Overcoming Temptation: Jesus’ Example In Resisting Satan Series

Overcoming Temptation: Jesus’ Example in Resisting Satan

June 8, 2025

Dr. Bradford Reaves

Crossway Christian Fellowship

Matthew 4:1-11

We’ve spent the last several months pulling back the veil on the enemy’s tactics — exposing his schemes, his snares, and his shadow games. Let’s be real: Satan is not some cartoonish figure with a pitchfork and red tights. He’s cunning, deceptive, relentless, and far more powerful than any man or woman on their own. He’s a master of illusion, a professional liar, and a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

But here’s the good news: Jesus didn’t just defeat temptation for Himself — He demonstrated how you can walk in victory. Armed with the Word. Filled with the Spirit. Anchored in your God-given identity. Temptation is inevitable — but defeat is not.

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11)

If you don’t know the Word of God — and if you don’t understand the tactics of the enemy — you WILL fall. You WILL be deceived. But if you stand on the Word… If you cling to truth like your life depends on it — because it does… If you learn how Jesus fought and follow His lead… Then temptation doesn’t have to lead to defeat. It can become a doorway to deeper dependence on God.

So today, we’re going to walk into the desert with Jesus.

I. The Setup: Led by the Spirit into the Wilderness (Matthew 4:1)

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1)

Before the battle begins, we need to understand who brought Jesus to this moment — and why. This wasn’t the devil hijacking God’s plan. This was the Spirit initiating a confrontation. It wasn’t an accident. It was a Divine appointment. Jesus didn’t stumble into temptation. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

That may mess with your theology… but it’s the truth. Some of us were taught that hardship is always the devil’s doing. That difficulty must mean you’re out of God’s will. That if things are hard, something’s wrong. That’s a dangerous way of thinking because many times God leads you into the wilderness to strengthen you and to teach you how to defeat the real enemy of your life.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4)

Matthew 4:1 explodes the idea that difficulty means your out of God’s will. Look at what is says, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness…” — not away from God’s plan, but deeper into it. The wilderness wasn’t punishment — It was a proving ground. It was preparation. It was formation. It was assignment.

Here’s what I want you to know: God doesn’t waste wilderness seasons. He uses them to:

Strip away false identities

Strengthen spiritual muscles

Sharpen your discernment

Silence distractions so you can hear His voice clearly.

I think we also need to be humbled in this time. We are not as strong as we think we are and we cannot make it without the Divine intervention and help of the Holy Spirit. To be a strong Christian is to be a Spirit-led Christian

And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:2–3)

Before a Navy SEAL is ever entrusted with a mission, he must endure one of the most brutal training regimens in the world — Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S). It’s six months of relentless hardship: freezing water, sleepless nights, mental torment, physical exhaustion. Many wash out.

But those who endure it come out forged.

Not broken — proven.

Not discarded — deployed.

The wilderness of training isn’t punishment. It’s preparation for high-value missions.

In the same way, Jesus wasn’t in the wilderness because He lacked God’s favor — He was there because He carried God’s assignment. The desert doesn’t disqualify you. It proves you’re being prepared for kingdom deployment.

This was the proving ground for messiah. The Judean wilderness was not a forest like we think of wilderness. It is a dessert of mountains, rocks, caves, and heat. No food and very little water. It is a image of life for us. Before the victory God leads us through the dessert. Not to punish us but to strenghten us and to prove to us that through the Holy Spirit, we are stronger that we think we really are.