-Strength for Today- "The Pressure of Temptation." - Matthew 4:1-11.
In this passage, “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted by the devil. In order to overcome during a time of trial and temptation” -v-1. Many of us grew up hearing Comedian Flip Wilson’s catchphrase, “The devil made me do it!” First, of all, even in the flesh, Jesus Christ, is still God. With this testing, the devil was going up against God’s “battleship” with a “row-boat.” and the outcome of the attack from the was “defeat,” because on that battlefield, it was met with “divine gunnery,”delivered from God’s Word.
Even in the lives of Christians, our faith will be tested. And these negative experiences are to be accepted with great joy, (James 1:2), not for the sake of the trials itself, but because of the positive work God can accomplish through the testing.
The primary defense against temptation is the Word of God - Matthew. 4:4, 7,10. The three temptations Matthew recorded for us fall into broad categories that can be applied to temptations we face today.
1. There was an appeal to physical needs. Jesus was hungry, and the devil tempted Him to make the stones become bread.
2. There was the temptation to take a short cut. Jesus knew what He needed to do to fulfill the Father's plan. He had to go to Jerusalem, to suffer, and die. - Matthew16:21. The devil tempted Jesus to bypass all of that with a dramatic display of God's power that would firmly establish Jesus as the Son of God.
3. The devil tempted Jesus with power: All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me” - v.9
Jesus never disputed that the “worldly kingdoms” were the devils to give. He responded to all three of the devil's temptations with Scripture. He didn't say, "Hold on a minute, devil, while I look up this verse." Because in the beginning He was the Word, (John 1:1), and because He was in evil company, the devil held no power that could cause Him to deviate from His:
Personage, and
Passion and
Purpose Of bringing pleasure to His Father. As Christians, we need to be in God's Word every day, not just, "in times like we’re facing today.”
Author: Plez Lovelady, Jr., Jr., PhD
When Paul described the armor of God in his letter to the church in Ephesus, he called the Word of God the "sword of the Spirit", (Ephesians 6:17), because it’s the only “offensive weapon” in the entire arsenal. The purpose for the “full armor of God” in the first place, is so "you can stand against the wiles of the devil" - Ephesians 6:11.