Matthew

Matthew 4:1-11

[1] Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
[2] And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
[3] And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
[4] But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
[5] Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
[6] And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
[7] Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
[8] Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
[9] And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
[10] Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
[11] Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Our Lesson Text tells the story of Christ’s temptation in the wilderness after His baptism by John the Baptist. After John baptized Him, Christ immediately went into the desert, known int eh Scripture as a wilderness. Notice in verse 1 that Satan did not lead Him into the wilderness. The spirit led Him. He fasted during the time He was in the wilderness, a period of forty days. Satan came to Him in His weakened fleshly state and tempted Him.

Satan Misrepresents the scripture

Each time Satan tempted Christ, Christ responded by saying, “It is written.” This statement means that the Old Testament taught lessons that covered everything Satan attempted to misrepresent or destroy. Satan knew the writings of the Old Testament.

Satan misquoted the Scripture intentionally. He does the same to you and me. How often are we mislead or we mislead others if we argue or agree the Bible teaches something it does not teach? For example, some people teach that baptism is necessary for salvation. The Bible does not teach this doctrine. Still others teach that salvation is not complete until the convert makes a public statement. Who causes misquotes of the Scripture? God is not the author of confusion. Therefore, Satan puts in the minds of men misquotes form the Scripture that can doom them to hell. Other misquotes may cause the true believers to waver their influences with those around them.

Satan used the same method on Jesus without success. Jesus made the statement, “It is written” three times during His temptation. Each time He rebutted Satan’s attempt to get Him to deny God.

The First Time

The first time Satan approaches Christ and attempts to convince Him to change the stones to bread so He might have food to eat. Christ counteracts his attempt with God’s message to Israel form Deuteronomy 8:3 that states, “And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know, that he might make thee known that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”

The Second Time

The second time Satan tempts Christ to put Himself in the hands of the angels as is mentioned in Psalm 91:11 that states, “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” Remember that Satan is an angel. He knows the power of angels, having been an angel of God at one time. Christ rebuts with Moses’ statement to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 6:16 that says, “Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.”

The Third Time

The third and final time that Satan approaches Christ during this period of temptation, he promised Him the kingdoms of the world. The kingdoms do not belong to Satan but we know that many kingdoms are under his control. Christ resists his last attempt by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13 that tells us, “Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.”

Conclusion

We must remember those things written in the Scripture. They are the things that help us to follow the leadership tf the Holy Spirit. We must always remember that Jesus Christ makes the difference. Many religionists reference God in their statements. Mentioning God does not ruffle very many feathers. The mention of Jesus Christ inflames those who deny Him. We can mention God without incident form the Jews and Muslims. However, they are indifferent to Jesus Christ. The New Age doctrine sounds close to ours until you examine it against the Scriptures. You then find that Satan is still busy misquoting Scripture inaccurately and incompletely. He still deceives. We must be able to recognize his deception and charisma so we can resist when they come our way.

Study References: Matthew 22:29; II Corinthians 4:2; II Peter 3:16; Matthew 2:4-6; Matthew11:10; Mark 7:6; Luke 2:23; Luke 21:22; John 12:12-16; Acts 1:15-20

Food for thought – “ Do we remember the fact that “It is written’ when Satan tempts us to break the rules and deny Jesus Christ?”