The Obedient Son (Matthew 4:1-11)
Here’s my message from January 23rd, 2022. Here I look at Christ’s temptation. You can find the audio and video here. You can also subscribe to the podcast here.
Now today, when you hear the initials MJ, your mind might immediately go to Spiderman movies. If that’s the case, I won’t judge you too much. But to most Americans, and certainly sports fans, their minds immediately go to Michael Jordan, who is absolutely, unequivocally the greatest basketball player of all time. But perhaps more often, he’s still referred to by just one name, by Jordan. But back in the day, there was even a time when you could just say “Mike” and people knew who you were talking about.
Back in the early 90s, a series of Gatorade commercials featured children playing basketball with his Airness himself. And ringing in the background were these words: “Like Mike. If I could be like Mike.” Now I had grown up a coach’s son. I’d been a gym rat, for sure. But unfortunately one who jumped like a rodent. With the speed of a turtle. But by that time, I had taken my talents to the rec center here at Mizzou.
And I remember one time playing a pick up game with one of our best Tiger players of all time, who’d later even play in the NBA. He actually passed me the ball. And I promptly blew the layup. He gave me this scowl that made me want to flee to the bathroom. But I had given up a long time ago the prospect of ever “being like Mike.” No matter how much I practiced, I wasn’t fast. I couldn’t jump. It was like my Jordans were nailed to the floor.
“Be like Mike.” That’s how we can so often read passages in the Bible - and especially like this one today - as this call to be like someone we feel like we could never be. Being like Mike is hard. How could we ever be like Jesus?
But I want you to hear this morning, that these words in front of us actually bring us a lot of hope. Here’s the big idea I want you to leave with today: fight temptation in the power of Him who defeated it. Let’s jump into the passage.
What We See Happen
Let’s start, first, by taking a look at what we see happen here. Now, truly, this is one of those passages we could spend weeks on. Entire books have been written about it. We’re going to have to move through it quickly. But, as we do, I want us to understand what it’s truly about.
Verse 1 tells us that the same Spirit - the One who’d just anointed Jesus at His baptism - leads him out “into the wilderness” - into the desert. Now the wilderness wasn’t just a place marked by physical danger - exposed to the elements, susceptible to the animals. It was also known to be dangerous spiritually - associated for demonic activity in the Bible, in that culture. The Father who’d just expressed His love and approval of His Son allows Him to be thrown right away into harm’s way.
What makes things even more perilous is the fact He’s not even eating any food. Verse 2 tells us Jesus fasts for “forty days and forty nights.” And, therefore, He’s “hungry.” You think? He’s in solitude, no doubt seeking out communion with His Father. That’s fasting - as it functions in Scripture - going without food so as to focus on prayer. But, as we’ll see, it’s clear there’s something much bigger going on here.
There, in the wilderness, the Lord is no doubt weak. And it says in verse 3 that the tempter, Satan, comes to Him. Verse 1 says that’s the Spirit’s purpose - that He’d “be tempted by the devil.” Now we’re not sure here exactly in what form Satan comes to Jesus. But he does. And the Enemy here asks the questions. And Jesus responds. But it’s the Lord here who’s clearly on the offensive - beginning His ministry by walking boldly into the desert, taking our enemy head-on, going to battle for us. More than that a bit later.
What we see here are these three famous sentences Satan uses to try to tempt Jesus - the first two that include the words, “if you are the Son of God.” Again, God the Father had just spoken those words over Him at His baptism. Satan comes at Jesus and says, “Do you really believe that? That He loves you? That His will is best for you? Are you really going to do His will?”
We see the first temptation in verses 3 and 4: The Enemy says, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Now we may think of the desert as full of sand or maybe cacti, or the wilderness as thick with trees and brush. But there in the Middle East, there would have been rocks everywhere. The devil tempts Jesus: if you’re really God’s Son, and you’re that hungry, grab some of those stones and say the word. And your problem will be over. What are you waiting for?”
And, yes, Jesus could have done that. He had the ability, at least. But He counters Satan’s challenge with the first of three quotes from Deuteronomy, from chapter 8, verse 3. Jesus says, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Moses is telling God’s people - way back then - that more than they need to eat, they need to listen - to the word of God - and obey what it says. And Jesus here affirms to Satan that that’s what He wants most of all.
I love the outline Russell Moore uses - who’s written an entire book on this passage. He says Satan’s temptations are toward consumption, security, and status. The Enemy’s trying to get Jesus to go against His Father’s plan and just eat up. But the Lord trusts His Father to sustain Him - and to satisfy Him during this trial.
The second temptation we see in verses 5 through 7. The devil takes Jesus to the highest point of the temple, built on the holy city on the hill. Pointing down to the valley below, Satan says, in verse 6:
Matt. 4:6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
“If you’re God’s Son, just jump,” he says. “Don’t you believe He’s your dad? If He is, won’t He protect you? Prove it - to me - and to you.” This time, Satan quotes Scripture. He knows that’s important to Jesus, so he tries to use it against Him. To misapply them. It’s a trick the Enemy very much still uses today. Here he quotes Psalm 91. And because it’s Scripture, they’re true words - for sure. God will use His angels to protect those who are is.
But Jesus really believes that. That His security rests in His Father’s care. And He knows Scripture says He shouldn’t try to test that. Here Christ quotes Deuteronomy 6:16, where Moses tells God’s people never to do that - remembering back to the time of Israel’s desert trial. Where they demanded that God prove His care. By giving them water back in Exodus 17. Jesus says He won’t do this. He doesn’t need to do this. He trusts in His Father’s care and will.
The third and final temptation comes in verses 8 through 10. Here the Devil transports Jesus to a high mountain. We’re not sure how this happens or where exactly they go. But he gives the Lord a vision, it says, of “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.” And he tells Jesus, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
Now Satan is called the “ruler of this world” by Jesus in John (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). And Paul refers to the Devil as the “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4) and the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). Although Satan does have some sway during these days, it’s limited, for sure. And it won’t last much longer. That is a fact. And Satan is also called the “Father of lies.”
He is the great deceiver. And God is the true Ruler of the world. Only He can seat Jesus on the thrones of the earth. Satan this time doesn’t use the words “if you are the Son of God.” He tries to worm His way in. And take the Father’s place. He’s trying to fool Jesus into bowing down to Him. But the Lord won’t have anything to do with that.
Here He alludes to Deuteronomy 6:13. And Jesus tells Satan to get lost. He replies, in verse 10, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only you serve.” He can’t disobey the first commandment. He wouldn’t bow to Satan’s will and let His own desires rule. He trusts His Father with His status. And He won’t bypass the hard road His Father has in front of Him to have those things right there, right then.
In verse 11, we read that the devil leaves. And the angels do come then. And they no doubt give the Lord food. More battles will soon come. But Jesus passes this first, difficult test. And He’ll soon begin His ministry in Galilee.
What Would Jesus Do?
Now back in the 90s, around the same time as the “Be Like Mike” ad campaign, there was a fad circulating through youth groups here in America. Maybe you’ve heard of it: WWJD. “What would Jesus do?” Now, there’s a good impulse to this. And in some, at least outward way, the mantra can help. I seriously doubt Jesus would call people some of the things so-called Christians calls others on the internet today. But here’s the problem: you and I aren’t Jesus. And Jesus is meant to be far more than our example. That’s a dangerous approach to the Christian life. And it’s a terrible way to read the Bible.
What We Must Grasp
I want to move now from what we see happen here to second, what we must grasp. We’ll look at the point of this passage along with the path it puts us on.
First, the point. Many a sermon has taken this approach. When Satan comes at you in temptation, get out your Bible and shout at him until he goes away. Now it’s not like those words aren’t true. They’re just not enough. We need far more than just an example. We need a Savior. That’s the real point of this passage.
I’m going to take an approach similar to what I took last week. Think with me about who Jesus is. He is the beloved Son, right? Now if you’re been with us in this series so far, you’ll know that Israel is called God’s Son in the Old Testament. And the Lord wants us to see Jesus as the new, true, better Son.
How do we know that? Back in chapter 2, do you remember Joseph taking the family and fleeing Herod? And they take off to Egypt? In verse 15, Matthew quotes Hosea 11, saying that their eventual return from there “was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’” The Israelites way back then, fleeing Egypt through the Red Sea, pointed ahead to Jesus, the ultimate Son. The beloved Son.
This is what the Father again says at His baptism, in verse 17: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” God had poured out His affection upon Israel all those years - even despite their wanderings - and He’s pouring it out here on Jesus. The Lord knows this. That He’s loved by God. That His Father’s will is best. And that’s why He’s not scrambling for bread or throwing Himself off buildings or trading Satan worship for a throne. He’s the Son.
And He also knows He’s the Servant-King. As I said last week, that pronouncement of verse 17 comes from Isaiah 42. That’s one of four “Servant Songs” in that Old Testament book. The people of Israel in Jesus’s day knew full well that a king was coming. But they just had categories for a conquering king. They knew the prophecies like the one we just quoted at Christmas, Isaiah 9. “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder… of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.”
But they completely misunderstood these Servant Songs. Like the most famous one perhaps. That we see spanning Isaiah 52 and 53. Hear verses 4 and 5 of chapter 53:
Is. 53:4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
Is. 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
So Jesus knows that He is the King. He knows His kingdom would come. But He also realizes He’s coming as a Servant, to give His life for the nations, as a ransom for many. He knows there’s glory ahead. But there’s suffering that would come first. That commences there in the wilderness and climaxes at the cross. And that’s why He’s not going to bow down to Satan and try to claim those kingdoms then. He knows who He is.
Let’s think again about what our Jesus has done. We can’t read the words here and not let our minds go back to Israel’s own testing in the wilderness. That Son of God is there for 40 years - not just 40 days. God provides them with plenty of food. But Israel doesn’t trust their Father. They doubt His love. Moses their leader fasts for 40 days and 40 nights at two different points. And Jesus here is fasting - and fighting - for us.
Your mind also might go back to yet another one called the Son of God, who faces a temptation of his own - there with his wife. Think of Adam and Eve. They’re not in a barren desert. They’re in a lush garden. They’ve got all they need. And they still turn away. That one food they can’t have, they think they must. And they make the trade. The serpent gets them to doubt their Father’s love. And they go from kings of the earth to slaves of that very enemy.
But Jesus is another kind of Son - the one to whom the other, lesser, wayward ones point. He doesn’t give into doubt. He believes to the end. He trusts His Father. He obeys Him fully. He submits fully to the Spirit. He resists Satan’s advances. And welcomes us to Himself. He gives us His righteousness. It’s written on our hearts. If we believe.
Jesus isn’t just an example for us. Again, He’s a Savior. Thanks be to our Father for that gift! Now that’s the point of this passage, friends. And, truly, it’s the point of the Bible.
But second, let’s take our path - one that’s laid out by this passage. Think again about who we are. If we believe, as I said last week, we’re also called sons - and daughters - of God. We’re adopted into God’s family. God doesn’t just pronounce us “not guilty” like a judge. He calls us loved. We become His kids.
But did you know that we’ll also one day be kings - again as Adam and Eve were meant to serve? 2 Timothy 2:12 says we’ll one day “reign with Him.” And that’s the picture we also see in the book of Revelation. 1 Corinthians 6:3 says that we’ll even judge angels. We’ll rule - as intended - if we believe - and that’s forever. Church, that’s who we are. Sons. Kings. We don’t have to stuff our bodies with stuff. We know He’ll meet our deepest needs. We don’t have to worry about our safety. We know He’ll care for us. We don’t need to bow down to the powers in this world. We’ll inherit the earth.
But we can’t forget something important. Like Jesus, we’re also called to be servants. Glory is in front of us, but before it suffering. Our path is also one of service. We pick up our crosses and follow Jesus. We die to ourselves. We give our lives for Him. But in denying ourselves, we find ourselves. As Jesus said, we may lose the world, but we gain our souls.
But let’s think also about what He’ll do. We’re not just freed from the penalty of sin. We’re freed from its power. We’re not only no longer orphans. We’re no longer slaves. We no more have to give into temptation. We’ve also been given His Holy Spirit. And He’s remaking us, little by little, into the image of His Son. And one day, we’ll be freed also from the presence of sin.
Here and now, Jesus not only understands us as we fight against sin and Satan. He also rescues us, more and more each day, from sin and death. He’s at work in us. By His Spirit. We won’t fully conquer sin in this life. But His power in us allows us to resist the devil and watch him flee from us, as James 4:7 puts it. We can trust in our Father’s love and in His will for our lives.
When We Are Tempted
For a few minutes here, I want to turn to thinking about our approach when we are tempted. Again, I don’t think this is the main point of this passage at all. But when Jesus does save us, He calls us to follow Him. We do take up His cross. And also battle temptation.
First, remember. First and foremost, recall who Jesus is and what He has done. Along with who we are and what He’ll do in us. Only in remembering the gospel can we have any success fighting sin. We don’t resist and obey to get God to accept us. We realize we’re accepted, and then we seek to battle against sin and do what He asks. Those great realities give us a freedom, a path to victory, hope for our trials.
But I want to remind you of something else. As Tim Chester likes to say, when we’re tempted with sin, we shouldn’t just say, “I should not do this.” We should say, “I need not do this.” This is really what Jesus is telling Satan and preaching to Himself. He has a good, loving dad. Why would we want to do that?
Second, preach. To the devil, as we see here. To ourselves, who so easily forget. We have to read God’s word and hide it in our hearts. The voice of God has to be louder in here than the shouts of the world out there.
A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of going to a funeral of a remarkable Christian man, the dad of a dear sister here in Karis. He died after a long battle with Alzheimers disease. A couple of years back, they had what I think was his 80th birthday party. And one thing that this man loved was to sing. So they spent an important part of the night singing hymns. At one point of the night, he began to approach the stage. And those in attendance began to get nervous. He had forgotten so much. What might he say? But the music kicked in, and the lyrics just clicked. And he sang with all his heart. Truths about God and what He had done. Now that’s a beautiful picture! In our hard moments, what will come out? Will we remember and will we proclaim the glories of God? As Jesus does? Like this man?
Third, cry out. Pray. Jesus is out in the desert. He’s fasting. And that means He’s no doubt praying. This is Jesus, God the Son. Like a toddler in her crib, who’s sensing danger, who’s fearing for her life, we have to cry out for help, yell for our Dad. If He, our Lord, needed His Father’s help, how much more do we?
Fourth, link up. With other believers. Yes, Jesus here is alone. But again, you ain’t Jesus. Right? You and I need others to remember for us. And to remind us of God’s truth when we struggle. We need to be strong for one another. Remember these powerful words from Bonhoeffer:
“… the Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth. He needs his brother man as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation. He needs his brother solely because of Jesus Christ. The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother; his own heart is uncertain, his brother’s is sure.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Fifth, lean in. So many people who’ve professed Christ for years are jumping ship today. Don’t lean into your doubt. Do what Jesus does. Lean into Your Father and into His Words. Lean into your faith. When you’re tempted. Don’t stand at the edge of the boat. When the winds and waves pick up. You’ll certainly fall in. Come to the middle of the boat - where Jesus is, where His people are. Where you’re safe. Bring your doubts. Asks your questions. There’s no shame in that. Just lean in - not out and away.
Four Questions
Now before I close, I want to take on some questions. Ones you may have, ones that I’ve certainly wrestled with myself.
First, you may ask, what’s the big deal? Why not just follow these desires? It’s so easy to just let the current take us, to just do what we want, what the world already says is fine. Follow your heart, as everyone says. But we have to remember. We’re designed by our Creator. Who happens to be our dad. Following those desires goes against how we’re made. It dishonors the One who loves us. But beyond that, it only leads to pain. We don’t get anywhere. That is, when we go against our nature. Against His will for our lives. And it just leads to agony.
Second, what’s God think He’s doing? And how am I responsible? Now you noticed. This passage says that the Spirit leads Jesus into these temptations. And He also carries us into trials. And that distinction is important for us to remember. The same word in Greek, that we find here, can be translated as “tempt” or “test”. What Satan means to destroy, God uses to test us, to see whether we’re truly one of His. He uses them to refine us, to make us more and more look like Him. James says, in chapter 1, verse 13, that no one tempted should say, “I am being tempted by God.”
God isn’t tempted. And He tempts no one. But our own sinful desires - as evil stimuli passes before them - are tempted. And those either suck us in and pull us further from God. Or they make us stronger in His grace and love. But though God is sovereign over them and all things in the world, we’re still responsible when we sin. And in the Spirit, we must fight against it.
Third, does Jesus really understand? Could He even have sinned? I said earlier that Jesus understand us. And He rescues us. But you may resist that. And I understand. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” But you still may say, “Yeah but that makes no sense. Isn’t He God? How could He have really felt this?”
Yes, but He’s not just God. He’s also man. And what’s so critical to understand is that Jesus isn’t leaning on His deity to resist temptation, or that objection would certainly make sense. He’s not typing in a divine cheat code. He is approaching Satan’s schemes as a human being in the power of the Holy Spirit.
He’s standing as our representative. Resisting on our behalf. Fully as a man. And that, on the contrary, gives us encouragement.
But could He have sinned? Well, yes, but definitely no. Could I murder my wife? Certainly yes, but definitely no. Do I have the physical ability to do that? She’d say no, but she’d be wrong. But do I have that in my heart? Absolutely not! Did Jesus have the physical ability to deny His relationship with God and turn toward sin? Yes. But did He have the fallen desire to do such things? No way. As we grow in His grace, becoming more and more like our Lord, sin will also become more and more disgusting to us.
But that doesn’t really mean things will get easier. Here’s something else to think about. Who has a harder time with temptation? A godly person, a mature person - or a weak and immature person? It’s the person who battles the hardest and comes out standing who feels the brunt of temptation. Right? Consider this quote from C.S. Lewis:
“A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness—they have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means—the only complete realist.” (C. S. Lewis)
You see, Jesus does understand. Maybe even more than we realize. Because He really fought and fully won. He can understand. And He can help.
Fourth, why even try? When I always seem to fail? But that goes back to what I said earlier. If we’re Christians, we have been freed from sin. We have His Spirit within us. Sinning may be frequent in this life - this side of heaven - but it’s not inevitable. We can resist it, in His strength. And we will, more and more, as we grow in His grace.
And going along with what I just said, contrary to what we may think, it may not feel easier as we grow and change. That’s because we’ll settle less with just sinning. We’ll devote ourselves more and more to turning away. And like Jesus, we’ll more and more feel the pain and difficulty of going toe to toe with the Devil and not just giving up and giving in. In Christ, though, there is hope. His gospel brings change. What demonstrates that we’re sons of the living God is not that we’re perfect. Only Jesus is that. It’s that we keep battling. In His strength. And that leads to how I want wrap up.
Dunking Hard on the Devil
Well, back to my basketball days. I know you want to hear more. Believe it or not, dunk montages were just starting to take off back then. We can thank Mike, I’m pretty confident, for that. My best friend and I watched and played basketball all the time. And one day, we decided we were going to make our own dunk video. Now he was pretty athletic. He actually could dunk. But he couldn’t dunk anywhere close to Jordan. For me, it was gonna take some supernatural help. And that never came. So what did we do? We lowered his goal. And we piped in “Wild, Wild West” by Kool Moe Dee. We threw on some black sunglasses. Grabbed his VHS camcorder. And we made a pretty epic video for that day. I sure wish it hadn’t disappeared somewhere in one of our moves.
Now isn’t that how we often approach the Scriptures? And especially passages like this? We can’t begin to do it, so what do we do? Either we give up and give in. And we don’t try at all. Or we do something else. We lower the goals. We make the standard something we can reach. Maybe focus on just sins that we can conquer. But we’re just fooling ourselves. And God’s not impressed by that at all.
Here’s another approach. I actually have a kid now who can dunk. With my DNA, I never though that possible. But back in the day, I would help him when he wanted to dunk on our goal in the driveway. I’d lift up that toddler, and let him throw it down. Now much of the time, even then, he’d miss. But he’d call out to me, “Help me dunk, daddy!” And I’d hold him up there.
Obeying God. Fighting temptation. It’s more than we could ever do on our own. The call to “be like Jesus” can knock us on our butts. But it should put us on our knees. As we call out in faith, in prayer, in the moment, for His help, for something miraculous. And as we plead with Him, over the long haul, to grow us into people who can more and more choose holiness over sin.
Until the day, when He returns, we’ll still miss. It’ll in fact feel like we do most of the time. But because Jesus is the obedient Son - and He has defeated our great enemy on our behalf - obedience is at least possible. In His strength for His glory. It’ll happen more and more over the long haul. Fight temptation in the power of Him who defeated it. Let’s pray.