Part 1 Easter (Freedom-Wilderness)
Matthew 27:39-44 (ESV) 39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
Matthew 3:16-17; 4:1-3 (ESV) 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” 1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came….
Temptation/Testing | Handbook to Bible Study/ Harper’s Bible Dictionary: These two associated terms overlap in their application to human life; a temptation is an invitation to sin; its source may be external or internal; a testing is a procedure designed to determine and demonstrate inner character, to determine the depth and integrity of one’s commitment to God.
Penned Truth- If the Deceiver (Satan) could get Jesus to fall into temptation, well, disaster would have fallen on humanity.
- Jesus had victory over self-deployment
Matthew 4:3 (ESV) And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV) 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Penned Truth- The Deceiver (Satan) is always trying to get us to doubt that God cares about us or loves us.
Matthew 4:4 (ESV) 4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Paraphrased: It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.)
- Jesus had victory over needing visible proof
Matthew 4:5-6 (ESV) Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him 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, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’
Matthew 4:7 (ESV) 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Paraphrased; “Don’t you dare test the Lord your God.”)
C.H. Spurgeon said, “I believe that the happiest of all Christians and the truest of Christians are those who never dare to doubt God, but take His Word simply as it stands, and believe it, and ask no questions, just feeling assured that if God has said it, it will be so.”
- Victory over position, prestige (Having to be seen and heard)
Matthew 4:8-9 (ESV) 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 I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
Sam Storms once said, “The focus of Satan’s efforts is always the same: to deceive us into believing that the passing pleasures of sin are more satisfying than obedience.”
Matthew 4:10 (ESV) 10 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.’”
Final Statement: Satan thought, “I will find a way to get Jesus to sin, and all that God has planned for the redemption of man will have failed.” However, this would not happen because you and I were on His mind. Jesus maintained loyalty to God’s Word and endured the wilderness for an encounter with the cross for us. Jesus was steadfast in the face of any temptation to renounce, desert, or betray the Father’s will for man’s redemption.
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