“During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:3-4 NLT
In the greatest showdown on earth, the Devil goes after the Lord Jesus Christ. Though this is a short section of Scripture, covered so quickly and succinctly that it’s easy to fly right past it. That’s the challenge. Unlike the world, the Spirit doesn’t seek to appeal to the flesh. No editor would let an aspiring author get away with this. He’d read the manuscript and say, “hey, this whole Devil and the Lord temptation thing is the stuff of high drama, but you don’t make a big deal out of it.” The editor would demand a rewrite that expands on history’s greatest showdown. But our Father in heaven does no such thing because He gives His children exactly what we need even if not always what we want.
And what we need is to understand the principles at work.
In the previous chapter the Lord Jesus Christ is baptized by John. Scripture says:
“Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?” But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him. After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.””
Matthew 3:13-17 NLT
The first thing we note is that our Lord is humble. John tells the truth. He’s not fit to do anything for the Lord and he flatly states the obvious. But Jesus expresses wonderfully the primary principle upon His life – and, therefore, ours – rests: we must carry out all that God requires. That’s the motive and goal of Christ and more and more it should be ours too. To go into a time of testing without this as our foundation is a recipe for failure.
Next, we note that the Father speaks from heaven. This isn’t a point to gloss over. It’s a historical occurrence. You hear some people scoff and say, “I’d believe if God audibly spoke from heaven.” Well, He has. This is the record and we can believe it. Many will believe the inane and contradictory ramblings of a reporter or commentator on social media but mistrust the Bible. Look at the heavenly logic at work: the Father speaks infrequently from heaven, but when He does it’s about the Son. Thus is the pattern of our lives. The Father says that He’s well pleased by Jesus Christ and in that proclamation we put our whole trust in Him so that we have peace with God (Romans 5:1). Get it? The goal of life is to “carry out all that God requires” and what the Father says from heaven is that He’s “well pleased” with Jesus. He has indeed spoken and we should listen carefully. Trust in Him who has pleased the Father.
Third, the Tempter waits forty days and nights. He waits until the Lord is weary. And hungry. Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden, surrounded by ease and wealth. Christ is alone and hungry when he comes. Israel was delivered from slavery through power and wonderful signs. But then they grumbled and complained in the wilderness. They wandered for 40 years and died. Christ hears the father as He’s baptized in the Jordan and then goes to the wilderness too. He’s the true Israel. Instead of 40 years, He’s there for 40 days because He doesn’t grumble and complain. Did He have manna from heaven out there? We aren’t told how He was sustained, only that He was hungry. But still, the Lord doesn’t complain. We must all beware of the deep cancer of complaining and grumbling. A critical spirit is an angry one. There is much to be angered by in this fallen world and yet, behold, He has overcome the world (John 16:33).
Fourth, the Tempter goes right after the Father’s declaration from heaven. He says in essence, “if you’re the Son of God, why are you hungry and out here all alone?”
Are you alone? Are you struggling? Is this season a harsh winter of attack and frigid winds? Are you barely hanging on…trudging through a barren place of testing and trials. Are you desperately hungry for joy and peace in an incessant storm of attack? Ah! And the Enemy comes and whispers those hideous words in your spirit’s ear. He says, “look…you aren’t truly His…if you were, why all this pain…why the frustration?” Or he says, “you are a failure…look how you’ve lost your temper or you’ve thought this or that…a true man or woman of God wouldn’t do that.” The thing is, Christian, in your pain, in your wilderness, through it all, look to the Word of God! Jesus corrects the Enemy’s lie (and slander against Himself and the Father) by quoting Scripture.(Deuteronomy 8:3). It’s interesting, and instructional, that this is the showdown’s verse in question because it shows how the Lord is the true Israel. The point of Israel was to bring the Messiah so that we might trust in Him after He offers Himself up for our sin. Our Christian walk is like that which the Israelites encountered in the wilderness after delivered from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. We’ve been in bondage to sin and now we’re free in Christ. Will we heed the lesson? Will we look to Christ in our trials, knowing that He is our true Savior and propitiation or will we grumble and complain and sin agains the Lord?
“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.”
Deuteronomy 8:1-5 ESV
The great showdown isn’t “underdeveloped” from a story telling perspective because the whole of the Old Testament is a set up for this great cosmic beatdown. And how does the beatdown commence? The Tempter tells the fleshly side of the story but the Lord refuses to grumble against the Father. The showdown is about trust! It’s about faith. Sometimes, and often, it’s about waiting for Him through the storms. We fix our sights upon Him because He’s the One who has fulfilled the law (Romans 10:4). In other words, do you want to win the battle? Then trust in Him. Study the Scriptures. Stay in them and trust in the Christ who’s revealed in them. And pray continually. Worship and adore Him along with the saints. He has won that battle for us and this is our sole hope and confidence in a world of storms and trials. The best defense against grumbling and complaining is true worship and the joy it produces, not the counterfeits of joy that sin promises.
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