SERMON OUTLINE:
TEMPTATION #1: selfishness (vs 1-5)
TEMPTATION #2: presumption (vs 5-8)
TEMPTATION #3: compromise (vs 9-12)
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• The British PM Boris Johnson took his cabinet out for a meal;
• The waiter asked him; “Sir, what would you like to eat?”
• Boris Johnson replied; “I’ll have the roast beef please”,
• The waiter then said; “And what about the vegetables?”
• Boris replied: “They will have the same!”
• TRANSITION: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tremendous authority,
• And sadly,
• This week we have seen another example of how he has misused that authority!
• Unlike Boris, Jesus never used his authority for selfish gain,
• Todays, passage is a great example of that.
• Instead Jesus used it to bless and to help other people.
Pause and say two things:
• FIRST: Being tempted is not sinning,
• No one sins when they are tempted to do wrong.
• The Bible is very clear, that it is only IF we give into temptation,
• That’s when we sin.
• SECOND: Temptation or testing is not always a negative, a bad experience,
• We tend to think of it in that way.
• Sometimes testing is positive.
Quote: William Barcley:
“Temptation is not meant to make us sin; it is meant to enable us to conquer sin.
It is not meant to make us bad, it is meant to make us good.
It is not meant to weaken us, it is meant to make us emerge stronger and finer and purer from the ordeal.
Temptation is not the penalty of being a man, temptation is the glory of being a man,
Temptation is the test which comes to every man whom God wishes to use.
So, then, we must think of this whole incident,
not so much the TEMPTING, as the TESTING of Jesus”.
Ill:
• You are probably all familiar with a PAT (‘Portable Appliance Testing’) test?
• A PAT test is a routine inspection of some types of electrical appliance,
• They are checked to see if they are safe to use.
• e.g. You often in public buildings, such as a care home or hospital ward,
• See a sticker on a plug and the date it was last tested.
• And sometimes you are not allowed to plug anything in unless it has been PAT tested.
• The device is tested for positive reasons and not negative.
• The product has been examined and proven to be the genuine article in working order!
• TRANSITION: The temptation or testing of Jesus,
• Is not to find fault but to show that he is indeed genuine article!
3 things to note.
• By way of introduction,
• They are all found in verse 1.
"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil”.
(1). IT WAS THE SPIRIT OF GOD WHO LED JESUS INTO THE DESERT:
• Life of course is full of highs & lows.
• If you were never in the valley, you could never appreciate the mountain top.
• Now having just experienced the high and holy experience of his baptism, (MT)
• Jesus will now face a tough, down to earth experience in the wilderness. (V)
Quote: Warren Wiersbe:
“Jesus was not tempted so that the Father could learn anything about his Son, for the Father had already given his divine approval.
Jesus was tempted so that every creature in heaven, on earth, or under the earth might know that Jesus Christ is the conqueror. He exposed Satan and his tactics, and defeated Satan. Because of his victory, we can have victory over the tempter”.
(2). NOTICE THE ENEMY: THE DEVIL:
• The devil is of course a spiritual being,
• More powerful than human beings but no-where near as powerful as God.
• e.g. God is omnipresent (everywhere)
• But the devil can only be in one place at one time.
• e.g. God is omnipotent (all powerful)
• The devil is powerful,
• e.g. Archangel Michael could not defeat him in his own strength (book of Jude verse 9)
• But he is limited in what he can do and as we can see Jesus was and is more powerful.
One thing our enemy the devil isn't, and that is stupid, he is very, very clever:
• He knows that at certain times we are more vulnerable than at any other times,
• To fall prey to his scheming wiles.
• Notice that in our passage (Matthew chapter 4 verses 1-11):
• He picks what would seem to be the most perfect moment,
• To try to tempt Jesus into sinning, into disobeying his father.
The reason this would appear to be the perfect moment to trap Jesus is because:
• Jesus is just starting out on his public ministry,
• He is inexperienced as an itinerant preacher,
• He is fresh from his baptism,
• Where God the Father has just declared his pleasure with him,
• That probably put Jesus on a spiritual high,
• Remember in verses 1-2,
• He is alone in the wilderness,
• Extremely hungry after forty days of fasting, he is physically weak and tired.
• Then at that very moment the enemy comes,
• And he attacks Jesus not with one, but three different temptations.
Quote: Dr W. Scroggie:
“There are three levels on which each of us can be tempted, the body, the spirit, and the soul. Jesus was tempted on each of these levels:
• The body - feed yourself.
• The spirit - throw yourself down. And let God’s angels take care of you.
• The soul - worship me, and I will give you the kingdoms of the world.
• The first bait was selfishness,
• The second was presumption,
• The third was compromise”
• Note: For the devil this was a tried and tested plan:
• Remember the first temptation in the garden of Eden,
• All three things, selfishness, presumption & compromise were all used by the tempter.
• But were as Eve fell into sin in the garden.
• Christ conquered all of them in the desert!
(3). NOTICE THE PLACE WHERE THE TEMPTATION HAPPENED:
• The setting for the temptations:
• Verse 1 tells us, it is in the "Desert":
• Between Jerusalem on the central plateau, which is the backbone of Palestine,
• And the Dead Sea, stretches the desert wilderness, an area of 15 to 35 miles.
• The Old Testament calls it 'Jeeshimmon':
• Which means 'The devastation', it is barren and empty.
Ill:
• If this was a game of football, we would say he was playing at home.
• That is home advantage – this was home territory of the evil one (barren and empty.)
• Opposite to God's territory: ("Milk & honey").
Now In this vast, barren wilderness:
• Jesus could not have been more alone,
• Anywhere else in Palestine.
• True to say the enemy often attacks us when we are on our own,
• When we are not accountable to anyone who knows us.
• This encounter between Jesus and Satan was going to be a tremendous battle:
• But not with fists or weapons, it was a battle of the minds.
• e.g. Think of a game of chess rather than a boxing match.
• It was to be a threefold attack by the devil on Jesus:
• Each one ruthlessly designed to lure the saviour away from,
• His Father's will and his earthly mission.
TEMPTATION #1: PERSONAL (vs 1-4).
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted[a] by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’
4 Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone.”’”
• Notice the devils’ opening words, "IF, you are the Son of God".
• Or the way it reads in the Greek text, could be rendered, "Since you are the Son of God".
• I believe the devil is drawing upon what God the Father has just declared,
• In the previous incident at the baptism of Jesus (chapter 3 verse 17):
• "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased".
The devil says to Jesus, “now if you are you are the Son of God, prove it!”
• Now don't forget (vs 2) for, "40 days Jesus had not eaten, he was hungry".
• Most of us would be in misery if we went 1 day without food.
Ill:
• The desert was littered with little round pieces of limestone rock:
• Which would look exactly like little loaves.
• Especially to a hungry man!
So the Devil says:
"You are hungry, you've got the power to solve that problem,
after all, what's wrong with having some food?"
• Jesus certainly has the power to accept the dare:
• He also has a physical hunger that needs to be satisfied.
• Question: What could be wrong with turning a few stones into bread?
• Answer: Everything!!!
Hidden beneath Satan's seemingly harmless challenge.
• There is a snare, or a hook behind the bait.
• The evil one has one objective in his attack,
• He wants to get Jesus to act independently from the Father.
• To use his power for selfish purposes.
• Instead of waiting on his Father to meet his needs.
• The Devil says to him:
• "Don't wait for God to feed you, do it yourself, do what you want."
Ill:
• Remember the first man Adam fell into sin because of food offered to him.
• Yet this temptation of Jesus would be far greater than Adams,
• 3 quick contrasts to think about.
(a).
• Adam was not hungry, he didn’t have to go without food,
• Yet Jesus has been on a forty day fast!
(b).
• Adam could eat of any other tree in the garden,
• At this moment in time, no provision had been made for Jesus.
(c).
• When Adam was tempted he had everything in his favour, he was in paradise.
• Yet Jesus is surrounded by desert, total emptiness & barrenness!
Note: the response of Jesus.
• He responds to the tempter,
• By immediately passing up the temptation of bread:
• Passes up physical temporary satisfaction,
• For the more lasting food of obeying the Father.
• And he replies to the devil in verse 4:
• By quoting Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 3: "Man cannot live on bread ALONE."
Key word in that verse "Alone”.
• “But on every word that comes from the mouth of God".
• I think what the Lord is saying is this: "There are more important things than food."
• "Life is more than the physical feeding of the body".
• "I am not to take the gifts God has given me & use them for selfish reasons”.
• “I am not here to please myself, But to please him who sent me”.
• “I refuse to act independently of God the Father”,
• “I will only walk in accordance with his word.”
• “On every word that comes from the mouth of God".
Apply that:
• Many of us are tempted:
• Not in the area of our weaknesses, but in the area of our strengths.
Quote: William Barcley:
"We must always remember that again and again we are tempted through our gifts;
The person who is gifted with charm, will be tempted to use that charm to get away with anything.
The person who is gifted with the power of words, will be tempted to use his command of words to produce glib excuses to justify his own conduct.
The person with a vivid and sensitive imagination will under-go agonies of temptation that a more stoic person will never experience.
The person with great gifts of mind will be tempted to use these gifts for himself, not for others, to become the master and not the servant of men;
It is the grim fact of temptation that it is just where we are strongest that we must be forever on the watch".
• TRANSITION: Be on your guard,
• Because many of us are tempted:
• Not in the area of our weaknesses, but in the area of our strengths.
• Temptation #1: Selfishness, do your own thing what you want to do!
• Answer #1: Jesus says to the tempter (vs 4).
"Man cannot live on bread alone,
But on every word that comes from the mouth of God"
TEMPTATION #2: POWER (vs 5-8).
“The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, ‘I will give you all their authority and splendour; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.’
8 Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”’”
Theologians have spent too much time debating the practicalities of that verse:
• e.g. Did they physically go to a literal mountain? If so, how & where?
• e.g. Or was it a vision that Jesus was given?
Quote: Maybe Calvin in his commentary explains it well
“It is asked, was he (Jesus) actually carried to this elevated spot, or was it done in a vision? What is added, that all the kingdoms of the world were exposed to Christ’s view…in a moment…agrees better with the idea of a vision than with any other theory.
In a matter that is doubtful, and where ignorance brings no risk,
I choose rather to suspend my judgement than to furnish contentious people with an excuse for a debate”.
• Use your imagination, try to imagine what it was like?
• Key point here is not where but what and the key word is "Splendour".
• “All the kingdoms of the world.”
ill:
• If you have travelled you may have taken in some majestic high places,
• e.g. The mountain of Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain, one of my favourites.
• e.g. Ben Nevis or Snowdon and looked over the breath-tacking scenery,
• But those three places combined,
• Would be nothing to what was on offer here.
• Satan parades before Jesus, everything he has; “the kingdoms of the world”:
• He is pulling out all the stops,
• He is using all the resources at his disposal to entice Christ.
Verse 7:
"All this I will give you, he said",
(Just one little compromise in return, that's all I'm asking)
"just worship me".
• Don't forget: Jesus hasn't begun his ministry yet.
• He hasn't even got a single follower.
• He is 40 days weak through lack of food,
• He knows the task ahead will be murderously difficult.
• But the devil tells Jesus that it needn't be that way,
• There is an easier way, in fact I can hand it too you on a plate!
• Satan's willing to hand over to him the world he's been sent to save,
The devil says, "You've come to save the world, worship me and I'll give it you".
• Think about it!
• No suffering! No struggling! No sacrifice!
• Just one little compromise:
• And this world and the crown of power that goes with it, are all yours!
Question: What was he trying to do?
Answer: He was offering to Jesus the easy way:
• Avoid the cross, avoid the pain & agony.
• Claim your kingdom now.
• Compromise, think of yourself and what is best for you!
• But we know with hindsight that,
• Quote: “Jesus chose to wear, not a crown of power, but a crown of thorns!”
• Jesus was well aware that:
• You cannot defeat evil by compromising with evil.
• You defeat it by living and following the truth.
• The Devil says: "Take the easy way….. worship me".
• Jesus responds to Satan in verse 8.
• "Worship the Lord your God and serve him only" (Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 13).
• To paraphrase, "God's the only one worth serving."
TEMPTATION #3: PUBLIC (vs 9-12).
“The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
‘“He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”[d]’
12 Jesus answered, ‘It is said: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’”
• In this final test, notice first of all, where the devil takes him,
• Verse 9, Jerusalem, the holy city.
• The highest point would have been the pinnacle of the temple.
And as they stand together at that pinnacle point, the devil says to Jesus in (vs 6):
"If you are" OR "Since you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down from here.
For it is written".
• In other words, the devil responds by saying:
• Since you like quoting Bible verses, let me give you one.
• And he quotes from Psalm 91:
"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".
• The devil is very crafty:
• He draws on that first temptation by saying,
• “You want to trust your Father, well here is a good opportunity to trust him!”
• Just, “throw yourself down, “and everyone will see that trust!”
• So, the devil temps Jesus to jump over the edge:
• Question: Why didn’t the devil just push Jesus off the edge,
• After all he could have been rid of Jesus for good.
• Answer: But the devil knew that if he pushed Jesus then Jesus wouldn't have been killed,
• For God’s angels would HAVE come to his aide.
• And he would not have even gashed his foot!
• Because while Jesus walked in God’s will, he enjoyed God’s protection.
• God’s angels would have come to his rescue had he been pushed.
THE POINT OF THIS TEMPTATION IS THIS:
• Had Jesus jumped, I believe he would not have been killed,
• Because I believe the angels would have come to his aide.
• And his physical body would have been rescued:
• But note: his life would have been preserved, but not his mission.
• His mission was according to John chapter 12 verse 32:
• "He was to draw all men to himself".
• But he was to do this not by sensationalism.
• Not by circus style dare devil acts.
• But by being "Lifted up to die".
• The cross was his mission and his purpose for coming.
The devils aim is again to get Jesus to act independently from his father:
• "Do what YOU want to do, draw attention to yourself.”
• “Be concerned with yourself and your image, get folks to notice you!!!”
JESUS ANSWERS THE DEVIL (VS 7).
• Once again Jesus responds with a quote from the Old Testament,
• “Do not put the Lord your God to the test" (Deuteronomy 6 verse 16)
• To paraphrase: “Don't fool around testing God".
The problem in this temptation, is a sin that is found throughout the Bible.
• The sin of presumption.
• Flirting with danger to prove God's power or his forgiveness.
• God sometimes expects us to exercise faith and do risky things:
• But he never asks us to be recklessness, to be stupid,
Ill:
• Even Psalm 91 itself, underlines this truth in verse 9:
• "If you make the Most High your dwelling.... then no harm will befall you".
• God will protect us, as we walk according to his will.
• Simply to claim promises of scripture out of context,
• For purely selfish reasons is presumption.
• God will protect us, as we walk according to his will.
• But he does not protect us from our own stupidity,
• If we deliberately do stupid things then we may well reap the consequences.
God's guiding & protection is not something to be played with:
• It is something to be quietly experienced,
• As we trust him in our every day living.
• Jesus replies to the tempter (vs 7):
• "Do not put the Lord your God to the test".
Without hesitation Jesus rejects Satan's final attempt:
• Frustrated and angry at his failure, the evil one departs.
• "he left him" (vs 13).
• Now Wouldn't it be great if that was it:
• One temptation, one battler, one conflict, just one struggle,
• And then for the rest of your life, you are free of the enemies attacks?
• That is not true for you and me and also not true for Jesus.
• Verse 13 tells us, "he left him until an opportune time".
• He came back on many other occasions,
• And in different disguises.
Quote:
"Though the roaring lion failed to devour the Lamb of God, he did not give up.
The hunter simply resumed stalking, watching for another moment to pounce".
Quote: Warren Wiersbe:
“The first Adam met Satan, so the last Adam (Jesus) met the enemy.
Adam met Satan in a beautiful garden, but Jesus met him in a terrible wilderness.
Adam had everything he needed, but Jesus was hungry after 40 days of fasting.
Adam lost the battle and plunged humanity into sin and death.
But Jesus won the battle and went on to defeat Satan in more battles, culminating in his final victory on the cross”
MP3 AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=9N3nibemvWMXkjlK3B04BG0tcNzU56lJ
