How Could Satan Tempt Jesus?

This is our Understanding the Scriptures segment, we are in the gospel of Matthew. We are in Matthew chapter 4, and I’ll start with verse 1: "Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil."

Dave:

Now that’s the Holy Spirit, is leading him into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And you know part of the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray. It’s called the Lord’s Prayer, but he never prayed it. Lord, teach us to pray after this manner. So I would say it’s a pattern of prayer, and part of it is: Lead us not unto temptation. But now, Jesus is being led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. Now Tom, this verse raises some questions I’m sure--well, in anyone’s mind who reads it, Jesus is led of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to be tempted of the devil? Well, the word tempted, doesn’t that Jesus is going to be given some alternative that it is just going to, Wow, he’ll be so desirous of falling into this sin that he will just have to really grit his teeth. No, in Him there was no sin, he did no sin, he knew no sin, but it’s a test, a different word, to see whether he is really God, whether he is the Son of God, whether he’s worthy to be our Saviour, it’s a test. Lead us not into a test of our faith--not that that would be wrong, nothing wrong with that, God will test us, but we are not...okay God, you know, it doesn’t matter, I can’t fall. Let him thinketh that he standeth take heed lest he fall. So I at least have enough humility to say, Lord, I’d sure rather not, and be led into a test of my faith, but if that’s your will, okay.

Tom:

Verse 2, "And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered."

Dave:

Well Tom, I’ve done a little fasting, but nothing like that, fasting for the purpose of prayer. But this is a specific test, and he must have been very hungry.

Tom:

And Dave, Jesus fasting forty days and forty nights, as we understand that we are to fast, that it’s for our strengthening spiritually, isn’t it? Isn’t that why I would fast?

Dave:

Well, to some extent it should also be for prayer, in time of prayer to devote ourselves totally to whatever it is that they are praying about, and so forth. Well, the tempter, I mean, this you would say he’s playing into the devil’s hands. Look at this. Certainly He would be weak, no nutrition, nothing but water, and you could be hallucinating, not Jesus, but a normal person would be hallucinating at that point. So, He’s led of the Spirit to do this, and the devil thinks, "Well, I’ve got him now, I’ll throw out in front of him a temptation that--two-edged sword." So the next verse he says, the tempter came to him and said, "If thou be the Son of God command that these stones be made bread." Okay, so he’s challenging His deity. Okay, look, if you don’t do this it will prove that you’re not the Son of God. So that is like saying--an interviewer on the radio asked me, Have you stopped beating your wife? Well, how are you going to respond to that? I never beat her. Yeah, but have you stopped beating her? That’s a tough one! "Well, if you’re the Son of God command these stones to be made into bread." Yes, but if I do I will be bowing to Satan, I will be following his suggestions, I will be honoring his temptation. Now I’ve got to prove that I’m the Son of God. No, I don’t have to prove that I am the Son of God. So, it’s a very clever ploy on the part of Satan.

Tom:

Verse 4, "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

Tom:

Tom, he’s answering him with Scripture. It says, "It is written." Well, where is it written? Well, it’s in Deuteronomy 8 verse 3, and it’s very similar, because God says, in the earlier verses leading up to that, he says, "I have led you through the wilderness to test you, to know what was in your heart so that you would know that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." It doesn’t say a rabbi, it doesn’t say a theologian that has a degree in theology, it says, man. So apparently, any ordinary man can live by feeding upon every word of God. Well, that tells us something, you don’t have to be a Greek expert or a Hebrew expert, you don’t have to be a pastor or much less the magisteriam of the Catholic church, I don’t have to look to them. But I can--Wow--I can feed on the Word of God too! Well, that’s good news. And Jesus then quotes from Deuteronomy:8:3And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
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Tom:

Dave, you know, I wish I was better at remembering verses, the addresses where they come from, it’s getting a little more difficult the more I age, but this one I’ve got wired because this is Matthew chapter 4, verse 4, and it’s also the same in Luke chapter 4 verse 4. So, I have two shots at remembering where it is, so that’s an encouragement.

Dave:

I think we ought to follow Christ’s example, we face temptation from the Word of God. It is written, okay, this is our command, this is what we are supposed to do, and that would relate back to Tom, to what we had earlier about this National Day of Prayer. It is commanded, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And Jesus, you quoted it earlier, Tom, "You deny me before men, I will deny you before my Father who is in heaven." And yet we have this National Day of Prayer. It was started by evangelical Christians for a considerable number of years. Shirley Dobson and Vonette Bright, the wives of two leading Christians, they directed this thing, they headed it up. Well, evangelical Christians, what are you doing? The National Day of Prayer, wait a minute, you know that the vast majority of Americans, they may call themselves Christians, they’re not real Christians. Are you going to lead these people into an abomination, pretending that they know God, or how about all the people that have false gods, are you going to encourage them, we’ll all get together. But this was started by evangelical Christians. I think it’s shocking, but anyway, we dealt with that with a light touch.

Tom:

Dave, let me just read verse 5, and then we will pick up with that, the Lord willing, next week. "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, verse 6, And saith unto 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." You know, Satan works both ways, doesn’t he, Dave? He says in Genesis chapter 3, verse 1, "Yea, hath God said--" to undermine the Word of God, and now we have him facing Jesus and quoting Scripture to him. Unbelievable!

Dave:

He can quote it too, misquote it. Misapply it.