The Exposition of Matthew 4:1-4

(The Temptation of Christ)

Part II

June 16, 2020

Questions to be answered in this study

1. What was the Objective of Satan’s Temptation?
2. What were the tactics Satan used to tempt Jesus?
3. What were the three ways Satan used to temp Jesus?
4. What was Jesus’ response to Satan’s temptation?
5. What is the one best way to be more like Jesus?
6. In what unique ways is Christianity different from all other religions?

Introduction

Paul Harvey had a good description of the Devil’s purpose and intended accomplishments: “If I were the devil, I’d set about however necessary to take over the United States. I’d subvert the churches first — I’d begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: ‘Do as you please.’”  It looks to me like the Devil is making headway both in the church and in the government of America. The church is becoming more liberal and compromising with the world. The worship service looks like a rock concert in some churches. The government is led by a bunch of liberals who would prefer socialism to democracy. This is a downward path that leads right into the hands of Satan.

Last week our study centered on an introduction to Matthew chapter 4, the temptation of Christ. Today in part II, we want to center in on four things concerning the temptation of Christ:

1. The objective of Satan’s temptation
2. The tactics of Satan’s temptation.
3. The Nature of the three ways Satan tempted Jesus 
4. The response of Jesus to Satan’s temptation

Matthew 4:1-4, “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

The Objective of Satan’s Temptation: In Verse 1 & 2, we see at the end of His 40-day fast, Jesus became extremely hungry. It is usual for anyone who pursues an extended fast to feel hunger. As a person gets into an extended fast, the hunger drive subsides to some degree, but after all, the body uses available body fat; the body is desperate for a source of energy. Fasting causes the brain to be slow, and concentration on anything other than food is challenging; it was at this weakened state that Satan attacks Jesus with temptation.

Jesus came into the world and took the form of a man, a little lower than angels. God created Satan as the highest form of angels, a cherub. Ironically, at this time, Satan is more potent than Jesus. Jesus had His divine attributes at this time, but He was not using them. At the time of His temptation, Jesus had the same resources to resist the devil as you and I have. Does it seem possible for a man to fight Satan? Yes, it is possible. The Bible gives us an example in Job. Satan tried through extreme trials to break Job’s faith in God and failed. Now he is attempting thru temptation to break Jesus’ faith in the Heavenly Father. That is his objective when he attacks you and me. Satan would like for us to rebel against God the same way he did. We glorify Satan when we yield to his temptation instead of honoring God by resisting. Salvation is not by our good works, but we do glorify God by them: Matt. 5:16 (KJV), “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

The Tactics of Satan’s Temptation verses 3 & 4: “And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Satan knows our weakest points and focuses his attacks there. He is attacking Jesus at His most vulnerable point. It had been 40 days since He had last eaten, and he was starving. Can you imagine what a temptation that must have been, not having any food in 40 days and now it suddenly could be available? Jesus could have easily turned stones into bread and satisfied His driving hunger. Satan knew this would be the greatest temptation at this point, just as he knows precisely when to tempt us to sin. For Jesus to have eaten at this point would have been in defiance of God and would have been a sin. The test is not over, and it is not yet time for Jesus to eat. When the test is over, God will provide the needed food.

You know that is the same for each of us. We are to put aside our desires and seek God’s will first, and in turn, He will provide our needs: Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” And again, in Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

Satan uses two primary tactics in his temptation of Jesus, the same ones he uses on us to cause us to disobey and dishonor God:

First, Satan brings discredits to God’s Word. His first words to Jesus are: “If You are the Son of God….” Satan used this same tactic on the woman in the Garden of Eden: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden,'” Genesis 3:1 (KJV).

As in the Garden, Satan is calling into question the trustworthiness of God’s Word by confusing Jesus as to whether He was God’s Son. Remember at the baptism of Jesus; God declared Him His Son in whom He was well pleased. Now in His weakened state, Satan is trying to get Jesus to doubt who He is.

How sure are we today that God’s Word is true? The only way anyone can be sure is if they have a firm grasp on it. That is another fundamental reason why we should study His Word daily. If we don’t, we are far more likely to be deceived by Satan and fall to his temptation. You can’t outsmart Satan. He is far beyond our intelligence, created that way, and besides, he has had thousands of years to learn above our few. Therefore, we must rely on God’s Word and from the strength, He gives us to resist Satan.

Second, Satan tempts his victims to disobey. Satan sows a seed of doubt in his victim’s mind concerning God and then gives reason to sin against God. There are three categories of Satan’s temptations according to John: 1 John 2:16 – “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”

The Nature of the three ways Satan tempted Jesus: We will study these in detail next week but for now, let’s get a brief overview of them:

1. Satan tempts through the lust of the flesh. The body has many drives that require physical gratification. We can fill those drives in a godly way or in an ungodly way. For instance, the sex drive, any way to fill that drive other than within the marriage bond, is evil and fulfills the body’s lust. The sin of desire can be extended to anything that stimulates the body: sexual pleasure, food, drink, chemical addictions, etc.
2. The lust of the eyes is another form of temptation. The Word lust, in this case, is different from the lust of the body. The Eyes do not have a physical need for fulfillment, as does the body. The lust of the eyes can lead to the lust of the body. According to Jesus, if a man looks upon a woman to lust after her, he commits adultery in his heart. It is not a sin to look upon a woman; it is a sin to look upon a woman to lust after her. Some may believe that it is impossible to separate the two. However, there is a distinction between appreciation and lust, for example. A man can appreciate the beauty of a woman without lusting after her, but there is a fine line to be maintained. A person can appreciate useful material things without them becoming an obsession. The lust of the eyes, on the other hand, drives a person to hoard and to become fixated on amassing things and never being content with what they have. The lust of the eyes includes excitement, titillation, and preoccupation with things like sports, shopping, or seeking everything that appeals to the eyes, becoming fixated on things of the world that consumes a person. The bottom line is that the eyes’ lust is a love of the world and the things in it rather than a love of God.
3. The boastful pride of life is a form of temptation. Boastful pride has to do with an inflated ego, vanity, and self-worth. Boastfulness is a desire to be noticed, praised, complimented, and be recognized as someone special above others, in other words, an unhealthy way of esteeming oneself. On the other hand, healthy self-esteem gives God the glory for everything, one that does not require defending ourselves or needing the accolades of others. Many times, our problem is overactive self-esteem when actually what we need is more of a Christ-esteem. Satan’s goal is to distract us from God with worthless obsessions and delusions of grandeur.

Here is where all Satan’s tactics of temptation lead to, James 1:14-15 (KJV), “…But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” Drawn away by one’s evil desire means to a believer: death to any divine purpose in life; “For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and lose his own soul, or what will a man give in exchange for his soul.” This verse has a dual application: For the believer, it means he loses all purpose for life, and the unbeliever, he loses everything, including eternal life.

Jesus’ Response to Satan’s Temptation, verse 4: “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Jesus is at His weakest point, His mind filled with the urgent need for food, Jesus musters all His strength and rebukes Satan with a verse of Scripture:“And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live,” Deuteronomy 8:3 (KJV).

Now keep in mind, Jesus was a man, a human being, using the same mental faculties that each of us has, and this Scripture came to mind. What does that tell you about the importance of being well-grounded in the Word of God when being tempted by Satan? Jesus couldn’t grab his cell phone and quickly lookup an appropriate passage. He didn’t need to. It was already in His mind. Jesus knew the Word of God. Even though the Heavenly Father uniquely prepared Jesus, He still had to learn as you and I do. That is not just my opinion; it is what the Bible says: Luke 2:52 (KJV), “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” 

I don’t mean to say that we are equal to Jesus, for we are not. My point is, He was human as you and I, the difference being He was also God in the flesh. We, as believers, are called Christians; that means we are to be Christlike. So, in many ways, we can be like Jesus, but we must be thoroughly furnished and nourished on the Word of God. In His temptation, Jesus’ priority was pleasing God by being obedient to His Word, something you and I also can do. Sometimes we tend to forget what a godly, dedicated person can accomplish when they know the Word and dedicate themselves to living by it.

Jesus had to resist the temptation of Satan every day of His life as you and I do. The difference is, He always resisted Satan and lived a sinless life, and laid down His life as a remission for our sins. Christianity is unique from all other religions in that it offers a remedy for sins and opens the door for forgiveness and eternal life. No other religion has the solution for sin. No other religion has a redeemer who sacrificed His own life for the atonement of sins. No one can enter God’s heaven lest their sins are washed away, and only by the shed blood of Jesus can this be accomplished.

Jesus did what we couldn’t; He lived the perfect, sinless life, and even though He knew temptation, He never gave in to it. Jesus died an underserved death to pay the penalty for our sin. Now all you and I have to do is place our faith in Him and accept the salvation He has prepared for us: ”That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’ 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation,” Romans 10:9-10 (KJV). If you haven’t done that yet, do it now while you still have the opportunity. For step-by-step instructions, CLICK HERE.