Matthew 4 Temptation of Jesus and Ministry of Jesus

SLIDE 1 David Guzik shares the remarkable contrast between the glory following Jesus' baptism and the challenge to be tempted by the devil.

·        Then the cool waters of the Jordan; now the barren wilderness.

·        Then the huge crowds; now solitude and silence.

·        Then the Spirit rests like a dove; now the Spirit drives Him into the wilderness.

·        Then the voice of the Father calling Him "Beloved Son"; now the hiss of Satan the tempter.

·        Then anointed; now attacked.

·        Then the water of baptism; now the fire of temptation.

·        First the heavens opened; now hell.

SLIDE 2 No sooner had Jesus walked away from the Jordan River than the Holy Spirit led Him into the desert for a 40 day fast. Others in the Old Testament fasted to appease the Lord or to seek wisdom. Moses fasted twice for forty days and nights, while in the desert. David fasted for the life of his child. Elijah and Esther and Ezra and Daniel also fasted. Darius was a pagan king yet he fasted while Daniel was in the lion’s den. To me the most notable fast was the entire city of Nineveh and their King. After Jonah’s deadline of 40 days they put on sack cloth and ashes fasting before a holy God hoping He would relent from their destruction. Fasting is one thing CBS encourages for their leaders. A fast is an excellent way to focus fully on God in prayer.

SLIDE 3 Jesus is Ready

·        Testing in every way

·        Speaking the Word of God

·        Beginning His ministry

Jesus was temped in all ways as we are yet he was without sin.

Matthew 4: ¹Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.²And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

SLIDE 4 Forty is a number that comes quite often in the Old Testament. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights in the days of Noah. Moses was 40 when he fled Egypt, the Lord took 40 more years preparing Moses to return, and the Israelites spent 40 years roaming the desert. There are others but let’s take a better look at Jesus.

This week-end as you take time to read your commentary, notice “The Greek word translated “tempted” means “to test, scrutinize, examine, prove, tempt, or try.” The Greek term for “devil” means “one who accuses or slanders.” So the Holy Spirit directed Jesus to the wilderness for an encounter with one who accuses and slanders. This tempting tested Jesus, tried Him, showed what He is made of, and proved His character.”  But never forget Jesus was temped in all ways as we are yet he was without sin.

SLIDE 5 In the next few verses Satan is called the tempter and the devil. How foolish to think he could compete with the Son of God. Many of us grew up thinking of the devil as red, ugly, with horns and a tale. In a few weeks we will see costumes like this. But ladies when the devils tempts us he is handsome, alluring, and oh so charming. He seeks to deceive us and he is the father of lies.

SLIDE  6 ³"If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."

Jesus was hungry, very hungry. He was tired and thirsty. Yet Jesus would not be tricked into using his power to feed himself. Later we will see Jesus feed thousands from a few loaves and fishes.

The devil says “if you are the Son of God…” Jesus did not have to debate or have a competition to prove his power.  As we compare other gospels we see in John 1:32, 34  John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.” And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

Jesus used the Holy Word of God to answer the tempter ⁴ "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Jesus was temped in all ways as we are yet he was without sin.

The Word of God is effective and powerful. We would do well to remember that when we are tempted. The Holy Spirit will bring things to our remembrance. The name of Jesus will make demons cringe.

SLIDE 7 ⁵Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple. This was probably 500 ft. This interpretation of John Tissot a French artist illustrates the scene. I almost discarded it because Satan was portrayed larger than Jesus but size does not necessarily show power. Look at David and Goliath.

^6… "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.'"  Satan used scripture but he left out a phrase. Just as in the Garden of Eden the tempter knows scripture he can twist and turn it until it sounds true. When we are tempted we need to study the scripture, wear our spiritual armor and claim Jesus as our defender.

Psalm 91 is a wonderful psalm though we do not know the author. It is one of my favorite psalms of comfort and promise. Spurgeon thinks it was Moses who wrote the previous Psalms. This would be fitting for Moses to pray over the Israelites. Read it when you get home. It is truly a blessing.

¹ The one who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
³ He Himself will deliver you from the hunter’s net,
from the destructive plague.
⁴ He will cover you with His feathers;
you will take refuge under His wings.
His faithfulness will be a protective shield. HCSB

⁷    Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

As we will see later in this chapter Jesus will perform miracles, but not at the demand of Satan. He does not have to prove himself to a fallen angel.

SLIDE 9 ⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.⁹And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

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.'"

There will come a day when at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:10-11

Jesus was temped in all ways as we are yet he was without sin.

SLIDE 10 ¹¹Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Hungry, tired, and weak from lack of food, God sent angels to care for Him. Throughout the Bible God has used angels as messengers, warriors, and protectors.  Jesus defeated Satan by the power of the WORD. He is our example.

SLIDE11 Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

 "But let us do what we will, we shall be tempted. God had one Son without sin, but he never had a son without temptation." (Spurgeon)

Jesus was temped in all ways as we are yet he was without sin.

SLIDE 12 Jesus begins his ministry

12-15 After John had been arrested, Jesus withdrew into Galilee and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, (to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah)

SLIDE 13 ¹⁶the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned."

¹⁷From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Echoing the same message of John the Baptist, however Jesus went to the temple and read from the scriptures, he preached the gospel of salvation, and he healed many people.

SLIDE 14 Where would you go to find disciples? Usually disciples would come to a great teacher, sit at his feet listening, and ask to follow him and learn from his teachings. Jesus was unlike any other teacher or prophet. He chose His disciples. Jesus’ disciples were from all walks of life - fishermen, political activists, tax collectors, common people and uncommon leaders, rich and poor, educated and uneducated.

¹⁸While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

SLIDE 15  ¹⁹And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." ²⁰Immediately they left their nets and followed him. We heard the word immediately quite a bit in Mark so you may hear comments when we emphasize Immediately.

Ladies if God has asked you to follow him would you immediately stop whatever you are doing and attend to the task. Do not compare yourself to another person but hold yourself up to the example of Jesus. Do we offer our best to the Master?
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.2 Tim. 2:15

SLIDE 16  ²¹And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.²²Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

One of your questions asked how we thought Zebedee reacted. I’m thinking how did Peter’s wife react? (We learn in Mark that Jesus healed his mother-in-law.)

SLIDE 17  In Matthew 4:19 Jesus calls  “Come, follow me,…I will make you fishers of men.” I enjoy wearing the CBS logo jewelry and when I get compliments it gives me a chance to share about CBS.

Community Bible Study chose a double fish for its logo. The top, slightly larger fish represents Jesus Christ, our Saviour. The Mission of the ministry is to make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ so the lower fish symbolizes a disciple of Jesus. The larger fish can also represent the mature believer discipling a new believer. The double fish also communicates the idea of Christians in community.

SLIDE 18  Jesus went about teaching, preaching, and healing all manner of sickness and disease. ²³And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

²⁴So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons

 Jesus was temped in all ways as we are yet he was without sin. Who better to cast out demons? … epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.

SLIDE 19 ²⁵    And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

In CBS we are fishers of women. Just like your favorite brand of detergent or your favorite place to eat. We want to share a good thing with those we love.

As disciple-makers, we must be willing to help others experience Jesus. In the first chapter of John Andrew, one of John the Baptist’s disciples, “found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ).”⁴²He brought him to Jesus.

Jesus was temped in all ways as we are yet he was without sin.

SLIDE 20 Will you strive to be more like Jesus? Would you allow Jesus to shine through you?