The Purpose of Temptation
Chris Smith
Matthew 4:1-2
Oscar Wilde once said that he could resist everything except temptation.
An old cartoon had the two characters looking at each other with a caption below them saying, “How come opportunity knocks only once, but temptation beats the door down everyday?”
That’s a good question. There are a lot of questions about temptation. Most of them are good ones.
When I was younger, and struggling with the worldly lifestyle I was living; I used to ask Christians, “If God wants us to obey Him, then why does He make it so easy for us to disobey?” Maybe you have an “If God, then why” question of your own.
If we understand the setting of these verses of scripture, and see if we can find out why the Son of God had to go through trials and temptations, then I believe that we will be able to see the purpose of our own trials and tests, and receive encouragement this morning knowing that the toughest times in our lives can be the most meaningful and rewarding.
The closing verse of chapter three gives us two significant clues as to who Jesus is, and what He was doing on earth. Matt 3:17 says, “and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.’”
“This is my beloved Son” is a quote from Psalm 2:7 that every Jew knows is a prophecy describing the coming Messiah.
“In whom I am well pleased” is a quote from Isaiah 42:1. And this is a description of God’s Suffering Servant – a description which goes on all the way to Isaiah 53 and ends with the phrase in verse 12, “He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”
When Jesus identified Himself with humanity at His baptism and the people heard the Words of His Father in Heaven, everyone was assured of two things. First, that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. Two, that He would die for the sins of the world. On one hand, He was to be their King. On the other, His throne would be a cross that they themselves would eventually prepare.
Jesus, the suffering servant, the Messiah, the son of God, had come to seek and to save that which was lost. His mission was incredible. He was to draw mankind to Himself, and then allow Himself to be crucified in their place so that all of His people would be able to receive eternal life.
Now, Jesus is a human being as much as He is God. He became human so that he could be that spotless lamb that the Jews had to sacrifice so often to remind them about the penalty for their sin. Only the shed blood of a perfect human being would pay the final penalty for sin. And since there are no perfect humans, then God, wanting all along to purify His people and spend eternity with them, would have to supply the sacrifice. His Son, Jesus would go in their place. God the Son became flesh.
There are many things that Jesus did to show us that He was the Son of God, the Messiah. As we continue in the days to come in the book of Matthew, we will see astonishing events, amazing miracles, and compassion for people beyond any of our capabilities. But one of the things that He did that appeals more to our humanity than anything else was His willingness to suffer and obey the Father in the face of temptation.
The Temptation of Christ [as it is known today] was absolutely necessary. It was necessary for two extremely important reasons.
First, the man Jesus had to learn to depend on the Holy Spirit and the Word of God already spoken. He had to be tested and proven. He had to be tried. He had to be strengthened.
The Bible tells us that at the age of twelve He was already learning. Jesus was born a baby. He had to grow up. He had to learn. Jesus didn’t cheat and use His divinity. Being like us meant he had to go through everything we do. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”
But secondly, it was necessary for Him to be tested and tried as no other human being was to show His fellow man He was worthy to claim leadership as the Messiah. It would have been impossible for any other man to be tempted by and to withstand these temptations. After all, who here would be tempted to turn stones into bread if they were hungry?
But in order to show us not only was Jesus without sin, but also incapable of sinning, He was led into these temptations.
They were absolutely necessary. And as we find out later on in the Gospel, His temptations didn’t end here in the wilderness, they came at Him from every direction; constantly and consistently, all the way to the cross.
We need to understand the Bible meaning of the word, temptation. It means to test, or to prove. It only means to seduce or to entice to evil when man or the devil is the tempter.
Engineers tell us that the only way that metal can safely be used is after testing it. And it must exceed the testing requirements. Repeatedly. The metal to be used must be pure. And in order for it to be purified, it must go through fire. It must be melted, and molded to fit the designers purpose.
Just as metal must be molded, purified, and tested; we have to be tested before God will use us for His purposes.
An ancient Jewish saying goes something like this, “God does not elevate a man to dignity till He has first tried and searched him: and if he stands pure through temptation, then He raises him to dignity.”
The necessity of trials and temptations teach us several things:
- Temptation is not meant to make us sin – it is meant to make it possible for us not to 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 stronger, finer, and purer.
- Temptation is not a penalty – temptation is a privilege of the person undergoing the trial – knowing that they are being strengthened for use by God.
Our reaction to trials and testing, our understanding of their purpose and their necessary place in life, where, when and how they will occur will help us to understand how God uses them in our lives for the glory of His Kingdom.
I. The Place of these Trials and Testings
The experience that Jesus went through cannot be understood by the finite mind. When we read that Jesus was taken to a place where He saw all the Kingdoms of the earth, we know of no such place. However, we can all imagine these temptations. There is a struggle in our minds. The battle is not over flesh and blood. It is for our minds. Our souls. Our very eternal lives.
Our minds are a place where battles are fought and won everyday. It’s easy for a person to say no thank-you to drink of liquor, or an advance by a member of the opposite sex. But what happens later? Do we think about what might have been? Do we visualize another encounter?
The battle of the mind. Yes, that’s the place. You know it well. It’s a minefield waiting for the right temptation to set it off. We may not meet the devil the way Jesus did, but we do meet those demon’s in a very personal way. Through our thoughts, and our minds. Sometimes the temptation may be so great, we may even see our tempters.
There is still an ink stain in a room of the castle at Wartburg, Germany where Martin Luther was writing his commentaries and translating the Bible into German after his ordeal with the Roman Catholic Church. Luther threw his ink bottle at the devil as he was being tempted.
Notice also that the place is also a place of loneliness. No-one can fit in our shoes when we are being tested and tried. No-one understands what it’s like to lose your grandmother, or your brother.
Nobody feels the way you do while you’re fighting off the temptation for that one last drink. And you are all alone when the final decision is made to reply to that harmless little flirtation from a friend.
But let us look at the verse again. No! We are not alone. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit of God who brings us to this point. And it is to show us that it is God who is testing us. It is God who is proving us and purifying us for His Kingdom. We are never alone in the face of a wilderness temptation. I Corinthians 10:13, a verse I read to you often, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
Beloved, you are never alone in your trials. You are never expected to pull it off with your own strength. And after the testing is complete, we see the angels ministering to the one who would be the Lord and Savior for all the ages to come. We are strengthened for the journey. It’s not our plan. God provides the direction, the strength, and the help.
Not only must we know the place of temptation, but we must be prepared. At the same time, we want to know the purpose of these trials and temptations.
I believe the key to understanding the purpose is in our reaction to these very trying times.
II. Our Reaction to Trials and Testing.
Mark tells us that Jesus was immediately driven out into the wilderness. Right after a great moment in His life. Jesus has just started his ministry. He has just been baptized, identifying Himself with the people He came to save. This was a high moment for Him. It was the conclusion of thirty years of study and preparation for the ministry He had been called to. And immediately, God the Holy Spirit, takes Him down into a place of serious temptation. Jesus went from a great moment to a low moment.
After each great moment comes a reaction to the low moment. The danger is in our reaction.
We are all going to have great moments. Those great moments come as a result of passing previous tests. These great moments come to us gratefully and even mercifully after years of suffering, ridicule, or hard work and preparation. The trial has passed – but now life must go on. And in order to get ready for the next test, a trial, a time of tribulation, another period of testing must now occur.
Life is not stagnant. Life does not stand still.
How many people after graduating High School stop learning? Most young people I know have a sword in one hand and a shield in the other – and it’s look out world, here I come. Their reaction to the achievement in school speaks clearly to a greater purpose.
How about after a promotion at work? How long did it take you to accomplish that last long range project at work? Are you satisfied with where you are in life?
How about the future of the church. Are we all satisfied with the accomplishments over the last four years? Are we done? Is that all there is?
As parents, how do we raise our children? Don’t we brace ourselves after our child’s achievements and get them ready for the next curve in the road that is laid out for them? When was the last time a parent jumped for joy over their child’s completion of elementary school and thought, “Well, that’s all folks. No more worrying, no more mischief…”
I don’t think so. You get them ready for the next test in their lives. So must we do the same. If we are not prepared, if we do not allow ourselves to be tested again, and again; we will cease to live. Slowly but surely, we will loose our dreams, we will loose our purpose, and we will just exist as a lump of molecules.
Our reaction to trials are the some of the most important life changing moments we will have. And mark my words, they will change you – one way or the other.
Which direction did you go this week?
In I Kings 18, we see Elijah, all by himself after facing the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel – collapsed after he found out that Jezebel was after him. Running for his life like an escaped prisoner with dogs after him.
This man – who had reached a mountain peak in his life standing up for God in front of 450 false teachers, who witnessed first hand the power of God in his life, ran for cover the next day.
A time to react had come in Elijah’s life. How about you? Can you remember the last real spiritual triumph you had? The last time you overcame a trial in your life?
How we react speaks directly to your understanding of life’s greater purpose.
- If you are not growing, you are dying.
- If you are not getting closer to God, you are getting further away from him.
- If you are not getting stronger, you are getting weaker.
Without a purpose, your life has no meaning. If your purpose doesn’t involve God, your meaning is only momentary. Without permanent meaning, life is useless.
Guess what the primary means of growing is? Yes, that’s right. Testing. Trials. Tribulation. Suffering physically. Suffering spiritually.
Our immediate reaction to a heartache, or a successful achievement that took years to overcome, must be one of getting ready for the next hurdle.
If you don’t have any hurdles to jump in your life – if there aren’t any goals set for you right now – if you aren’t going through anything right now that is testing the metal that you’re made out of – then there’s something wrong.
If your not living life on the edge, then you’re taking up too much space!
If you’re spending more time with your hobbies than you are overcoming life’s purifying trials, then your priorities are out of order. You shouldn’t expect God to give you any more than you already have. And yes! I said that you have to get ready for the next trial. Because that’s life. Get over it. And BTW, there is no age limit to temptation.
III. The Consistency of these Trials and Temptations
The Frequency of these trials and temptations is something else we should be aware of.
The devil spoke to Jesus in Caesarea Philippi when Peter tried to talk Him out of going to the cross. Jesus said, “Satan, get behind me.” Another time Jesus said, “You are those who have stood by Me in My trials…” (Luke 22:28) Jesus trials were daily. We all have heard about the gut wrenching time that Jesus had in the Garden of Gethsemane. Let alone all the mockery, name-calling, testing by the Pharisees… we could go on. The test of the cross we can never imagine. Knowing that you are suffering for everybody else’s mistakes, murders, rapes, thievery, extortion, self-righteousness, gossip… you name it, you did.
You did it, He died for it.
What kind of a test is that?
The kind that made Him what He is today. The Savior of the world. The kind of trial that made Him worthy to be called Lord over all Creation. The kind of test that makes Him ready to be your Savior. The kind of adversity that strengthened Him to the point of being able to fulfill His earthly purpose.
Because of the trials and testing, Jesus was able to accomplish His goal – to seek and to save that which was lost. Because of the metal purifying suffering that He went through, Jesus was able to show His worth to His Father, and to us that He is indeed worthy to be our Messiah, and to be our example to follow through the trials and testing that we must also go through in order to fulfill our earthly purpose.
Trials and temptations are an important part of daily life. The battle takes place in our minds. How you react to these temptations speaks directly to you to give you a gage to check and see whether or not you are being led by the Holy Spirit, or being driven by a dying life that has lost its ultimate purpose.
Be honest. How did you react the last time a serious trial came your way. Whether or not you are making a career change, or overcoming cancer… If you are raising children, looking forward to a promotion at work, taking care of a dying relative…
We have a High Priest that can sympathize with us no matter what we are going through. Jesus lived His whole life in the light of the cross. He knows pain. Jesus taught the most stubborn fishermen you’ll ever want to meet. He knows frustration. He knows letdown. He knows first hand that if anything on this earth would have given Him what He really needed, He could have had it anytime He wanted. But what He wanted was you.
(Much of the exegetical material, and some of the homeletical material came from William Barklay’s "Daily Study Bible" series)
