Book of Matthew: THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS - Pt. 2

By Dr. Michael Guido, D.D.

Matthew 4:1-11
Years ago a famous comedian made famous the excuse for misbehaving, “The devil made me do it.” The devil used all of his tact and trickery, all of his skill and strength to make Jesus sin, but he failed. So that’s one sentence Jesus never had to say, “The devil made me do it.” But let’s see how the devil tried to make him sin.

The first temptation was an appeal for personal gratification. For forty days and nights Jesus ate nothing. He was very hungry. All around Him in the desert were little round pieces of rock which looked like little loaves of bread. Pointing to them, the devil said, “If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Was the devil concerned about the wants of Jesus? No, only about his own wiles. The devil didn’t want to bring Jesus any good, only grief. And when he tempts you, he holds out something good. But when you grasp it, you get nothing but grief. The temptation to the flesh is one of the strongest that we endure today. You’ll always have the desire to satisfy the demands of your bodies. Just as the devil asked Jesus to do a right thing in a wrong way, so he’ll tempt you. Just as he tempted Jesus to use His powers for His own gratification and not for God’s glory, so he’ll tempt you. God has given you gifts. Use them for His glory, not for your own gratification. He has given you wants, but put the will of God first. Jesus couldn’t have given the bread of life to the world had He used His powers to make the bread for Himself. And if you’d be a blessing to others, don’t break God’s commandments. When the devil asked Jesus to change the stones into bread, He answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’” Man does live by bread surely, but not bread only. Man has a soul as well as a body. There’ll be times in your life when you’ll have to choose between the bread or the will of God. Which will you choose?

The second temptation was an appeal for personal glory. Having failed in his attack at the point of weakness, the devil then approached Jesus at the point of His strength - His faith. He tried to get Jesus to use His faith in the wrong way. First it was an under trust. Then it was an over trust. The devil took Jesus to the roof of a temple in Jerusalem. He said to 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.’” Think of that–the devil used the Scriptures to solicit Jesus to sin! And he’ll use the Bible to get you to be bad. But in his quote the devil made two mistakes–one, he took it out of its context; two, he left out these words: “To keep Thee in all Thy ways.” The devil’s ways are not God’s ways, nor should the devil’s ways be your ways. All of the false religions today are due to the false use of Scripture. They’re due to taking right passages and putting them into wrong settings. Yes, the devil will tempt you to be bad by using the Bible. He’ll insist that you get the other fellow before he gets you. But when he tempts you, do as did Jesus. Use the Bible. Jesus answered, “It is written again, ‘Thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God.’” Jesus wasn’t going to ask God to work a miracle so He could be a “show off.” He was more concerned about being Scriptural than sensational, faithful than flashy, loyal to God than loved by the world. How about you?

The third temptation was an appeal for personal gain. He suggested that devotion to God was too dear. He took Jesus to the peak of a very high mountain and showed Him all the nations of the world, and all their glory. “All these things will I give Thee,” he promised, “if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.” “Compromise,” he was saying, “don’t go to the cross. Live on a throne, don’t die on a tree. Wink at wickedness and the world will follow You. Then You’ll have its gold and glory.” But Jesus wanted them to have His grace–even though it meant the cross. So He said, “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, ‘Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’” A giant corporation needed the vote of a representative, and a man was sent to see him. When the official couldn’t be bribed, the fellow cried, “Think of the money you’ll make. It’s the bargain of a lifetime. You’ll never have another chance to make that much so easily.” “Easily?” questioned the representative. “Hear me,” he continued. “No one ever yet got a bargain in sin. It’s the highest priced thing in the market. You tell me that all I have to do is to vote ‘right.’ Well, it isn’t. That’s only the beginning of what I’ll have to do. I’ll have to carry the consciousness of my dishonesty to the grave. I’ll have to live with a remorseful conscience. I’ll have to pose before my wife and children as some one I know I’m not. Don’t tell me it’s a bargain.” No, there’s no bargain in sin, only bankruptcy. Be loyal to the Lord. Use His Word and you’ll defeat the devil. And the Lord will bless you for it.

copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic Association

All Scripture verses are quoted from the New King James Version.

This series of messages on the books of the Bible were originally written for broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The Sower." They are collected and reprinted here for your enjoyment and spiritual edification. Go to the Sower's site for more at www.TheSower.com.