It is Written

Introduction

Today, we are taking a short break from our series on the Parables of Jesus to study this wonderful passage about the beginning of Jesus' public life and ministry.

This passage is important for every one of us because Jesus came to accomplish everything the Father had planned, so that His people would be saved, guided, and one day glorified through His one and only Son.

The passage we are going to study is often called "The Temptation of Jesus." It tells us what Jesus experienced in the wilderness, where He was tempted by the devil and put to the test. God has given us this account so that it would become a practical example for all of us who belong to Him.

The way Jesus showed us how to resist temptation and the different spiritual attacks of the enemy never changes. It is just as important today as it was then. We must learn from His example and put it into practice so that we may live a victorious spiritual life, full of faith and confidence in God, every day, until the end of our lives on this earth.

If the Spirit of God lives in us and we submit ourselves to Him, we are able to resist the devil, and he will flee from us. By faith, we are called to live out the victory that Jesus Christ has already won for us through His precious blood. He defeated death, and one day He will raise us up to live with Him forever.

So then, what is the power that enables us to resist the devil? It is the powerful work of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.

Teaching

Reading of the Passage - "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall 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 glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him." v.1-11

Context of the Passage - "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."  v1

Right after Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit came down upon Him, and God the Father declared that Jesus was His beloved Son. This is one of the passages that clearly confirms what we believe: that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Then, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan, the tempter and the destroyer of souls. Yet throughout this event, God remained completely sovereign. He even used Satan's evil intentions to accomplish His own purpose through Jesus and to reveal the perfect obedience, holiness, and supremacy of His Son.

This verse also reminds us of the meeting between the serpent, Eve, and then Adam in the book of Genesis. The serpent tempted Eve in the garden. Then Eve and Adam, our first parents, disobeyed God and gave in to temptation. Sin entered the world, bringing separation between mankind and God. Even today, we still live with the consequences of that fall because we have inherited a sinful nature.

But we must never forget that Jesus is God in the flesh, fully and perfectly man, and fully and perfectly God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and possesses all the divine attributes, as well as all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, He is infinitely greater than mankind and, of course, greater than the devil.

This is not an equal battle between two opposing powers, nor is there any question about who will win. Instead, this passage reveals how far above both man and Satan Jesus truly is. It shows us His perfect holiness and His perfect obedience in the face of every temptation He experienced.

"And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. » v2

The number forty is very significant in the Bible. It is often connected with a time of preparation, testing, or purification for God's people, as well as for the men God called and sent, such as Moses and Elijah.

In the same way, this points us to Jesus as the promised Prophet. But He is not merely another prophet or a Rabbi. He is God Himself, who came to accomplish what no one else could ever accomplish: the redemption of sinners through His own blood, representing the spotless and blameless Lamb of God, who came to save all those whom God has called and chosen, all those who will believe in Jesus Christ—His people, His church.

Yes, Jesus became "hungry". At this moment, the Word of God shows us the true humanity of Jesus. He needed physical food, and He truly lived as a man. He was perfect, yet He experienced the same physical needs that every human being experiences.

He also experienced the suffering and the needs that we all face today. He knows what we go through, and He has shown us the perfect example through fasting and withdrawing into the wilderness under the leading of the Holy Spirit, marking the beginning of His public ministry.

Let us now look at how Jesus was tempted, because this passage gives us the tools we need and teaches us the method Jesus Himself used.

Here we find three different ways the devil tempted Jesus. The first is this:

The First Temptation

"And the tempter came and said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.' But he answered, 'It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’" v3–4

Here, the tempter, the devil, comes to Jesus. He is the one who starts the conversation and speaks directly to Him. This reminds us that the devil is always at work, roaming around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. He wants nothing good for us. His deepest desire is to see us fall and to destroy us.

But the devil knew who Jesus was. Otherwise, he would never have said these words. After all, what ordinary man could turn stones into bread? God had already provided for His people in the wilderness for forty years by sending manna from heaven every day and by bringing water out of a rock. Jesus certainly had the power to do the same.

But here, Jesus teaches us that what truly feeds our body, our soul, and our spirit is not physical bread alone. We also need spiritual food, and that is the Word of God that comes from the mouth of God.

To answer the devil's lie, Jesus turns to the Scriptures. He quotes from the book of Deuteronomy, the Law that God gave through Moses. By doing this, Jesus confirms the divine authority of Scripture, which reveals God's plan of redemption fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Word made flesh, perfectly fulfilling everything that the Scriptures had promised.

For us today, Jesus gives us the answer to the struggles and temptations we face in everyday life. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us, He shows us the power of God's Word. 

The Bible is the sword of the Spirit. God's Word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, given by God to help us stand against every attack of the devil.

Now let us look at the second way Jesus was tempted.

The Second Temptation

"Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, "He will command his angels concerning you, » and "On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. »' Jesus said to him, 'Again it is written, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" v5–7

The devil took Jesus to the holy city. The Greek word translated "took" is paralambanei, which means "to take with oneself" or "to bring along." The text simply tells us that the devil took Jesus to the holy city. It does not explain how this happened. Therefore, the passage does not necessarily mean that Satan miraculously carried Jesus through the air.

However, Jesus was taken to the highest point of the Temple in Jerusalem, giving Him a wide view from above. Once again, this shows the authority that Satan is allowed to exercise on the earth. But his authority is limited and always remains under the complete sovereignty of God.

The Bible calls Satan "the god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4), "the ruler of this world" (John 12:31), and tells us that he deceives the nations (Revelation 12:9; 20:3).

That is why Satan is constantly trying to turn people away from the true God. He does this by producing counterfeits, false religions, and false teachings. But Jesus is infinitely greater than them all, because He alone is the way, and the truth, and the life.

Then the devil said something that sounded as if it came from God. He quoted Psalm 91:11–12, speaking about the Lord’s protection and provision for His people, but he took it completely out of its context in order to twist God's Word.

This is the same method Satan used when he spoke to Eve in the Garden of Eden. He places God at the center of the conversation, hoping to create confusion and doubt.

"Are You really the Son of God? Then surely the angels will save You, won't they?"

But once again, Jesus answered with the Word of God. He quoted from the book of Deuteronomy, which teaches us that we must never put God to the test. We are not to demand that God prove His faithfulness through signs or miracles. 

Such an attitude reveals a lack of trust and confidence in Him. Even without external signs God is here. He is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient from all eternity.

Now let us look at the third way Jesus was tempted.

The Third Temptation

"Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, 'All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve."v8–10 

Once again, Jesus was taken to a high place, a very high mountain, where the devil showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and all their glory. 

Satan exercises a real, yet temporary and limited, authority over this fallen world system, where materialism, wealth, power, and the love of money often take first place. Even so, everything remains completely under the sovereignty and authority of God.

Where temptation and sin abound, Satan uses the glory, the riches, and the pleasures of this world as bait to attract lost people—those who are far from God and His Kingdom.

Money, lust, worldly success, and the pleasures of this life can easily become idols in the hearts of men. But none of these things could ever attract our holy and righteous God or His beloved Son. 

In the same way, those who have been born of the Spirit should never look to this fallen world for their true satisfaction.

The Holy Spirit does not lead us to love or worship the things of this fallen world, which is passing away and where the devil and those who follow him still exercise their influence. 

Instead, the Holy Spirit turns our hearts toward Christ. If the Spirit lives in us, then Christ lives in us. Therefore, all glory, honor, and worship belong to God alone, through Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Here, Jesus clearly demonstrates His authority over Satan. The devil tries to turn Him away from the Father's will by offering Him the glory of all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for worship. But Jesus cannot be tempted by the pride and empty glory of this world.

Once again, Jesus uses the very means that God has also given to His people to resist the devil's subtle and persistent attacks: the Word of God.

And once again, Jesus quotes from the book of Deuteronomy with perfect authority, perfect clarity, and perfect obedience: "You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve." That settles it. There is nothing more to add.

Jesus’s Victory

"Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him."v11

The devil left Jesus and went away, revealing Christ's authority and the power of heaven over the forces of darkness.

For us, His church, God’s Word is presented here as the weapon that Jesus used to answer every temptation. Through His perfect obedience, all glory and honor were given to God alone, according to His Word, even though He was God made flesh.

The devil's temptations failed. Jesus Christ, the second Adam, succeeded where the first Adam had failed. In doing so, He began to fulfill the promise God had made when He pronounced judgment on the serpent in Genesis 3:15: 

"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

Here we clearly see two offspring, two spiritual families: the offspring of the serpent and the offspring of the woman. The offspring of the serpent represents all those who remain in rebellion against God and under the power of sin. The offspring of the woman finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ and includes all those who belong to Him, saved by God's grace through faith.

God promised that the serpent's head would be crushed. Jesus' victory over temptation points forward to that great victory, which would be accomplished in a decisive and permanent way through His death on the cross and His resurrection, opening the way to eternal life.

The fact that the angels came and ministered to Jesus reveals both His divine dignity and His divine authority. It also shows the Father's loving care for His Son after this time of testing. Jesus shares the same divine nature as the Father and the Holy Spirit. While living on earth, He perfectly carried out the Father's will. As Jesus Himself said, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:9, ESV)

Luke's Gospel gives an additional detail about this same event. It reminds us that the devil looks for opportunities to attack. "And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time." Luke 4:13 (ESV)

Notice those words: "until an opportune time." As we have seen throughout this passage, the devil looks for opportunities to tempt. He will also look for opportunities to tempt us, especially in times of weakness, weariness, when we neglect prayer and fellowship with our brothers and sisters, or simply when we begin to drift away from God.

The devil will always seek to attack God's people. We should neither ignore this reality nor give it more attention than it deserves. But we must recognize that it is real.

However, God's Word makes all the difference in the way we face life's difficult situations, including the many temptations we experience every day. 

But through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, as we saturate our hearts and minds with God's Word by reading it, meditating on it, and putting it into practice, our own will gradually gives way to the will of the Father—the One who saved us so that we might glorify Him until our very last breath on this earth.

Conclusion

As we come to the end of this message that the Lord has given us today, let us remember how we are to respond whenever we are tempted or tested in our flesh by the devil.

Our only response is to stand on God’s promises through His living Word—to believe it, proclaim it, and put it into practice. God's Word is powerful for all who believe that He is alive and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.

Jesus Himself showed us the way by boldly saying, "It is written."

For who can stand against the one who, through the power of the Holy Spirit, knows God and understands His will through His Word?

Let us also remember this important truth. The misuse of God's Word without the illumination of the Holy Spirit, in a legalistic way, can also bring death and division. This is exactly what happened among the Pharisees in their opposition toward Jesus.

On the other hand, speaking about the Holy Spirit without submitting to the Word of God is equally dangerous. God has given us both His Spirit and His Word, and they always work together, just as we see throughout the ministry of Jesus.

Because Satan himself twisted God's Word, let us also remember the apostle John's warning concerning false prophets in his first letter: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1 (ESV)

This reminds us that false teachers will always seek to enter the church. For our spiritual safety, we must test every spirit in the light of Scripture and continue to grow in spiritual maturity, so that we will not be carried away by every wind of doctrine, deceived by the desires of the flesh, or led into things that do not glorify God in our lives.

So let me ask you one final question: Do you believe the Word of God?

If your answer is yes, then read it, live it, and put it into practice while there is still time!