A Word about Resisting Temptation on the Road to the Cross

Today I want to share a word about resisting temptation on the road to the cross as I comment on Matthew 4:1-11. 

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 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, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall 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 glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Introduction:

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.  One example of this is the singing group “The Temptations.”

The 100th Anniversary of the National Football League provided us a humorous example of temptation. In the commercial promoting that milestone, a large, multi-layer cake with a football as its crown was set in the center of a banquet room full of professional football legends. As the commissioner began making introductions, Marshawn Lynch began eyeing the cake. He reached out for a taste, and the football on top tumbled to the floor. Another famous player, Mike Singletary, saw the ball, pulled off his glasses, shouted “Fumble!” and dived for the recovery. Chaos ensued!

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 Someone who can resist temptation, however and we will see Him doing that 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 as we read in Isaiah 14:12-15,

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

We often give Satan too much credit. We imagine him to have the powers of our God, only evil. The Star Trek TV series popularized the idea that both matter and anti-matter exist, and that they are equal but opposite in their power and orientation. We see God and Satan in the same way, but this is not true. 

Satan has the powers of an angel, but he is not God. He is not omniscient, omnipotent, nor omnipresent. He was cast out of heaven, and James tells us that he, like all the demons, trembles at God’s power. 

 Like many defeated people, in his bitterness and anger, Satan wants to cause pain. Satan’s response to God’s discipline of him was to become bitter and he wants to take his revenge against God and to hurt Him. He wants to hurt God through turning God's highest creation, humankind, away from Him. So how can he do that?

In John 8:44, Jesus described Satan’s character this way,

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

2 Corinthians 11:14, Paul revealed that, 

. . . Satan disguises himself as an angel of light

So, Satan’s main tool for this desperate and dastardly plot is deception and 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, and then he can hurt God. And that's his real intent!

The Opportunity for 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.

We need to see what Jesus taught about fasting, in Matthew 6 during the Sermon on the Mount:

When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces 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 unseen; 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 the Bible he attacks people during or 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. We need to remember what Jesus taught about possessions in Matthew 6 in the Sermon on the Mount:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

People think that owning things will fill the God-shaped hole in our hearts. In truth, not only does having possessions not satisfy us, they actually become a burden!

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! 

In contrast to this, Proverbs 22:29 tells us,

Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Again, we need to remember what Jesus taught in Matthew 20:25-27,

But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

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 was singing the theme song of this temptation, the temptation to place ourselves on the throne of our life and not Almighty God.

When we are tempted to forge our own path, and do things our own way instead of God’s way, we need to remember what Samuel told King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:23, 

For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.

To see this principle from a positive perspective, we should pay attention to what Jesus said in John 14:15-16,

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

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 reasons for this are simple: Satan brought a knife to a gunfight. Jesus had access to the power of God and the Word of God. Because He was committed to serving God, He used these assets to overwhelm the attempts of Satan to defeat Him.

• 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, because He nurtures us and cares for us, and He gives us help to escape the tempter.

We, too, have access to the power of God. We, too, have access to the Word of God. If we, too, are committed to serving God, we can use these assets to overwhelm the attempts of Satan to defeat us.

Conclusion:

In our text for today, we have seen how Jesus took Satan's best shot and walked away unscathed. 

Like we saw recently, Jesus is our model. Not only did He model Baptism for us, He also modeled how we can resist temptation. As Paul urged us in Ephesians 6:11-13,

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

If we turn to Jesus in times of testing, He will help us and, like Him, we can be victorious.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt