At his baptism, the heavens were open and the Heavenly Father declared Jesus to be His beloved Son. The question about the Son is, how is He to behave?
The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, and made this experience part of God’s plan for His Son.
What Jesus went through is very similar to what the people of God experienced after they left Egypt. However, there is one exception: Jesus never failed to follow the Father’s will.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished (Matthew 4.1-2).
The Shema (Hear) Israel states God’s purpose for His people. All of the devil’s temptations can be summarized as attacks on whether Jesus will obey what is declared to be God’s purpose for His people.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6.4-5).
Every temptation that Jesus faced attacked the idea that God is one, should be worshiped alone, and that He should be loved with all our being. The same temptation or test is ours today.
Stones to Bread
The tempter presented Jesus with the idea that experiencing hunger was beneath the dignity of someone as exalted as the Son of God, especially when He had the power to create food. Jesus was tempted to use His divine abilities for His own needs.
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,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God'” (Matthew 4.3-4).
Moses taught that the hunger experienced by the Israelites in the wilderness served as a test from God to determine their obedience to Him (Deuteronomy 8.2). He reminded them that human life depends not solely on bread but on every word that God has revealed.
He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord (Deuteronomy 8.3).
Jesus passed the first test and did not use his power as the Son of God to provide for his own needs. He loved the Lord with all of his being, which included being obedient to the will of the Father.
In today’s world, self-sufficiency and self-reliance are often emphasized as primary approaches to life.
However, these attitudes can lead us away from cultivating a loving relationship with God, wherein we trust Him as our Heavenly Father who is eager to provide for us.
As an old preacher once said, we should work as though everything depends on us, but we rely on God as if everything depends on Him.
Testing God
In Exodus 17, we read about the Israelites grumbling in the wilderness due to their lack of water. God provided water for the people and later Moses reminded them of this event.
“Do not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah” (Deuteronomy 6:16).
The devil quoted Psalm 91 to tempt Jesus to put God’s protection to the test.
Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying 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 dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Matthew 4.5-7)
Eduard Schweizer noted that when we try to force God to do our bidding, “man may become lord of God and compel Him to act through the power of his faith.” Surely, this is not what the Son of God or children of God should do.
Jesus quotes Moses’ words in Deuteronomy to make this point clear.
Abandon Love and Worship
Schweizer accurately describes the third test as “a blatant challenge to God’s authority . . . where the devil drops his disguise.”
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, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him'” (Matthew 4.8-10).
The devil brought Jesus to a high mountain, tempting Him with the offer of all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
However, Jesus didn’t seek authority over the earth through glorious power. Instead, He chose a different path — a humble journey to the cross on a hill outside of Jerusalem.
Jesus’ response was an echo of Moses’ message to God’s servant nation.
The Lord your God you shall fear, him you shall serve, and by his name alone you shall swear. Do not follow other gods (Deuteronomy 6.13-14).
Common Temptations
As I reflect on the temptations Jesus faced, I realize that many of the temptations in my own life mirror His experiences.
Whether it’s relying on my abilities to achieve my desires, testing God’s boundaries by breaking His commandments, or prioritizing self-service over devotion to God, I can relate to His experience.
Satan seeks to sever my connection with God and lead me to live without depending on a loving relationship with Him.
Conversely, God desires for me to embrace the fullest extent of His love. Following His will is the path to experiencing this abundance.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 