Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by the Devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he ate nothing and became very hungry. 3 Then the Devil came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, change these stones into loaves of bread."

4 But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say,

'People need more than bread for their life;

they must feed on every word of God.'   " 

5 Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,

'He orders his angels to protect you.

And they will hold you with their hands

to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.'   " 

7 Jesus responded, "The Scriptures also say, 'Do not test the Lord your God.'   " 

8 Next the Devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the world and all their glory. 9 "I will give it all to you," he said, "if you will only kneel down and worship me."

10 "Get out of here, Satan, “Jesus told him. "For the Scriptures say,

'You must worship the Lord your God; serve only him.'   " 

11 Then the Devil went away, and angels came and cared for Jesus. (NLT)

 

Jesus was tempted in three ways and we too are tempted in these three ways as well.

The first temptation is “the lust of the flesh.” Satan offered Jesus food, food to nourish the fleshly body and to miss use the power given to Him. But Jesus’ response was with the Word of God “they must feed on every word of God.” God already knows what our bodies need for food and He provides that for you, but what you need more than that is Spiritual Food. Spiritual food is more important to you then food for the flesh. Eat up the spiritual food of the word of God for it is good for you and more plentiful than earthly food.

God allows us to go through trials to refine us into who God intended us to be. If we fail a trial God helps us to go through this trail again, as the saying goes “take another lap around Mount Sinai.” It took the Israelites 40 years to learn God’s lessons -- hopefully it does not take us that long.

Satan also asked Christ to use His power to change the rocks into food. We have power in Christ and we are to use this to His Glory. We are not to misuse the power and gifts that God has given us. We are not to use them on ourselves but to use them to point people to Jesus and to Glorify Him.

Feast on the Word of God and it will satisfy you.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ