Facing Temptation – Part 2
Matthew 4:1-11
“Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”” vs. 7
Cut The Rope
There is the story of a man who was a mountain climber and went out one day for a climb. He miscalculated the time and he was still high up on the mountain as night fell. It got dark quickly and soon all he could see was black. Zero visibility, and the moon and the stars were covered by the clouds. As he was climbing only a few feet away from the top of the mountain, he slipped and fell in to the air and began falling at great speed. He could only see black spots as he went down, and the terrible sensation of being sucked by gravity. He kept falling and in the moments of great fear, it came to his mind all the good and bad episodes of his life. He was thinking now about how close death was getting, when all of a sudden he felt the rope tied to his waist pull him very hard. His body was hanging in the air. Only the rope was holding him and in that moment of stillness. He knew crying out would get him nowhere but he decided to scream: “Help me God”. All of a sudden a deep voice coming from the sky answered, “What do you want me to do?” “Save me God”. “Do you really think I can save you?” “Of course I believe You can.” “Then cut the rope tied to your waist.” There was a moment of silence and the man decided to hold on to the rope with all his strength. The rescue team tells that the next day a climber was found dead and frozen, his body hanging from a rope. His hands holding tight to it. They also reported that the nab was hanging only 1 foot away from the ground.
It’s one thing to believe something is true, it’s another to be willing to live it out. Today we are going to continue our study of Matthew 4 and the temptations Jesus faced in the desert. We are taking one Sunday to look at each temptation. If you are able, please stand with me as we read God’s Word from Matthew 4:1-11.
Read Passage
Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do 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 splendor.9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Next!
Last week we saw how Satan tempted Jesus to stay home and watch the 49er game, I mean, to turn stone into bread. That was the first of three temptations in this passage. Notice that Satan moves right from one temptation to the next without missing a beat. It’s right away. Verse 5:
“Then the devil took him to the holy city…” vs. 5a
Often we have an opportunity to answer questions about God to people, and, often, we feel that we can persuade people or give an answer that will convince them about God. Often, they quickly jump to the next subject. That should be a red flag that they really aren’t interested in learning or growing toward God but are just looking to trip us up. That is what Satan is doing here; he is not interested in learning about God or even growing closer to God, he just wants to trip up Jesus.
Ex. The time a young man came to me and asked about Dinosaurs and why he couldn’t find them in the Bible. When I gave an answer he quickly jumped to another subject, and then another. He didn’t want to understand, just to prove the Bible wasn’t true.
Satan Quotes Scripture
An important note about this story is how knowledgeable Satan is about God’s Word and that he actually quotes it. Notice verse 6:
“For it is written…” vs. 6
Never under estimate Satan. He is smart and he is ready to do whatever is necessary to lead someone away from God. He knows Scripture. He can quote Scripture. And he is arrogant enough to think that he can actually trip up God himself. But Jesus is prepared. He has spent his whole life preparing for ministry and preparing to meet the resistance Satan will bring. We should also know that we will be challenged about our faith and need to prepare ourselves.
Ex. 49ers and Seahawks preparing to meet each other.
(Joke: It’s a winner take all because the winner goes to the Superbowl and the losers got to Seattle)
A key thing to understand here is that Scripture is used. Satan used it. Jesus responds with it. We need to prepare ourselves with it as well. Many people know Scripture, even non-believers. Most can quote some of Psalm 23, The Lord’s Prayer, Genesis 1, and a few others as well. Satan uses enough Scripture to sound right but twisted enough to misuse it. People may use Scripture to try to mislead us by quoting enough ot sound right but misused so that we are confused, lead astray, or to make us feel inadequately equipped. We need to prepare ourselves with the right knowledge of Scripture.
Temptation #2: Disbelieve God
Last week we looked at Temptation #1 where Satan tries to get us to misuse good things. Today the second temptation that Satan uses is to try to get us to Disbelieve God. Verse 5 & 6:
“Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down.’” vss. 5-6
This is one of the reasons Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit; to face Satan. SO the scene is Jesus and Satan being transported to the highest point of the temple. We aren’t told a lot of specifics like the time of day, if people could actually see them, etc. What we are told is that they are in the holy city which is assumed to be Jerusalem and that they are somehow perched on the highest point of the temple. This temptation unfolds in three ways.
- Know Your Enemy
First, it is important to know who your enemy is. Jesus knew that Satan was his enemy. In fact, Jesus was always aware of who his enemies where. Remember at one point Jesus is being questioned and badgered by the religious leaders of the day. He tells them in John 8:44:
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.” John 8:44
We are told that the devil is our enemy too. 1 Peter 5:8 says:
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
There is some strong language there; the devil prowling around (you get the idea of the sneakiness and mischievousness of that) like a roaring lion (A lion roars when it is about to devour its prey).
But here is an important thing to note about this exchange between Jesus and Satan: Satan could not throw Jesus down, Jesus would have to do that himself. Satan has limited power. Satan wasn’t trying to destroy Christ, he wanted Christ to destroy himself. Satan wants us to destroy ourselves. If Satan had thrown Jesus down he would be the perpetrator and would be in the wrong. No he wants Christ to make the decision to do that. See, Satan has already made his decision. He has chosen not to follow God and his ways. He wants to get us to change our decision to follow God but he can’t do that for us. That is your choice and my choice.
- Results of Doubt
The second part of the temptation is to stir up doubts. But let me say right up front, doubting is not a sin. Doubting is not always bad. Staying is doubt is bad. Doubt is not unbelief, but it is not faith either. It wavers between faith and unbelief, unable to make up its mind what it wants to be. Let me use a verse to help illustrate this point from James 1:6:
“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:6
The caution here is not to doubt when we ask. But the illustration is like being caught in the sea and being tossed back and forth. Let me paint a picture here for you. There are two islands near each other, for our purpose let’s say two miles apart. One island is named faith and the other is named unbelief. You are bobbing in the sea between the two. Being in the middle like that is that area of doubt. You can’t stay there. You will drown. The ocean is pushing and pulling you in two directions but you know you can’t stay there. Now, James 1:6, you ask God and he directs you and leads you to (the island) faith. Move that way, don’t doubt. Satan wants to move you to (the island) unbelief. That may sound simple but think about it. You will have to work, struggle, and put out a lot of effort to make it to faith because the current will always be pushing and pulling. But you can persevere because God has given you his spirit for strength..
- God’s Way vs. Satan’s Way
The third part of temptation is to understand the difference between God’s way and Satan’s way. Again, let’s look at some verse from James 1:13-15 to help us:
“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 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.” James 1:13-15
Here is a good way to understand what James is saying and how it ties into Matthew 4.
Satan’s Way – to tempt (to do evil)
God’s Way – to test (to do good)
A good way to put this is that Satan always tempts us to move to unbelief and away from God and God tests us to draw us closer to him.
Remedy #2: Know Truth, Live Truth
So what is the remedy? The remedy is to know truth and to live in that truth. Jesus states in vere 7:
“Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” vs. 7
In response to the second temptation, Jesus replies, “It is also written . . .” Then he quotes from Deut. 6:16. When you looked up that reference, you find He didn’t quote all the verse. It says, “Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah.” So, what happened at Massah? It’s recorded in Exod. 17. Israel had refused to enter the Promised Land following the visit of the 12 spies; 10 who said they couldn’t overtake the people and 2, Joshua and Caleb, who said they could. They had begun their wanderings in the wilderness. They begin complaining and quarreling and even wished they had stayed in Egypt. These are the same people who had seen God perform great miracles in Egypt like the plagues to them from slavery and how He split the Red Sea for them to cross on dry land and destroyed the pursuing Egyptians. First they grumbled because they didn’t have water and He gave them water. Then they complained because they didn’t have bread and meat. He gave them quail and manna. Now, at Massah, they complain about the water again! They still haven’t learned to trust the Lord. After all they have seen, how can they ask, “Is the Lord with us or not?” v. 7 They were really testing God’s patience. They were questioning God’s Presence and care.
Here is the place that we really come to a complete understanding of this concept of knowing truth and living truth, it’s Jesus words from John 8:32:
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
God’s ways always bring life and bring freedom. Satan’s ways may bring a temporary pleasure but will in the end bring destruction and oppression.
When You Can’t See
God asks us to trust him and believe him and to draw closer to him. He assures us that everything he says and does is for our good. Listen to Psalm 145:13:
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.”
Psalm 145:13
Let’s go back to the story I started with. The man yells to God for help. The man can’t see the whole picture and that he is only 2 feet from the ground. God can see that and asks him to do something that seems to take great faith. God can see the whole picture and what he asks might seem ridiculous or even wrong but he know what’s best and he knows what we don’t.
Ex. A baby in it’s mother’s womb.
It’s comfortable, well insulated, you get fed, etc. You don’t really want to leave. From the baby’s perspective it’s cold, loud, uncomfortable, and what about the food? You can’t eat whenever you want. A baby might say, you know, I’ll just stay here. I like it here. It’s good here. But that baby will never grow, never be a toddler, a teen or grow to maturity if it stays in the mother. Eventually what will happen? It will die. It was never designed to stay there; but it doesn’t know that. We are like that baby. We have to trust God. He has the bigger picvture. The things that will help us grow and mature.
