The Testing Scheme Series

Every temptation is a kind of test . . . from the Evil One. A temptation is a trial posed by Satan, with the wicked hope that we will fail. - Philip Ryken(1)

Satan’s onslaught against the Word of God is constant. He’s always twisting and manipulating, trying to get us to doubt what the Lord’s said; for he knows that if we lose our faith in the Word then we’ll more easily abandon our calling and mission. In Matthew 4:1-11, we will see more of his unrelenting attacks, which he directed against the Old Testament Scripture in an attempt to fool Jesus.

In addition to attacking the Word of God, the devil will bombard us with testing and trials, trying to crush us with the weight of mounting opposition. In Luke 22:31, Jesus warned Peter, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat;” and the devil is still in the business of sifting people! One commentary says in regards to Luke 22:31,

After wheat is harvested from the fields, it is taken and placed on an outstretched cloth on the ground. They [use] special rakes and beat the wheat and keep crushing it until the wheat kernels fall out . . . The devil wanted to crush Simon Peter like the wheat, and wear him out so he would not serve Christ.(2)

You see, the devil wants to beat us and wear each of us out as well; therefore, we need to continue learning and becoming aware of the numerous ways in which he tries to subvert the Word of God; and we must become aware of his different methods of testing. These things can be observed in the devil’s testing of Jesus in the wilderness.

God Sometimes Allows Testing (v. 1)

First of all, we need to understand that God will sometimes allow us to be tested, just as He allowed Jesus to be tested. The New Living Translation of Hebrews 4:15 says, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin.” In the Bible, we can observe some of the testing that Jesus endured; beginning with Matthew 4:1:

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

We should first off note the location of Jesus’ testing (the wilderness), and secondly we should note who did the actual testing (Satan). Jesus was tested in the wilderness like so many of God’s people and prophets. The wilderness can be such a trying and brutal location that it serves as a purging ground that can shape and mold a person’s character.

For example, God allowed the Israelites to wander in the wilderness for forty years because the people had many character problems that needed to be weeded out. The wilderness also taught the Israelites to rely on God for their provision; or rather, it taught them to trust in the Lord. I do not believe God was trying to improve Jesus’ character; He was instead, wanting to prove to Satan that Jesus was absolutely faithful and could never be defeated.

If we ever feel like we’re in a wilderness, then we’ve likely entered the testing scheme. God wants to see what we’re made of; therefore, He will allow us to be tested by the devil. The 1600’s Puritan, Thomas Watson, said, “The devil tempts, that he may deceive; but God suffers us to be tempted, to try us. Temptation is a trial of our sincerity.”(3) God allows us to be tested so we can realize that we’re inadequate to help ourselves, and so that He can see where our heart really lies. The account of Job teaches that when we find ourselves in the wilderness, many times Satan is the culprit doing the actual testing.

The Lord gave Satan permission to test Job; and He might allow the devil to test us as well. God will do so in order to get us to realize some areas in which we need to improve in our Christian walk. He will also allow us to see places where we’re prone to falter. Commentator H. A. Ironside says,

The devil is the sifter of God’s wheat. The Lord wants His wheat sifted; He does not want a lot of chaff. But when the devil is thus used to sift God’s wheat, when His children are thus put in the devil’s sieve, not one grain of wheat is lost. The devil is simply used by God for the separation of the chaff from the wheat – that is all. Do not despair then, if like Job and like Peter, you are put into the devil’s sieve.(4)

In Matthew 4:1-11, we can observe how Jesus was tested concerning His faithfulness to the Lord. The way in which Satan tested Him was by misquoting the Word of God and by trying to trick Him into disobeying the Father.