Today I want to share a word about the master of temptation, as I comment on Matthew 4:1-11. This passage reads:
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 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. 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.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’" Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Temptation is something we all face, and we usually face it daily. Temptation is so common that we use it to sell products. Remember the potato chip commercial that says “You can’t eat just one!”
We even use temptation to market our entertainment acts. A mild example of this is the singing group “The Temptations.”
Leave it to the late Christian comedian Jerry Clower to come up with the most unusual example of temptation. He said that one day he went by his uncle’s farm and saw a hog out in the field with a wooden leg. He stopped and asked his uncle about the pig.
Jerry’s uncle told him, “That pig is like a member of our family. When our house burned down, he rushed in to save my grandmother. When our little girl was drowning in the creek, he jumped in and saved her. He’s just like a member of our family.”
Jerry asked, “Why does he have a wooden leg?”
His uncle replied, “Son, when you have an animal of that quality, you eat him only one ham at a time!”
While we can use temptation to sell products, and while we can make light of it, the truth is that temptation is a serious problem that we all face. The very fact that we resort to it so much for our own purposes shows us that temptation is powerful and that we often fall prey to it.
We are tempted to sin in many ways, and none of us in our own power can resist temptation. There is a Master of Temptation, however and we will see that Master at work today. He will show us the way out of temptation and if we follow Him and His example, we will be able ourselves to resist more effectively.
THE IDENTITY OF THE TEMPTER:
Everything except God has an origin and we know that good things come from God. Jesus said that good and bad cannot come from the same source. God can no more do an evil thing than can the shade of black become white. It will never happen. Evil also has an origin; it originated with Satan, and so did temptation. Knowing where temptation comes from helps us learn its purpose.
Satan was Lucifer; He was the beautiful “Day Star” of Heaven. He was the archangel, the most privileged servant of God who played beautiful music to glorify God. Sadly, for all concerned, he became proud and so he rebelled against God. Because of this he was banished from heaven.
Now, in his bitterness and anger, Satan wants to cause pain. Satan’s response to this conflict was to become bitter and he wants his revenge against God and to hurt Him. He wants to hurt God through turning God's highest creation, humankind, away from Him. His main tool for this desperate and dastardly plot is temptation.
His main tactic is not control or possession, but temptation. This is why the Bible calls him a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He is a roaring lion because he is defeated and toothless, and he’s trying to scare people into siding with him against God. Like many dogs, his bark is worse than his bite; but he can entice or scare God's people into sin, then he can hurt God. And that's his real intent!
THE OPPORTUNITY OF THE TEMPTER:
Why did Satan decide to tempt Jesus at this time? Was it because Jesus was in a weakened situation? Was he kicking someone when they were down? No!
In fact, Jesus was in a spiritually strong condition. He had just been baptized and heard His Father’s approval. He was completing a fast and the purpose of a fast is to grow closer to God. Jesus may have been closer to God later in His life and ministry, but I would argue that He had never yet been so close to God as when He was in the midst of this fast.
In fact, in Matthew 6, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught:
When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their fac-es to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is un-seen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Fasting is tough, physically, but it is revitalizing, spiritually!
Satan likes to try to play hardball because he wants to be just like God. He wants to show his power and all through Bible he attacks people during/after spiritual highs:
- Adam and Eve in the garden
- Noah after the flood
- David after the covenant from God
- Elijah after Mount Carmel
- Paul and Silas during a powerful ministry in Philippi
- And Jesus after His baptism and affirmation of God from Heaven.
So, we need to be aware of this trend, this tactic. When things are going well we need to guard our hearts. Satan wants to score as many points as possible by knocking off a successful person, family, or church.
THE METHODS OF THE TEMPTER:
From this passage we can see some of the techniques that Satan uses. These are probably not inclusive of all his wiles, but they do seem to attack three basic motivations in our lives.
First, we see that Satan appeals to the flesh. I call this the "Temptation to Greed."
We live in a world that is fascinated by physical possessions. As one pastor friend put it, "People try to get all that they can, put it in a can, put a lid on the can, and then sit on the lid!" This temptation makes our flesh our God and it denies that God is sufficient to care for our physical needs.
Next, we see that Satan appeals to our vanity. I call this the "Temptation to Gaudiness."
People have always seemed to crave fame and notoriety, and this especially is true today when we create stars of people who have never achieved anything but a mastery of manipulating social media. People want to be known; they just don't want to put in the effort to be known for something they have actually accomplished!
Finally, we see that Satan appeals to our spirit of rebellion. I call this the "Temptation of Glory."
We, like Satan, want to think we are "large and in charge," but there is only one Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent God of the universe. When Frank Sinatra sang about doing things "my way" he is singing the theme song of this temptation, the temptation to place ourselves on the throne of our life and not Almighty God.
Again, Satan may use many other techniques than the ones he tried with Jesus, and we must stay on the alert for his manipulations and deceptions. Satan is the chief of liars and we can never trust him!
THE DEFEAT OF THE TEMPTER:
Satan tried to play hardball with Jesus. He was going head-to-head, and hand to hand with God, and while he is powerful, his strength pales in comparison with God's. In fact, the contest wasn't even close. Jesus brushed away Satan with little effort, the way we might brush away a fly or a piece of lint on our jacket.
- The results of this contest present us with some important lessons:
- Jesus had a relationship with His Father from His childhood.
- Jesus’ relationship with His Father continued into adulthood.
- Jesus’ relationship with His Father was fresh and renewed.
- Jesus made wise use of God’s Word in defeating Satan.
We can take advantage of these principles as well and if we do, we too can have victory.
Consider what Paul taught us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, which says,
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
We need to remember, that while Satan is a cruel liar, God showed His true nature in that passage of Scripture and in Matthew 4:
- He gives us help to escape the tempter.
- He nurtures us and cares for us.
- Jesus showed us the way to use Scripture to overpower the tempter.
CONCLUSION:
In our text for today, we have seen how Jesus took Satan's best shot and walked away unscathed. He is truly the Master of Temptation, and if we let Him be our Master, then we can master temptation as well. If we turn to Him in times of test-ing, He will help us and, like Him, we can be victorious
