The Bible gives the record of what happened in that desolate place:**

Transcription

1 Title: JESUS PASSES THE TESTS OF TEMPTATION* Theme: The Holy Spirit of God forces the dear Son of God to a severe test of temptation to evil so that Jesus may prove he is able to save others from such tests. Bible Basis: Matthew 4:1-11, The Message Outline: Introduction and Bible readings about Jesus temptation 1. The meaning of Jesus 40-day period of fasting 2. The meaning of the temptations Jesus faced: A. Food or God s Word? B. Religious spectacle or obedience? C. Worship Satan and his power, or worship God? 3. Conclusion: Jesus passed the test of temptation Introduction: Today we will see the next big step in Jesus life before he began his teaching. In the last message we learned how John baptized Jesus. A voice from heaven spoke God s approval after the baptism, This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him. Space for Notes: (Yours and ours) *There is a second or alternative message about Jesus temptation, G3-b. We encourage you to study both messages and use ideas from each as you write your own messages. Please note that this message is longer than most messages. You may need to divide the main points of this message into more than one message. The people at the baptism heard the resounding declaration of who Jesus is. Jesus is now a public person. They surely thought, We know this Jesus. He is one of us. What does it mean when a voice from heaven affirms him as God s own Son? We are all children of Abraham and that means we are children of God. Is Jesus, the son of Mary, more than us? Jesus accepted the words of the voice from heaven. The Holy Spirit of God will put Jesus to the test to prove himself. The Spirit drove him out into the lonely wilderness high country where he would be alone for 40 days and 40 nights. There was no food for him there, no house, no people, maybe only a cave in which to sleep. There were wild animals that might attack him. The Bible gives the record of what happened in that desolate place:** Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, **Producers: if you translate these verses, the words in parenthesis are synonyms (similar words) for The Mes- Page 1

2 which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: Since you are God s Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread. Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy [in the Bible]: It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God s mouth. sage idiomatic English. Use the best colorful and vivid words in your own language.) For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, Since you are God s Son, jump. The Devil goaded [urged] him by quoting Psalm 91: He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won t so much as [will not] stub your toe on a stone. Jesus countered with another citation [quote] from Deuteronomy: Don t you dare test the Lord your God. The third test, the Devil took him on the peak [top] of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth s kingdoms [nations], how glorious they all were. Then he said, They re yours lock, stock, and barrel [all of them]. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they re yours. Jesus refusal was curt [brief]: Beat it, Satan! [leave!] He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness [undivided dedication]. The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus needs. Matthew 4:1-11, The Message 1. Why did Jesus eat nothing for 40 days and 40 nights? He was fasting which means he went totally without eating. Fasting is a Jewish religious custom. It is practiced by many religions. Jesus did it because he knew he was going to be tested severely. God gave him the opportunity to prove that he was worthy of being called the dear son of God. So like his fellow Jews he gave up eating altogether to show his love for God, to prepare for Satan s temptation, and to show the shame he would feel if he were to fail God. The people were eager to see who he really was, this dear son of God! They heard the words at his baptism. But what was the meaning? After the very long fast Jesus was extremely hungry. The devil came to him Page 2

3 to see if he could make him fail the test. What a showdown! Jesus, son of Mary and Son of God, against the fierce and wicked strategy of the enemy of God. There Jesus was, absolutely alone in agony and torment. His head throbbed from the pressure of forcing himself to resist eating anything that he might find in the wilderness. His stomach writhed in (was filled with) pain. In his mind he felt weak and ready to give up the fight. But in his heart he remained faithful to God his Father. Can you see the scene? Can you feel the tension? Do you understand the test? 2. Let s look at these three temptations again. What do they mean? A. The first temptation was food. Bread was the basic food for Jesus people. Jesus is the Son of God, but he is also the son of Mary. He is a working, eating human person who depends on food as all of us do. Now he needed it desperately. As Son of God he could produce bread easily as the Devil suggested. But he resisted. In so doing he proved that he is both human and divine, both son of man and Son of God. He resisted performing a quick miracle to satisfy his raging hunger. He put obedience to God before his own personal need. So Jesus passed test #1. And he did so by quoting from the older part of the Bible called the Old Testament. No one can live only on food. People need every word that God has spoken (v. 4 CEV). Food cannot satisfy all our desires. We always need God more than food. B. The second temptation was for Jesus to do something spectacular. The devil was pushing Jesus to show off before the people of Jerusalem by jumping off a very high place from their most holy temple.* The devil thought Jesus would accept that idea. Jesus could prove his power to his own people. They would accept him not just as the son of Joseph and Mary but as the Son of God. They would be convinced that he has great religious power. Jesus knew they wanted a deliverer (Messiah) like that. *The fall would be at least 50 feet, 15.5 meters, more than a five-story building.) Notice how the devil pressed his point, If you are God s Son, jump off! The devil appealed to a well-known verse in the Bible to convince Jesus that he should listen to him. God will give his angels orders about you. They will catch you in their arms, and you won t hurt your feet on the stones! (v.6 CEV) The devil uses the words of God wrongly. God promised his people that he would protect them from evil and great Page 3

4 dangers. He did not promise that he would save people from rash, foolish and reckless acts. The devil thought Jesus would think, How easy it would be for me to promptly prove to the whole world that I am really the beloved Son of God by a sudden, spectacular feat (act). Jesus reply to the devil was swift and to the point. Again he spoke known words from the Bible, Don t try to test the Lord your God. (v.7 CEV) The devil wanted Jesus to act like a religious wonder-worker that tries to prove he is genuine with showy acts in public. He also wanted to sabotage (undermine) the importance of the truth that Jesus was truly the son of Mary, a human being. Had Jesus used his miraculous powers to meet his own needs, he would cease to be human. He would be a superman who has no need to depend on God as we humans do. This would have been terrible. It means we could no longer look to him as our example of obedience. It means he could not represent us by dying for our sins on the cross. The devil could not deceive Jesus. Jesus passed the test. He remained who he was and is forever, a genuine person like you and me, and the Son of God. C. The third temptation was for Jesus to possess and begin to rule the world in a moment. This was a temptation for Jesus to exceed the grandeur and totalitarian (complete) control of the Roman Empire. If he could suddenly rule the whole world that would prove to everyone that he is really the Son of God! Just think, he would have all the power he wanted in a moment. He could convert the wilderness of his testing into a glorious capital city of a world empire. The devil made a fake offer. I will give all this to you if you will bow down and worship me. (v. 9 CEV) The devil was lying. He did not have that power. He does not now. But he tests people now with false offers just as he tempted Jesus. Jesus answer? Go away (Get out of here!), Satan! Worship the Lord your God and serve him only. (v. 10 CEV) That too is a word from God from the Old Testament in the Bible. And it is a word of God for each person in the world today, for you and me. We must worship only One God, the Father of Jesus Christ. Page 4

5 3. Conclusion: Jesus passed all three tests of temptation. How do we know that? The Bible says, The devil left Jesus and angels came to help him. Jesus established who he is both human and divine by passing the tests that were designed to see if he would fail. We should praise God that he did not fail. Because he did not fail, he is able to keep us from failing when we are tempted.* Soon after this Jesus began teaching and healing people. He announced to the world, God s time is now. God s new rule is in effect. Turn from sin, change your life, and believe the good news from God. We will learn more about that in the next messages. *Hebrews 4:15-16; Jude Friends, do you understand better now why Christians believe in Jesus? We invite you to believe in him too. He remained true to his purpose and call from God. For that reason he has the power to keep us from failing the tests and temptations that we face each day. Suggested Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I praise and honor you for resisting the temptations of the devil. I ask you to help me to pass the tests of life. I believe you can help me. Amen. Page 5