We are in Matthew Chapter 4 this morning. Where we will see Jesus’ teaching us to forsake trusting as a final authority in anything else besides the written word of God. God’s written word alone as the full, final, and sufficient guide for our faith and life.

The context for Matthew 4 is that Jesus has just been baptized by John, The Father has spoken from heaven that He is the beloved Son of God who has left heaven, taken on our nature, and now stands as our righteous Messiah.

Jesus is going into a confrontation with Satan, but as one anointed, indwelt by the Holy Spirit who rests on him. It is going to be a confrontation with Satan based on Jesus’ role as our representative, doing what Adam, and Israel could not do, living a perfect life. Jesus says in John 4:34 “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.”

So Jesus enters this fight clear on who he is, what his mission is, and we will see he will contest Satan with the Sword of the Word of God illuminated by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Read: Matthew 4:1-11

[1] Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. [2] And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. [3] And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” [4] But he answered, “It is written,

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Deut. 8:3).

[5] Then the devil took him to the holy city and 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 will command his angels concerning you,’ and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

[7] Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

[8] Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. [9] And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” [10] Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

[11] Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Just two questions this morning

#1 How does Jesus Use Scripture Alone to guide his response to temptation?

#2 How should this inform Our Use of Scripture Alone to guide our lives?

Our passage says Jesus was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he fasted for forty days,

And [understatement] he was hungry…Jesus had a true humanity and true natural desires and responses to hunger.

Verses 1 says it was the Holy Spirit that led him there in order to be tempted. The word can also mean trials or tests. This echoes Israel’s 40 years of testing in the wilderness, where they were provided manna in the wilderness and the Lord there tested their hearts to see if they would trust in their own hearts, minds, desires, and instincts on how things ought to be.

Would they live according to the instincts they gained in pagan Egypt? Would they live according to what popular leaders said was, ok?

Or Would their hearts be receptive to God’s Word and God’s leading them? Would they trust their lives to God and his every word to them alone? Well spoilers, it was a very spotty record for Israel, and for the Christian church down through the centuries.

Jesus will be quoting Deuteronomy 6 & 8 so Jesus will be quoting individual verses but hear the passages he is thinking about, First Deut. 6:4–9

[4] “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [5] You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. [6] And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. [7] You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. [8] You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. [9] You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (ESV)

Deuteronomy 8:1–3 “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers. [2] 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. (ESV)

So Jesus will be doing what Israel ought to have done. But Second, Jesus is also doing what Moses did – but Better.

Remember, Moses spent 40 days up on Mount Sinai. But what was Moses doing during these 40 days?

· Exodus 34:28 So [Moses] was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

Will we from our hearts respond to every word of God or will we listen to Satan “has God really said?” will we listen to our flesh, our culture, or to God?

Look in verses 3-4, How does Jesus Use Scripture to guide his response to temptation?

3] And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” [4] But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Deut. 8:3).

1. What is Jesus’ Situation: He is hungry. He has a very normal and good human need. Food. And a normal question will God provide for me in my need?

2. Satan comes to Jesus and says, well “We have studied the situation and common sense says, you need to act this way to address the problem.

3. Scripture supplies a sufficient interpretation for how I should respond to my human desires. In this case completely natural and even good and God-given desires.

4. But Jesus is not just hungry. He IS the son of God. He does not need to prove that to Satan. And God has already spoken by the Holy Spirit to tell him where he is supposed to be and what is he supposed to be doing.

5. Satan appeals to natural desire and challenges Jesus’ identity and what he knows of his mission; Satan challenges God’s Word.

a. Jesus answers Satan with Scripture as the final authority. 3x It is written.

i. Jesus is saying, God’s Word sustains life; reliance on Scripture, not self, governs obedience.

ii. Satan BEGINS with the obvious problem and need and the OBVIOUS solution without consulting any scripture!

b. What about Us? We are not the messiah, we are not Jesus, but we are told by the mouth of God who we are, our place in the story of History.

i. We must start with a scriptural view of creation, God, humanity: made in God’s image with value and dignity, the fall; sinners in need of forgiveness, redemption; a savior who died for our sins, grace; a savior giving a free and undeserved gift, and now we are sons and daughters living for God’s glory.

1. Do not begin with the problem, and then allowing the world to define the words used to talk about the problem, giving the world’s definitions control of the solution.

ii. In our passage, Jesus recalls Deut. 6 in order for Jesus to step back and remember why he is there. He is in a spiritual trial. He is watchful. He knows who God is and who he is, and he will apply scripture as the Son of God.

iii. So for you in difficulties, you must go back and begin again and talk with the bible’s words for your situation, the bible’s diagnosis, and the bible’s solution. As Jesus does here.

1. Why the trial? Who are you, who is God? How should we then live in submission to God and his word?

2. Jesus is not simply a hungry man, or just suffering. No, he is the Messiah going through a trial in order to redeem Israel. You are not simply a random person as you go through life if you’re following Jesus, then throughout your life, there is a spiritual backdrop to your job, your marriage, your relationships, so your diagnosis of your trials and the solutions must be seen that you are a son or daughter of God going through the situation with your spouse, children, or coworkers around you

3. Or you are a lost sinner who needs to repent of your sin and confess the name of Jesus as your savior and so become a son or daughter of God.

4. Deut. 8:3 “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Bread from heaven reminds us of the bigger perspective, as we need food for our souls and that only comes from the Word of God

Ah But Satan gets trickier…Satan can quote scripture too in v. 5-7. He uses scripture but twists it; now his uses Jesus’ identity as the messiah but attempts to get him to misuse his identity.

The Second Temptation: Throw yourself off the temple. (5-7)

[5] Then the devil took him to the holy city and 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 will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” ((Psalm 91:11–12))

[7] Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Deut. 6:16).

Satan can quote the bible too…but he is twisting Scripture to Hide the higher principle of Faithfulness to God not prideful self-displays.

Think of it this way, Satan is asking Jesus to commit insurance fraud, Ps. 91 is a guarantee…Might as well test that car insurance…

Jesus recognizes that Satan is seeking to stir up a prideful testing and display of his identity as the son of God that had nothing to do with his mission and so reminds Satan to one both quote scripture faithfully and not misapply it but second to compare scripture with scripture.

a. Do not let circumstances or the need for extraordinary wonders. Signs. Or the need to force an act of God causes you to find ways to force God’s hand.

b. The bible would direct you to ordinary faithfulness: scripture, prayer, and wise counsel. Let Scripture Interpret Scripture. The Whole Counsel of God informs itself.

c. We can ask ourselves “Am I honoring and worshipping God alone in how I am apply this text?” Or am I proudly putting God to the test?”

Satan has one more temptation for Christ v. 8.

[8] Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. [9] And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” [10] Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

[11] Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

* This Temptation appeals to worldly power and glory.

* Satan is offering immediate earthly and worldly power to Christ without him having to go to the cross.

* Remember in 1 Peter that humiliation precedes glory, suffering and the cross purchases Christ’s bride the church.

* The 1st coming of Christ is one of humility and suffering.

* Christ’s second coming at the end of the age is one of glory and power.

* Satan seems to be offering a shortcut to immediate rule of the world rather than the long term vision of the gospel going and gathering people from every tribe and tongue and nation.

* But the shortcut the prize of the twisted messianic rule violates our exclusive call to glorify and enjoy God forever. And God shares his glory with no other.

* Jesus sticks to quoting Deuteronomy.

* His Scripture response: Deut 6:13 emphasizes exclusive worship and obedience to God.

* Jesus three times uses God’s Word as a spiritual sword (Eph. 6:17) to combat temptation.

* Jesus shows that true obedience is measured against God’s Word alone, not circumstances, desire, or misapplied promises.

* Every temptation—physical, presumptuous, or idolatrous—is met with Scripture as the decisive authority.

We’ve already been applying this to ourselves all along but we can ask

#2 What are some ways Jesus’ informs Our Use of Scripture?

First, Every time Jesus responds “It is written” he entrusts himself to the written word of God. HE says in Matthew 5 that he trusts every jot and tittle, every letter. He proves this trust throughout his interactions with the pharisees.

In Matt. 22 When the pharisees ask Jesus how he knows the resurrection is true he responds quoting Deut.3:6 When God tells Moses that he IS the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and thus the god of the living. He trusts a single ongoing present verb tense God IS not God was, the god of these men.

#1 We do not put tradition or church authority over the bible Jesus shows ultimate authority resides in God’s Word.

In Matthew 15 Jesus confronts the way the the Pharisees have added man-made laws to the word of God. And yet in other places have created workarounds to the plain commandments of scripture. Asking them why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? verse 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

8 “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

· If Jesus had used scripture the way the Pharisees had, he could have found loopholes to accept Satan’s call to worship him.

· Traditions can be good, the bible even says to hold fast to tradition, but they must not add or take away from the word and commandments of God but be an accurate application of the word of God.

#2 We do not put scripture below our personal preference or moral reasoning. Jesus shows obedience to God’s Word above desire. So, when you come to difficult passages of the bible you submit your heart, mind, and will to it, and seek to not only obey the word but to love the word.

#3 we do not put the bible below spiritual experiences. Jesus shows Scripture is the standard for testing spiritual claims. We interpret our experiences through the lens of scripture. The bible is the highest authority according to Jesus.

Recall in Luke 15, Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus and the rich man says, send an angel to my brothers…Jesus’ response? They have Moses, they have the bible…if they haven’t responded to the written word of God an angel wouldn’t do it…

#4 We should not reduce Scripture to exclusively emotional comfort with no plans to obey the directions found in it. While certainly we do find comfort and encouragement in the word, we should not use it as a therapeutic tool while ignoring its demands for repentance, relationship to God, and relationship to the Lord’s people. Jesus could have turned stones into bread to soothe suffering, but Scripture teaches spiritual sustenance above comforts (Deut 8:3). Now, we will find comfort in Scripture; we can entrust our emotions to God.

#5 The bible isn’t a secret code book. We do not treat Scripture as secret knowledge or personal revelation beyond its written, demonstrable meaning. Jesus reads Scripture plainly and contextually, showing Scripture interprets Scripture; no hidden meanings justify presumption.

Instead: Jesus believes the whole of the bible reveals who God is, our relationship with God, his care for us, and his wise counsel for all of our lives.

In it we not only know how to love and obey God, but we come to know God and can loyally live for him. Because for us when we come to the bible we meet the Word of God in it. Christ, our great high priest who defeated Satan with the written word as the living Word of God.

Now through the word we come to know and believe in Jesus. And the bible is given to us that we might know, love, and obey him.

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

It is spiritual bread for our souls. It is nourishment, and Christ himself gave his life that we might be redeemed.

And as his people, he blesses us as the people of the book. We are a people gathered and fed by the word of God. The Holy Spirit uses the word to strengthen and nourish. The word of God strengthens our faith, encourages us and fuels our prayers, our fellowship with each other, and our communion with Jesus.

So when you are troubled, turn to your Bible, ask the Lord to by the Holy Spirit work in your heart and mind to be fed by the word as true spiritual food for your soul. And like a child, when we eat our meals. Day by day, the Spirit will use it to grow us.

SO my encouragement for you is to daily take up and read, feed your soul, feed your mind, feed your relationship with Christ, and ask the Spirit to work through this simple means to guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

Prayer

Benediction

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