Mathew 4

The Spirit of God permitted Jesus to be tempted in the wilderness, vs 1. The tempter came to Jesus when He was famished, vs 2. How we react to temptation when going without food, can determine our true spiritual strength!

At this time, the first temptation was related to using the gift of God for selfish purposes, in times of need, vs 3. The way to overcome the same was to be led by the Word of God and not by our fleshly instinct or human consideration when they contradict the Word and the Holy Spirit’s leading, vs 4.

The next temptation was in relation to being presumptuous, and therefore doing something deliberately in order to test God to see whether He would fulfill His promise to us under those circumstances, vs 5,6. We can fall for this, if we have a twisted or partial understanding of Scripture! However, Jesus overcame because He was well aware of the other Scripture in that connection which gave a complete understanding of the whole counsel of God that enables one to overcome the temptation of falling into presumptuous sin, vs 7.

The third temptation was aimed at luring Jesus to obtain the world and its grandeur by bowing the knee to Satan by means of some type of compromise or another, vs 8,9! However, Jesus overcame this temptation, because He knew that the Word undoubtedly confirmed that only God was worthy of worship, since He alone was both Creator and Saviour of the world, 10! The devil was then left with no option but to leave His presence, and then angels came and ministered to His needs, vs 11! Let us therefore be sure to avoid the passing pleasures of sin, just like Jesus did, but rather walk by faith in God’s Word and thus be the recipients of the true and lasting riches of God’s character.

For as we do so, we will be led by God’s Word and Spirit:
to live in the region that God wants us to and be a blessing to many as a result, vs 12-16, to preach the good news of the Gospel about entering God’s kingdom through repentance and faith, to help disciples to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, vs 17-22 and to manifest the signs of the Kingdom of God in authenticity and power as backed by the Holy Spirit and God’s Word, vs 23-25!

Just imagine how much each of us stand to lose each time we succumb to temptation and bow our knee to Satan!

Let him who has ears to hear, hear and walk in the fullness of the blessing of the Lord that is particularly reserved for God’s overcomers. Amen.

Rowena Thomas
Mumbai, India.