Flashback Episode — Fighting Temptation: Matthew 4:1-11

One of the events in Jesus’ life that I find incredibly interesting is found in this episode’s passage. Unlike many other passages in the gospels, it would seem that the passages that cover Jesus being tempted in the wilderness have many more layers of depth and insights than other parts of Jesus’ life. This seems to also confirm the idea that you can tell more about someone’s focus and character when they face adversity than when they are successful.

This event immediately follows Jesus’ baptism, and it can be found in both the gospel of Matthew and the gospel of Luke. For our episode today, we will be reading Matthew’s version, which is found in Matthew, chapter 4, and we will read from the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 1, Matthew tells us:

¹ Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the Devil. ² After spending forty days and nights without food, Jesus was hungry. ³ Then the Devil came to him and said, “If you are God’s Son, order these stones to turn into bread.”

⁴ But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every word that God speaks.’”

⁵ Then the Devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, the Holy City, set him on the highest point of the Temple, ⁶ and said to him, “If you are God’s Son, throw yourself down, for the scripture says,

‘God will give orders to his angels about you;
    they will hold you up with their hands,
    so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.’”

⁷ Jesus answered, “But the scripture also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

⁸ Then the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their greatness. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” the Devil said, “if you kneel down and worship me.”

¹⁰ Then Jesus answered, “Go away, Satan! The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’”

¹¹ Then the Devil left Jesus; and angels came and helped him.

Almost every time I read this passage, something new stands out to me. While on the surface, these temptations seem simple to read and understand, the temptations Satan brings Jesus are incredibly nuanced and multi-layered.

With that said, let’s dive into some of the less obvious themes and details within these temptations and see what we will discover, while also uncovering a big theme we all can learn from how Jesus successfully resisted Satan’s temptations.

The first thing I notice is that these temptations cover three different themes or areas of our lives.

The first temptation, which is turning stones into bread, is to satisfy a physical need. Satan is tempting and challenging Jesus on whether He will use His power to help His “physical self”.

The second temptation, which is jumping from the temple, is to satisfy a social or relational need. By placing Himself in a situation where He should have died, not only is Jesus putting God’s protection on the spot, He is also making the bold statement for people to place their focus on Him. When the Jewish leaders see this, they would take note and they may have even drawn the same conclusion that Satan had quoted from Psalms.

The third temptation, which is worshiping Satan, is to shortcut Jesus’ spiritual mission, which is to give the glory to God. Everything Jesus did, from healing, teaching, and assembling a group of disciples all the way to the big mission of the cross was to give God the Father glory. Satan offers Jesus a shortcut to this mission, which Jesus declined.

In these three temptations, we have the three main areas of life present.

The next thing I notice about these three temptations is that they all hinge on the word “if”. The first two hinge on the challenge of whether Jesus is God’s Son, and the third hinges on the idea of worship – and whether it is important or not.

For many of us, worshiping the wrong thing, then repenting and asking for forgiveness is commonplace. However, for Jesus, if He was to be the perfect sacrifice, and a true substitute for our sins, then He must not have any sins of His own. That would mean living a life that there is nothing to repent of and nothing to ask forgiveness for. While we are already sin-stained, Jesus needed to live a life that kept Him from becoming sin-stained in the first place, in order to effectively take our stains onto Himself.

Another thing I notice in these three temptations relates to how Jesus responds to each of the temptations. Not only does Jesus push back at the devil’s challenge, He also quotes a piece of scripture that supports His position. It might be easy for us to think prayer is the answer for temptation, but if we look at Jesus’ temptations, prayer was not the weapon He used. Instead, Jesus used the Old Testament scriptures, and while we also have the New Testament to lean on, if the Old Testament was good enough for Jesus to use when facing temptation, then it should easily be good enough for you and I to use when facing temptations in our own lives.

In all the temptations Jesus faced, the root temptation was to use His own power and position to benefit Himself, and in every case, Jesus resisted the devil. Jesus did not come to strengthen His position in the universe; He came to show us what God the Father is like, and to give His life as a substitute for ours.

Before wrapping this episode up, I also want to point out one more interesting idea within this event. After Satan had tempted Jesus the third time, Jesus tells Satan to go away. The simple detail that Satan obeyed Jesus’ command is evidence that Jesus is stronger than Satan, and that Jesus would ultimately win the cosmic battle against sin.

While I’m sure that we could discover even more themes and layers in this event, this seems like a great place to conclude.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always open by challenging you, intentionally seek God first in your life and if you are facing temptation today, choose to fight back with a passage or promise from the Bible. If you are unsure of what verses to use, be sure pray and ask God for help with finding verses and promises to use.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself. When looking for promises and what God has done, take notes of good verses to combat challenges you are currently facing in life. Also, take note of verses that could be good verses for others to use as well. You never know when a verse you saw might be able to benefit someone else, and I am positive God will lead you to the verses He wants you to use, learn, and grow from when faced with challenges and temptations within your life.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!