There we see how the God-man, Jesus Christ, battled and conquered Satan at his own game. And we also see how Christians can be victorious when we must deal with temptation.
The place for us to start, is to ask why Jesus ended up in the wilderness. Verse 1 gives us the answer. He was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. There’s something very significant about that. This meeting between Christ and Satan was not an accident. No, God the Father had planned this confrontation and here’s why. As I just mentioned, Satan had successfully tempted mankind ever since the beginning of creation. It had worked millions and millions of times. And he faced some pretty strong men and women in his time. But in the end, he was able to trip them up and get them to sin. He had a perfect track record and he didn't think he could ever lose. But the Lord was about to put him in his place. God the Father sent a man unlike anyone Satan had ever met. He sent His very own Son to defeat him. And what made Jesus Christ so special is that He was both fully God and fully man at the same time.
We often overlook the importance of Jesus being fully human while also fully God. Because of His humanity He felt the full weight of all these temptations. And it was the human nature of Jesus that Satan attacked. He wasn’t ignorant about who he was going up against. He had followed every step of Jesus' life up to this point. Now, He was going to take his best shot at destroying this God-man by attacking His humanness. But there's an important point we mustn't overlook. Jesus was led to this confrontation with Satan by the Holy Spirit. So that means He didn't go into this battle alone.
This is where we Christians so often fail. We foolishly subject ourselves to Satan's temptations on our own because we forget that the Holy Spirit is there to help and strengthen us. We put ourselves in situations and among people where we know we’ll be bombarded with temptation. For example, we go to a party where alcohol is being served. Nothing wrong with that. But we stay longer than we should and we give in to the suggestion to have "just one more drink" before we leave which ends up being a bottomless glass. And soon, we’re feeling the ill effects of drinking too much or sitting in a jail cell for DWI. Teenagers are tempted when they choose to hang out with friends that they know are always out getting into trouble. Yet, they go along with these so-called "friends" so that they can fit in and be accepted. Folks, Satan has enough plans for tempting us without setting ourselves up for more! Martin Luther once said: "You can’t prevent the birds from flying over your head, but you can certainly prevent them from building a nest in your hair!" In other words, you’re guaranteed to be tempted but you don't need to invite it into your life.
Next, let’s look at the first temptation that Satan threw at Jesus. Notice that it’s identical to the way he approached Eve. He starts by trying to create doubt. He says to Jesus, "If you are the Son of God..." Oh, Satan knew who he was dealing with. But his intention was to see if Jesus truly believes that He is the Son of God. And so Satan challenges Jesus by asking for some simple proof. "Just turn these stones into bread and that’ll prove who you really are." You see, he actually believed that if he could somehow trip-up the human side of Jesus, he would be able to defeat the Creator of the Universe.
We should also notice the bait Satan used for his temptation trap. He used food, just like he did with Eve. He took a natural, human desire and turned it into a temptation. Isn't that the same strategy he tempts us with? He takes our natural sexual desire and perverts it into a fire that’s burns out of control. He makes the normal relations between a husband and wife seem “boring” over time. And so a spouse starts looking for excitement outside of their marriage. Young people are bombarded with the tempting question "Why wait until you’re married? Why not satisfy your natural, sexual desire right now?" Sadly, Satan has been very successful with this strategy of temptation.
But Jesus didn't fall for it. He refused to give in to the devil because He trusted in the promises of His Heavenly Father. He knew that somehow, some way, God would provide for His every need including His need for food. So rather than doubt God's Word, Jesus held onto it firmly. The thing that we really mustn't miss here is that Jesus used a weapon to defeat Satan that each and every one of us has access to: God's Word. He employed the very same Word of God that you and I have been privileged to receive. With it, He defeated the temptations of the devil.
Well, Satan's first line of attack didn't work. So, he approaches from a different angle. He next takes Jesus to the highest point of the Temple and tells Him to jump off. That doesn’t sound very appealing but look at how tricky Satan is. Jesus just defeated the first temptation with God’s Word. So Satan is tries to steal that weapon away from Christ by quoting Scripture back to Him. He quotes from Psalm 91, which says that the Lord's angels will protect you and keep you from harm. Satan is basically saying to Jesus: "Okay, since you claim to trust in God's Word and promises, then why not prove it by cashing in on one of them?"
Here again, the devil is trying to get Jesus to doubt God's Word. He wants Jesus to put Himself in danger, so that God can prove that He keeps His promises. But by doing so, Jesus would have proved that He didn't really trust God's Word. And with this temptation, Satan is offering Jesus an alternative path than the messy and painful route that God had planned. He wants Jesus to perform a spectacular feat that will amaze all the people around the Temple. That way, Jesus could get people to believe in Him without having to endure the cross. Instantaneous stardom! But Jesus refused because He knew that this short cut would not accomplish God's perfect plan.
And did you notice how Jesus defeated this 2nd temptation? Again, with God's Word. Satan attempted to take that weapon away from Jesus by quoting Scripture himself. But he was trying to make God's Word say what he wanted it to say. He took a verse out of context and altered it for his own evil purposes. Jesus, defeated him by allowing God's Word to speak for itself. We should take heed here against this same temptation. In our day, God's Word is not very popular with many people because it doesn't say what they want to hear. Rather than accepting God's Word as it stands, they try to twist it to fit their own purposes. We have to reject this kind of thinking and let all of God's Word speak for itself.
Well, Satan has one last shot. In this 3rd temptation he promises all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus will just bow down and worship him. Ahh, now we’re finally down to the root of Satan's problem. You see, what got him thrown out of heaven in the first place was his desire to dethrone God as the King of the Universe. That's exactly what he lured Eve with when he said, "Eat of the fruit, and you’ll be just like God." It worked on Eve and on every other human Satan has ever tempted. So why shouldn't it work on the man Jesus? Satan even sweetens the pot by promising power and prestige. But it’s a lie. He didn’t have the authority or the ability to give those things let alone promise them. And Jesus knew it. He knew that all this power and honor rightly belongs to God alone. He has no need to bow down and worship Satan, because all those things are His as the Son of God. Satan has lost the battle. His bag of tricks is empty. So Jesus simply tells him, "Be gone, Satan!"
We would do well to follow the example of Jesus and just tell the devil to “Be gone” when we’re tempted. But how often don't we stop and ponder his arguments and reasoning for going against God's Word and clear commands? By doing so we make ourselves vulnerable to his temptations. It reminds me of a story about a woman who had a passion for buying dresses. If she'd see a new dress in a store window, she went in and bought it even if she didn't need it. Her husband tried over and over to get her to resist the temptation but to no avail. Finally, she went to her Pastor. He told her that the next time she was tempted she should resist the devil and send him away by quoting a Bible verse: "Get behind me Satan!" Well, a few days later, she arrived at home with another new dress. Her frustrated husband asked, “What went wrong?” She said, "Well, I saw the dress and thought I'll just try it on, but not buy it. As I was looking in the mirror, I was tempted to get it but I remembered what Pastor told me. So I said 'Get behind me Satan!' And I heard Satan say, 'Hmmm, looks good from back here too!' So I bought it!" Now that was just a bit of humor, but sin isn’t funny at all. We shouldn't even entertain the suggestions of the devil. By doing so, we’re only asking for trouble.
Throughout our lives we will be tempted. And because of our sinful nature, we will at times give in to those temptations. But we don't have to despair. The very same Jesus who resisted the devil in the wilderness, went on to suffer and die on the cross so that Satan’s power over us could be broken. When we give into the temptation to sin, we can go to Him and ask to be forgiven trusting that He will because of His great love for us. And if we will call upon the Holy Spirit He’ll strengthen us so that we can resist temptation. With God’s powerful Word, we’re able to stand up against temptations when they come. And with it we’re able to be victorious when Satan tries to lure us. May God grant us the grace to stand firm on His Word and to trust His promises with all our hearts. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!