Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No
temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is
faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but
with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able
to bear it.” This is an amazing comfort to us as humans, but it is also
incredibly convicting, because normally—at least in my experience—we look back
(post-fall) and say, “There was a way out there, and there, and there, but I still
fell. I’m an idiot!” Jesus clearly shows us the way out in Matthew 4:1-11.
The setting is laid out clearly in
4:1-2. Here it says that Jesus had just been baptized by John, where a voice
had come down from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son. I take delight in
Him!” (3:17). The very next verse says, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil” (4:1). If anybody had a reason
to ever make the claim, “I’ve been rejected by God; sin won’t matter,” it was
Jesus at this moment. The very same Spirit that had just comforted Him (3:16)
was now driving Him into the wilderness for a period of temptation. And Matthew
concludes in verse 2 by saying Jesus was fasting for forty days and forty
nights. As if that itself wasn’t enough, the setting ends with the words, “He
was hungry.”
The Devil comes in verse 3. His first
tactic is to get Jesus to doubt His position before God. “If You are the Son of
God,” he says, “tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus, of course, was the
Son of God, but the point is that the Devil is hitting on a very basic need
Jesus has at the time. He is hungry; the Devil says, “Eat!” Our temptations
normally first arise because of some physical stimulus. There’s nothing wrong
with desiring food; it’s clear Jesus did, but it is wrong to get it in a way
that is not appropriate at the time. Jesus’ response sums this up perfectly. He
quotes Scripture, saying, “Man must not live on bread alone but on every word
that comes from the mouth of God” (4:4; cf. Deuteronomy 8:3). Jesus knows that
the true cure for hunger is God. Eating bread will leave anyone hungry again;
feasting on God truly satisfies. When a physical temptation strikes, we must
look to God as the superior pleasure and all-satisfying One.
But the Devil doesn’t stop there. Verse
5 has him standing in Jerusalem, atop the temple, and verse 6 has him repeating
the question, “If You are the Son of God,” and then adding the conclusion, “Throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He
will give His angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with
their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone’.” The Devil
knows Jesus is going to fight him with Scripture, so he tries to turn Scripture
against Jesus. He basically claims, “The Bible says it’s okay. Even if You do,
God will still save You.” Or, as it gets spoken to us normally, “The more you
sin, the more grace there is. Just do it and ask forgiveness later.” And then
Jesus, in verse 7, replies back again with Scripture, “It is also written: ‘Do
not test the Lord your God’ ” (cf. Deuteronomy 6:16). The Devil had completely
ripped the verse (cf. Psalm 91:11-12) out of its context and said, “Jump! He’ll
save You.” Jesus knows that there is an element of human responsibility in our
living and our choices, so He says, “I won’t. I can’t test God. I must
persevere through this thing.” When a verse pops into our head in a moment of
temptation that seems to ease the consequences of our intended actions, it’s
the Devil tempting us to test God! We can’t give in to these!
Then the Devil takes Jesus to a mountain
where he shows Him all the cities of the world (4:8). He tells Jesus, “I will
give You all these things if You will fall down and worship me” (4:9). The
Devil knew why Jesus had come. He knew He was the Son of God. His goal had
simply been to get Jesus to question it and to test it, thus sinning and
ruining His standing before God. When all that failed, He told Jesus to worship
Him in order to get what He came to earth to get: the nations. Jesus again
responds with Scripture, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord
your God, and serve only Him’ ” (4:10; cf. Deuteronomy 6:13). Jesus recognized
this temptation for what all temptations ultimately are when given into: Devil
worship. In one sense it was the easiest temptation to avoid because the Devil
told Jesus to worship him, and all good Jews know to only worship God. But in
another sense it was the hardest temptation to abstain from: the Devil promised
Jesus His life’s mission-goal apart from the cross.
If our temptations came to us with the
label, “Do this and worship me, signed: Satan,” of course we’d stay miles away
from them. However, this is why even if we make it through both of the first
two rounds, we still end up failing in the third. The Devil promises that which
we think we most need at the time we think we most need it, however, the hook
is always hiding.
Let’s say Jesus gave in to this
temptation; and let’s also say the Devil gave Him what he promised. Jesus would
have all the nations, but sinning and worshipping the Devil ruins His claim to
perfection as a perfect sacrifice, so He can’t die for the sins of the world or
rise again. He would “possess” all the nations of the world, but they would
really still be in Satan’s power and under God’s wrath.
Praise God that Jesus stood strong in
temptation. And let’s pray that we can stand strong as well. The first test is often
a physical stimulus; the second is a twisted promise from Scripture; and the
third is a promise to get exactly what we want, even though the deadly hook is
hidden. Trust God, know God, and love God. Pray to Him in time of need! There’s
always a way out!
Soli Deo Gloria
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