By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Sermon Text: Matthew 4:1-11
Sermon Theme
Jesus is sent deeper into the wilderness so that he can be tempted by Satan. The word used to describe Satan coming to Jesus is the same word used to describe the Wise Men coming to Jesus. In the course of being tempted Jesus undergoes the same trials that were faced by Israel in the wilderness. Where Israel failed, Jesus succeeded. Jesus was made perfect through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10). The same applies to us. Jesus triumphs over Satan and all his power. Through Jesus we share in the same triumph.
Sermon Outline
- Test When we think of God’s grace, salvation and help we rarely include the idea of testing. Yet God tests us. God the Father and the Holy Spirit test Jesus the Son of God (Matthew 4:1). Why is this? God is always gracious and merciful. Yet God desires us to belong to him. We live in a world where there is resistance to God. This resistance takes many forms but it is primarily spiritual. The ultimate question for us is, are we willing to follow the true God or will we turn away to the false gods all too present around us (Exodus 23:23-24)? We have already betrayed God through our sin. God desires that we love him with all our heart, mind and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5). God will therefore test us to see if we are truly committed to him. Jesus himself was tested (Matthew 4:1). Yet God will never allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (I Corinthians 10:13).
- Trial God tests us, Satan tries us. What is the difference? God puts us in the path of temptation to see if we really are committed to him. As part of our testing, God turns us over temporarily into the power of Satan. Satan however really seeks to corrupt us. This is not a truth we receive easily. We must recognize that to say that God is love (I John 4:16) also means that God is the ultimate lover. God desires that we love him in return. God risks the life of his only Son to secure our love (Romans 8:32). He does not give his love lightly nor does he take our love for granted. God desires us to be intimate with him (Deuteronomy 7:7-13, Jeremiah 31:3, John 17:23). This is an astounding statement. God redeems us from sin through Christ’s death and resurrection so that we can enjoy this intimacy with him (Ephesians 2:4-7). God wants to know that our love is real. He therefore allows Satan to come to us with all his illusions and false promises (James 1:2-4). God turns Job and David over to Satan (Job 2:6-7, II Samuel 24:1, I Chronicles 21:1). He places his Son in Satan’s path (Matthew 4:3). He will do the same to us.
- Triumph We will never know the joy of God’s presence until we turn away from Satan’s empty promises. This is the ultimate meaning of repentance. Israel faced three basic temptations in the wilderness. The first was material benefit (Deuteronomy 8:3). The second was seeking to control God (Numbers 20:2-13). The third was accepting the world without God (Deuteronomy 6:10-15). Israel failed every one of these tests. In contrast, Jesus passes all of them. He does this in two ways. First, he exposes Satan’s tactics, including Satan’s religious pretensions (Matthew 4:5-6). Second, he confronts Satan’s deceptive logic with the word of God (Matthew 4:4, 4:7, 4:10). Standing on that word he orders Satan to depart (Matthew 4:10). If we are to share Jesus’ triumph we need to see through Satan’s illusions and reject him according to God’s word (II Corinthians 2:11). Martin Luther King Jr. is a contemporary example of sharing this triumph. If we are truly committed to worshiping and serving God alone, Satan and all the forces of evil have no power over us (Ephesians 6:10-18).
Questions for Us
- James says that we should “consider it nothing but joy” when we face trials and testing of our faith (James 1:2-3). Why do you think he says this?
- The Biblical truth that God tests us in our faith is not one that we accept easily. Why do you think this testing is so important? What benefit does it give us?
- How do we recognize Satan’s temptations in our lives? What comfort do we receive from the fact that Satan is ultimately under God’s control? How important is it for us to know God’s word in times of spiritual trial?
