Sermon # 7 Series: Matthew
Title: THE TEMPTATION OF CHRIST
Text: Matthew 4:1-11
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 2:1-18
Subject: Our Lord’s Temptation in The
Wilderness
Date: Tuesday Evening – July 19, 1994
Tape: # Q-28
Introduction:
As soon as our Lord was baptized, as
soon as he began to publicly identify himself in this world as the Son of God,
he was tempted of the devil. While he stayed in the carpenter’s shop, chipping
away at wood, the devil was undisturbed. But as soon as he began to lay the axe
to the root of satan’s kingdom, our Lord was tempted by the devil. The very
first thing that is recorded concerning our Lord’s public ministry is his
temptation. Notice the order of things. Our Lord was baptized. He
was owned to be the Son of God. He was anointed by the Spirit of
God. Then he was tempted. Here is a fact of life, from which there is no
escape in this world – If you are a child of God, if the Spirit of God is in
you, you will be tempted of the devil.
The
Temptation of Christ is a subject so deep and mysterious that no sensible
man would imagine being able to understand, much less explain the facts that
are clearly revealed concerning it. It is a subject shrouded in mystery. In
fact, mystery is a vital aspect of all divine truth. Any doctrine that
is not mysterious is not divine in its origin. That which God has revealed
about himself in Holy Scripture is infinitely beyond human conception and
comprehension. The infinite God cannot be comprehended by the puny mind of
finite man.
So, when we
come to meditate upon, think about, and discuss the temptation of our Lord, we
must begin with an acknowledged inability to comprehend the things we have
before us. No man can understand what occurred in our Savior’s heart when
he was tempted. But there is much revealed in the Book of God that we do not
understand.
The basis of our faith is not our understanding of God’s
Word, but the Word of God itself. Because this Book is the Word of God, we recognize that it
is infinitely superior to human reason. Therefore we gladly submit our reason
to God’s Revelation.
Proposition:
This much
we understand – Our
Lord Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are, so that he might be
touched with the feeling of our infinities; but he never succumbed to the
temptation – He never sinned.
Divisions:
There
are five things that we need to learn from this passage of Holy Scripture.
I.
First, learn this – Satan Is A Real Adversary To Our Souls – (v.
1).
Matthew
understood that the devil is real, a personal adversary, a mighty foe with whom
we must do battle continually. The fiend of hell is not afraid to assault the
very throne of God, or the Son of God! In these eleven verses we are told three
times that satan attacked the Lord of glory. Our Savior was “tempted of the
devil.”
A.
The Devil is Real.
It was the
devil who brought sin into the world in the beginning. He vexed Job, who
brought Lot to Sodom, deceived David, and caused Peter to fall so miserably.
The Word of God calls him a “murderer,” a “liar,” and a “roaring lion” (John
8:44; I Pet. 5:8).
His malice is unrelenting. His hatred against us never
abates. For nearly 6000 years he has been trying to do one thing – destroy and
draw into hell those men and women he was created to serve.
B.
We must constantly watch and pray that we be not taken by his
devices.
His cunning and subtlety are greater
than we can imagine. The prince of darkness often transforms himself into an
“angel of light” and his ministers into “preachers of righteousness.” (I Cor.
11:13-14). Satan is with us wherever we live. He goes wherever we go. He never
tires. He never sleeps. He never quits. If he can, he will destroy your soul!
If we would be saved we must crucify the flesh and overcome the world; but we
must also “resist the devil.”
II. Secondly, we see in this passage the fact that The
Lord our God Rules All Things Absolutely.
We know that God cannot be tempted to do evil and that he will never tempt any man to do evil – (James 1:13-15). But everyone who reads the Bible with understanding knows that God rules even in the temptations of his people (Ps. 76:10).
NOTE:
Neither the fall of satan nor the
temptation and sin of our father Adam took God by surprise.
A. Notice the language of verse 1 – Our
Lord Jesus was led, (Mark says “driven” 1:12), into the wilderness by
the Holy Spirit “to be tempted of the devil.”
“Three things make a preacher – meditation, prayer,
and temptation.” – Martin Luther
B. The point I am making is this – The
Lord our God is in control of our temptations, just as fully as he is in
control of everything else in this world (I Cor. 10:13; I Thess. 5:16-24).
III.
Thirdly, our Lord’s example in this passage teaches us that The Best
Defence We Have In Times of Temptation Is The Word of God.
Three times satan tempted our Lord with great offers that strongly appealed to his human nature. But three times our Lord foil satan’s temptations by asserting some portion of Holy Scripture as his reason for not doing as the devil suggested. This is just one of many reasons why we ought to make ourselves intimately and constantly family with Holy Scripture. It is not enough to have a Bible. Read it! It is not enough to carry a Bible to church. Make yourself familiar with its contents. Seek to understand its doctrine.
“Knowledge of the Bible never comes
by intuition. It can only be got by hard, regular, daily, attentive, wakeful
reading.” – J.C. Ryle.
A. You cannot fight the good fight of faith if
you cannot use the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17).
B. You cannot walk in the King’s highway if you
do not walk by the light of His Word, which is “a lamp unto our feet and a
light unto our pathway” (Ps. 119:105).
IV. Above all else these eleven verses are
written to teach and assure us that We Have A Great High Priest In Heaven
Who Is touched With The Feeling Of Our Infirmities.
A. The Sympathy of The Lord Jesus With Us Is
A Truth Which Ought To Be Peculiarly Precious To Every Believer.
Here is a treasury of consolation
for tempted souls! We have a great, almighty Friend and Advocate in heaven, who
foils for us in all our temptations, is touched with our infirmities, and
enters into all our spiritual troubles and fears. Are you ever tempted by
satan…
· To Distrust God’s Providence? – So was Christ!
The Lord Jesus Christ is just the Savior that tempted
people’s need! Let us flee to him for help and spread our troubles before him.
You will always find that his ear is ready to hear, his heart is ready to feel,
and his arm is ready to help. He understands our sorrows, temptations, and
troubles!
B. Certain questions are constantly asked by
men when discussing the temptation of Christ, which I suppose I should answer.
1.
“Was it possible for
our Savior to have sinned?” – The answer is “No. Absolutely, No!” He was
without sin, without the ability to sin (Isa. 53:0; John 8:46; 14:30; II Cor.
5:21: Heb. 7:26).
2.
“If it was not possible
for the Lord to sin, was the temptations real?” – The answer is “Yes.
Absolutely, Yes!” (Heb. 4:15).
a. He heard satan’s voice.
b.
The things satan
tempted him with were things he desired.
c.
But there was no inward
urge or desire to disobedience and sin!
Illus: As
a trained musician is more sensitive to a tune, melody, or song that is off key
than others, so the holy Son of God was more sensitive to satan’s temptations
than we can ever imagine.
C. Notice for a moment the three things
satan tempted our Lord, as a man to do.
1. An Act of Unbelief – (vv. 3-4) – “A
true son will not doubt his father, and undertake to provide his own bread. He
will wait to be fed by his father’s hand.” – C.H. Spurgeon
2. An Act of Presumption – (vv. 5-8).
3.
An Act of Idolatry –
(vv. 8-10). Imagine that. Christ at
the devil’s feet. That is like the church and gospel of God being supported and
promoted by theatrical performances and bingo games rather than the naked truth
of God preached in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Illus: R.C’s Production!
Should we ever hunger and be
in poverty, as our Lord was, we must never yield to the temptation to do wrong
to gain wealth, honor, or even a pressing need! Though we may have to
endure seasons of apparent barrenness, the church of God must never seek to
advance Christ’s kingdom by any means other than simple gospel preaching after
the pattern of the New Testament!
D. As our Lord Jesus was tempted so we shall be.
Satan will not treat us better than he treated our Master. Believers often find evil thoughts rising in their minds which they truly hate, doubts and sinful imaginations against which we honestly revolt, and there is in us an ungodly nature that yearns for the very things we hate and revolt against.
1.
Our greatest
temptations will usually come after times of greatest privilege, communion, and
usefulness. So it was with our Lord.
2.
Even be aware of your
weakness in the flesh and your tendency to evil.
3.
Even keep in mind that
our peace and comfort is in Christ our Substitute, not in some imaginary,
inward, personal goodness!
V. He Who Was Tempted and Triumphant for Us
Will Also Cause Us To Be Triumphant Over The Tempter and His Temptations.