Today’s Reading: Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. – Matthew 4:1

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. God was not tempting Jesus but He was allowing Jesus to go through a time of temptation, just as He allows us to experience temptation.

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. – James 1:13-14

By fasting through this time of temptation, Jesus was showing his intention to depend on God and God only for his strength. He was giving God his full attention, away from the distractions of his daily life and away from the satisfactions of the earth’s nourishments.

Jesus was able to say no to temptation because his focus was on God. Knowing Jesus would be hungry, Satan tried to play on this weakness in order to take advantage of his vulnerability, just as Satan tempts us where we are the most vulnerable or weak.

During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” – Matthew 4:3-4

When I am hungry, I must admit that it affects my mood. When my blood sugar is off and I am starting to feel shaky, it impacts my emotions and my logical train of thought. I am not my best self when I have ignored my need for food. But the same can also be said about my need for time in God’s word. When I have rushed through my devotional time or started my day without allowing God’s Spirit to satisfy my deepest hunger through the scriptures, it throws my whole day off. I can make it through a day without food but I cannot make it a minute without the sustaining grace of my Lord Jesus Christ.

Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God. – Matthew 4:5-7

Satan starts this second attempt to bring down Jesus by challenging his identity. If you are the Son of God; if you are who you say you are. How often do Satan’s attacks on our faith start by casting doubt on who Jesus is and who we are in Him? If he can get us to lose confidence that Jesus is exactly who he said he was, if he can get us to question the authenticity of scripture, he knows he can begin to chip away at our own identity. And once we begin to lose focus on who God created us to be, we begin to let the world define us outside of the truth found in scripture.

Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”
“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’” – Matthew 4:8-10

Here we see evidence of Satan’s attempts to negotiate with us in order to get us to compromise our faith. “I will…if you will…” He uses empty promises and false expectations to cloud our perspective and weaken our resolve. He wants us to think about the possibilities of earthly gain if we switch our loyalties from the God who promises eternal reward to the world that offers temporary pleasure. If Satan can influence the desires of our heart, he can distract us from our focus on the desire of God’s heart.

So what is a helpful takeaway from these last two days of studying the temptation of Jesus? If we want to be prepared for Satan’s next attempt to distract or dissuade us, then let’s focus on how Jesus handled temptation. His response to each of the temptations was to quote Scripture, a great model for how we can handle temptation.

So if God’s word sustains us through the difficult times, shouldn’t we spend time in His presence soaking in God’s truth? Shouldn’t we study the word and be prepared by knowing the scripture in order to be equipped to use them when the moment of temptation arrives? Doesn’t it make sense to take the extra step of memorizing verses so that we can easily recall them in our moment of need?

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” – Matthew 26:41

This is great advice straight from the mouth of Jesus. Watch and pray. Stay on guard, pay attention. Know when you are being tempted to respond to life’s circumstances in ways outside of the Spirit’s guidance. Pray for the presence of God to strengthen you and for His Spirit to daily prepare you for Satan’s attempts to distract or destroy you.

Father God, we ask that your Spirit would lead us through the times in our lives when we are tempted to find satisfaction in the things of this world. Remind us that the things of this world can only sustain us for a short time. Help us to rest in the knowledge that your living water can quench our thirst so that we never go thirsty again. Give us eyes to see the areas of our life in which we are focused too much on the taste of earth’s pleasures. Fill us with the sweet aroma of your presence and satisfy us with the taste of your scriptures. Lord, affirm our identity in you this morning. Give us confidence in who you are and who you created us to be. Prepare us for the temptation to negotiate and compromise. May our heart reflect the desires of your heart today as we place our confidence in you. Amen.