The Devil Wears: Power (Matt. 4:1-11)

The Devil Wears: Power
Matthew 4:1-11

INTRODUCTION:
In our study this year on Satan - that roaring lion who seeks whom he may devour - we have seen:

That Satan wears craftiness & subtlety - Genesis 3
That Satan wears shackles - Job 1 & 2
That Satan wears pride - 1 Chronicles 21
That Satan wears discouragement - Zechariah 3

The study today is really the pinnacle of this whole study. Without this study, nothing else we can say would give us any hope and no encouragement. Every example we study that involves Satan and human beings would end with Satan winning - just like with Adam and Eve, just like with Job, just like with David, just like with Joshua.

But Jesus came into the world. And as we have seen in our study of Hebrews, Jesus was tempted in every way just like we are. But Jesus never sinned. So Matthew 4 is the pinnacle of this study of Satan! It shows us:

1) That Jesus actually was tempted - He is human - but He said “no” to every temptation Satan hurled at Him. Mark 1:11 says that the Holy Spirit “impelled” Jesus to go out into the wilderness. The word is “cast.” Luke has “led around” (Luke 4:1).
2) How Jesus was able to defeat Satan, which shows us that in our own private daily battles with Satan, there is a solution. There is victory. Staying faithful to God is possible, if we will just make the choice that Jesus made.

Jesus has been baptized (3:16-17) and identified as the “Son of God” (3:22, 38), just as Adam was and the nation of Israel (Exodus 4:22; Hosea 11:1). Neither Adam nor Israel could stay faithful to God’s commandments; now Jesus will be led into the wilderness to be tempted by the adversary to see if He can remain faithful to God’s commands. The Holy Spirit takes the lead in guiding Jesus into the wilderness (ver. 1), since this will be part of God’s preparation for Jesus to serve as man’s Savior (see Phil. 2:7; Heb. 5:8-9).

The expression “if you are the Son of God” (verses 3, 6) is written in the original Greek as a first class condition, which means Satan is assuming the truth of his statement as a hypothetical. In other words, the “if” might be better translated (or at least understood) as “since You are the Son of God…” Satan is not challenging the reality of Jesus’ Sonship; he is challenging Jesus to use that relationship in a self-serving way.

On the second point that I made about Jesus’ temptations, we see the power to resist Satan’s temptations is for us to know the word of God and walk closely with the God of the word. Jesus answers Satan’s temptations with the same power that is available to us today; the power of the word of God (see Hebrews 4:12). Jesus has been reading the book of Deuteronomy, perhaps in anticipation of this very series of temptations. And as we will illustrate next year when we study the Holy Spirit, every Bible verse that comes from the mouth of God is a tool in our tool box that the Holy Spirit can use to strengthen us against sin, against doubt, against a weak faith, to prepare us to live holy and righteous lives.

Each of these quotations from Deuteronomy are found in a text in which Moses recounts the temptations of Israel while they were also in the wilderness, temptations to which they yielded and so sinned against God.

TEMPTATION #1 (4:1-4):
Just as Moses was on Mount Sinai for forty days, at which point Israel fell to the temptation to worship something besides Jehovah God (Exo. 32), and just as Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years and fell to temptation to grumble about their food (Num. 13-14), Jesus is also now tempted (ver. 2) after having gone without food for forty days. The devil is the instigator of this temptation; he is Jesus’ adversary. In order to make Himself susceptible to the temptations, Jesus went without food for that forty-day period. It is clear from verse 2 that Jesus was hungry. The challenge for Jesus will be whether the one speaking with Him on this occasion is the same voice that spoke at His baptism. The answer to this question will come from Scripture. If the voice does not agree with Scripture, the voice is wrong. So Jesus reaches into the Holy Spirit’s tool box to pull out a Scripture that will help Jesus fight this temptation.

In this precarious state, the adversary tempted Jesus, suggesting that since He was the Son of God, then He should turn a stone into bread (ver. 3). There was not anything inherently wrong with feeding oneself and it might not have been sinful for Jesus to turn a stone into bread. But what He would do would be guided by the Father, not by His own desires and appetites.

Jesus had been reading and meditating on the book of Deuteronomy, specifically the text in which Moses recalls the forty years in which the Israelites wandered in the wilderness and tempted God by grumbling and complaining about His blessings. Thus, in answer to the devil, Jesus based His response and His faith on what the Bible (the OT; Deut. 8:3) had said: “It has been written that man will not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” In other words, man should not be simply concerned about his physical needs; he should also live his life based on what God said. And God had not given Him permission to turn a stone into bread.

There is more to life than meets the eye or satisfies the body.

TEMPTATION #2 - 4:5-7:
The second temptation sees the devil taking Jesus up to Jerusalem, the holy city (ver. 5), and challenging Him to prove He is the Son of God by throwing Himself down from the pinnacle. Then Satan quotes from Scripture, specifically Psalm 91:11-12. Be careful of the man (or woman) who can quote Scripture! Just because someone quotes Scripture does not mean he or she knows what the Scriptures mean in their original context. Satan was quoting Psalm 91 as if it was a law which God would apply all the time. It is a general principle, that God would use His angels (see Heb. 1:14) in service of His servants so that their needs will be provided. However, Jesus will show Satan that he was applying the principle far too broadly, and making it contradict another passage from God’s word. Satan does the same thing when he quotes Scripture after Scripture after Scripture to show that we are saved by grace or by faith as if it excludes obedience in the form of repentance and baptism.

In verse 7, Jesus points out to Satan that the general promise recorded in Psalm 91 does not mean that a disciple of God can put himself (or herself) in a position which would require God to act a certain way (Jesus grabs another “tool” from His “tool box:” Deut. 6:16). This would be “testing” God. One might also test God by committing a sin and then challenging God to punish that sin while expecting His love to overlook the sin.

We can trust that what God says about us is true.

TEMPTATION #3 - 4:8-11:
The third temptation involved the adversary taking Jesus up on a high mountain. There, the devil showed Him the kingdoms of the inhabited world and all their glory. Just what this view or vision entailed is not known; none of the three writers (Matthew, Mark, or Luke) record the vision in any more detail. Luke does write that these kingdoms appeared to Jesus in a very brief span of time. It could only have been the Father who allowed this to happen. But, it was a part of the temptations Satan was extending to Jesus. He states in verse 9 that he will give authority over these kingdoms, including their “glory” (the honor and prestige that would come with that authority), because the glory has been given to him and he will give it to whomever he desires. The condition on which Satan would give Jesus the kingdoms, their authority, and glory is that Jesus would worship him (ver. 9). To this third temptation, Jesus quoted the Bible (the third “tool” is His “tool box:” Deut. 6:13) once again and pointed out that God alone deserves to be worshipped and He alone deserves spiritual service (ver. 10).

Worship is a powerful weapon against temptation.

After all three temptations, the devil left Jesus for a period of time and would return to tempt Him more through different avenues. The “frontal assault” did not work; he would try more devious methods in the future.

CONCLUSION:
It is true that Satan has been given a lot of authority over the physical world. He is called the “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4). However, it is also true that Jesus, following His resurrection, has been given all power and all authority (Matt. 28:18). Satan tempts people to sin by appealing to us to submit to the desires of the flesh in ways that God has forbidden; see James 1:13-15. He has persuasive power, but not coercive power.

When Luke writes, he says that Jesus, as He was being led into the wilderness, was “full of the Holy Spirit.” To be “full of the Holy Spirit” means to be entirely under His guidance. Christians are commanded to be under the influence of the Holy Spirit as well (see Eph. 5:18). That’s how we will defeat Satan in the individual temptations that we face.

We should also not overlook the point that Satan always makes His temptations look attractive (see James 1:13-15). Nor should we overlook the point that Satan can quote Scripture! Just because a preacher or pastor or priest quotes Scripture does not mean that he is using that Scripture appropriately, as Jesus points out here. Paul warned Christians of teachers who deceive the hearts of the simple through “smooth words and flattering speech” (Rom. 16:17-18) and he also warns that Satan and his messengers can transform themselves into “angels of light” and “servants of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:14-15). This is why God gave us His word (Eph. 4:14).

Take home message: Fill your heart and mind with God’s word so you will have the tools you need to fight Satan’s temptations.