The Gospels Matthew

Satan's Temptations

Discover Jesus as: King Matthew 4 Read on Bible Gateway (HCSB)

Day 114 of 730
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INTRO

If you’re new to Revive School, welcome to our study of Matthew. We always have one painting and one word or phrase that points to Jesus in each book of the Bible. Our word for Matthew is King. You can see that the story today teaches what we’ve already studied in this book: Jesus’ family tree, the birth of Jesus and the magi who followed the star from the east, John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus, and proclaiming that Jesus would baptize people with the Holy Spirit and with fire, and Jesus being water baptized, which was done before His ministry started. We probably won’t get to every verse today, and by now you’ve probably realized that I’m okay with that. As you study on your own, reading every day, you have the reading guide, small discussion groups, Laura’s Daily Word devotions, and you have the Holy Spirit to fill in what does not get covered by my teaching.

TEACHING

Matthew 4:1: In verse 1, Jesus was taken into the wilderness “to be tempted by the devil.” Sometimes, God is going to take you on paths and to places that you would rather not go. Joseph probably didn’t want to go to Egypt, but he knew the Word of God and he knew that he needed to go there to fulfill prophecy. When we put our trust in God, we have the Holy Spirit inside us and we too, can be led (Romans 8:14). Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil—not God (v. 1). The devil does all the tempting (James 1:13). Temptations are everywhere—Satan is literally crouching at the door. The challenge is to not give in to those temptations (Hebrews 4:15-16). This was one of the testings He went through to connect with us. When we say, “Jesus, I don’t want to give in to this temptation,” He can say, “Yep. I’ve been there and I didn’t give in either.”

Adam met Satan in a beautiful garden, while Jesus met Satan in the desert wilderness. Adam had everything in the garden; Jesus had nothing in the wilderness. Adam lost; Jesus won. Jesus redeemed everything Adam went through (John 12:31). Jesus, because of His victory by not giving in to temptation, will cast out the ruler of this world. Just so you know Colossians 2:15 has the end of the story. Jesus wins!

As we go through the three temptations that Jesus went through, the most important thing to understand is that Jesus didn’t give in to anything. How did He not give in? Wiersbe emphasized that Jesus fought the battle as a man by depending upon the Spirit and the Word of God.1Jesus fought the daily battle with the help of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. What I think has happened to the church is that we’re hesitant to talk about the Holy Spirit and we only want to talk about the Word of God. However, we don’t know if the Holy Spirit is showing us something in the Word of God. That means we have all this knowledge, but if we’re not led to do something with it, we might be led to give in to temptation. That’s why we have these great men and women who are in the Word of God, but if they’re not guided by the Holy Spirit, they’ll give in to temptation. Jesus shows us the model. How do we fight temptation? Through the Spirit of God and the Word of God.

Matthew 4:2: Verse 2 begins with, “After He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights.” He was in the wilderness for 40 days and nights, eating nothing. After this time, Jesus was hungry. Why? Because Jesus was human. Forty days and 40 years are significant throughout the Old Testament. This is the backdrop that the Jews understood (Genesis 7:4; Numbers 14:33; 32:13; Deuteronomy 9:25; Jonah 3:4).

Matthew 4:3-4: After reading verse 2, we should expect verse 3 to happen because it said He was hungry: “Then the tempter approached Him and said, ‘If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’” The first temptation was physical appetite because He hadn’t eaten in 40 days. Jesus fought the temptations with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. The physical appetite was first challenged in Genesis (Genesis 3:1; 1 John 2:16). Jesus was tempted with the lust of the eyes to do something that was temporary. Warren Wiersbe said, “Feeding on and obeying God’s Word is more important than consuming physical food. In fact, it is our food.”2We can’t let our physical appetites be a temptation.

Matthew 4:5-7: The second temptation was personal gain. Satan took Jesus to the southeast corner of the temple complex, 450 feet high above the Kidron Valley.3The Jews expect the Messiah to come to the temple mount based on Malachi 3:1. In verse 6, Satan again misquoted God’s Word, this time in Psalm 91:11-12. Jesus responded, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God” (v. 7).

Satan promised to give Jesus everything if He threw Himself down. Everything Jesus used to combat Satan came from the Old Testament (the New Testament hadn’t been written yet). Yet, because Jesus used the Old Testament Word to combat temptation, we can as well (Genesis 3:4; Matthew 4:7). This time, Satan tempted Jesus with the lust of the flesh (1 John 2:16).

Everything that belongs to the world is part of the lust of the flesh.

Matthew 4:8-10: The third temptation was power. This time, Satan took Jesus to a high mountain, possibly Jericho, and showed Him the world (v. 8). This time, all Satan wanted from Jesus was His worship, because he wanted to be God (Isaiah 14:12). Satan will do whatever he can to make you worship him. Remember that one third of the angels followed Satan. We encounter these angels as demons in spiritual warfare. Satan is ruler of the air today. Right now, Satan has free reign and he is going to come after us, but John 12:31 says: “Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” He is considered the god (little 'g') of this age (1 Corinthians 4:4). Even though Satan has this power right now, ultimately, Jesus will be victorious (Genesis 3:5; Matthew 4:10; 16:21-23; 1 Peter 1:11; 1 John 2:16).

Matthew 4:11-13: When the devil left, the angels immediately came to serve Jesus. He defended His ministry through the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, and then He began to walk out His ministry. Jesus went from Nazareth to Capernaum in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali and began to walk through the prophetic word of Zebulun and Naphtali. Jesus started to overcome the seed of temptations for us.

Matthew 4:23-25: Because He triumphed over these temptations, Jesus was teaching and preaching and “healing every disease and sickness among the people.” Because of that triumph, the news began to spread throughout Syria (v. 24). Because Jesus overcame these temptations, the door to ministry exploded––everybody began to flock to Jesus (v. 25).

CLOSING

I believe Jesus used this time in the wilderness and these temptations to get prepared for His ministry. My prayer is that God will show what you need to live out in Matthew 4.

  1. Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary: Matthew-Galatians(Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2001), 18.

  2. Wiersbe, p. 18.

  3. Wiersbe, p. 18.

Questions

  1. Why do you think the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1)? In what ways was the devil tempting Jesus? (Matthew 4:2-10)
  2. What method did Jesus use for combatting the devil when he was being tempted? How does this encourage you, and how can you apply this to your life? How do you combat temptation? (1 Corinthians 10:13; Galatians 5:16; Hebrews 2:18; James 1:13-18)
  3. How was Isaiah 9:1-2 being fulfilled by Jesus’ ministry in Matthew 4?
  4. What were Jesus’ first disciples doing when Jesus approached them (Matthew 4:18-21) and how did Jesus encounter them? How do you approach people to talk about Jesus? What can you learn from Jesus’ example of “calling” the first disciples?
  5. Practically, how did the news about Jesus spread (Matthew 4:24-25)? What do you imagine the discussion was like when people contemplated bringing their friend/family member to Jesus for healing; faith or skepticism?
  6. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in Matthew 4 through the reading or the teaching?

Next: the Daily Word →

Daily Word

Laura Martin Matthew 4:20

“Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.”

When Jesus called the first disciples to follow Him, all four men— Simon, Andrew, James, and John—immediately left their nets, their boats, and their fathers to follow Jesus. Immediately means right away, without delay, instantly. The disciples responded immediately, and right away they witnessed Jesus preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing people with diseases and sicknesses.

Today’s culture is fast-paced, and many things in life are immediately at your fingertips. People don’t like to wait for anything, and technology continues to allow for this instant-gratification lifestyle. However, when it comes to following Jesus and living in obedience, do you act immediately? You may doubt you truly hear from the Lord and don’t take the next step of obedience. Today, walk in immediate obedience and watch the Lord’s faithful hand in your life! Leave a job, turn away from a distraction, repent from sin, ask for forgiveness, go on a mission trip, or give a gift the Lord has put on your heart. Maybe you have never said yes to Jesus and received His love for you in faith. Stop overanalyzing it and follow Christ! Today is the day for an immediate yes to Jesus!

“Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.”

— Matthew 4:20

FURTHER SCRIPTURE

  • Matthew 21:2-3 — “Telling them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you. At once you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, you should say that the Lord needs them, and immediately he will send them.’”
  • 2 John 1:6 — “And this is love: that we walk according to His commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: you must walk in love.”
  • Revelation 14:12 — “This demands the perseverance of the saints, who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus.”