02-02-03 Communion Dedication - Baldwin Christian Church

This is not just a story of Jesus being tempted. To use football metaphors, this is a peek into the devil's playbook, and our Coach is showing us how to get set on defense when we see certain offensive alignments. Jesus had only just been introduced over God's public address system when He had to face the most powerful offense in the world, and He intercepted three of the devil's passes for touchdowns.

Matthew 4:1~11

(v.1-3) 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 an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

I can stand here in plain view of the Lord God Almighty and comfortably proclaim, without need of boasting, that my dear Mother makes the best pan of dinner rolls in the whole world. When I picture the scene in verse three, I see our Lord, He hasn't eaten anything for over a month, and here comes that old devil. ( It seems He always knows where to find you. ) He's pointing out a little pile of round stones, that with just a little imagination would look like a pan of Mom's dinner rolls, steaming hot, right out of the oven, golden brown with a thin glaze of melted butter on top. After forty days without anything to eat, my imagination could smell 'em, too. That old devil finds out what you're craving for, even if it's things you've only convinced yourself that you need, and he dares you, just when you're weakest, he dares you to "go ahead, go for it." Notice that he questions the word of God while he's tempting Jesus. Only a few weeks before this the heavens parted, and God proclaimed "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," and now the tempter begins his pitch with "IF thou be the Son of God..." Just like in the garden of eden, when he asked Eve "hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?," he tries to cast doubt on the word of God. If Jesus had pride in His heart it would have been easy to give in to the craving of His flesh, indulge and exalt himself by making bread, and prove He is the Son of God.

(v.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.

First line of defense, the very Word of God. When the devil makes his first play, head straight for the Bible, and sack him for a loss. Speaking aloud the Word of God has power. The devil really hates it when you begin a sentence with "It is written." Jesus quickly ends the temptation of His flesh by the very power in the Word, but does the devil give up?

(v.5) Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, (v.6) And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Satan is relentless, and subtle. Again he tries to use the temptation of pride by calling to question Jesus' standing with the Father ( "IF thou be the Son of God, ..."), and presents another dare. This tactic also works well when you're weary, and pride is something you're running low on. When you're down and out, when times are tough, he sees a great opportunity to cast doubt at how you perceive your standing with the Father. If that's not working, he'll manipulate and twist God's Word in an effort to convince you to jump outside of God's will. That's when you open up your Bible, find the flaws in the devil's argument, and reaffirm your position with the Father, out loud.

(v.7-9) Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Whenever I see something that I really want, the devil probably allowed me to see it. The desire of my heart needs to remain focused on things unseen, things eternal, not craving the glory of worldly things. Jesus lived among us and suffered the same temptations as we do, that's true, but only Jesus was offered all the kingdoms of the world if He worshipped the devil. The devil probably won't try that one on any of us, but with Jesus, he pulled out all the stops. This is the very best that Satan has to offer, and again Jesus shows us how to counter the temptation to lust after what we see...

(v.10-11) Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Every time our Lord was approached by the tempter, He responded by quoting scriptures. The tempter has no power to overcome this defense. When the tempter comes, run, do not walk, do not pass go. When the tempter comes, and he will, turn immediately for the best offense we have, the good defense of our Father's word.