January 20, 2008  •  Pastor Randy Smith

In early 2001 some towns in India were stricken by a plague of monkeys. The monkeys were so numerous they would invade homes, bite people, and make off with food supplies. It was agreed the monkeys would have to be caught and relocated. The people in these towns resorted to a traditional method for catching them. They gathered their old milk bottles, tied them to the ground, and then placed something sweet such as a lollypop inside the bottle.

The monkey then comes along and sees the sweet. He places his hand inside the bottle, but with the sweet enclosed in his palm his fist is too big to get it back out the bottle. The monkey pulls and pushes in an effort to get that sweet out, but he will not let it go, not even as his captors approach. And so the monkey is caught, literally with his hand in the lollypop jar!

In a similar sense, spiritual temptation also seeks to trap us with something sweet that eventually leads only to regret and captivity.

One author said, “Temptation often comes wrapped in the form of something beautiful, something that appeals to our senses and desires. It is often necessary to think twice before we recognize that a beautiful object or goal (at times) is really sin in disguise” (Henry Virkler, Hermeneutics, p. 219).

In order to have any degree of success in the Christian life, we must be made aware of the fact that temptation is real. We must understand that Satan, also known as “the tempter” (verse 3), makes it his life ambition to ruin Christians by holding out a sugarcoated promise internally saturated with bitterness and misery. Too often the misinformed, carnal and deceived believer falls for the trap and plummets headlong into the captivity of sin.

Satan is very cunning. He is also very bold. Unsatisfied with playing second fiddle to God in heaven, he along with a host of his fellow demons were cast out of their heavenly abode. Ever since and until the time he is finally thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10), Satan stands to oppose the will of God. Now He relentlessly attacks God’s children (1 Pet. 5:8), but for the time that Jesus walked on the face of this earth, most, if not all of his might was turned loose on the Son of God. Pride, arrogance, haughtiness are the only terms that explain how the Master of Evil thought he could tempt and subsequently derail the Master of Light.

The very best in his arsenal was aimed at Jesus Christ, and our Savior withstood the threefold test of temptation and remained steadfast in His life of purity and devotion to God’s will.

Today as we examine this monumental spiritual battle, we will learn how Jesus Christ was victorious over temptation proving Himself to be the true King. We will also learn how we too can be successful over temptation if we follow His example. The three points for today’s sermon are: The situation, the strategy and the sympathy.

1. THE SITUATION

Let’s begin with “The Situation.”

His baptism had just concluded (3:15). The Father expressed His pleasure in the Son (3:17). The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus Christ (3:16) and immediately (Mk. 1:12) the same Holy Spirit that had just come upon Jesus, says 4:1, “Led (Him)…into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (cf. Lk. 4:1).

The same Greek word (peirasmos) used for “temptation” is also the word used for “testing.” Context must determine which of the two words is proper. In this case, both meanings of the word are appropriate. There is no doubt that Satan sought to “tempt” Jesus to sin, but God also sought to “test” His newly crowned King as to whether or not He would be loyal to His divine assignment. All the other kings of Israel when faced with temptation failed at one point or another. Would Jesus prove Himself to truly be the greatest King?

Immediately following His spiritual victory, Jesus was “impelled” (Mk. 1:12) by the Spirit to undergo this trial. The same is true for us. And the same question must be asked of us. When placed in this predicament, will we pass the test or succumb to the temptation? Even though God never tempts us (Jas. 1:13), He does use these sovereignly appointed trials to reveal Himself and both test and develop our character. What Satan intends for evil, God intends for good (Gen. 50:20).

So Jesus was placed in the wilderness. One author described the wilderness of Judea: “The hills are like dust heaps, the limestone is blistering and peeling, the rocks are bare and jagged, and often the ground sounds hollow (George Adam Smith, cited in Barclay, Mathew, 1:63). It was a spiritual boot camp so to speak. It was a time of testing, revolving around solitude, prayer and fasting. That is what we see in verse 2: “And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.”

Like a hyena, Satan likes to attack us when we are most vulnerable. The devil knew Jesus was weak because of His lack of food. So while His spiritual resistance was down, the devil’s attack was aimed at that which Jesus desired the most.

The First Temptation – The Lust of the Flesh

Here comes the first temptation: Verse 3, “And the tempter came and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’”

Now, it is not a sin to eat bread. Being fully human, Jesus had to sustain Himself no different than we do. Nor is it a sin for Jesus to produce bread. On a couple of occasions, Jesus produced enough bread to feed thousands (14:19-21; 15:38-38). Nor is it a sin to break your fast at the appropriate time. Verse 11 tells us that the angels ministered to Jesus, which probably included food of some sort.

Here is the problem: Satan’s temptation was directly intended to see Jesus distrust the providential care of His Father and rely on His own divine powers. It was a desire to see Jesus take His ministry into His own hands of self-sufficiency. In his diabolical scheming, Satan thought he could get Jesus, being the Son of God, to second-guess His Father’s goodness and independently fend for Himself.

Planting doubt—the tempter’s greatest scheme. “Good parents don’t let their children starve, Jesus. So You must not be the Son of a loving Father. He gave to the Israelites manna – why has He given nothing to You? Come on Jesus, it’s in your power if you truly are the Son of God to do something about it!”

Do you see how Satan attempts to shatter our trust in God? Didn’t he do that with Adam and Eve? “The serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’” (Gen. 3:4-5). Also using food thousands of years later, Jesus, known as the Second Adam succeeded where the first Adam failed. The Son of God would not act against the Father’s will!

While Satan tried to cast doubt on God’s word, Jesus stood firm on God’s word—believing it and wielding it! Quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 our Lord said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

Jesus confidently knew His Father cared about Him. He was solid in His faith and not derailed by mere words uttered from the “father of lies” (Jn. 8:44). The test for Jesus came down to what was most important. While Satan tried to prioritize Jesus’ hunger pangs, Jesus made it His effort to prioritize the will of God. For Jesus, doing the will of God in full submission to His plan was that which took ultimate priority. Physical food was of little importance. “My food,” said Jesus in John 4:34, “Is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” That is why Jesus said in verse 4 that He does not live on bread alone “but (He lives) on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” In other words, said Jesus, “What goes into My mouth always takes a backseat to what comes out of God’s mouth.”

The Second Temptation – The Lust of the Eyes

So for the first temptation, Satan tries to get Jesus to go against the Father’s will by taking matters into His own hands. Now as we turn our attention to the second temptation, Satan tries to get Jesus to go against the Father’s will by putting the Father’s integrity to a test.

Verses 5 and 6, “Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple (estimated by the Jewish historian Josephus to be a 450 foot drop to the valley floor), and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you;’ and ‘on their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Scripture was successful for Jesus in the previous temptation so Satan tries to throw a little Bible around himself. But as Satan always does, he misrepresents Scripture by twisting God’s word.

His rationale: If the Son of Man will reject bread and insist upon feeding Himself with God’s word, I’ll do my best to trap Him with the very word from God that He vows to trust. Pulling a passage completely out of context, Satan quotes two verses from Psalm 91.

I read Psalm 91 this week and the heading in my Bible over Psalm 91 is: “Security of the One Who Trusts in the Lord.” Psalm 91 is about trusting God and the help God provides for those who depend on Him. In choosing this text, Satan’s strategy was brilliant – from a warped perspective.

“Jesus, do you believe the Bible? Jesus, do you trust God? Well, in the Bible there is a specific Psalm about trusting God. Therefore, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down” because in this Psalm it says, “‘He will command his angels concerning you;’ and ‘on their hands they will bear you up’” (Mt. 4:6). So, Jesus, throw Yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple. If You really trust God and He is faithful to keep His word, God promises to preserve Your life. ‘You will not strike your foot against a stone’” (Mt. 4:6).

If Jesus doesn’t—He obviously doesn’t trust God’s word. If Jesus does and dies—God obviously is not able or willing to keep His word. And if Jesus does and God saves Him—God is controlled and manipulated by the devil.

What a trap! Satan seems to win on every front. How would Jesus get out of this one?

Once again He went immediately to Scripture. This time, quoting from Deuteronomy 6:16, Jesus said, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Testing God is the ultimate insult against His integrity. Testing God implies that we are God’s judge and we have the right to scrutinize His word for validation and question His character for dependability. Who is the creature that he can point his finger at the Creator (like Satan did with Jesus—“If You are the Son of God…) and demand the confirmation of His infallible word. God will not be manipulated. It is no different than the unbelieving skeptics who looked down their nose at Jesus and said, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? (Jn. 6:30). To which Jesus elsewhere replied, “‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.’ And He left them and went away” (Mt. 16:4). Listen beloved, never is it our job to demand God prove His faithfulness. Our job is to simply trust His spoken word in the Bible and prove our own faithfulness to Him!

The Third Temptation—The Boastful Pride of Life

Satan is not finished. He makes one final desperate attempt which reveals his ultimate goal. Verse 8, “Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory

Our minds cannot comprehend the details of this visualization. Obviously, no mountain is high enough to see “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.” There must have been some supernatural aspect to this multi-media presentation.

Once presenting everything this world has to offer, the devil “said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.’”

Now you can see why I used the words, “desperate attempt.” Though we often forget, Jesus of all people knew this world had nothing worthwhile to offer. Second, Jesus of all people knew that Satan was promising goods of which he was not the rightful owner. And third, Jesus of all people would never fall down and worship Satan. Earlier the temptations revolved around Jesus trusting Himself and Jesus trusting the Father. Now in his final attempt, the temptation revolves around Jesus trusting the devil. Total desperation!

“Why wait Jesus. You can have all the glory the world has to offer, now! It is Your right as the Son of God. You deserve it! Don’t submit as a Servant when You can reign as a king. Bypass the Calvary road that leads to a cross. Bow the knee to me and I will promise You instant gratification!”

We often find it difficult to accept Jesus’ harsh words to Peter when the Apostle simply suggested that Jesus not to go Jerusalem for His death. When compared with this account, we understand the reason. Peter was acting no different than the devil, suggesting He bypass the cross. Remember Christ’s words in response to Peter? “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s (Mt. 16:23).

What if Jesus would have given into this last temptation? He would have become like the world. The world would never have been redeemed. Jesus would have received nothing but a lie from Satan. And the evil one would now be our master.

For the third time Jesus once again goes to Scripture. Quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 He said, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”

Could Jesus make it any clearer? Rather than selling His soul, He will worship God and God alone. Did you notice what was at the heart of all of Satan’s temptations? Did you notice that each time He attempted to get Jesus to go against the Father’s will? It is a fitting conclusion that Jesus throughout these temptations stood resolute to do the Father’s will. Throughout it all, as He said right here, He worshipped the Lord His God and served Him only.

God’s chosen “son” Israel wandered 40 years in the desert (Dt. 8:2). The truest Son of God fasted 40 days in the desert (Mt. 4:2). Israel was about to enter the Promised Land, and Jesus was about to enter His earthly ministry. Both were tested in similar ways to see if they would hear and obey the Word of God in a sincere effort to do the will of the Father (Dt. 8:2-3). Where Israel failed, Jesus succeeded. Therefore I believe there is a reason in this account why Jesus always quoted Scripture from Deuteronomy 6-8 that in its context depicts Israel’s wilderness wandering. Jesus proved Himself to be the true Son of God through His obedience.

Verse 11, “Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.”

2. THE STRATEGY

Well, as we move to the second point, the main purpose of this account is to reveal how Jesus Christ won the first great battle against the prince of darkness. We see the newly commissioned King stand firm in His call and steadfast in His faith to the Father.

Jesus overcame all that Satan threw against Him. He is now at the Father’s right hand waiting for the appointed time to ultimately overthrow His enemies. Satan can no longer touch Jesus, so Satan has made it his goal to assault His followers—that’s you and I! From this account we too can learn from Christ and stand victorious during our times of temptation.

A few helpful observations from our text applicable to all of us:

First of all, know that Satan is real. Jesus did not battle an ideology or impersonal force. He fought against a real being with a real intention to destroy. We must not fear him, but we should respect his power.

Second, as the Bible says, we must not be “ignorant of his schemes” (2 Cor. 2:11). Satan is powerfully deceptive. His attacks are cunning and crafty and often unnoticed. He masquerades as “an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14). His ultimate aim is to see you go against God’s will by doubt and distrust.

Over a century ago J.C. Ryle said, “We are too apt to forget that temptation to sin will rarely present itself to us in its true colors, saying, ‘I am your deadly enemy, and I want to ruin you forever in hell.’ Oh no! Sin comes to us like Judas, with a kiss; like Joab, with outstretched hand and flattering words. The forbidden fruit seemed good and desirable to Eve; yet it cast her out of Eden. Walking idly on his palace roof seemed harmless enough to David; yet it ended in adultery and murder. Sin rarely seems (like) sin at first beginnings. Let us then watch and pray, lest we fall into temptation” (Holiness).

Specifically, let’s recall his “schemes” in our account. Two thousand years have passed. The situations may be different, but the schemes are still the same. Rather than read your family the Bible after dinner, you will be happier if you watch “Sportscenter.” Your money will go a longer way in your hands than in God’s hands. Success in the eyes of the world is of greater benefit than success in the eyes of God. If God really loved you, you would be rich, powerful, perfectly healthy and trial free. So subtle, they are often undetected by many Christians. Always falling for the prospect that you will be happier. Yet unfortunately before long you find yourself without joy, without faith, without spiritual productivity and without resistance to the world. Remember, it is his goal to pull your heart away from the Father’s will. How successful has he been in your life? Give Satan an inch and he will take a mile!

Third, temptation is real. As a human being, moreover a child of God, you will be tempted. The Puritan, Thomas Brooks said, “God had but one Son without corruption, but He had none without temptation.” If Jesus Christ wasn’t spared what makes us think our fate will be any different? Satan knows our individual points of weakness. There is nowhere we can go and nothing we can do to avoid it. Satan is relentless. We read that Satan left Jesus in our account this morning, but Luke is quick to add in his gospel that Satan was planning to return at a more “opportune time” (Lk. 4:13). Therefore, like Jesus, we must be prepared always. We must be “watching and praying” (Mk. 14:38). We must, Ephesians 6:16, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”

Fourth, our primary weapon from the full armor of God to fight the devil is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17). Three times Jesus was tempted and three times Jesus responded with Scripture. He did not bind the devil or reason with the devil. He simply used the sword of the Spirit and quoted Scripture. Are we wiser or stronger than Christ? Why not simply use His true and tested method? Beloved, this is why it is so important that we know the Bible and have key verses memorized. James 4:7, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Just like he fled from our Bible-wielding Messiah (4:11).

Fifth, as He did throughout His entire earthly ministry, Jesus trusted His heavenly Father’s providence, committed Himself to a life of prayer and relied on the strength of the Spirit. We are most vulnerable to temptation when we are overconfident in our own power, wisdom and goodness. In a section pertaining to spiritual warfare, Paul said, “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might” (Eph. 6:10).

Sixth, have hope. What Satan intends for evil, God permits for good. A deepened relationship with the Lord is not produced in a vacuum. Mature faith is forged on the anvil of affliction. Refusing to succumb to the temptation means we have passed the Lord’s test. Do not fall for the temptation that God does not know what He is doing! Overcoming temptation is difficult in many ways, but everything is happening in the palm of His loving and sovereign hands. First Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

3. THE SYMPATHY

Possibly the greatest hope as we move to the third point is the sympathy offered by Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” His heart bears the blessed scars of sympathy. Yet this is more than just passive sympathy. Jesus is actively present to assist us in our time of need. Listen to Hebrews 2:18: “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

As C.S. Lewis said, “Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is” (Mere Christianity). Jesus was there. He fought off every temptation. He experienced far worse than we could ever imagine when we consider His holy nature. And being fully human, He knows our weakness and the severity of our temptation. And He is there, personally at our side prepared and able to provide strength to succeed and forgiveness when we fail.

“Turn these stones into bread, Jesus”—The lust of the flesh. “Throw Yourself off the tower, Jesus”—The lust of the eyes. “Desire the glory of this world, Jesus”—The boastful pride of life. First John 2:16 reads, “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.”

Why are we suckers running headlong for Satan’s lies? His promises are empty, and putting aside God’s will for his is catastrophic.

The day is coming when Satan will be destroyed and a greater kingdom will be given to those who wait; for those who have faith in the greater promises of God. Will we give into temptation, or will we stand firm? Will we settle for the quick fix, or will we hold out for eternal glory? Will we trust the devil, or will we trust the One who overcame sin and the devil and one day will rule the world in righteousness.

Are we like the monkeys in my introduction running after something that appears attractive yet leads us into captivity? Or are we like Jesus, living by the word of God, seeking to do the will of the Father? Only you can answer that question, unless you have been deceived and overcome by temptation.