Matthew 3:13-4:11
Baptism and Temptation

Jesus was baptized in order to totally identify with the fallen, sinful human race he had come to save.

God's voice from heaven combines the Psalm 2:7 (a prophecy about the Messiah) and Isaiah 42:1 (a prophecy about the suffering servant). Why do you think that this is so?

It show that the Messiah would be a suffering Messiah from the outset of Jesus' ministry. Not the conqueror some expected.

Jesus' baptism is the starting point of his public ministry. It is also a moment in the Gospels where we see all three Persons of the Holy Trinity together. The Holy Spirit comes upon Jesus to equip him for his ministry. If Jesus was equipped by the Holy Spirit for ministry what does that say about us in our calling to live a Christian life and serve Christ?

The Purpose of Testing
Following his baptism Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. Mark's Gospel says that the Spirit "drove" or "threw" him into the wilderness!

In the wilderness Jesus fasted. Fasting demonstrates our dependance upon God, self-denial and that God alone is our highest desire.

What does the fact that the Holy Spirit himself led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted imply in our situation? Why does God put us into situations where we will be tested?

Before ministry can occur there has to be equipping and testing.

Israel was tested for 40 years in the wilderness. They responded with disloyalty and rebellion.

After the spiritual highpoint of His baptism Jesus finds himself in the wilderness of temptation. These seems to be a common pattern in the Bible. Look at Elijah's experience in 1 Kings 18:17-40 and his later experience in 1 King in 19:3.

Have you ever experienced this? How does this knowledge help you in faithful discipleship?

What is the main lesson Israel and we learn from testing?

Total dependance upon God. Our life itself flows from God.

Temptation in General
The temptations mirror those faced by Adam and Eve. Look up Genesis 3:6. What were the three avenues of temptation that appealed to Eve in this verse? Match these avenues with the temptations Jesus faced.

Appeal to Physical Appetite. Appeal to the Eyes. Appeal to Pride.

We learn a couple of things here. First of all, every temptation we will face will come through one of these three avenues. Second Jesus is reversing the fall of humanity by facing and overcoming the same forms of temptation Adam faced. Jesus is referred to as the "New Adam" in 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 for precisely this reason. Jesus earns the right to be the Savior of humanity because he faces and overcomes the same temptations we faced.

Temptation here is actually testing. What was Satan's purpose in tempting Jesus?

To seduce Jesus to do evil and thus thwart God's plan of salvation.

What was God's purpose in allowing Jesus to be tempted?

To strengthen Jesus for his ministry and trials to come. While Satan seeks our destruction through temptation God tests us in order to strengthen us.

Notice that Satan tempts Jesus through his Jesus' spiritual gifts. Satan often comes to us through our talents, special abilities and spiritual gifts. Those with greatest talent often deal with sloth and lack of self-discipline (the gifted musician or athlete who doesn't practice like s/he should because they are so naturally talented). Spiritual gifts can be used for self-centered reasons. Many a minister is charming, winsome and gifted in speech. Yet some use these gifts to manipulate others for personal gain. God's gifts to us are for the purpose to bless others and to glorify God. The purpose is NOT to bless ourselves or glorify our selves. Blessing, to be personally satisfying, must come from God!

In our members there is a slumbering inclination towards desire which is both sudden and fierce. With irresistible power desire seizes mastery over the flesh. All at once a secret, smoldering fire is kindled. The flesh burns and is in flames. It makes no difference whether it is sexual desire, or ambition, or vanity, or desire for revenge, or love of fame and power, or greed for money, or, finally, that strange desire for the beauty of the world, of nature. Joy in God is... extinguished in us and we seek all our joy in the creature.

At this moment God is quite unreal to us, he loses all reality, and only desire for the creature is real; the only reality is the devil. Satan does not here fill us with hatred of God, but with forgetfulness of God. And now his falsehood is added to this proof of strength. The lust thus aroused envelopes the mind and will of man in deepest darkness. The powers of clear discrimination and of decision are taken from us. The questions present themselves: "Is what the flesh desires really sin in this case?" "Is it really not permitted to me, yes -- expected of me, now, here, in my particular situation, to appease desire?" The tempter puts me in a privileged position as he tried to put the hungry Son of God in a privileged position. I boast of my privilege against God.

It is here that everything within me rises up against the Word of God. --Bonhoeffer

Temptation in Detail
The first temptation is the appeal to physical appetite. What are some of the appetites we struggle to keep under God's control?  Food. Sex. Sleep....

The physical appetites are not bad – they are necessary in order to sustain life. Yet they can lead us to do evil acts. In this case the temptation was to use a spiritual gift for a self-centered reason.

The temptation to leap from the pinnacle of the Temple was the temptation to "be somebody", to do the spectacular that will lead to personal fame and the adulation of others. In this temptation the devil shows that he knows and can twist Scripture for his purpose. The temptation is to take the focus from God and place it on the one's self. It is the temptation to try to MAKE God do what we want him to do.

The final temptation appeals to the desire of the eyes. The devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. The temptation here was for Jesus to avoid the Cross. He could have dominion over the world if he would just bow down to Satan. It is the temptation to compromise with evil in order to achieve some desirable end. Evil cannot be defeated by compromising with it.

Overcoming Temptation

All of Jesus' responses come from Deuteronomy. They share a common characteristic: they all call for supreme loyalty to God.

Each time Jesus was tempted he countered with the Word of God. What does that tell us about resisting temptation?

Each of the biblical responses to Satan's temptations serves to bring the focus back to loyalty to God.

While the temptation ended for a while at the end of this encounter in the wilderness it would come into Jesus life again at a later time. There is never a time when we can let our guard down. Look up the following verses: 1 Corinthians 10:12; 1 Peter 5:8

Back to Bible Studies Page

Back to  Cornerstone Stuff  Page

Questions, suggestions and problems concerning the Cornerstone United Methodist Church Website should be directed toward the Cornerstone Webmaster at: webmaster@cornerstoneumconline.com

This Website Has Been Visited



Since Beginning Operation