The temptation of Jesus recorded in Matthew 4 tells us that the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted (v.1). The meeting between Jesus and Satan was a test from God the Father. Satan, though very real and fully in temptation mode, was not in control. God the Father was. Satan did the tempting, but Jesus’s obedience to his Father was being tested.
Obedience requires a willingness to be molded and at times it requires patience. Satan tempted Jesus three times, and each time Jesus’s obedience meant being okay with his Father’s timing. In the first temptation, Jesus is hungry. He had been fasting for forty days and nights. Satan tempts Jesus to relinquish his hunger by immediately providing for himself. In the second temptation, Jesus is physically weak, and Satan tempts him to put an end to his weakness by showing his divine power and rescuing himself immediately. In the third temptation, Satan tempts Jesus by offering him immediate command over all the kingdoms of the world. Satan tempts Jesus by trying to get him to use his power as King in a way that was not in accordance with the Father’s mandate.
We see from Matthew that Jesus was tempted when he was hungry, alone, and physically weak. What is tempting you right now to give up on the Lord’s timing?
In Jesus’s temptation, Satan fed him lies questioning his identity – “If you are the Son of God . . .” (vv.3 and 6). What are some lies that Satan tells you? Do you ever hear these words in your head – you’re unattractive, unintelligent, unpopular, unloved, not athletic, too heavy, you can’t make a difference, or you don’t have what it takes?
When Satan attacked Jesus’s identity, Jesus appealed to what “is written” three times. Jesus combated Satan with Scripture. How do you resist the enemy’s lies? Do you turn to God’s Word?
Jesus was promised from the beginning all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). He knew who he was and what he was sent to do on earth. So, a deeper look into Matthew 4 shows us that the temptation of Jesus is not concerned with his rule over all the earth, but with the manner in which he was to achieve that rule. Jesus was to fulfill his role as ruler and King over all the earth by being a servant of God and by being obedient to his timing. He was not to attain instant glory and immediate gratification. He was to wait on his Father’s timing. In his immense hunger, he knew his Father would provide for him at just the right time. In his weakness, he knew he was to wait for the right time to show his divinity. In his loneliness, he fought to remember his return to reigning all kingdoms of the world would come, but it would come through his Father’s timing, not the enemy’s.
Jesus, God the Son, was instructed by his Father to humbly enter this world and suffer for the sake of saving his people. Jesus, praise the Lord, obeyed his Father’s instructions and not Satan’s temptations. Jesus willingly accepted his Father’s instruction on the manner in which he was to attain his rule. He was willing to put aside immediate gratification for what was in accordance with his Father’s will. Are you willing to put aside immediate gratification that can come in the form of cheating on a test to get a good grade, lying to get immediate privileges, being sarcastic to get an immediate reaction, drinking underage to receive immediate acceptance, having sex outside of marriage to satisfy your desires or to not feel lonely? Are you willing to say no to these temptations to attain immediate results or gratification? Our identity as believers is we belong heart, soul, body, and mind to our Savior. He acted patiently under the agony of his temptation while clinging to the truth of God’s Word. How much more should we reflect the patience of our King as he waited on God’s timing, and how much more should we mirror his fight for truth! May we, through Christ, withstand the lies and the temptations to give up on the Lord’s timing!