THE TEMPTATION OF CHRIST

(Part 9)

Matt. 4:1-11

Morning Meditation 9/23/16

Verses 8-11 Say, "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."

We have come now for our last look, at least for this series of studies, at the temptation of Christ. I never intended this to extend to so many lessons. But as I began to meditate and write, I found no place to stop without feeling that I was leaving too much unsaid. This is the way with God's Word. As I look back, I know that many of you could point to things that needed to be commented on at certain places. We are never adequate to see it all. And others see things we do not see. No man has ARRIVED, especially me.

As we have already stated, Satan wanted to secure worship from Jesus. He knew that was not going to happen but he nevertheless continued with his temptation. A. T. Robertson says, "Matthew has it Jesus is plainly to "fall down and worship me," while Luke (Luke 4:7) puts it, "worship before me," a less offensive demand, but one that really involved worship of the devil. The ambition of Jesus is thus appealed to at the price of recognition of the devil's primacy in the world. It was compromise that involved surrender of the Son of God to the world ruler of this darkness. "The temptation was threefold: to gain a temporal, not a spiritual, dominion; to gain it at once; and to gain it by an act of homage to the ruler of this world, which would make the self-constituted Messiah the vice-regent of the devil and not of God" (McNeile).

Jesus ordered Satan to leave reminding him that God alone is to receive worship. That brings us to verse 11: "Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."

The word "then" translates "tote" and means "at that time." The time had come for the temptation to end. Jesus gives the order and the devil obeys. Don't ever forget this. Satan does not have unqualified power in this present world. We may not understand the extent of the power allowed by God to this fallen angel, but we know from this passage and others that Satan is limited. He must obey God. That comforts me.

Then Matthew says, "the devil leaveth him." The word "devil" translates "diabolos" and means "slanderous, accusing falsely." It comes from a root word that is made up of two words, "dia," which means "through," and "ballo," which means, "to throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls." Kittel says, "separate from," "to be set in opposition," "to give false information." Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it" (John 8:44). So we have the etymology of the word "devil" and what our Lord said about him. Another thing. In this passage he is called the "devil" (vs. 1), "tempter," (vs. 3), and "Satan" (vs. 10). All of these are one and the same person. All of these names tell us something about him and his activity. But he is under God's sovereign authority and is limited to what God allows.

The word "leaveth" translates "aphiemi" meaning "to send away." It is used in the New Testament of a husband divorcing his wife. It is a present active indicative verb. It means that when Jesus gave the order the process immediately began as He spoke the words and Jesus divorced Satan from this event. He does not argue and say, "I'm not through." Jesus determined the duration of the temptation and Satan's point of departure. I have repeatedly stated this. It is important. When you are being attacked by Satan, first, you are being tested that God might manifest the quality of His product (You are his product). Second, you are being tested to strengthen you. "Smooth seas do not make good sailors" is a good saying. In describing the Nicene Council, Vance Havner said that not more than a dozen of the 318 delegates had not lost an eye or a hand or did not limp upon a leg shrunk in its sinews by the burning iron of torture. If a convocation of pastors were called today there would be the smell of perfume with Cadillacs parked out front with a schedule that included a time for golf and/or sight seeing and shopping in the afternoon! The early preachers were not entertainers and did not seek to be entertained. I better get off of that one!

The words "leaveth him" means that Jesus (him) was the one that Satan had to leave alone. He did not leave the mountain or the other people of the world. Satan's job will remain the same until he is finally put in the place prepared for him and his angels (Matt. 25:41). Satan has to leave the individual when God says, "It is enough." Amen. Our God has the final say. Angels, even fallen angels, know this. He is our loving Father and deals with us in grace. He will not allow us to be tempted above that we are able. And our ability is His ability with which He endues us by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Then Matthew says, ". .. . and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him." The word "behold" translates "idou," and means here, "to know." It is an aorist active imperative verb. The aorist tense means "to know or understand at this point." The imperative mood is a command that expresses urgency. It is important to Matthew, and to the Holy Spirit who inspired this statement, that those to whom he was speaking have an immediate understanding of what is being said.

This temptation was not easy on the humanity of Christ. Jesus is as much God as if He were not man and He is as much man as if He were not God. He is wholly God and wholly man. As a man He could be tempted but not as God. As a man He could become tired and weary but not as God. As a man there were times He needed assurances but not as God. As a man He needed what took place here. Matthew says, "angels came and ministered unto him." The temptation had left Him with a need. God moved to take care of our Lord's physical and psychological needs. He did this with the angels. Hebrews 1:14 says of the angels, "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"

The word "ministered" translates "diakoneo" and means "to be a servant or attendant." It also means, "to minister, i.e., supply food and necessities of life; to relieve one's necessities; to provide take care of, distribute, the things necessary to sustain life." The one who would eventually minister to five thousand by providing food was now being ministered to by the angels. The devil said, "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." Jesus refused and quoted the Scripture that said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Now the angels ministered to His needs. How they did this we are not told. But we do find in Luke 4:14, immediately after the temptation, "And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee . . ." I believe that Psalm 23:5 applies here: Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies . . ." Can you imagine the meal the angels prepared for Him as Satan watched from a distance? Amen!

Jesus is our life and everything that goes with that life. And those things with which He was confronted may confront us at times. Just remember, He has successfully passed the test and survived victoriously. When we are confronted, we must allow Him to respond through us with His determination and Scripture. It may leave us washed out, but as the angels ministered to Him, they will also minister to us.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts..

In Christ

Bro. White