Matt 4:1-11 is the famous story of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, where, after being baptized, Jesus walks off into the desert alone. But we quickly learn that he was not really alone. The devil himself soon joined him. This week, we will examine this story to learn how to follow Jesus through temptation.

There is a famous Sunday school joke where the teacher asks little Timmy, “What is the first thing you have to do to be forgiven?” and Timmy answers, “Sin!”.” Well, Timmy, it turns out that sin is not really the first step. Temptation is. We pray, and we strive to avoid temptation, and we should. There is real wisdom in avoiding unnecessary temptation. But in this episode in the life of Jesus, we see that even in solitude, and even if you’re Jesus, there is no escaping the battle with temptation. But there is a path to victory.

Why am I Being Tempted?

I mentioned that it’s wise to avoid temptation, but in this story, it almost seems that Jesus is walking straight into it. But it’s crucial to notice that Jesus was not pursuing his lower human desires into the desert. He was obeying God and following the Spirit into the desert. This observation makes His first response to the devil more understandable.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After he fasted forty days and forty nights he was famished.

His hunger was an honest hunger, not the glutton’s lust for more. It was the hunger generated by 40 days of difficult obedience.

Overcoming Physical Desire

The tempter came and said to him,

The devil, true to form, now attacks Jesus where he perceives Jesus is the weakest, His physical hunger and fatigue. He questions Jesus’ identity as the Son of God, presumably to irritate Him, and then challenges Jesus to do something about His situation. He doesn’t need to be so hungry and weak; make some food and eat it!

But Jesus maintains His focus on God rather than his hunger and refuses to do anything God has not told Him to do.

But he answered,

Overcoming Presumptuous Sins

But the devil was not done yet.

Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, and said to him,

Since Jesus made such a big deal about following every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, the devil thought fine, show me. Once again, he starts with a taunt about his identity as the Son of God, saying in effect, “God would never let His Son come to harm, so prove you are the Son of God.”

But Jesus did not fall for this kind of playground shenanigans, either.

Jesus said to him,

Jesus had nothing to prove to the devil regarding His identity, and neither should we. Jesus was content to let God be God and follow Him wherever He led.

Overcoming the Lure of Success

The devil tried one last thing, and it was both brash and subtle at the same time.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur.

This was a bold ask, and at first glance, it seems almost absurd. Why would Jesus even be tempted by such an offer? This is the subtle part. Jesus knew He was the Son of God, and He knew how hard His mission was on earth. But He also knew that at the successful completion of His mission, he would be crowned the King of Kings, the ruler of the whole world, seated at the right hand of God’s power. What the devil was offering here was a shortcut. Worship him as god, and he would, in turn, hand the world over to Jesus. No suffering, no hardship; Jesus would simply have to bow to the devil as a god. The offer was, “Worship me, and I will give you everything. There is no need to suffer.” If only the devil knew what God’s plan really was for the future. He had no idea that his opposition to Jesus was all part of the plan.

Now we do speak wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing.

This Week

So, what are we to take away from this story? After all, we are not Jesus. These specific temptations are never going to happen to us, right? Unfortunately, we are all tempted by physical desire, prideful presumption, and the urge to cheat and take shortcuts.

We may be tempted to think, “Well, sure, Jesus passed the test; He was Jesus!” but never forget that Jesus was every bit as human as He was divine. He felt every temptation as deeply as we do. Jesus passed every test, and accordingly, He was exalted to the highest position in heaven and on earth. But because He was tempted, He knows how it feels to be tempted. He was not alone in the wilderness of temptation, nor are we. He is with us, His Spirit is in us, and His Word guides us.

We are new creations in Christ. Temptation is where this new creation is tested, strengthened, and proved. Christ in us is the hope of Glory! We may not be able to thwart all the devil’s plans, but Jesus already has, and so will we if we trust Jesus. We need to trust God rather than take matters into our own hands, trying to “make bread out of rocks,” so to speak. We have proved our weakness more than enough, but Jesus has proven His strength. In Jesus and His victory, we find ours.

Let’s find someone to encourage through their wilderness this week.

Have a great week!