DAY Five of Twenty-one "Son of God"

DAY Five of Twenty-one "Son of God"

Matthew 4:10

10“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,

‘You must worship the LORD your God

and serve only him.’”

Matthew 4:1-11

1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil.

2For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

3During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”

4But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,

‘People do not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

5Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple,

6and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,

‘He will order his angels to protect you.

And they will hold you up with their hands

so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone.’”

7Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the LORD your God.’”

8Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

9“I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”

10“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,

‘You must worship the LORD your God

and serve only him.’”

11Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

SORTING IT OUT Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is a provocative plot point in an already tightly-plotted story. Born of a scandalous pregnancy, spirited away to Egypt to avoid murder, now we see Jesus led out into the desert to survive 40 days without food...and then Satan comes to tempt Him.

Satan never seems to tempt us when we are at our best, does he? He doesn’t come when Jesus is home with His family, surrounded by friends and well-fed. He doesn’t come when Jesus is being baptized and God is speaking to Him from Heaven. No, he comes when Jesus is exhausted, hungry, and alone, offering Him food, power, and rescue.

Jesus doesn’t give in. His stomach must have been sick for want of food, yet He doesn’t give in. He resists the Evil One. Even when the Devil twists Scripture to quote at Jesus, Jesus doesn’t give in. Finally, He orders Satan to leave, and he does. Then God sends His angels to minister to Jesus, who has withstood the trial.

YOUR TURN We might have never spent 40 days in the desert without food, enduring direct temptation from Satan; yet, temptation is something all of us face.

What can we learn from Jesus’ example?

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