We are continuing in Matthew today.  Because starting fast tomorrow, want to leapfrog the Baptism of Jesus (catch next week) and look at Matthew 4, when, after a 40-day fast, Jesus is tempted by Satan in the wilderness – Matthew 4:1-11

 

V1 – “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil…” – we will see this next week in the baptism account, but Matthew is emphasizing here a Spirit-empowered life – When Jesus is baptized, the Spirit falls on him, and immediately begins to lead him – So important to remember that while Jesus was fully God, he was also fully man, and Jesus is showing us how to live a life led by the Holy Spirit.

 

We say this a lot, but a common misunderstanding of the American gospel is that salvation is a one-time event to keep me out of hell and help me become a better version of myself – in reality, when I say yes to Jesus, I receive the Holy Spirit inside of me, and now the goal of the spiritual life is to be led daily by the Spirit in the process of becoming like Jesus, meaning, I don’t decide in any situation what the right thing to do is, I listen and follow the leadership of the Spirit to tell me where to go and what to do – but look at where the Spirit led Jesus: INTO THE WILDERNESS…TO BE TEMPTED BY SATAN!

 

This goes back to the counter-intuitive Kingdom of God – The path to the way of Jesus will often look MUCH DIFFERENT than the intuitive path – in fact, the Spirit sometimes leads you into your own wilderness because these is something he is wanting to perfect in you – the word “tempted” here is synonymous with “tested” - James 1:2-4 – so it could be that overcoming temptation is synonymous to passing a test – At any rate, Jesus is showing us how to overcome temptation.

V2 – “AFTER fasting for 40 days and 40 nights…” – this is thrown out as an afterthought, but I want to press in here, in light of our upcoming season of fasting – If Jesus is being led by the Spirit, then I think we can conclude that he led him into a 40 day fast – but why? If the goal was to tempt or test him, then why would the Spirit want to weaken him before the test came? This helps frame the reason behind fasting. For most of us, the intuitive thought is if you skip a meal, you get HANGRY, so not eating for any long period of time would leave you in a weakened state – but here is the point of fasting: You replace food with God through prayer/word/worship – so, while you may be physically weakened, you are spiritually full – you become dependent on God to sustain you – so, after 40 days, Jesus was in the PERFECT POSITION for the enemy to test him!

 

Paul talks about his need for the strength in his weakness – thorn in flesh, begged God to take it from him - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 – part of fasting is you coming to the end of you – when you are at your weakest, God can show himself to be strongest.

 

Here, Jesus again is giving example of how to live in the Kingdom of God – In Jewish context, fasting was a common religious practice – in fact, in the SOM, Matthew 6:16, “When you fast…” – So, Jesus is setting the example that fasting is an expected part of the spiritual life, and not out of the ordinary – but in a broader context, Jesus is reversing the story of the Israelites, really of all humankind, through this story – from a Jewish perspective, his 40 days in the wilderness represented the 40 years the Israelites spent in the wilderness – If you were with us during our study of Hebrews, main point was that JESUS IS BETTER – Here, Jesus is the BETTER MOSES - His response to temptation was to quote Deuteronomy, some of the last words of Moses before he died and the torch was passed to Joshua – The Israelites had failed miserably in the wilderness, and now Jesus would reverse that trend symbolically by overcoming temptation.

 

In a broader sense, Jesus is reliving and reversing the curse of Genesis 3 – where Adam failed through succumbing to temptation, Jesus will now OVERCOME temptation – 1 Cor 15:21-22 – BETTER ADAM - Let’s look more closely at three temptations.

 

V3-4 – “if you are the Son of God…” – end of chapter 3, 3:17, when Jesus is baptized, “This is my beloved son…” – Satan knew who Jesus was – does the enemy know your name? If you are following Jesus, expect the enemy to come after you – first temptation: Turn stones to bread – Jesus was hungry, and the temptation was for Jesus to fulfill his own need – but Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:2-3 – Jesus is saying that God is his sustainer – David says in Psalm 63:3-5 that God is his all-sufficiency, and now the BETTER DAVID.

 

When I map out the path to falling into sin, it’s easy to see what preceded it: a lack of intimacy with Jesus – When I am not close to Jesus, I will seek to fulfill my own needs EVERYTIME – don’t drift toward holiness – what preceded Jesus’ temptation? 40 days of fasting and prayer.

 

V5-7 – again, attacking him in his identity – wants him to prove himself in a way that will bring himself glory – and look: Satan is crafty – “Oh, we’re quoting scripture now? Ok, let me throw some scripture at you” – quotes Psalm 91:11-12  - But Jesus responds with scripture, again out of Deuteronomy 6:16 – The enemy was telling Jesus, “If you are who you say you are, prove it” – Jesus did, but not in the way we would like it – for you and me, you prove Jesus is Lord in your life, not by miraculous signs and wonders – although that happens sometimes – but by his ability to keep you from succumbing to the enemy’s temptation to get you playing hero ball.

 

V8-10 – This one is actually kind of funny to me – Satan is offering Jesus THE WORLD – Problem is, he is offer Jesus something he ALREADY OWNS – Colossians 1:15-16 – the CREATED is offering something to the CREATOR – and of course Jesus responds with Deuteronomy 6:13 – “Worship God and him only” -  For you, often the enemy will offer you your own kingdom, financial gain, relational fulfillment, some sort of earthly validation, but in Jesus, he is offering you something that YOU ALREADY OWN  - Romans 8:17, Co-HEIRS with CHRIST – In Jesus, you have already inherited a KINGDOM – Jesus said in Matthew 5:5, the meek INHERIT the EARTH – those who live in quiet strength, knowing who you are in Jesus and who you worship, and YOU INHERIT THE EARTH.

 

V11 – Satan had no choice but to leave – James 4:7 – resist the devil and he will flee – but don’t forget the first part: SUBMIT TO GOD – submission and worship precedes BREAKTHROUGH – if you aren’t daily submitted to God, don’t be surprised when you succumb to temptation.

 

 

Close: So, here are a few things to think about as we enter into this season of fasting:

 

1. Fasting breeds intimacy with God. Jesus was submitted to God BEFORE the temptation – for many of you, you are living in shame, consistently losing to the enemy, but you are living in daily submission to Jesus – This next 21 days can be a great next step for you – “Let every heart prepare him room” – James 4:8, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you” – actually, draw near to God and you’ll find he’s already near to you.

 

2. If you are following Jesus, EXPECT to be ATTACKED. Are you dangerous to the enemy? Today, expect the enemy to convince you that you are fine just like you are, or that you are too far gone – in reality, the closer you get to Jesus, the more he’s going to come after you – 2 Timothy 3:12 - Does the enemy know who you are?

 

3. The WORD of GOD is your GREATEST WEAPON. Remember, we pray it every week – Hebrews 4:12 says the WORD is sharper than any two-edged sword – Psalm 119:11, “I have hidden your word in my heart…” – Psalm 119:105, lamp to my feet, light to my path – scripture memory

 

I challenge you to take these 21 days seriously – find your rhythm in fasting, develop a resolve to draw near to Jesus, expect oppostition, memorize and meditate on scripture until it becomes a part of you, and watch what God will do.