In Matthew 4, the Holy Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness to be tempted. Curious. What the devil meant for evil, God the Father intended to use to refine. After fasting 40 days, Jesus was hungry. Of course He was. So the tempter decided to capitalize on that and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” On the surface, this seems to be about food. But I believe the food is masking a deeper issue. At second glance, this taunt begins with an enticement to pride. The devil is almost challenging Jesus to prove He is the Son of God. Something as simple as turning stones to bread would be easy for the Son of God. Maybe so, but a misuse of power wouldn’t indicate a reliance on God the Father, which is Jesus’ strength in this temptation and a great example for those of us called to follow Him. More on that in a sec. And though Jesus acknowledges that food is a legitimate need, He states that every word of Scripture is necessary for life! True life does not exist outside of the Scriptures. Those not living by the Word of God are “dead men (and women) walking.” Are you living according the Scriptures? I recently bumped into Psalm 8, which speaks about wisdom. We get wisdom from Scripture. We see Jesus quote the wisdom of Scripture through all three temptations.
OK. I said I’d get back to this. Another nuance behind this first test is that it’s a temptation to take matters into your own hands rather than rely on God. Jesus was fasting. Fasting focuses us on God, hopefully. The devil hoped that hunger or the challenge to Jesus’ authority might make Him act on His own behalf. But Jesus’ dependence on the Father is solid!
In the second test, the devil took Jesus to the highest point of the temple and said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down for it is written ‘He will command His angels concerning you, they will lift you up so you will not strike your foot on a stone.” Jesus responds by saying, “Don’t put the Lord your God to the test.” Hallelujah! Don’t let people bait you into doing anything foolish or reckless. Know God’s character. Respect His ways. Don’t try to manipulate Him.
Finally, the devil takes Jesus to a very high mountain to show Him all the kingdoms of the world. He promised to give them all to Jesus if He would bow down and worship the devil. Jesus told the devil to get away from Him and quoted another Scripture, which said to worship the Lord and serve Him only. How often are you tempted to take the easy way out? Do you take shortcuts to avoid suffering? Jesus, in effect, said He would rather have all the kingdoms WITH the cross than without it! Without the cross, having all the kingdoms wouldn’t matter because fellowship with the Father wouldn’t be restored to any of the people in any of those kingdoms! Jesus decided to do things God’s way, not the easy way! Thank you, Jesus!!!
When all the testing was done, the angels did come and attend to Jesus. Not exactly the way the devil said… Isn’t that the way he works, though? He makes promises that aren’t exactly what they seem to be. The cost is higher. The pleasure is less. Don’t fall for his lies.
Continuing on, Jesus heard John the Baptist was imprisoned, and He withdrew to Galilee. He lived in Capernaum by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali. This fulfilled a prophecy from Isaiah. Jesus, the Light of the world, brought light to that place and those people. He entrusted the gospel message to those He would call, beginning with Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John, who immediately dropped their nets and followed the Lord. I want my response to God to be immediate. But sometimes, I’m a little slow on the uptake.
Little by little, word about Jesus, His teaching and miracles spread and people flocked to Him. His words, His actions, His very presence is a soothing balm. Like parched earth receiving rain. Only Jesus was pouring living water on these thirsty souls! Do you know Him as your Savior? If not, please comment so I can pray for you and answer any questions you may have.
(the Homiletics below led me to the thoughts above)
Content (not
sentence, direct verbiage from Scripture, fit on one line):
1.J led by Spirit wilderness tempted by devil; after
fasting 40d/n, hungry(4:1-2)
2.tempter:if you SoG, tell stones become bread(4:3)
3.J:it written ’Man live bread alone but every
word from mouth G’(4:4)
4.devil took Him holy city stand highest pt temple;if you
SoG throw self down(4:5-6a)
5.it written ‘He cmd angels concerning you,lift you up, strike
foot against stone’(4:6b)
6.J:also written ‘put L to test’(4:7)
7.devil took Him very high mt showed all
kingdoms/splendor(4:8)
8.all this I give you if you bow/worship me;J:away Satan!
It written ‘worship L serve Him only(4:9-10)
9.devil left, angels came attended Him(4:11)
10.J heard Jn prison withdrew Galilee; lived Capernaum by
lake area Zebulun/Naphtali(4:12-13)
11.fulfill Isaiah:land Zeb/Naph,beyond Jordan,Galilee-ppl
living dkness seen great light(4:14-16)
12.J began preach: Repent,koH near(4:17)
13.J walking beside Sea Galilee,saw Simon (Peter)
Andrew,fishermen;come follow fish ppl(4:18-19)
14.at once followed;saw James John,boat fr Zebedee,J
called them;immed left,followed(4:20-22)
15.J went Galilee teaching,proclaiming gd
news,healing(4:23)
16.news spread,ppl brought
ill/suffering/demon-possessed/seizures/paralyzed,He healed(4:24)
17.Lg crowds Galilee,Decapolis,Jerus,Judea,region across
Jordan followed(4:25)
Divisions (run-on
sentence OK, direct verbiage from Scripture/Principles are Aims for each
Division – a truth about God, a truth about man, a truth about God’s
relationship to man; a sin to avoid,
promise to trust, example to follow, command to obey, truth to believe):
1.Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness
(Matthew 4:1-11)
Principle: God’s Word
helps people withstand temptation.
2.Jesus withdrew to Galilee and men began to follow Him
(Matthew 4:12-25)
Principle: God’s Word
draws people to follow Jesus.
Subject Sentence (10-word
sentence with proper structure showing exactly where you are in Scripture):
Jesus was tempted and men began to follow Him.
Aim (“To Cause My
Audience To…” Know, See, Learn, Understand, etc.):
TCMATL Jesus understands temptation because He was
tempted and He is worthy of us following Him.
Application (not
yes or no question. Meant to bring about
heart change):
1.What Scriptures are you clinging to right now to combat
temptation? What is your plan to
withstand temptation before setting out to do God’s work?
2.What Scriptures are bringing light and comfort to your
life and drawing you to Jesus? What
Scriptures are encouraging or challenging you to follow Jesus?
The Big Idea (author’s
main purpose in writing; the one thing all the other things in the passage is
about; if you couldn’t talk about it, you would still understand the passage is
trying to convey this):
Scripture is key to Christian life.
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