Temptation of Jesus Matthew 4:1-11
• Have you seen the Kid’s Candy Challenge videos?
• What happens in the Kid’s Candy Challenge is the parent tells their small child or children that they can have
some candy
• But they have to wait until mom or dad gets back
• The candy is set right in front of them
• Along with a phone to record the incident
• And then the adult leaves the room
• You can imagine what usually happens
• Sometimes, but rarely, there are some really well behaved kids
• Those Mommas should be very proud
• It has to be very difficult for them to resist
• I can’t hardly resist candy
• Like caramel creams or jelly beans or licorice
• I can’t resist blueberry cake donuts
• There are some things that we cannot do
• Let me ask you, what are some things that you cannot do?
• Now, let’s list something that Jesus cannot do
• What is something that Jesus cannot do?
• Can God make a rock so heavy that He can’t lift it?
• Can God make a one ended stick?
• Can God make a square circle?
• Can God make a married bachelor?
• All of these things are outside the realm of what is possible
• There is of course one thing Jesus cannot do that falls within the realm of things possible and that is sin
• Jesus cannot sin
• But for some reason we read in Matthew 4 where Satan attempts to get Jesus to sin
• Where we read about the temptation of Jesus
• And Jesus is required to face the strongest temptations the devil could bring against him
• Matthew 4:1-11
1. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
3. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become
bread.”
4. But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.’”
5. Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,
6. and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
7. Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”
8. Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world
and their glory.
9. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
10. Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and
Him only you shall serve.’”
11. Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
• So first we have to ask why?
• Why did the Spirit of God lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil?
• It wasn’t designed to see if Jesus would sin
• But to prove that He wouldn’t
• As the Union Pacific railroad was being constructed
• There is a story about an elaborate trestle bridge that was built across a large canyon out West
• Wanting to test the bridge the builder loaded a train with enough extra cars and equipment to double its
normal payload
• The train was driven to the middle of the bridge where it stayed for an entire day
• One worker asked, “Are you trying to break this bridge?”
• No, the builder replied
• I am trying to prove that it won’t
• These temptations occurred to prove that Jesus wouldn’t sin
• From this event from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry we can learn some very important lessons
1. Jesus is indeed the sinless Son of God
2. He exposed Satan and his tactics, and defeated him
3. The fact that temptation in and of itself is not sin
• Verse 3 we see Satan’s first volley
3. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become
bread.”
4. But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.’”
• A little background
• Jesus had just been baptized by John
• And immediately led into the desert by the Spirit of God
• And verse 2 says he fasted for 40 days and nights and was hungry
• No kidding
• That’s what fasting does, it makes you hungry
• I highly recommend fasting
• For spiritual reasons and for health reasons
• I don’t recommend a 40-day fast
• There was a story out of Mozambique in February about a 39-year-old pastor that attempted a 40 day fast of
food and water
• He died after 25 days
• Probably from the lack of water, which the Bible says Jesus ATE nothing
• But still, there is a lot of things Jesus did that I don’t recommend you trying
• Walking on water, turning water to wine, fasting 40 days, dying on the cross
• But after 40 days Jesus was hungry and Satan hits Him where it hurt
• Right in the stomach
• Can you imagine how hungry and weak He was?
• Jesus wasn’t tempted in the Temple or synagogue after a worship service
• He wasn’t tempted during a long day of preaching and healing people
• He was tempted while in the desert, where He was tired and hungry and alone
• The devil thought He was vulnerable
• Satan’s main purpose was to overthrow the Messiah from the outset
• He knew that Jesus would bring salvation
• He knew if he could get Jesus to sin
• That would ruin God’s entire plan
• Satan waited until he thought the conditions were right
• And he attacked
• There are certain times when we are more prone to fall into and fail with temptations
• A time of bodily weakness
• Or spiritual weakness
• After missing church, or not praying or reading your Bible for several days
• You will be more vulnerable to the temptations of Satan
• It can also come after some great spiritual victory
• Where Satan attempts to bring you back
• Jesus had recently been baptized
• He had spent 40 days fasting, which is designed to draw you closer to God
• Satan can attack at any time
• And his attacks are calculated and tailored to each individual
• If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread
• Remember what God said about Jesus at His baptism?
• This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased
• The Son of God hungry? How ridiculous
• Maybe you really aren’t the Son of God
• And if you are, He must not really care about you since you are so hungry
• Satan is always trying to destroy people’s confidence in God’s will and His power
• He wants us to doubt the love and care of God
• He doesn’t want us to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit and to rely on Him
• Just like Jesus followed the Spirit into the desert
• Instead of listening to the Spirit, Satan tempted Jesus to take matters into His own hands
• Jesus had the power to do it
• He later changed water into wine
• He took a boy’s small lunch and fed a crowd of over 5000 people
• This was a very calculated attack
• Very well played by the devil
• But how did Jesus achieve victory over this first attack?
• How did expose Satan’s tactic and defeat him?
• Jesus gives us the perfect example of how to resist temptation
• A plan, that if done properly, works every time
• Jesus utilizes two pieces of the armor of God we read about in Ephesians 6
• Let’s read Ephesians 6:11-17
11. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done
all, to stand.
14. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15. and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16. above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
• Focus on verse 16 and 17
• And why do we need to put on the whole armor of God?
• Verse 11 that you may be able to stand against the wiles or the schemes of the devil
• Jesus shows us what our plan of attack should be
• What our defense should be
• Jesus responds with the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God and the shield of faith
• Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the
mouth of God
• It takes more than bread to stay alive
• It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth
• How do we fight temptation?
• The shield of faith
• To have faith means to believe
• You must believe that God’s word is true
• And then use the Sword of the Spirit to cut down those attacks from Satan
• But Satan takes another swing at Jesus
• He takes Him to the temple and tries a different tactic
• So Jesus, you trust your Father do you?
• Let’s see how much you trust God
• If you won’t work a miracle for yourself
• Then let God work one for you
• And since you know so much Scripture
• I know a little bit too
• Here’s one for you Jesus
• Satan then proceeds to quote Psalm 91:11-12
• He shall give His angels charge over you
• In their hands they shall bear you up
• Lest you dash your foot against a stone
• Satan is very knowledgeable
• He knows a lot of the Bible
• He is very cunning in his tricks and schemes
• And can come at us misquoting God’s Word
• He tries to one up God
• He tries to twist God’s design and God’s plan
• Here he is trying to thwart God’s plan for salvation again by ending Jesus’ life before He ever makes it to the
cross
• Satan was testing God
• We shouldn’t test God
• We shouldn’t say things like
• God, if you do this one thing for me, I will follow you the rest of my life
• That isn’t faith, that is putting God to the test
• Suppose you take off down highway 65 through Greenbrier doing 90 mph
• Running every red light and passing cars in the turning lane
• You say “I have faith that God will protect me”
• And then you crash and die in the accident
• Someone may try to say you died having faith in God
• No, you died putting God to the test
• We shouldn’t do foolish things and demand from God for Him to deliver us from the results
• Jesus counter attacks Satan’s misuse of Scripture
• The Lord knew His Bible better than Satan and his imitation sword
• Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 You shall not tempt or put to the test, the Lord your God
• In other words, don’t you dare test God!
• The shield of faith and sword of the spirit win again
• For his third and final attempt Satan goes no holds barred
• After failing miserably in his first two
• He staked everything on one final desperate attack to achieve his purpose
• 8 Again the devil takes Him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the
world and their glory
• 9 All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me
• Satan is the prince of this world John 12:31
• And the god of this world 2 Corinthians 4:4
• The whole world lies under his power
• So this is partially true
• But it was a great lie as well
• Satan could not grant permanent control
• Everything that Satan can offer is only temporary
• But Satan appeals to the sin of pride here
• How appealing would it be to be king of the world?
• Tears for Fears sand all about it back in the 80’s
• Everybody wants to rule the world
• Jesus will one day rule the world for all eternity
• Satan is offering Him a shortcut
• One bend of the knee and He could enjoy all of that glory and power now
• Without enduring any suffering
• Oh how Satan effectively uses that kind of temptation today
• Satan is always offering instant gratification
• This pride that deceives us into thinking we deserve it now
• There is no need to wait
• Wow, is that prevalent in today’s society
• Many even are embracing the fact that they are proud
• Hence the “PRIDE” flag that represents the LGBTQ+ crowd
• You can even have pride in the fact that you aren’t proud
• An Amish farmer put on a new pair of overalls
• Of course the Amish are famous for their simplicity
• So, as he was shaving his mustache one morning he stepped back and admired his new clothes in the mirror
• He said This will never do, I will be too proud in these
• So he removed the new overalls and put on his worn out, patched and dirty ones
• Stepping back in front of his shaving mirror he said
• Ahh, you’d look good in anything
• Pride is deceitful
• You can be proud that you aren’t proud
• Many people fall for such temptations from Satan
• But Jesus shows us the answer to pride
• He maintained loyalty to God
• And endured the cross and suffering
• For He knew beyond that cross was a crown of glory
• He resisted the temptation of pride to get His reward now
• That He deserved His reward now
• And that He didn’t need to wait on the Lord
• Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:13
• You shall worship the Lord your God
• And Him only shall you serve
• Jesus put God and obedience above everything
• And Jesus has just one more thing to say to His adversary the devil
• AWAY WITH YOU SATAN
• Then the devil left Him
• Resist the devil and he will flee from you
• But how do we resist?
• With the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit
• The Word of God, have faith in it
• Believe in what the Bible says, and use it against the schemes of the devil
• Psalm 119:11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you
• Jesus was victorious over the most powerful temptations Satan could throw at Him
• By using these two pieces of the armor of God
• The shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit
• I love how this event wraps up
• After the conflict
• Satan throws all he has at the Savior
• Attacks and counterattacks
• Jesus is victorious
• Satan goes away defeated
• And Jesus receives refreshment
• Behold, angels came and ministered to Him
• The angels probably brought Jesus something to eat
• Angel food cake more than likely
• But what is so funny about this is
• The very verse Satan tried to twist to fit into his narrative
• The passage he misquoted and misused
• The very promise of God that Satan tried to distort
• Was fulfilled in truth and with perfect timing
• Psalm 91:11-12
• For he will command his angels concerning you
• To guard you in all your ways
• On their hands they will bear you up
• Lest you strike your foot against a stone
• When Satan tries to twist God’s word into something evil
• God is ready to defend it
• God is ready to present the truth
• The truth is the truth no matter how you feel about it
• The truth doesn’t care about your feelings
• We have the example to follow
• There is a way of escape
• The shield of faith and sword of the spirit
• Have faith in the Word of God
• Satan will come at you
• He will come at you hard
• With all he’s got
• But God will make a way of escape
• We are going to be tempted
• Just like Jesus was tempted
• Temptation in and of itself is not sin
• If it was, then Jesus sinned
• And we know that it is impossible for Jesus to sin
• Remember back to the beginning
• When I asked you to name some things that you can’t do
• There are lots of things we cannot do
• But fighting temptation shouldn’t be one of them
• Keep those pieces of armor ready
• Make sure they are battle ready
• Jesus was able to resist all of the devil’s temptations
• Not only because he knew the scripture
• But also because He believed it and obeyed it
• God’s Word is our sword to use in spiritual battle
• The shield of faith is our protection
• Carry your sword and shield
• Not just to church
• But in your heart
