THE TEMPTATION OF CHRIST

Matt. 4:1-11

Morning Meditation 9/18/2014

Verses 1-4 say, “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 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.”

The temptation of Christ followed immediately after His baptism by John and His public approval by His Father. Everyone I know marks the baptism of Christ as the beginning of His public ministry. He is the Messiah of Israel and the Son of God. He will in the next three and one-half years meet every prophecy that pertains to the Messiah. He will present the kingdom to Israel and be rejected as Isaiah said He would be (Isa. 53). But to begin His ministry, He must undergo this test to verify His sinlessness humanity and His power to restore God’s original purpose in man on earth. The kingdom was lost by one man (Adam) and it will be regained by One Man (Christ) (Rom. 5:18). Satan was the tempter in the loss, and in doing it, he took the kingdom from Adam; Jesus will take the kingdom back from him through the incarnation, His power to overcome in the temptation, His death on the cross to redeem that which was lost in the fall, and His resurrection to reign forever as God originally planned.

The words “Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil” tell us that this temptation was planned by the Lord. The temptation in Eden was allowed by the Lord but the temptation in the wilderness was planned by the Lord. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself (2 Cor. 5:19).

The word “Then” means, “at that time.” This suggests that after the baptism of Christ the next thing that happened was the Temptation. It was proper that the temptation take place at this point. This temptation would manifest His power over the world, the flesh and the devil to do the job He came to do. Adam did not stand the test. The last Adam did (1 Cor. 15:45). The first Adam was allowed to be tempted at the beginning of his rulership of this world. The last Adam was tempted at the beginning of His ministry to take back the rulership of this world.

The word “Jesus” means “Jehovah is salvation.” It is not “Christ was led up of the spirit,” it is “Jesus was led up of the spirit.” As Joseph contemplated putting Mary away by divorce from their espousal because she was found with child, the Scripture explains it like this: “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” Matt. 1:20-21). God names the Child. His name must be Jesus because this name identifies the purpose of His birth. He came to be the Saviour of the world. To do this He must take back the kingdom for the one who lost it and from the usurper who took it. Jesus is God’s David against the Satanic Goliath. Jesus is His name and we are going to learn that there is resistible power in that name.

The words “led up” translate “anago.” This word means “to lead up, to lead or bring into a higher place.” It is an aorist passive indicative verb. The aorist tense refers to the point of time when this took place. Adam’s temptation and fall took place at a point of time and this is recorded in Genesis chapter three. Jesus got the victory over Satan at this point of time in the wilderness. He manifest the victory obtained here throughout the remainder of His ministry. We enter into Christ’s victory over Satan when we are saved. We manifest Christ’s victory over Satan, into which we entered at salvation, every time we resist him (James 4:7). Jesus is still the Victor over Satan (1 John 4:4). The passive voice means that it was not Jesus’ decision to enter into this temptation but the Father’s. I know this is a mystery and I am not taking anything away from the Deity of Christ. It is like Jesus praying in the garden, “ . . . O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt. 26:39). John 16:11 says, “Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” The words “is judged” in this verse translate “krino” and means “to pronounce judgment, to subject to censure; it is used of those who act the part of judges or arbiters in matters of common life, or pass judgment on the deeds and words of others.” It is a perfect passive indicative verb. The perfect tense refers to completed action in the past, that completed action having present results. To apply this it means that the “prince of this world” has been judged in the past and he stands judged now. The passive voice means that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit did the judging. Jesus as a man, brought man from under Satan to reign over Satan.. Jesus is truly man and as man is over Satan today. Satan has no power against the God-Man. And our victory over Satan is to bring the victory of Christ against him and when we do the Scripture says he will flee.

Next Matthew says, “Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness . . . ” I do not know why the Spirit is not capitalized here. It is a clear reference to the Holy Spirit that came upon Him at His baptism. The Holy Spirit led in this encounter with Satan. Jesus is God’s Son. He is God’s answer for the redemption of mankind. God, in the very beginning of His ministry manifests through this trial, that Jesus, His answer to the fall of man, was qualified and well able to accomplish what He had sent Him to do. Satan had no power over God. God has never been in the slightest degree threatened by Satan. But Satan did accomplish his rulership over man in the Garden of Eden. Man who was made in the image of God was successfully unseated from his place of rulership over the earth in the temptation.. Man was left helplessly under condemnation and under Satan as his god (2 Cor. 4:3-4). That is, until the God-Man came. Now Satan has been unseated from the place of rulership over man through Jesus. Paul tells the Ephesians, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (Eph. 6:10). Man has no victory apart from Christ. “Therefore if any man be IN CHRIST” (2 Cor. 5:17). By faith His victory becomes our victory.

The words “into the wilderness” explain where Jesus is led to be tempted. Jesus teaches us to pray, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen” (Matt. 6:13). The first Adam was tempted in a beautiful garden. The last Adam was tempted in the wilderness. The place of the first temptation was beautified by God and had every conceivable blessing that could be enjoyed by man. The wilderness represents the condition that prevailed on earth after the first temptation. The world is a wilderness by comparison. It is a place where man is threatened by starvation, the wild beasts and the “prince of the power of the air.” Man has become so accustomed to living in the wilderness that he fails to see his plight. Only when we are back in the garden of God will we realize what man gave up in the first garden. The ONLY hope of mankind is in Jesus. He must stand the test, live the life, die the death and walk out victorious over death, hell and the grave for us to regain God’s life and heaven. Praise His name He has and by grace we are recipients of His finished work through faith in the gospel (Rom. 1:16).

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White