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Matthew 4:1-11—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 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 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.’”

⁵ 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.’ ”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again 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 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.’”

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

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Find a Bible, and open it to 1 Jn. 2:16, the ESV translates it this way,”For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” Notice how that follows the pattern of our Old Testament text: Gen. 3:6, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food [desires of the flesh], and that it was a delight to the eyes [desires of the eyes], and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise [pride of life]…”

Notice that because that same pattern is followed in the three temptations in our Gospel text.

Today’s Gospel text comes immediately after the account of Jesus’ baptism. The Holy Spirit who had descended upon Jesus like a dove now leads Jesus up into the wilderness in order to be tempted by the devil. Jesus looks wholly unprepared for this battle with Satan. Jesus does not go out with legions of angels to face Satan. He doesn’t even go out with His little, loyal band of disciples. Jesus is in the wilderness with no gear to help Him build shelter and find food. Jesus doesn’t even eat; instead, He fasts forty days and forty nights. In the wilderness, He is exposed and vulnerable.

But in reality, Jesus is playing offense. Jesus enters the wilderness with the only weapon that will have any effect against sin, death, and the devil. He goes out armed with the Father’s words recorded just before our text (Mt. 3:17), “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Satan comes to cast doubt on those very words of God. “If You are the Son of God.” This is the very same trick of the devil in the Garden of Eden. Gen. 3:1, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” Satan seeks to arouse the desires of the flesh in order to cause doubt upon the Word of God.

Satan’s words to both Eve and Jesus sound good and right, “Doesn’t God want you to have food? Do you think that if God really loved you that you go through life hungry like this?” Eve fell for the trick, and she dragged all of us into bondage from which we will never set ourselves free. But Jesus, faced with the same temptation, comes out victorious.

Jesus takes what is wrong with us – our mistrust in God’s provision, our unbelief that God will care for us, and our doubt in the promises of God – and strikes back with the promise of God, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Jesus triumphs over the desires of the flesh.

Satan takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the Temple and tries to cast doubt upon the Word of God again, “If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. God won’t let You get hurt. He will send His angels to protect You since You are so important.” Satan seeks to stir up the desires of the eyes. Satan tempts Jesus to see if God will really protect Him.

Jesus, again, takes what is wrong with us – our desires to see some fantastic miracle, our desires to see God act in some special way towards us – and He strikes back with the Word of God, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the text.” Jesus triumphs over the desires of the eyes.

Satan then takes Jesus to a mountain to show Him all the kingdoms of this world and their glory. Satan tells Jesus, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Satan seeks to stir up the pride of life. Satan tells Jesus, “You can be king of the lot, Jesus. All the power that is mine I will put at Your disposal. The two of us together can hardly fail, if You will only do things a bit more my way” (Nagel).

But Jesus, again, takes what is wrong with us – our pride, our desire to be like God and control our own destiny – and strikes back with the Word of God, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’“ Jesus triumphs over the pride of life.

Your Savior triumphs over the devil, the world, and sin. You have a Messiah who defeats the desires of the flesh, who casts down the desires of the eyes, who is victorious over the pride of life. And He does it all for you.

Do you see what Jesus did by winning this battle against Satan? He completely reversed the Fall of Adam and Eve. Our Epistle text (Ro. 5:12-19) says that Adam was a type of the One who was to come; that’s Jesus, the new Adam who brings life to all mankind. Look at Ro. 5:18 and let me fill in a few of the blanks there, “As Adam’s trespass led to condemnation for all men, so Christ’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.”

Christ has defeated the enemy; He has crushed Satan’s head. And Jesus’ victory is your victory. Everything that Christ has done is credited to your account as though you have done it yourself.

You will be tempted, and you will fall into sin. However, when you fall prey to the temptations of sin flee to Jesus who has already defeated Satan. Repent and return to Christ. “[Jesus] who was tempted for you is never tempted to turn you away. [Jesus’] baptism is your baptism, His conquering of sin is your conquering of sin, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His ascension are all yours. What belongs to the Head belongs to the body, and you are the body of Christ” (Chad Bird). Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.