Andy Davis preaches a verse by verse expository sermon on Matthew 3:13-4:11. The main subject of the sermon is Jesus resistance to temptation in the wilderness.
I. Introduction
In December 2nd 1804, a short balding man from Corsica stood before Pope Pius VII in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France. His name was Napoleon Bonaparte. That day was to be the day of his coronation as Emperor over all of France. He had come to this point through sheer military brilliance, perhaps unlike the world had ever seen up to that point, and also through an ability to manipulate his political enemies either into self-destruction or terrified silence. Because of these skills the French Senate acclaimed him unanimously to be Emperor and he invited, or should I say commanded the Pope, to come and crown him Emperor over France. Napoleon was the pinnacle of the French Revolution. He was the picture of humanity and all of its capability, all of its intellect, its will, its sheer desire to dominate. Through all of these powers, and his natural leadership capabilities, he was able to dominate others and get to this position. He came for his coronation dressed in shimmering robes, the robes of an emperor, befitting an emperor, and at the supreme moment where he was to be crowned as Emperor, Pope Pius VII reached for the crown and Napoleon arrogantly waved him off. He grabbed the crown himself, turned his back to the Pope, and put the crown on his own head. He was holding a sword in his left hand and the crown in his right and there was an artist there painting this picture. Napoleon later thought better of it and the official state painting that was represented, was of him crowning Josephine, an act of a little bit more befitting humility perhaps, but there was nothing humble about Napoleon at all. Such was the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor over France.
II. The Baptism of Jesus
On a muddy riverbank in Palestine an unknown man stood in front of John the Baptist surrounded by penitent sinners. There was nothing unusual about people coming to John the Baptist to be baptized as they demonstrated repentance and forgiveness of sins, nothing unusual at all. As a matter of fact, thousands of people were going out to see John, but there was something unusual that day because John the Baptist looked up to this man and seemed stunned that he was there. He interrupted his baptisms and looked up. It was obvious that that man was there to be baptized and John the Baptist said to Him, “I need to be baptized by You. And do You come to me?” None of the crowds had ever heard John speak this way before.
John was full of the fire of the Holy Spirit in his preaching. But this man was Jesus Christ. And though the people who stood around him at that moment didn’t realize it, this also was to be the coronation of Jesus Christ as king over Israel. Now it shouldn’t trouble you that I used the words coronation. Jesus actually is crowned many times, as we sing in the hymn ‘Crown Him with Many Crowns, the Lamb upon His throne’. They’ll be another coronation at the end of the universe when He takes His rightful place, but this was a coronation.
And how different it was from Napoleon’s. Jesus said in John 8:50, “I am not seeking glory for Myself,; but but there is One who seeks it,” said Jesus and that was His heavenly Father. And so at the baptism of Jesus we’re going to see how the Heavenly Father testifies to the glory of Jesus Christ and how Jesus shows Himself to be the King of glory by His humility, not by His arrogance. It’s fitting for a king not only to be crowned, but to ride forth, and to fight the battles of the people he reigns. Napoleon in his left hand had a sword, representative of his military prowess. It was that which had earned him the throne of France. And Jesus also would ride forth to fight a battle but it was a different battle — it was a battle of temptation. A struggle that each one of us wrestles with every day, or we’re not a Christian. We wrestle and we fight with temptation and Jesus our King shows us how. He rides forth victoriously, conquering to give us that victory.
Baptism of the Son
So let’s consider the baptism and the temptation of Jesus as His coronation and testing of His kingship. Listen now to Matthew 3:13 through 4:11. “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John, but John tried to deter Him saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?’ Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now, it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love. With Him I am well pleased.’ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to Him and said, ‘If you’re the Son of God tell these stones to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written, ‘Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning you and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written, do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ Again the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘If you’ll fall down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan, for it is written, worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’ Then the devil left Him and angels came and attended Him.”
Let’s look first at the baptism of Jesus, the coronation of the King. We see here, marvelously at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, the Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit, identifying Jesus as the Messiah. We see the baptism of the Son. “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.” We see the purpose of Jesus in making that journey. Everything Jesus did was for a purpose. He always had a purpose. Everything was for a reason even though those who loved Him and His disciples did not always understand what that purpose might be. And it says that even John the Baptist tried to deter or stop Him. Actually, the Greek gives the implication that he tried over a long period of time, continuing to try to stop Jesus from being baptized.
Now, remember that John’s baptism was a baptism for repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Pharisees and Sadducees came to John for baptism, but John did not want to baptize them. Why? Because they saw no need for their own baptism. The saw no reason for repentance for the forgiveness of their sins. But John not wanting to baptize Jesus is different because he sees no need for Jesus’ baptism. And indeed ,Jesus had no need for repentance for He was sinless and pure and holy. So we see John’s perceptiveness, his spiritual perception. In John’s Gospel, he said, “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” The lamb of God had to be sinless, spotless. John sees that Jesus has nothing from which to repent. Actually, we see the humility of John. He says, “I need to be baptized by You. And do You come to me?” The humility and spiritual perception of John the Baptist becomes a problem because just like Peter would do later several times, John the Baptist tries to stop Jesus from doing something Jesus wants to do. Jesus knows what He’s doing. Even if you are the prophet of God, don’t stop Jesus from doing what He wants to do. Everything Jesus does is right, even though you don’t understand it. We know that later in Matthew 11, John under the the weakness of the flesh, arrested, about to die, began to question whether Jesus really was the Messiah. And Jesus sent messengers to assure John and to strengthen him in his time of weakness. We see that John was not always on the same page with God – even at this moment, he tries to stop Jesus from being baptized.
But Jesus replies forcefully. He said, “Let it be so now. It is proper for us to do this, to fulfill all righteousness.” What a beautiful scene that is. The yearning of the Holy Son of God to be righteous. That that is the foundation of Jesus’ throne. It says so in that beautiful coronation Psalm- Psalm 45 which is a coronation psalm written for a king. The writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews 1, picks up on this also. “Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever, and righteousness is the scepter of your Kingdom.” The scepter is a symbol of the Kingdom and righteousness is the scepter of Jesus’ Kingdom. “He loves righteousness and hates wickedness,” it says. “Therefore, God, His God, sets Him above His companions by anointing Him with the oil of joy.” Don’t you see the pouring out of the joy of the Father at the baptism of Jesus? “This is My beloved Son. I’m well pleased with Him.” The joy that just flows out from the Father onto the Son. And why does the Father love the Son? It’s because the Son loves righteousness and that is the foundation of the throne of God.
“Let it be so now, we must fulfill all righteousness.” What is righteousness? It’s a love for what God says is right. It’s a desire to do what God says to do. It’s totally in conformity with the holiness and the purity of God’s character. It’s a desire to do everything God says. “We must fulfill all righteousness,” says Jesus. But also there’s a sense of identification, Jesus, with us sinners, isn’t there? Jesus is numbered with the transgressors in Isaiah 53:12. That was the prophecy. He was numbered with the transgressors. He is going to be included with them as though He were one of them. If anyone had come and seen Him, they would have seen Him to be just another sinner to be baptized and in doing so, He was identifying Himself with us. This is absolutely essential for our salvation, isn’t it? There’s no other way for us to be saved other than that Jesus, sinless and pure, identifies Himself with us in our sinfulness. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God. Do you see the exchange there? He takes on our filth, our sin, all the wretchedness. And He gives us His holiness and His righteousness. We must have that — the identification.
Jesus’ baptism is also a symbol of His death. Luke 12:50 He says, “I have a baptism to undergo and how distressed I am until I undergo it.” Obviously likening His death to a baptism. Now, what is baptism? A total immersion in something. Jesus said ”I’m going to be immersed in death. But I’m going to do it for your righteousness, for your salvation.” It’s a symbol of His death. Also, Jesus is modeling for us righteousness, isn’t He? Because later Jesus will command His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations and do what to them? Baptize them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And so in the same way that Jesus submitted to baptism, He calls on His disciples as a first step of obedience to submit to the waters of baptism as well. Jesus did this for righteousness, for identification, for symbolism, and for modeling. John the Baptist consented. Though he did not, I’m sure, understand all these levels, he said, “Okay,” and he baptized Jesus.
Anointing of the Spirit
Now we see the anointing of the Spirit, Matt. 3:16, “As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water, at that moment, heaven was opened.” Actually in Mark’s gospel, it said that the heavens were torn open. There was a rend, a rip, in the curtain that separated the material world from the spiritual world. We’re surrounded by a spiritual world which actually predates the material world. The spiritual world will still be here when this material world is gone. Reach out and touch the pew, or touch the cushions, touch the fabric of your coat. Look over at your loved one and your friend. Realize that all these physical things are temporary, created by God. Someday they’ll be wiped away. Isaiah 65:17 says, “I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered.” The spiritual world is around us all the time and it’s more real than the physical world, but God has created a barrier, a veil. We can’t see it,. And at that moment, He created a small tear in that, according to Mark’s gospel, and out came a dove. The Holy Spirit, descending like a dove, circling down perhaps and landing, lighting, it says, on Jesus, remaining on Him. In John’s gospel it says John the Baptist knew at that moment that Jesus was the Son of God. That’s what convinced him, when the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and remained on Him.
Now I tell you why I think this is a coronation. Back in the old days, in Israel’s time, when a man was going to become king of Israel, or Judah, he would be anointed with oil, a prophet would come and take a horn of oil and pour it on his head, and it would cascade down his hair and his face. It would symbolize his authority to rule, of course, but there was something deeper than that. The first king who was anointed was Saul, and right after he was anointed, the prophet Samuel said this about the anointing, “The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power and you will be changed into a different person.” So the oil symbolized the coming of the Spirit for King Saul. Later the same thing happened even more powerfully with David, 1 Samuel 16:13, “Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.” Do you see the identification between the oil and the Holy Spirit? The king was anointed with oil, and that showed that the Spirit was resting on him to give wisdom and guidance to rule the people of God. Jesus was not anointed with actual oil, was He? Now, ‘Anointed one’, is Messiah, or Christ. It’s all the same. The anointing of the Jesus was going to be with the actual presence of the Holy Spirit, not symbolized, but the real Holy Spirit coming. But, of course, we can’t see the Spirit, so He comes in the form of a dove and remains on Jesus the anointed. This is a coronation that the Jews would have understood, ‘crowning with the Holy Spirit’. Jesus totally identified with the Spirit. Isaiah 11:1, it says, “A shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse. From his roots a branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of power. The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.” Isn’t that Jesus? The seven-fold spirit saturating Jesus. Everything Jesus did was saturated in the Holy Spirit. So when He began His preaching ministry in Nazareth He gets a scroll and rolls it up and finds a certain place in Isaiah where it says, in Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord” has what? “Anointed me.” Do you see the identification? “The Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.”
Spirit saturated everything Jesus did. Always moved by the Spirit, moved with compassion, moved with power, moved to push Satan’s kingdom back by the power of the Spirit. But the heavens were open first. Isaiah 64:1: “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down.” Isn’t that powerful? On the day of Jesus’ baptism that’s just what God did. He rent the heavens and He came down on Jesus. The anointing of the King. But Jesus didn’t just come to receive that anointing, He came to give it to you and to me. Remember what John said. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Have you been baptized, saturated, totally immersed in the Holy Spirit? If you’re a Christian you have, because Jesus came to give you that gift. The King of Israel came to give you that incredible gift.
Declaration of the Father
Now we have the proclamation of the Father. Matt. 3: 17: “And a voice from heaven said, “This is My Son whom I love. With Him I am well pleased.” Isn’t that beautiful? The expression of joy, the joy of the Father in the Son. Do you know that the Father and the Son had been enjoying face to face fellowship with each other from eternity past? The Father loves the Son and shows Him all the things He does, said Jesus. Face to face fellowship. The Father has gazed into the sunlight of His own Son’s glory and radiance, and He loves it. The love of the Father for the Son is the foundation of your salvation. It’s the security of your salvation. Because you’re united with Christ in baptism and through faith, and therefore the Father loves you, too. The gazing of the Father and the Son, it just flows out and He proclaims Him to be His Son. “This is My Son.” And He proclaims His love. “My Son whom I love, and I’m well pleased with Him, everything He does pleases Me.” Everything He does. The power of that moment. This was a mountain-top experience.
III. The Temptation of Jesus
But at that very moment, after that mountain-top experience, much like us, Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted by the devil. We will never last long on the mountain-top, not in this world—there’s too much sin around us, too much trouble. There’s work to be done. Napoleon had in his left hand a sword. And he went out with that to slaughter people, and he did slaughter people. Jesus also went out to do battle force, didn’t He? Did He carry a sword? Yes, He did. But what sword did Jesus bring for His battle? The sword of the Spirit which is what? The Word of God. And He went out with the Word of God to do battle for us, to do battle with temptation. Do you struggle with temptation? Temptation is common to us, isn’t it? “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man.” We’re all tempted; we all wrestle with sin. We feel that pull to evil. Jesus was sent to be tempted. Actually, Matthew is somewhat tame in the language compared to what Luke and Mark say. Mark says the the Holy Spirit drove Him out into the desert to be tempted. There’s a sense of pushing, not that Jesus was reluctant, but a sense of urgency to get out and be tempted. We have to ask “why?” Why was Jesus tempted? Why did He have to submit to this? Hebrews puts this in a perspective, it says, “For this reason, He had to be made like His brothers in every way that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted. He knows what’s it like to be tempted.” Jesus knows temptation better than any of you. Why do I say that? I can say it for myself too. It’s because we cave in. We give in. We’ve never felt the full temptation. We felt 80% of the temptation, haven’t we? And then we give up. Jesus felt 100% of every temptation that came His way. Felt it all and defeated it, extinguished it, took it and extinguished it in His own purity and holiness, until it sizzled out. That’s what Jesus did with temptation. He is the most tempted man that’s ever lived. More tempted than you and me. Hebrews says, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with us in our weakness, but we have one who has been” what? “Tempted in every way just as we are, yet was without sin.” The purity of Jesus extinguishs those temptations. I love the way that Luke puts the bookends. I call it Luke’s bookends: Luke 4:1, Luke 4:14. “Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” Full of the Holy Spirit. And then it says in Luke 4:14, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.” Isn’t that great? The bookends. He enters the desert filled with the Holy Spirit, He leaves the desert filled with the Holy Spirit. Do you enter your temptation filled with the Holy Spirit and leave your temptation filled with the Holy Spirit? You can. This is the power that God has given by the Spirit over temptation. We don’t have to give in. What a model Jesus is for us in this.
Now, what is the word used here? Is it temptation or is it testing? That’s a difficulty for a translator. The Greek word could be taken either way. What’s the difference between temptation and testing? Temptation I think is a gravitational or magnetic pull to evil. It’s a pull to do something evil in the sight of God. God has nothing to do with that, does He? For it says in James 1:13-14 “When tempted no one should say, God is tempting me, for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is dragged away and enticed.” That’s temptation. What is testing? Does God test us? Yes, He does. Genesis 22:1: ”Sometime later God said to Abraham, ‘Abraham, take your son, your only son whom you love and sacrifice him on the mountain that I will show you.'” That is a test, for it says, “God tested Abraham.” What’s the difference? A test is a revelation of character as when God tells Satan: “Have you considered my servant Job?” So what does this testing reveal of Jesus’ character? Jesus was attesting as well as being attemped. There was no pulling to evil because Jesus’ character is pure. There was nothing inside Him to respond to the temptation but rather like a magnetic attraction on a piece of wood. But we have these iron filings inside us, don’t we? Habits of sin. And we respond to that magnetic pull. The more iron filings we have the more that temptation pulls in us. What are iron filings? It’s the last time you gave in to the temptation. Put another filing in there. Every time you give in you pour more, and the next temptation’s harder to refuse. Every time you say no to a temptation you take out some of that iron and the temptation has less force on you. So in the desert we see a revelation of the purity of Jesus’ character. We see Jesus’ meekness and His willingness to submit to the will of God in being tempted.
We also see the viciousness of Satan. Do you realize how vicious your enemy is? Your enemy is like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour; he’s prowling around looking for you. Is he going to come at you in a time of strength? No. He comes at you when you’re weak. Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights. During Ramadan Muslims fast for 30 days. That’s not bad, but they don’t fast for 30 nights. More food is consumed in Ramadan than any other month of the year. That’s called the hypocritical fast.They feast during Ramadan because they actually hungry from the daytime fast. But Jesus wasn’t that way. He fasted 40 days and 40 nights, and He was hungry, and the tempter came when He was at His lowest. Does he come when you’re at your lowest? Yes he does because he wants to destroy you. He’s visicous. And he wants to ruin your life. He doesn’t play fair. He wants to destroy you. The most powerful, destructive force in the world is temptation and sin, and that’s the most destructive force in your world, in your life. If you don’t fight it, it will ruin you. The Puritan theologian, John Owen said, “No one begins a quarrel with a viper and does not proceed to kill the viper or else he wishes he’d never begun the argument.” You’re in a fight with a viper. And you have to kill it or it will kill you. Do you understand that? And that’s what Jesus came to do, to give you the power to put sin to death. Because Jesus knows how and you don’t. Satan comes in his viciousness and in his time when he attacks Jesus with his schemes. These are the temptations. In verse 3 and 4, Jesus is tempted to turn the stones into bread; in verses 5-7, He’s tempted to fall from the temple and give a spectacular display, and in verses 8-10, to worship the devil. I have renamed these temptations. Verses 3 and 4: “Serve your stomach and rule over God’s power” ; verses 5-7: ”Serve sensationalism and rule over God’s plan” and verses 8-10: “Serve the devil and rule the world.” Serve your stomach and rule over God’s power. Satan comes and says, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. You have the power to do it. Do it. Use your power, use the power of God to meet your own physical need.” And that’s the essence of Satan’s kingdom, isn’t it? Feed yourself. Think of yourself. “Oh God can’t ask this of you, it’s been 40 days. He’s not going to ask this of you. Take care of your own needs. Serve yourself. Meet your earthly needs”, says Satan. Sounds a little bit familiar to something later said to Jesus. Remember this? Matthew 27:40, “If you’re the Son of God come down off that cross and save yourself.” You see if Jesus gives in here, He’s going to give in there. “No,” said Jesus, “absolutely not.” Paul spoke of people like this, they’re people who live as enemies to the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction. Their God is what? Their stomach. What does it mean to have your stomach as your God? It means that your earthly passions and appetites are what rule your life. You live for them. Jesus wouldn’t live that way.
And Jesus said, “Man does not live… “It is written, man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Now I see this phrase ‘man does not live on bread alone’ used as advertisements for expensive ice cream. That’s totally missing the point. It’s not a matter of man does not live on bread alone but on delicacies like ice cream and cake. That’s got nothing to do with it. “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God “ talks about how we should be moment by moment dependent on the word of God for everything. This comes from Deuteronomy when the Israelites were being led through the desert, and moment by moment they depended on God for their manna. You’re coming to God all the time, every moment. The Greek here is man does not live on bread alone but on every word that is continually proceeding from the mouth of God. There’s a sense of immediacy. When you pick up this book, you are listening to God speaking to you directly. That was Jesus’ attitude about Scripture. “It is written, Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. That’s where I get my sustenance from.” “My food,” said Jesus, “is not to do the will of him, it’s to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work, that’s what I get nourishment from. To do God’s will moment by moment.” So He dispensed with that temptation.
Then the devil took Him to the Holy City, [Jerusalem] and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. The historian Josephus said that the highest point of the temple overlooked a ravine called the Kidron Valley, it was 450 feet down. 450 feet,— that’s a 45 story building. How spectacular would it have been if Jesus had just fallen down at that moment? He would have forced God’s hand. The Son of God did not come into the world to die tragically falling from the highest point of the temple, did He? If so, God would be forced to respond to the Son by sending the angels. And so Satan quotes Scripture, “He will send His angels concerning you and they’ll lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Satan is fully capable of quoting Scripture. He knows how to cite Scripture, but does he interpret it properly? Jesus said no stating that it is also written, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” “I’m not going to force God’s hand. I’m going to listen to God and do what He tells me to do. I’m going to submit to the leadership of God. I’m not going to rule over God’s plan. I’m going to be ruled by God’s plan ,and I’m going to do what He tells me to do.” Second temptation dispensed with.
So then the devil takes Jesus to a very high mountain and in an instant, perhaps, shows Him all the kingdoms of the world in their splendor. How does Satan do that? It’s not very much different than what you get in satellite TV, DSS and all that 260 channels, just images flowing of all the kingdoms of the world in their splendor. Satan’s good at images, isn’t he? Just flowing through our minds all the time; it just keeps coming and coming, those images. And Satan said, “You can have all this, Jesus, if you’ll just fall down and worship me. You’ll just have it. It’s yours. I’ll give it to you. It’s mine to give and I’ll give it.” But Jesus, you see, He looks deeper, doesn’t He? Man looks at outward appearance, the splendor, the beauty. Jesus looks in at the people who make up those kingdoms. There are people there that are going to be eternally lost, if He doesn’t die on the cross for them. He sees the people. He sees the glory that Satan can’t understand and the glory and the beauty of God’s salvation plan. And He wants those people, but He wants them in His way. He doesn’t care a hoot about the shiny molecules of gold and platinum and shimmery robes Satan puts in front of His face. It doesn’t mean a thing.
There’s a light, a glory that Satan can’t understand, and that’s what He’s going for. But actually there’s something deeper than that. There’s a revulsion, a hatred I think, that comes from within Jesus’ character at this moment. And the idea of worshipping anyone but God wells up into this statement, “Away from me, Satan, for it is written ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'” We are made to serve. You are going to serve something. You can’t get away from it. You’re going to serve your flesh or your appetites or your career. You’re going to serve something, you’re going to serve God. We are created to serve the eternal God. That’s what we were made for, and Jesus shows the way. It’s interesting what these temptations all have in common, they all point to this world, don’t they? All are “this-worldly.” They all have to do with this order because that’s all Satan has to offer. He has no claim on the future, no claim on eternity. Actually, Revelation says that the devil knows that his time is short. He doesn’t have much time, all he can offer you is some temporary pleasure; that’s all he can give to you. That’s it. God can give you eternal joy and pleasure at His right hand. That’s what Jesus wants and it’s what He wants for you as well. And so He thoroughly destroy Satan. “Do not love the world,” said John, “Or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the boastful pride of life comes not from the Father but from the world.” Listen to this, “The world and its desires pass away but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”
Jesus destroyed Satan that day, and He’ll destroy Satan on your behalf too if you’ll fight the way He taught you to fight. “Then the Devil left Him,” it says, “and angels came and attended Him.” It’s interesting how Jesus got immediately the very thing that He was tempted, God sent his angels to take care of Him. But in God’s time, not in Satan’s time. And ultimately Jesus will receive the Kingdoms of the world. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Satan has nothing to offer you that God can’t give you 100 times better if you just be patient and do it in His way.
IV. Application
What are my applications? First, when it comes to the baptism of Jesus, ask yourself if have you been baptized as a believer in Jesus Christ. Have you given your life to Jesus and then been baptized as He has commanded? It’s the first step of obedience – have you done it? If not, you need to obey Him and follow Him. But Paul in Romans 6 links your baptism to your holiness. He challenges you to live up to your baptismal vows. If you’ve been united with Christ in His death, you’ll surely also be united with Him in His new life. You’ll walk in newness of life. Are you walking in newness of life? Are you resisting the devil and seeing him flee from you? Are you entering your deserts of temptation filled with the Spirit and then leaving the desert filled with the Spirit? Or are you caving in left and right? Jesus has given you the power to say no – to stand firm and He’s given you the way. The way, my friends, is the Bible – it’s the Scripture. Saturate your minds in its message and you will be given the will and the strength to resist. Memorize it and you’re given specific refutations to each temptation that comes your way. It’s both a world view and a specific weapon that the Scripture gives you. It will give you the determination to fight and to be holy and to resist.
Today we’ve seen the coronation and the testing of the King. I don’t really have any idea where you at spiritually,. I can’t see into your hearts, but if you’ve never given yourself to Jesus Christ, let today be the day of salvation for you. Give yourself to Him fully that He may save you from your sins and give you eternal life. If on the other hand you’re already a Christian, you’ve been baptized, but you’re struggling with sin, rededicate yourself to standing firm, to knowing the Scripture and to fighting the way that Jesus did and not giving in. Let Him fight your battles for you. Say, “Jesus, I’m being tempted, fight in me.” And He will. Give yourself fully to Him.
I. Introduction
In December 2nd 1804, a short balding man from Corsica stood before Pope Pius VII in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France. His name was Napoleon Bonaparte. That day was to be the day of his coronation as Emperor over all of France. He had come to this point through sheer military brilliance, perhaps unlike the world had ever seen up to that point, and also through an ability to manipulate his political enemies either into self-destruction or terrified silence. Because of these skills the French Senate acclaimed him unanimously to be Emperor and he invited, or should I say commanded the Pope, to come and crown him Emperor over France. Napoleon was the pinnacle of the French Revolution. He was the picture of humanity and all of its capability, all of its intellect, its will, its sheer desire to dominate. Through all of these powers, and his natural leadership capabilities, he was able to dominate others and get to this position. He came for his coronation dressed in shimmering robes, the robes of an emperor, befitting an emperor, and at the supreme moment where he was to be crowned as Emperor, Pope Pius VII reached for the crown and Napoleon arrogantly waved him off. He grabbed the crown himself, turned his back to the Pope, and put the crown on his own head. He was holding a sword in his left hand and the crown in his right and there was an artist there painting this picture. Napoleon later thought better of it and the official state painting that was represented, was of him crowning Josephine, an act of a little bit more befitting humility perhaps, but there was nothing humble about Napoleon at all. Such was the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor over France.
II. The Baptism of Jesus
On a muddy riverbank in Palestine an unknown man stood in front of John the Baptist surrounded by penitent sinners. There was nothing unusual about people coming to John the Baptist to be baptized as they demonstrated repentance and forgiveness of sins, nothing unusual at all. As a matter of fact, thousands of people were going out to see John, but there was something unusual that day because John the Baptist looked up to this man and seemed stunned that he was there. He interrupted his baptisms and looked up. It was obvious that that man was there to be baptized and John the Baptist said to Him, “I need to be baptized by You. And do You come to me?” None of the crowds had ever heard John speak this way before.
John was full of the fire of the Holy Spirit in his preaching. But this man was Jesus Christ. And though the people who stood around him at that moment didn’t realize it, this also was to be the coronation of Jesus Christ as king over Israel. Now it shouldn’t trouble you that I used the words coronation. Jesus actually is crowned many times, as we sing in the hymn ‘Crown Him with Many Crowns, the Lamb upon His throne’. They’ll be another coronation at the end of the universe when He takes His rightful place, but this was a coronation.
And how different it was from Napoleon’s. Jesus said in John 8:50, “I am not seeking glory for Myself,; but but there is One who seeks it,” said Jesus and that was His heavenly Father. And so at the baptism of Jesus we’re going to see how the Heavenly Father testifies to the glory of Jesus Christ and how Jesus shows Himself to be the King of glory by His humility, not by His arrogance. It’s fitting for a king not only to be crowned, but to ride forth, and to fight the battles of the people he reigns. Napoleon in his left hand had a sword, representative of his military prowess. It was that which had earned him the throne of France. And Jesus also would ride forth to fight a battle but it was a different battle — it was a battle of temptation. A struggle that each one of us wrestles with every day, or we’re not a Christian. We wrestle and we fight with temptation and Jesus our King shows us how. He rides forth victoriously, conquering to give us that victory.
Baptism of the Son
So let’s consider the baptism and the temptation of Jesus as His coronation and testing of His kingship. Listen now to Matthew 3:13 through 4:11. “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John, but John tried to deter Him saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?’ Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now, it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love. With Him I am well pleased.’ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to Him and said, ‘If you’re the Son of God tell these stones to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written, ‘Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning you and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written, do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ Again the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘If you’ll fall down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan, for it is written, worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’ Then the devil left Him and angels came and attended Him.”
Let’s look first at the baptism of Jesus, the coronation of the King. We see here, marvelously at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, the Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit, identifying Jesus as the Messiah. We see the baptism of the Son. “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.” We see the purpose of Jesus in making that journey. Everything Jesus did was for a purpose. He always had a purpose. Everything was for a reason even though those who loved Him and His disciples did not always understand what that purpose might be. And it says that even John the Baptist tried to deter or stop Him. Actually, the Greek gives the implication that he tried over a long period of time, continuing to try to stop Jesus from being baptized.
Now, remember that John’s baptism was a baptism for repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Pharisees and Sadducees came to John for baptism, but John did not want to baptize them. Why? Because they saw no need for their own baptism. The saw no reason for repentance for the forgiveness of their sins. But John not wanting to baptize Jesus is different because he sees no need for Jesus’ baptism. And indeed ,Jesus had no need for repentance for He was sinless and pure and holy. So we see John’s perceptiveness, his spiritual perception. In John’s Gospel, he said, “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” The lamb of God had to be sinless, spotless. John sees that Jesus has nothing from which to repent. Actually, we see the humility of John. He says, “I need to be baptized by You. And do You come to me?” The humility and spiritual perception of John the Baptist becomes a problem because just like Peter would do later several times, John the Baptist tries to stop Jesus from doing something Jesus wants to do. Jesus knows what He’s doing. Even if you are the prophet of God, don’t stop Jesus from doing what He wants to do. Everything Jesus does is right, even though you don’t understand it. We know that later in Matthew 11, John under the the weakness of the flesh, arrested, about to die, began to question whether Jesus really was the Messiah. And Jesus sent messengers to assure John and to strengthen him in his time of weakness. We see that John was not always on the same page with God – even at this moment, he tries to stop Jesus from being baptized.
But Jesus replies forcefully. He said, “Let it be so now. It is proper for us to do this, to fulfill all righteousness.” What a beautiful scene that is. The yearning of the Holy Son of God to be righteous. That that is the foundation of Jesus’ throne. It says so in that beautiful coronation Psalm- Psalm 45 which is a coronation psalm written for a king. The writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews 1, picks up on this also. “Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever, and righteousness is the scepter of your Kingdom.” The scepter is a symbol of the Kingdom and righteousness is the scepter of Jesus’ Kingdom. “He loves righteousness and hates wickedness,” it says. “Therefore, God, His God, sets Him above His companions by anointing Him with the oil of joy.” Don’t you see the pouring out of the joy of the Father at the baptism of Jesus? “This is My beloved Son. I’m well pleased with Him.” The joy that just flows out from the Father onto the Son. And why does the Father love the Son? It’s because the Son loves righteousness and that is the foundation of the throne of God.
“Let it be so now, we must fulfill all righteousness.” What is righteousness? It’s a love for what God says is right. It’s a desire to do what God says to do. It’s totally in conformity with the holiness and the purity of God’s character. It’s a desire to do everything God says. “We must fulfill all righteousness,” says Jesus. But also there’s a sense of identification, Jesus, with us sinners, isn’t there? Jesus is numbered with the transgressors in Isaiah 53:12. That was the prophecy. He was numbered with the transgressors. He is going to be included with them as though He were one of them. If anyone had come and seen Him, they would have seen Him to be just another sinner to be baptized and in doing so, He was identifying Himself with us. This is absolutely essential for our salvation, isn’t it? There’s no other way for us to be saved other than that Jesus, sinless and pure, identifies Himself with us in our sinfulness. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God. Do you see the exchange there? He takes on our filth, our sin, all the wretchedness. And He gives us His holiness and His righteousness. We must have that — the identification.
Jesus’ baptism is also a symbol of His death. Luke 12:50 He says, “I have a baptism to undergo and how distressed I am until I undergo it.” Obviously likening His death to a baptism. Now, what is baptism? A total immersion in something. Jesus said ”I’m going to be immersed in death. But I’m going to do it for your righteousness, for your salvation.” It’s a symbol of His death. Also, Jesus is modeling for us righteousness, isn’t He? Because later Jesus will command His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations and do what to them? Baptize them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And so in the same way that Jesus submitted to baptism, He calls on His disciples as a first step of obedience to submit to the waters of baptism as well. Jesus did this for righteousness, for identification, for symbolism, and for modeling. John the Baptist consented. Though he did not, I’m sure, understand all these levels, he said, “Okay,” and he baptized Jesus.
Anointing of the Spirit
Now we see the anointing of the Spirit, Matt. 3:16, “As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water, at that moment, heaven was opened.” Actually in Mark’s gospel, it said that the heavens were torn open. There was a rend, a rip, in the curtain that separated the material world from the spiritual world. We’re surrounded by a spiritual world which actually predates the material world. The spiritual world will still be here when this material world is gone. Reach out and touch the pew, or touch the cushions, touch the fabric of your coat. Look over at your loved one and your friend. Realize that all these physical things are temporary, created by God. Someday they’ll be wiped away. Isaiah 65:17 says, “I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered.” The spiritual world is around us all the time and it’s more real than the physical world, but God has created a barrier, a veil. We can’t see it,. And at that moment, He created a small tear in that, according to Mark’s gospel, and out came a dove. The Holy Spirit, descending like a dove, circling down perhaps and landing, lighting, it says, on Jesus, remaining on Him. In John’s gospel it says John the Baptist knew at that moment that Jesus was the Son of God. That’s what convinced him, when the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and remained on Him.
Now I tell you why I think this is a coronation. Back in the old days, in Israel’s time, when a man was going to become king of Israel, or Judah, he would be anointed with oil, a prophet would come and take a horn of oil and pour it on his head, and it would cascade down his hair and his face. It would symbolize his authority to rule, of course, but there was something deeper than that. The first king who was anointed was Saul, and right after he was anointed, the prophet Samuel said this about the anointing, “The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power and you will be changed into a different person.” So the oil symbolized the coming of the Spirit for King Saul. Later the same thing happened even more powerfully with David, 1 Samuel 16:13, “Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.” Do you see the identification between the oil and the Holy Spirit? The king was anointed with oil, and that showed that the Spirit was resting on him to give wisdom and guidance to rule the people of God. Jesus was not anointed with actual oil, was He? Now, ‘Anointed one’, is Messiah, or Christ. It’s all the same. The anointing of the Jesus was going to be with the actual presence of the Holy Spirit, not symbolized, but the real Holy Spirit coming. But, of course, we can’t see the Spirit, so He comes in the form of a dove and remains on Jesus the anointed. This is a coronation that the Jews would have understood, ‘crowning with the Holy Spirit’. Jesus totally identified with the Spirit. Isaiah 11:1, it says, “A shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse. From his roots a branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of power. The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.” Isn’t that Jesus? The seven-fold spirit saturating Jesus. Everything Jesus did was saturated in the Holy Spirit. So when He began His preaching ministry in Nazareth He gets a scroll and rolls it up and finds a certain place in Isaiah where it says, in Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord” has what? “Anointed me.” Do you see the identification? “The Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.”
Spirit saturated everything Jesus did. Always moved by the Spirit, moved with compassion, moved with power, moved to push Satan’s kingdom back by the power of the Spirit. But the heavens were open first. Isaiah 64:1: “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down.” Isn’t that powerful? On the day of Jesus’ baptism that’s just what God did. He rent the heavens and He came down on Jesus. The anointing of the King. But Jesus didn’t just come to receive that anointing, He came to give it to you and to me. Remember what John said. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Have you been baptized, saturated, totally immersed in the Holy Spirit? If you’re a Christian you have, because Jesus came to give you that gift. The King of Israel came to give you that incredible gift.
Declaration of the Father
Now we have the proclamation of the Father. Matt. 3: 17: “And a voice from heaven said, “This is My Son whom I love. With Him I am well pleased.” Isn’t that beautiful? The expression of joy, the joy of the Father in the Son. Do you know that the Father and the Son had been enjoying face to face fellowship with each other from eternity past? The Father loves the Son and shows Him all the things He does, said Jesus. Face to face fellowship. The Father has gazed into the sunlight of His own Son’s glory and radiance, and He loves it. The love of the Father for the Son is the foundation of your salvation. It’s the security of your salvation. Because you’re united with Christ in baptism and through faith, and therefore the Father loves you, too. The gazing of the Father and the Son, it just flows out and He proclaims Him to be His Son. “This is My Son.” And He proclaims His love. “My Son whom I love, and I’m well pleased with Him, everything He does pleases Me.” Everything He does. The power of that moment. This was a mountain-top experience.
III. The Temptation of Jesus
But at that very moment, after that mountain-top experience, much like us, Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted by the devil. We will never last long on the mountain-top, not in this world—there’s too much sin around us, too much trouble. There’s work to be done. Napoleon had in his left hand a sword. And he went out with that to slaughter people, and he did slaughter people. Jesus also went out to do battle force, didn’t He? Did He carry a sword? Yes, He did. But what sword did Jesus bring for His battle? The sword of the Spirit which is what? The Word of God. And He went out with the Word of God to do battle for us, to do battle with temptation. Do you struggle with temptation? Temptation is common to us, isn’t it? “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man.” We’re all tempted; we all wrestle with sin. We feel that pull to evil. Jesus was sent to be tempted. Actually, Matthew is somewhat tame in the language compared to what Luke and Mark say. Mark says the the Holy Spirit drove Him out into the desert to be tempted. There’s a sense of pushing, not that Jesus was reluctant, but a sense of urgency to get out and be tempted. We have to ask “why?” Why was Jesus tempted? Why did He have to submit to this? Hebrews puts this in a perspective, it says, “For this reason, He had to be made like His brothers in every way that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted. He knows what’s it like to be tempted.” Jesus knows temptation better than any of you. Why do I say that? I can say it for myself too. It’s because we cave in. We give in. We’ve never felt the full temptation. We felt 80% of the temptation, haven’t we? And then we give up. Jesus felt 100% of every temptation that came His way. Felt it all and defeated it, extinguished it, took it and extinguished it in His own purity and holiness, until it sizzled out. That’s what Jesus did with temptation. He is the most tempted man that’s ever lived. More tempted than you and me. Hebrews says, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with us in our weakness, but we have one who has been” what? “Tempted in every way just as we are, yet was without sin.” The purity of Jesus extinguishs those temptations. I love the way that Luke puts the bookends. I call it Luke’s bookends: Luke 4:1, Luke 4:14. “Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” Full of the Holy Spirit. And then it says in Luke 4:14, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.” Isn’t that great? The bookends. He enters the desert filled with the Holy Spirit, He leaves the desert filled with the Holy Spirit. Do you enter your temptation filled with the Holy Spirit and leave your temptation filled with the Holy Spirit? You can. This is the power that God has given by the Spirit over temptation. We don’t have to give in. What a model Jesus is for us in this.
Now, what is the word used here? Is it temptation or is it testing? That’s a difficulty for a translator. The Greek word could be taken either way. What’s the difference between temptation and testing? Temptation I think is a gravitational or magnetic pull to evil. It’s a pull to do something evil in the sight of God. God has nothing to do with that, does He? For it says in James 1:13-14 “When tempted no one should say, God is tempting me, for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is dragged away and enticed.” That’s temptation. What is testing? Does God test us? Yes, He does. Genesis 22:1: ”Sometime later God said to Abraham, ‘Abraham, take your son, your only son whom you love and sacrifice him on the mountain that I will show you.'” That is a test, for it says, “God tested Abraham.” What’s the difference? A test is a revelation of character as when God tells Satan: “Have you considered my servant Job?” So what does this testing reveal of Jesus’ character? Jesus was attesting as well as being attemped. There was no pulling to evil because Jesus’ character is pure. There was nothing inside Him to respond to the temptation but rather like a magnetic attraction on a piece of wood. But we have these iron filings inside us, don’t we? Habits of sin. And we respond to that magnetic pull. The more iron filings we have the more that temptation pulls in us. What are iron filings? It’s the last time you gave in to the temptation. Put another filing in there. Every time you give in you pour more, and the next temptation’s harder to refuse. Every time you say no to a temptation you take out some of that iron and the temptation has less force on you. So in the desert we see a revelation of the purity of Jesus’ character. We see Jesus’ meekness and His willingness to submit to the will of God in being tempted.
We also see the viciousness of Satan. Do you realize how vicious your enemy is? Your enemy is like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour; he’s prowling around looking for you. Is he going to come at you in a time of strength? No. He comes at you when you’re weak. Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights. During Ramadan Muslims fast for 30 days. That’s not bad, but they don’t fast for 30 nights. More food is consumed in Ramadan than any other month of the year. That’s called the hypocritical fast.They feast during Ramadan because they actually hungry from the daytime fast. But Jesus wasn’t that way. He fasted 40 days and 40 nights, and He was hungry, and the tempter came when He was at His lowest. Does he come when you’re at your lowest? Yes he does because he wants to destroy you. He’s visicous. And he wants to ruin your life. He doesn’t play fair. He wants to destroy you. The most powerful, destructive force in the world is temptation and sin, and that’s the most destructive force in your world, in your life. If you don’t fight it, it will ruin you. The Puritan theologian, John Owen said, “No one begins a quarrel with a viper and does not proceed to kill the viper or else he wishes he’d never begun the argument.” You’re in a fight with a viper. And you have to kill it or it will kill you. Do you understand that? And that’s what Jesus came to do, to give you the power to put sin to death. Because Jesus knows how and you don’t. Satan comes in his viciousness and in his time when he attacks Jesus with his schemes. These are the temptations. In verse 3 and 4, Jesus is tempted to turn the stones into bread; in verses 5-7, He’s tempted to fall from the temple and give a spectacular display, and in verses 8-10, to worship the devil. I have renamed these temptations. Verses 3 and 4: “Serve your stomach and rule over God’s power” ; verses 5-7: ”Serve sensationalism and rule over God’s plan” and verses 8-10: “Serve the devil and rule the world.” Serve your stomach and rule over God’s power. Satan comes and says, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. You have the power to do it. Do it. Use your power, use the power of God to meet your own physical need.” And that’s the essence of Satan’s kingdom, isn’t it? Feed yourself. Think of yourself. “Oh God can’t ask this of you, it’s been 40 days. He’s not going to ask this of you. Take care of your own needs. Serve yourself. Meet your earthly needs”, says Satan. Sounds a little bit familiar to something later said to Jesus. Remember this? Matthew 27:40, “If you’re the Son of God come down off that cross and save yourself.” You see if Jesus gives in here, He’s going to give in there. “No,” said Jesus, “absolutely not.” Paul spoke of people like this, they’re people who live as enemies to the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction. Their God is what? Their stomach. What does it mean to have your stomach as your God? It means that your earthly passions and appetites are what rule your life. You live for them. Jesus wouldn’t live that way.
And Jesus said, “Man does not live… “It is written, man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Now I see this phrase ‘man does not live on bread alone’ used as advertisements for expensive ice cream. That’s totally missing the point. It’s not a matter of man does not live on bread alone but on delicacies like ice cream and cake. That’s got nothing to do with it. “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God “ talks about how we should be moment by moment dependent on the word of God for everything. This comes from Deuteronomy when the Israelites were being led through the desert, and moment by moment they depended on God for their manna. You’re coming to God all the time, every moment. The Greek here is man does not live on bread alone but on every word that is continually proceeding from the mouth of God. There’s a sense of immediacy. When you pick up this book, you are listening to God speaking to you directly. That was Jesus’ attitude about Scripture. “It is written, Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. That’s where I get my sustenance from.” “My food,” said Jesus, “is not to do the will of him, it’s to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work, that’s what I get nourishment from. To do God’s will moment by moment.” So He dispensed with that temptation.
Then the devil took Him to the Holy City, [Jerusalem] and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. The historian Josephus said that the highest point of the temple overlooked a ravine called the Kidron Valley, it was 450 feet down. 450 feet,— that’s a 45 story building. How spectacular would it have been if Jesus had just fallen down at that moment? He would have forced God’s hand. The Son of God did not come into the world to die tragically falling from the highest point of the temple, did He? If so, God would be forced to respond to the Son by sending the angels. And so Satan quotes Scripture, “He will send His angels concerning you and they’ll lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Satan is fully capable of quoting Scripture. He knows how to cite Scripture, but does he interpret it properly? Jesus said no stating that it is also written, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” “I’m not going to force God’s hand. I’m going to listen to God and do what He tells me to do. I’m going to submit to the leadership of God. I’m not going to rule over God’s plan. I’m going to be ruled by God’s plan ,and I’m going to do what He tells me to do.” Second temptation dispensed with.
So then the devil takes Jesus to a very high mountain and in an instant, perhaps, shows Him all the kingdoms of the world in their splendor. How does Satan do that? It’s not very much different than what you get in satellite TV, DSS and all that 260 channels, just images flowing of all the kingdoms of the world in their splendor. Satan’s good at images, isn’t he? Just flowing through our minds all the time; it just keeps coming and coming, those images. And Satan said, “You can have all this, Jesus, if you’ll just fall down and worship me. You’ll just have it. It’s yours. I’ll give it to you. It’s mine to give and I’ll give it.” But Jesus, you see, He looks deeper, doesn’t He? Man looks at outward appearance, the splendor, the beauty. Jesus looks in at the people who make up those kingdoms. There are people there that are going to be eternally lost, if He doesn’t die on the cross for them. He sees the people. He sees the glory that Satan can’t understand and the glory and the beauty of God’s salvation plan. And He wants those people, but He wants them in His way. He doesn’t care a hoot about the shiny molecules of gold and platinum and shimmery robes Satan puts in front of His face. It doesn’t mean a thing.
There’s a light, a glory that Satan can’t understand, and that’s what He’s going for. But actually there’s something deeper than that. There’s a revulsion, a hatred I think, that comes from within Jesus’ character at this moment. And the idea of worshipping anyone but God wells up into this statement, “Away from me, Satan, for it is written ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'” We are made to serve. You are going to serve something. You can’t get away from it. You’re going to serve your flesh or your appetites or your career. You’re going to serve something, you’re going to serve God. We are created to serve the eternal God. That’s what we were made for, and Jesus shows the way. It’s interesting what these temptations all have in common, they all point to this world, don’t they? All are “this-worldly.” They all have to do with this order because that’s all Satan has to offer. He has no claim on the future, no claim on eternity. Actually, Revelation says that the devil knows that his time is short. He doesn’t have much time, all he can offer you is some temporary pleasure; that’s all he can give to you. That’s it. God can give you eternal joy and pleasure at His right hand. That’s what Jesus wants and it’s what He wants for you as well. And so He thoroughly destroy Satan. “Do not love the world,” said John, “Or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the boastful pride of life comes not from the Father but from the world.” Listen to this, “The world and its desires pass away but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”
Jesus destroyed Satan that day, and He’ll destroy Satan on your behalf too if you’ll fight the way He taught you to fight. “Then the Devil left Him,” it says, “and angels came and attended Him.” It’s interesting how Jesus got immediately the very thing that He was tempted, God sent his angels to take care of Him. But in God’s time, not in Satan’s time. And ultimately Jesus will receive the Kingdoms of the world. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Satan has nothing to offer you that God can’t give you 100 times better if you just be patient and do it in His way.
IV. Application
What are my applications? First, when it comes to the baptism of Jesus, ask yourself if have you been baptized as a believer in Jesus Christ. Have you given your life to Jesus and then been baptized as He has commanded? It’s the first step of obedience – have you done it? If not, you need to obey Him and follow Him. But Paul in Romans 6 links your baptism to your holiness. He challenges you to live up to your baptismal vows. If you’ve been united with Christ in His death, you’ll surely also be united with Him in His new life. You’ll walk in newness of life. Are you walking in newness of life? Are you resisting the devil and seeing him flee from you? Are you entering your deserts of temptation filled with the Spirit and then leaving the desert filled with the Spirit? Or are you caving in left and right? Jesus has given you the power to say no – to stand firm and He’s given you the way. The way, my friends, is the Bible – it’s the Scripture. Saturate your minds in its message and you will be given the will and the strength to resist. Memorize it and you’re given specific refutations to each temptation that comes your way. It’s both a world view and a specific weapon that the Scripture gives you. It will give you the determination to fight and to be holy and to resist.
Today we’ve seen the coronation and the testing of the King. I don’t really have any idea where you at spiritually,. I can’t see into your hearts, but if you’ve never given yourself to Jesus Christ, let today be the day of salvation for you. Give yourself to Him fully that He may save you from your sins and give you eternal life. If on the other hand you’re already a Christian, you’ve been baptized, but you’re struggling with sin, rededicate yourself to standing firm, to knowing the Scripture and to fighting the way that Jesus did and not giving in. Let Him fight your battles for you. Say, “Jesus, I’m being tempted, fight in me.” And He will. Give yourself fully to Him.
