What Would Jesus Do?
Message 3 of the Series
Jesus Would Be Faithful To God When Tempted
Matthew 4:1-11
Rev. Charles S. Mims
The Holy Bible, King James Version
Matthew 4:1 through Matthew 4:11 (KJV)
1Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. 3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4But 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. 5Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6And 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. 7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10Then 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. 11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
David Anderson tells this story:
While my wife and I were shopping at a mall kiosk, a shapely
young woman in a short, form-fitting dress strolled by. My eyes
followed her.
Without looking up from the item she was examining, my wife
asked, "Was it worth the trouble you're in?"
- Drew Anderson (Tucson, AZ), Reader's Digest
What a question for us today! Is it worth the trouble that we will be in when we fall prey to the tempter's snare?
Some people fall into temptation, but a great many make plans for
disaster ahead of time. “Son,” ordered a father, “Dont’ swim in
that canal.” “OK, Dad,” he answered. But he came home carrying
a wet bathing suit that evening. “Where have you been?” demanded
the father. “Swimming in the canal,” answered the boy. “Didn’t
I tell you not to swim there?” asked the father. “Yes, Sir,”
answered the boy. “Why did you?” he asked. “Well, Dad,” he
explained, “I had my bathing suit with me and I couldn’t resist
the temptation.” “Why did you take your bathing suit with you?”
he questioned. “So I’d be prepared to swim, in case I was
tempted,” he replied. Too many of us expect to sin and excite
sin. The remedy for such dangerous action is found in Romans
13:14, “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and mke not
provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.” Whenever
we play with temptation, it is easy to drift into great danger.
A woman was bathing in the Gulf of Mexico. She was enjoying the
comfort of relaxing on an inflated cushion that kept her afloat.
When she realized that she had been swept about a half mile out
from the beach, she began to scream, but no one heard her. A
coast guard craft found her five miles from the place where she
first entered the water. She did not see her danger until she
was beyond her own strength and ability.
C. Swindoll, 1 Step Forward, p. 85;
Temptation is all to real in our lives. We are tempted by a myriad of things of the world, and all of damage our relationship with the Lord.
Satan tells us two big lies, and he has been perpetuating them ever since the Garden of Eden. The first is that God is mean, vindictive, and a spoilsport whose main role in life is to keep us from being fulfilled and happy. When we step out of bounds, he (God) takes delight in making us pay.
The second lie is that god really doesn't care what we do--probably doesn't even know. And if he does, his business is to forgive us. He'll always forgive no matter what, so it really doesn't make much difference how we live and what we believe.
--B. Clayton Bell, "Many Happy Returns," Preaching Today, Tape #135
This is a paradox that will bit by bit, sin by sin, piece by piece destroy our walk with Christ. Each time we stumble and fall into temptation is a time we are relying upon our own frailties rather than the strength of the Lord.
Temptation is real, how must we handle it? We are going to apply our paradigm for this sermon series to this question. What would Jesus do about temptation? What DID Jesus do about temptation? And finally, what did Jesus tell us to do about temptation?
Jesus Would be Faithful to God's Commands (vv 1-4)
As we have already discussed, temptation is present. We cannot change that fact, what we can change however, is our response to temptation. No matter how we try, or how we shelter ourselves we will never remove ourselves completely from temptation. Temptation will always be lurking there beside us. Jesus left town after His baptism. He needed to be alone with God.
The interesting thing to me is when Jesus was tempted. Did Satan try to tempt Him following the high water mark of the baptism? Did Satan attempt to tempt Jesus when he was strongest, or well fed? Did he attempt to tempt Christ when the disciples were present to encourage and strengthen their Lord? No, he did not. He made his attempt when Christ was alone, and hungry.
We are seldom tempted when we are with our Christian brothers and sisters, it is when we are alone with our thoughts that we begin to stray. Satan was wise enough to know this about human nature and make his attempts accordingly.
So what did Jesus do about it? Obviously he resisted, but how? Verses 1-4 tell us that Christ was obedient to the commands of God. In fact the whole story supports this obedience. Time after time, for each attempt at seduction, Satan was rebuffed by Christ saying "It is written…" The commands of God were taken seriously by our Lord, and He used them to fend off the wiles of the devil.
We too must be faithful to God's commands. We must familiarize ourselves with the operating manual and do the job. Following the instructions are just as important in walking with Christ as they are when putting together a new piece of furniture.
We must read the manual, which is the Bible, then put those instructions to use in our lives. Christ was able to resist temptation because he knew what was expected of Him. He tells us as well to follow His example.
Jesus Would Be Faithful to God's Companionship (vv. 8-11)
Friendship is a funny thing. The story is told of a military patrol reconnoitering enemy territory. Taut as piano strings, the little group of men probed the shadowy images of uncharted terrain. Suddenly, the night was rent by a blinding flash, and the point soldier was mortally wounded.
While the sergeant screamed for the unit to take cover, a young recruit plunged insanely ahead to the dying man. There he, too, was wounded. In extreme pain, mustering his ebbing strength, he dragged his now-dead friend back to the unit and collapsed. Above the roar of the battle the sergeant yelled, "You fool! Why'd you go get yourself shot for a dead man?"
The recruit replied, "Sarge, I had to hear him say, 'I knew you'd come.' "
Reported by Paul D. Robbins in "Must Men be Friendless?" Leadership
Friends can count on each other, and encourage each other. Friendships are important. Jesus was faithful to His friendship with the Father. You see, when you have a true friend, you know that you can ask him or her to do just about anything and they will do it. And, it is for that very reason that you don't ask for things. Jesus knew that Satan was correct when he took him up to that pinnacle. He knew that God would be there for Him no matter what took place. But at the same time Jesus knew it was wrong to test that companionship.
Just because we know that our friend Jack down the road will loan us $100 to go to that new restaurant in town is no reason for us to go and ask him for it. We can do without sampling that expensive cuisine, and Jack can do without loaning us $100.
Just because we know that God will forgive us when we fall to temptation is no reason to succumb and need that forgiveness. We must not presume upon our friendship with God. Jesus understood this, and was faithful to God's companionship. He knew not to test God. He replied as He had previously "It is written…"
Jesus Would Be Faithful to God's Call (vv. 8-11)
In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery.
“Your Majesty,” said Prior Richard, “do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king.”
“I understand,” said Henry. “The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.”
“Then I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard. “Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.”
When King Henry died, a statement was written: “The King learned to rule by being obedient.”
When we tire of our roles and responsibilities, it helps to remember God has planted us in a certain place and told us to be a good accountant or teacher or mother or father. Christ expects us to be faithful where he puts us, and when he returns, we’ll rule together with him
Each of us have a calling. Sometimes we are not always sure what that calling is, but rest assured God has called us to action. As this story illustrates, we must obey God's calling if we are to avoid temptation.
Why was Jesus out in the wilderness in the first place? What was he doing there? He was there because God sent Him. He was there because He was being obedient. That is what He would have us to do as well. Be obedient in our calling.
Many would say "I'm not called by God" because they haven't been called into the ministry. I would submit to you today that you ARE called into the ministry. Perhaps not vocational, full-time ministry as a pastor, but ministry still.
God calls us to many tasks, here are a few for your consideration this morning.
I. Called from labor to rest (Matt. 11:28)
II. Called from death to life (1 John 3:14)
III. Called from bondage to liberty (Gal 5:13)
IV. Called out of darkness into light (1 Pet. 2:9)
V. Called from bondage to peace (1 Cor. 7:15
VI. Called to the fellowship of His Son (1 Cor. 1:9)
Further, we are called to be workers. We are called to work in those fields that are white unto harvest. We are tasked with a great responsibility. If we are obedient to the work that God has called us to, we will flee temptation. That's what Jesus did.
Temptation is all around us. We, as Jesus did, are able to overcome that temptation. Jesus was faithful to god's command, his companionship, and his calling. Are we faithful as well today? Are we doing what Jesus did? Are we doing what He told us to do?
Copyright ©1999 by Claim The Victory Ministries
South Peninsula Baptist Church
Daytona Beach, FL
NOTE: The outlines for the What Would Jesus Do series come from "Proclaim" magazine
