Matthew 4:1-11
The Temptation of Jesus
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 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.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” 11 Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
Does it ever seem that temptations are actually good things gone bad; that they blind-side us and throw us for a loop? This is what’s happening to Jesus with a loaf of bread. Bread…a seemingly basic and insignificant item is what Satan uses to tempt Jesus. A blind-side…until we remember that Jesus hasn’t eaten anything in 40 days! Satan will hit us where we hurt; his intent is to thwart God’s purposes any way possible. But unlike most of us, Jesus doesn’t try harder to resist Satan. Jesus takes an alternate path. He knows His Word well enough to respond to the temptation 3 different times, even after Satan has twisted it. Jesus uses His temptations as an opportunity to show reliance on God, rather than on physical things.
Jesus had Scripture-fueled courage to resist the temptation and turn things around; what do you need Scripture-fueled courage for today? What temptations are you facing? What’s your plan to overcome those temptations?
Prayer: As I face temptations daily, help me to recognize them and be “Scripture-fueled” like Jesus to resist them.
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)
Central Christian Church 