The Showdown
Matthew 4:1-11
Why was Jesus tempted/tested?
Luke 4:1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.
Jesus, “the prophet like Moses,” the New Israel, now undergoes similar rigors and is tested in similar ways. Israel’s “baptism in the waters of the Red Sea” (1 Cor 10:1–2) was followed by Israel’s testings in the wilderness of Sin; similarly, Jesus’ baptism in the waters of the Jordan is followed by his testings in the wilderness of Judea. We may also see the Second Adam in Jesus’ temptation experiences. Where the First Adam had been tested and found wanting (Gen 3), the Second Adam is now tested and found faithful. Where one man’s disobedience under temptation made all sinners, now another man’s obedience under temptation is effective for the righteousness of all (Rom 5).
--Dale Bruner
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
How did Satan tempt Jesus and how did Jesus respond?
Deuteronomy 8:2-4 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. [3] 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. [4] Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.
Before Jesus performs any miracles, he learns here for the rest of his life to reject the selfish use of the miraculous. Jesus does not assume for himself as Son the right to demand special, exempting privileges from his Father... The Father put Jesus into the wilderness; the Father will get him out. Meanwhile, Jesus will simply trust the Father’s Word of baptism: heaven is open above him, the Spirit alive within him, he is the well-loved Son; he’ll be all right.
--Dale Bruner
The second temptation is full of holy things. Jesus is taken to the holy city, placed atop the holy temple, and is read the Holy Scriptures. Holy, holy, holy. Where the first temptation smelled like a bakery, the second has the aroma of an Orthodox liturgy. Where the devil in the first temptation tried to reach Jesus through his weak spot, his hungry stomach, he now tries to reach Jesus through his strong spot, his faith in God’s Word, by which faith Jesus had just warded off the first temptation. If the evil one cannot make us carnal, perhaps he can make us fanatical; if he cannot make us super-secular by seeking wonder bread, perhaps he can make us super-spiritual by suggesting leaps of faith.
--Dale Bruner
Though Jesus will receive the kingdoms as his future inheritance, Satan is offering them now without the difficulty of becoming the suffering Servant. But the price tag is incredibly high—idolatry, replacing Jesus’ Father with Satan as an object of worship.
--Grant Osborne
What can we learn from this passage as it relates to our own lives?
We should expect temptation in our lives.
Temptation to sin and actually committing sin are different.
Satan often attacks us in our weakest spots and in our weakest moments.
Satan also attacks us in our strengths, particularly in our identity and in our calling.
Performance: "I am what I do."
Possessions: "I am what I have."
Pleasure: "I am what I want."
Popularity: "I am what others think of me."