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Good morning to everyone. It's 
good to be in the house of the Lord with all of you. You can 
turn in your Bibles with me to Matthew chapter 4. Matthew chapter 
4. As you're turning there, it's 
good to remind ourselves occasionally to apply our minds in the act 
of preaching. The ancient ones would say, attend 
I entreat you and rouse yourselves as they brought the word to the 
gathered assembly. And as a thousand distractions 
seek to steal us away from focus upon the word of God, it's good 
for us as energy needs to be spent in the service of this 
act of worship to apply our minds to it. I'm going to read Matthew 
chapter 4. Actually, the focus will be Matthew 
4, 1 to 11, which is the temptation of Christ. But we're going to 
pick up reading in Matthew 3 at verse 13. So Matthew 3 at verse 
13, this is the word of the Triune God. Then Jesus came from Galilee 
to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent 
him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and you are coming to 
me? But Jesus answered and said to 
him, Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us 
to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed him. When he 
had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water. 
And behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the 
Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon him. And suddenly a voice came from 
heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Then Jesus was led up by the 
Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And 
when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, afterward he was hungry. Now when the tempter came to 
him, he said, If you are the Son of God, command that these 
stones become bread.' But he answered and said, It is written, 
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds 
from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him up into 
the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said 
to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For 
it is written, He shall give his angels charge over you, and 
In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot 
against a stone. Jesus said to him, it is written 
again, you shall not tempt the Lord your God. Again the devil 
took him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed him 
all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said 
to them, all these things I will give you if you will fall down 
and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, away 
with you, Satan. For it is written, you shall 
worship the Lord your God, and him only you shall serve. Then 
the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to 
him. Amen. Well, let's go to our God in 
prayer asking for his blessing upon this act of worship. Let's 
pray. Heavenly Father, we rejoice in 
your goodness to us. We pray, Father, that now we 
would appreciate the goodness in worship, the preaching of 
the word of God. We thank you that we have been 
able to pray. We thank you that we've been 
able to read your scriptures and to sing your word. We do 
pray that you'd help us now in this act of worship, that both 
preacher and hearer would be lifted up by the living and true 
God to know your truth. We pray for the spirit of God 
in the ministry of this act of worship. We pray that our hearts 
would be cheered by a knowledge of our precious Savior, the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and that in all things we would bring you glory. 
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, 
we want to look here in Matthew 4, 1-11 at the champion of the 
howling wilderness. It's the language used by God 
through Moses in the book of Deuteronomy regarding the wilderness 
wanderings of the nation of Israel. And here in Matthew 1, 1-4, we're 
going to note that it is the evangelist's chief point to set 
forth the Lord Jesus Christ as the second Adam and as the true 
Israel who did what Adam could not do and what Israel could 
not do in the garden and in the wilderness that followed. By 
way of introduction, what I want to do is just acknowledge something 
that took place in the ancient world and in the medieval era. 
There was something that was called single combat. And single 
combat was basically when two armies were set against each 
other face to face in a valley of battle. Often, not oftentimes, 
but occasionally what would happen is two champions would come forth 
from either army and would contest the war. in their own skirmish, 
in their own battle, rather than have the spilling of much blood 
and much death on the side of the opposing armies, and to set 
forth the spectacle of one champion victorious in vanquishing the 
other. And here, as it's been noted by many, we do have an 
instance of single combat between Jesus and the devil. You'll recall 
a biblical episode of single combat, David and Goliath, when 
Goliath came forth for 40 days and 40 nights, blaspheming the 
God of Israel and taunting the nation of Israel. And finally, 
after those 40 days and 40 nights, David comes forth and he contests 
the battle without armor, slaying the giant and beheading him. Well, here we have the Lord Jesus 
Christ, after 40 days and 40 nights, like David, though he 
the greater David, coming forth and defeating the greater than 
Goliath, the devil, and doing so for the good and for the salvation 
of his people. John Calvin wrote this so many 
years ago with regards to this particular episode, The Temptation 
in the Wilderness. It ought to be observed at the 
same time that the Son of God voluntarily endured the temptations 
which we are now considering and fought as it were in single 
combat with the devil that by his victory he might obtain a 
triumph for us. You see, this text is not given 
to us that we might know, it isn't given to us primarily, 
that is to say, that we might know how to fight against temptation, 
though we can arrive at ancillary and tertiary conclusions with 
regards to it. But it is primarily given to 
us that it might set forth the champion of the howling wilderness, 
the Lord Jesus Christ, as the one who vanquishes the devil 
for his people. And that's what we are to notice 
this morning. We will not moralize the temptation 
in the wilderness, but rather set forth and cheer our hearts 
with the knowledge of him who is our champion and the vanquisher 
of evil. So three things we want to look 
at this morning, and that is the setting of the temptation. 
Secondly, excuse me, the combat in the 
wilderness, and thirdly, the victory of the incarnate sun. 
So first off, notice the setting of the temptation, and we wanna 
note a few things here. This setting is not random, and 
it contains some recognizable elements. We are, I think, within 
the bounds of the divine design and intention to recognize the 
connection of the first atom, and Israel and others such as 
Elijah and David to recognize the connection between Christ 
and these. And in fact, it's not exaggeration 
to remark that the chief end of the evangelist here is to 
show forth Christ again as the second Adam and the true Israel 
who vicariously perfects obedience for his people. So notice first 
regarding the setting, the timing, the temptation we read here at 
verse 1 then Jesus now we won't go through just two words at 
a time through the Through the exposition so don't worry, but 
the timing of the temptation we see here then Jesus it immediately 
follows his baptism There is no large gap of time between 
the baptism of Jesus Christ that we just read and the temptation 
of the wilderness but immediately upon the heels of the temptation 
when the spirit it descends upon the Lord Jesus Christ and That 
same spirit then drives the Lord Jesus Christ into the wilderness 
to be tempted by the devil. So then Jesus gives us the immediate 
timing, this episode follows his baptism, and it marks his 
entry into public ministry. Up until this time, the Lord 
Jesus Christ was essentially obscure in that he did not launch 
upon his public ministry until the baptism, until he came to 
John the Baptist here at the River Jordan to be baptized, 
and then as he goes into the wilderness. So the Lord Jesus 
Christ was about the family business, was about, yes, growing in his 
obedience to God and learning regarding his own messianic investiture. However, this inaugurates the 
Lord Jesus Christ's public ministry. Notice, secondly, the Spirit 
in the ministry of Christ. Then Jesus was led up by the 
Spirit into the wilderness. So the Spirit of God descends 
upon the Lord Jesus Christ at His baptism, and then the Spirit 
drives the Lord Jesus Christ into the wilderness. The Spirit 
had just descended upon him as a visible pledge confirming his 
divine calling. So at the baptism, this is what 
is taking place. Jesus Christ, of course, is not 
entering the waters of baptism as a signal or a symbol of the 
forgiveness of sins that he enjoyed because he is wholly harmless 
and undefiled. Jesus Christ is the sinless Savior 
and champion of his elect. But he goes into the waters of 
baptism and the Spirit descends upon him and this inaugurates 
his public ministry and is a visible pledge of it. Though we ought 
to acknowledge here, and this is important doctrinally, that 
the Holy Spirit was not absent from Christ prior to the baptism 
and wilderness episode, but rather the Lord Jesus Christ enjoyed 
the ministry of the Spirit peculiarly upon him for his messianic mission. So the Holy Spirit yes does descend 
here in the baptism in this visible and simple Symbolic episode and 
then drives him into the wilderness, but the Lord Jesus Christ had 
the spirit from the outset of his incarnation. Our confession 
of faith says, regarding this particular prospect and doctrine, 
the Lord Jesus in his human nature, thus united to the divine in 
the person of the Son, was sanctified and anointed with the Holy Spirit 
above measure, having in him all the treasures of wisdom and 
knowledge, in whom it pleased the Father that all fullness 
should dwell, to the end that being wholly harmless and undefiled 
and full of grace and truth, he might be thoroughly furnished 
to execute the office of mediator and surety, which office he took 
not upon himself, but was thereunto called by his Father, who also 
put all power and judgment in his hand, and gave him commandment 
to execute the same. We often think about two things 
with respect to the Lord Jesus Christ, but we ought to move 
our minds further to realize the blessed triune reality of 
the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The two things that we often 
think about are the facts that he is very God and very man. yet one Christ, the only mediator 
between God and man. But the Lord Jesus Christ also 
enjoyed in his incarnate mission the presence and the power of 
the Holy Spirit that he had above measure as he goes about doing 
good to redeem the sons of men. And so the Spirit here drives 
him out into the wilderness, which is the next point regarding 
the temptation, the setting of the temptation. Notice again 
the language, the Spirit drove or excuse me, then Jesus was 
led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the 
devil. So the location of the temptation 
is into the wilderness. And this isn't just a haphazard 
thing, that that just happens to be the location where the 
Spirit drove him. The evangelist here is just remarking 
a geographical thing, or just observing something geographical. No, there is something very precious, 
very vital, and very glorious as we think about the revelation 
of God in the Holy Scriptures as it reflects redemptive history, 
true history, the history of Israel and Christ. The location 
of the temptation is into the wilderness. First off, it's further 
into the wilderness beyond the site of his baptism. He was already 
in the wilderness, but this is going deeper and further. into 
the wilderness. But the blessed thing with regards 
to this wilderness is that it is the same wilderness as the 
wanderings of Israel and as Elijah's fast. And those are two things 
that are in view with regards to this particular passage. The 
wanderings of Israel, where they were tempted by the same devil 
and failed in the same way, but Jesus Christ here goes into the 
wilderness and he vanquishes the devil as the true Israel 
of God. So again, nothing haphazard to 
this wilderness, nothing simply geographical, but something rich 
in typology, something rich with Christ here as the true Israel 
coming to do that which Israel failed to do in the wilderness. 
And as we'll note in a few moments, remember that Adam, was driven 
out of the wilderness or out into the wilderness from the 
Garden of Eden when he disobeyed God. When Adam and Eve disobeyed 
God, when they fell under the sway and the guile of the tempter, 
they were driven from the garden out into the wilderness. Christ 
now, not because of disobedience, is driven out into the wilderness 
so that He, by His perfect obedience, might do that which Adam failed 
to do and bring many sons to glory. The rich biblical theology 
of this passage, brethren, is beyond the capabilities of this 
preacher to adequately communicate. But if you can bear with me for 
the next four hours, we'll be okay. You'll get out of here 
before then. The food awaits. But this is 
a blessed thing to observe in this particular passage. Just 
one quick note here regarding the Spirit driving out the Lord 
Jesus Christ into the wilderness. Mark uses that language in his 
epistle. Here we have led up by the Spirit. 
Mark uses the language of driven out or drove into the wilderness 
by the Spirit, that the Spirit drove Christ into the wilderness. 
This language of drove is used of the banishment of Adam and 
Eve from the garden as we just noted. and hear Jesus as the 
last Adam. Remember, that is his function. Not his only function, but that 
is his function as the last Adam, doing that which the first was 
unable to do. He's driven out into the cursed 
wilderness, not for disobedience, but in order that through his 
perfect obedience, he might reverse the curse of sin and death. This 
is Sinclair Ferguson on that particular point. He says, Why 
should Mark alone mention that Jesus was with the wild beasts? 
This is an interesting point. Mark remarks that Jesus was with 
the wild beasts in order to drive a connection back to Adam who 
was in the garden with the beasts. Jesus Christ came to be what 
Paul called the last Adam and the second man. He came to undo 
what Adam had done by his sin and fall. But if he was to reverse 
what Adam had done, he needed to enter into the world, not 
as Adam found it, but as Adam left it. So when he was tempted, 
he was not in a garden like Adam. He was not like Adam, surrounded 
by animals over which he had dominion. It was in a fallen, 
broken, sinful, disintegrating world that Jesus faced temptation 
and the powers of darkness. in order to win for his people 
a way back to the tree of life. Do you see the folly then of 
only observing the temptation of Christ this episode as something 
as a moral instruction for Christians? We can gain that instruction 
from it again in an ancillary or a tertiary or a 17th application 
fashion. But we are to observe here with 
Christian eyes the glory of Jesus Christ and his victory over the 
devil. Cyril of Alexandria writes, he 
arose therefore and helped, having taken the form of a slave and 
being made in the likeness of men. For so did he as one of 
us set himself as an avenger in our stead against that murderous 
and rebellious serpent who had brought sin upon us and thereby 
had caused corruption and death to reign over the dwellers upon 
the earth, that we by His means and in Him might gain the victory, 
that is, Jesus Christ, where as of old we were vanquished 
and fallen in Adam. So fourthly, we want to notice 
then the condition of Christ in the temptation. Notice the 
language as we continue to read. Notice verse 2. And when he had 
fasted 40 days and 40 nights, afterward he was hungry. Now, 
this is yet another verse that could launch 13 sermons. because 
there is much to be had in this particular verse regarding the 
fasting for 40 days and 40 nights and the afterward he was hungry. 
But just very briefly, we want to then observe a couple of things. 
This, when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights afterward, he was 
hungry. He is, in addition to being alone 
in the wilderness, away from all assistance, the incarnate 
Son of God was without the sustentation of food. This is for a particular 
reason, and it is by contrast to Adam. Adam is in a garden. and he is in the plentitude of 
food, in the plentitude of assistance. He's not alone in the garden, 
he has Eve, and he has all around him everything to eat from. Isn't 
that madness and folly then that they had to go eat from that 
tree, the only tree that God brought condemnation upon for 
eating from? They had a bounty of food, a 
bounty of fruit, and yet they disobeyed the tempter, that serpent 
of old. and bit of the forbidden fruit, 
and ate of it. But getting back to this, in 
contrast to Adam, who was in the blessing of a garden, in 
contrast to Adam, who was in the splendor of a garden with 
much sustentation and with assistance, Christ is hungry, having fasted 
40 days and 40 nights, and not in a garden, but in the wilderness. Not with the beasts that he had 
dominion over, but with the wild beasts in the wilderness, that 
howling wilderness. And Christ is to be contrasted 
and compared here as the second Adam to Adam the first. And what we want to observe in 
addition is that this isn't just a factual observation on the 
part of the evangelist. We've already noted that. Sometimes 
we can read passages in Holy Scripture and perhaps not dive 
into the breadth and the depth and the glory of what? God through 
the inscripturated writers are trying Trying to convey to us 
what they're trying to communicate and the blessed consent of the 
parts of the scripture and the scope of the whole which is to 
bring all glory to God so this isn't just an observation that 
Christ fasted 40 days and 40 nights and afterward He was hungry, 
but we want to note at least three things here as we move 
along in the exposition. This is to tie back to Israel. 
Israel being 40 years in the wilderness. There is a direct 
connection and an obvious connection. Why? Because later when we get 
to it, we'll notice that Christ cites Deuteronomy and the wilderness 
wanderers when he answers the devil point for point. And so 
this 40 days and 40 nights points back to the 40 years of the wanderings 
of Israel in the wilderness. It also points back to Moses 
who fasted 40 days and 40 nights upon the mount and then came 
down and issued and delivered forth the law. Christ here fasts 
40 days and 40 nights as the new Moses who comes down from 
the mountain after this and brings forth the gospel. Also, we are 
to note at the end of this how the prophet Elijah fasted 40 
days and 40 nights after being fed by the angels. And there's a direct comparison 
to that at the end of this text in verse 11. All of that to come 
back to this. There is much that is rich in 
connection in verse 2 to biblical history. Christ is the new Adam, 
the last Adam. Christ is the new Moses, and 
this is the new Exodus. One thing we also want to note 
is that Christ is disarmed here. Christ, with deliberation, puts 
himself in such a position that he does not have the benefit 
and the advantage. We, of course, know that he ultimately 
does, but he is not like Adam here, and he is not like those 
in single combat girded with armor. In fact, another connection. Remember what happened with David 
as he went forth in single combat against Goliath. Saul gives him 
his armor to put on, But he unguards the armor and he casts off the 
sword that he might go unarmed in essence against Goliath Yet 
only with those five smooth stones Christ like the better than David 
goes up against his Goliath unarmed as it were having fasted 40 days 
and 40 nights and Afterward he was hungry Gil John Gil writes 
this regarding this particular episode he writes I Christ, or 
excuse me, David, took off the helmet from his head, ungird 
the sword upon his armor, and stripped himself of his coat 
of mail, and went forth entirely unarmed. And we are to notice 
the Christological connection to David against Goliath. Lancelot 
Andrews writes, and there's another name for anyone with child, Lancelot. You can name your son Lancelot 
if you have a son, it's a great name. Lancelot Andrews writes 
regarding this, the place, the lists, that's what they, not 
in the ancient world, but more the medieval and the Elizabethan 
era are. that sort of thing, the England area, they called 
it the lists where the two combatants would go into this roped off 
arena to fight. The place, the lists, to wit, 
the wilderness, that so he, that is Christ, might be alone, and 
that there might be no fellow worker with him in the matter 
of our salvation. That he alone might have the 
treading of the winepress. So in the transfiguration in 
the mount he was found alone. So in the garden of Gethsemane, 
in his great agony, He was in effect alone, for His disciples 
slept all the while, that unto Him might be ascribed all the 
praise. And perhaps that's the point, the main point, that Jesus 
Christ is alone and unarmed as He goes into the wilderness against 
His wicked combatant, that He alone might get all the praise. This is very significant as we 
move along in connection to biblical history to set forth Christ as 
the apple of our eye. So let's move along then now 
to the combat in the wilderness. The combat in the wilderness, 
we find the three villainous temptations and then the three 
steadfast responses by the Lord Jesus Christ. As we move into 
this, we need to recognize, we will be recognized, that this 
is something of a new exodus. What happens in the first exodus, 
the old exodus, the exodus that we know? Well, we have the nation 
of Israel coming up out of Egypt, going through water, hearing 
the voice of the Lord, and then going into the wilderness. With 
Jesus Christ, we have Him coming out of Egypt. We have Him going 
through the waters of baptism. We have Him hearing the voice 
of the Lord, You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And then we have Him going into 
the wilderness. Don't miss the connection. It 
is not just a happy accident and a coincidence. But there 
is again rich connection, Christ being the new Moses, the better 
Moses, this being the new Exodus, the better Exodus. So with regards 
to the combat in the wilderness, that serpent of old who tempted 
the first Adam, here tempts Adam the second. And this temptation 
we want to notice physically real. Before we get to the three 
temptations themselves, This temptation did happen, it was 
physically real. That is in opposition to the 
mytho-theological impressions that people like to press upon 
the scripture, that it didn't really happen. It's just a mythological 
writing in order for us to be able to combat temptation in 
our own Christian lives. No, this did take place. 2,000 
years ago, Christ was driven into the wilderness by the spirit 
of God to be tempted by the devil. And more to that point, or in 
addition, we want to observe that this isn't just an illustrative, poetic way of representing 
the fact that Christ only endured this psychologically. Some people 
have offered that up as an option. in opposition to the simple truth 
of Holy Scripture, that Christ endured this psychologically, 
these temptations, and then delivered, we have this in some sort of 
parable form, that as well as false, Christ endured real physical 
temptation by the devil. And it is probably the case, 
given the other evangelistic accounts that we have in the 
Bible, that Christ was tempted by the devil for the 40 days 
and 40 nights that led up to this final temptation, this final 
threefold temptation. And that by words, that by whisperings, 
that by satanic plagues upon his mind, and now it comes to 
the point where the devil takes upon himself or is given the 
reality to take upon himself, physical form, and to be able 
to move the air to generate sound that the Son of God might hear 
these wicked temptations. Spurgeon writes this with regards 
to this particular episode. He writes, Oh, how wonderfully 
did Christ fight the tempter. Never was there such a battle 
as that. It was a dual foot-to-foot, a single-handed combat when the 
champion lion of the pit and the mighty lion of the tribe 
of Judah fought together. Lamb of God, I will remember 
thy desert strivings when next I combat with Satan. When next 
I have a conflict with roaring Diabolus, I will look to him 
who conquered once for all and broke the dragon's head with 
his mighty blows. So let's have a look then at 
these three temptations, the combat in the wilderness. The 
first temptation, we want to notice two things with each of 
these temptations, the villainous temptation and the steadfast 
response. But notice this first temptation, 
and we find it beginning at verse three. Now, when the tempter 
came to him, he said, if you are the son of God, command that 
these stones become bread. Now we'll just say it at the 
outset that this temptation, the temptation in view is to 
reject confidence in God and his divine provision. To reject 
confidence in God and his divine provision. Notice the words of 
the devil here. If you are the son of God. I 
don't think we're to believe, we don't know the propositional 
content of the devil's mind. He's not omniscient. He's not 
omnipresent. He's not omnipotent. He is not 
somehow a yin and yang God in opposition to the God of heaven 
and earth. He is a creature. He doesn't know all things. But 
I think we are to take this language of if you are the son of God 
as since you are the son of God, command that these stones become 
bread, because the devil would have just heard the words, this 
is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased at the baptism of 
Jesus Christ. And so here, Satan, knowing something 
of what is going on, says, since you are the Son of God, command 
that these stones become bread. So the devil is looking upon 
the Savior as the Savior is struggling in the wilderness, as he is hungered 
after these 40 days and 40 nights, and he wants the Lord Jesus Christ, 
the Son of God, to reject confidence in his Father and the divine 
provision that his Father gives. And this points us back to, as 
we'll notice in a minute, Deuteronomy 8, when the nation of Israel, 
when Israel, the people, the blessed people of the Exodus, 
when those people redeemed by God from out of Egypt, cave into 
the pressure and the temptation and the satanic guile to reject 
confidence in God and his divine provision. So we want to note 
here as well that there's nothing There's nothing sinful in Christ 
performing a miracle, and nothing sinful in Christ to satisfy his 
hunger, were he to do so, generally speaking. So we want to note 
here, if Christ was without, of course, the promptings and 
the insinuations and the machinations of the devil, If he was to perform 
a miracle or turn stones into bread, those things themselves 
aren't inherently wicked. But of course, following the 
devil's advice is. And that's what would be sinful. 
To follow the devil's advice, to question the foundation of 
the faith and the love of God, And also what would be sinful 
is the allure of vainglory. Kids, that means perhaps a modern 
word for that would be swagger. To put on something of pomp and 
show. Those things would certainly 
be sinful. To follow devilish advice, to 
question the foundation of faith and love of God, and also to 
cave into the allure of vainglory. But the chief temptation here 
is to put off confidence in divine providence. That's what we are 
to observe here. The grand sin, the grand thing 
in view that the devil is trying to tempt unto is exactly that, 
to put off confidence in divine providence. Notice something 
of the same language in Matthew 27. You can turn there with me. 
Matthew 27 in verse 40. This is the scene of the crucifixion 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we see at verse 39, Matthew 27 
and verse 39, And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their 
heads and saying, You who destroy the temple and build it in three 
days, save yourself. If you are the Son of God, come 
down from the cross. You see the same satanic language 
to cast off divine care, to cast off the love and faithfulness 
of God, to cast off divine providence, and to save oneself over and 
against the provision of God. Here, getting back to the temptation, 
the devil, before that cross instance, uses that same language. If you are, or since you are, 
the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. And 
notice our Savior's steadfast response. Verse 4, But he answered 
and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, 
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Our champion, responds with the 
Word of God. And this is a legitimate and 
a pressing application that in all temptations we are to oppose 
with the Word of God. We are to reply, to retort, to 
answer with the Word of God, which is why it is so important 
to arm ourselves with the knowledge of the Word of God. We are to 
be filled with and we are to seek after a knowledge of the 
will of God. We are to follow after our Savior, 
not by so much imitation because we can't be Him, nor can we do 
the things He does, but as those who are the blessed recipients 
of He our exemplar, we are to employ the word of God as we 
oppose the flesh, the world, and the devil. But our Savior 
responds with the Word of God, and he engages in comfortable 
dependence upon the providential care of God. It is written, Man 
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds 
from the mouth of God. Please turn with me to Deuteronomy. 
As we noted while we were introducing, and while we were talking about 
the setting of the temptation, in Deuteronomy 8, we have the 
text that Jesus Christ is referring to, and we want to see the context 
so that if nothing else, we might glory in the blessed biblical 
connection that God through Matthew is drawing between Israel of 
old and Christ, the true Israel of God. Notice in Deuteronomy 
8, beginning at verse 11. Beware that you do not forget 
the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments. We're just 
going to stop there for a moment. We need to realize here and emphasize 
that Christ in this temptation episode is perfecting obedience 
vicariously. He's perfecting obedience in 
the place of all those whom the Father had given to Him. He's 
perfecting obedience in the stead of his people. And so in that 
temptation episode, Christ is engaging in a display of perfect 
obedience so that as he engages in the inaugural event episode 
of his work, he might show forth the fact that he is the obedient 
one who brings righteousness to his people. So Deuteronomy 
8, getting back there, verse 11, beware that you do not forget 
the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, 
and His statutes which I command you today. Lest when you have 
eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell 
in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and 
your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you 
have is multiplied, when your heart is lifted up and you forget 
the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt 
from the house of bondage, who led you through that great and 
terrible wilderness in which were fiery serpents and scorpions 
and thirsty land where there was no water. who brought water 
for you out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness 
with manna, which your fathers did not know, that he might humble 
you and that he might test you to do you good in the end, then 
you say in your heart, my power and the might of my hand have 
gained me this wealth. Hopefully you see some of what 
we were talking about with regards to connection. We have the wilderness, 
we have a call to obedience, we have In contrast here, we 
have language with regards to the filling of food and plentifulness 
contrasted with Christ, who was with nothing alone in the wilderness. 
But similar here, the Israelites were in the wilderness with fiery 
serpents, Christ in the wilderness with that chief and fiery and 
serpent of old, the devil himself. He's led into the wilderness, 
verse 16, and it is for the case of testing. Notice right at the 
end of verse 16, that he might test you. This is very vital 
language because what Christ is going through here is less 
properly a temptation and more properly a test. A test of his 
messianic metal, a test that he is the perfectly obedient 
one, a test that he is the second and last Adam, that he is truly 
the true Israel. And so, getting back to our text, 
the Lord Jesus Christ answers, it is written, man shall not 
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth 
of God. And this is not Christ, the Lord Jesus here, asserting 
that as our physical bodies live by bread, so our souls are vivified 
by the word of God, the scriptures. Though that is obviously the 
case. Though that is obviously the case. This is certainly, 
or this upholds, or excuse me, what is going on here is that 
Christ is stating that insofar as God upholds all things by 
the word of his power and upholds his servants the same, he is 
faithful to preserve by the means he pleases. There's an important 
distinction here because obviously our souls are vivified by the 
word of God, but here Christ is answering by pressing the 
need to rely upon God's promises insofar as his providential upholding. Notice the language here of John 
Gill that God in satisfying man's hunger and in supporting and 
preserving his life is not tied to bread only but can make use 
of other means and Order whatever he pleases to answer these ends 
as by raining manna from heaven Which is mentioned in the passage 
cited and Calvin the word does not mean doctrine That is when 
Christ says by every word the word does not mean doctrine But 
the purpose which God has made known with regard to preserving 
the order of nature and the lives of of his creatures. And so Christ 
was not to reject the provision of divine providence, but rather 
was to rest in it, to rely upon it, and to remain steadfast in 
his God. There's some passages in Exodus 
14. You can turn there with me if 
your fingers are at the ready and you're ready to flip around 
pages. In Exodus 14, we have a passage 
there that touches upon this testing of Christ in the wilderness. Notice in Exodus 14, at verse 
12, Isn't this amazing? The people of Israel have been 
saved from out of bondage in Israel. The burdens that were pressed upon the people 
of God in their bondage in Egypt was heavy, it was weighty, it 
was gross, it was maniacal. And they're asking here, because 
they're hungry in the wilderness, to go back to that bondage. But hopefully you see the connection 
here. For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians 
than that we should die in the wilderness. The devil is tempting 
Christ in a similar way here. While he is hungered, he is pressing 
upon Christ the reality that you're the Son of God. Why don't 
you call these stones to become bread? But Christ is resolute 
in the determination and in the knowledge, knowing that His God 
can provide whatever He may need. His God will provide whatever 
He needs. And the same thing extends to 
His people, that God will provide whatever we need. In an hour 
of temptation, in that hour where the tempter may come to us, and 
he will. I think in our modern landscape, 
we've sort of bought into the secular idea that there is no 
real devil, that the devil is just perhaps the psychosis or 
the psychological weight and impact in our own minds. Somehow, 
maybe partially bought into that, the devil goes about as a roaring 
lion seeking whom he may devour. And so we need to be on guard 
with the reality that he will come attempting. And when he 
does, we can be resolute, like the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, 
not like him, but in a manner of following the chief exemplar, 
we can learn from Christ that we rest upon the providence of 
God and not upon the devil's devising. However he might twist 
it, even using the word of God in his machinations, which brings 
us to the second temptation. Making our way back to Matthew, 
notice the second temptation we have in verse five. The devil 
ups his opposition to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the devil 
took him up into the holy city, set him on the pinnacle. This 
is verse five. Set him on the pinnacle. of the temple, and 
said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. 
For it is written, He shall give His angels charge over you, and 
in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot 
against a stone." You see what the devil is doing here in his 
villainous temptation. He has failed in the wilderness, 
and he now takes Christ, not by force, to the pinnacle of 
the temple in Jerusalem. So he realizes, not realizes, 
but he has noticed in his back and forth with the Lord Jesus 
Christ, that the Lord Christ has answered with the use of 
the Scriptures, and here he then ups his game by citing the Scriptures 
himself. It is a wicked thing to employ 
the Scriptures in the service of evil. Many throughout the 
history of, many throughout church history have sought to do this 
through the use of the scriptures, through the twisted use of the 
scriptures to deceive men. It is very important that we 
understand as Christians taught and stable in the word of God, 
that it is not the bare words that we are to attend to, but 
the divine meeting that comes with the words. The words are 
clad with divine meaning. The devil uses them here, unclad 
with divine meaning, to apply them in his wicked game. And 
the Lord Jesus Christ will, as we see, reply in turn, gloriously. We want to notice here that there 
would be, or there is nothing sinful in availing of divine 
care. The devil is using the text here 
from Psalm 91, he shall give you charge, his angels charge 
over you, in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash 
your foot against a stone. He's calling upon the Son of 
God to throw himself down. Now there is nothing sinful in 
availing of divine care, is there? We all ought to avail of divine 
care and pray that in whatever way it happens, God would catch 
us up when we fall down. But there is everything sinful 
in presuming upon a notion of divine care and testing it. You see the difference there? 
A veiling of divine care, but presuming upon divine care and 
seeking to test it in our own power, or more to the point, 
wickedly upon the inciting of the devil. And so there is everything 
sinful in that. We are not to cast ourselves 
into danger that providence may fetch us off. That's Thomas Manton. We are not to cast ourselves 
into danger that providence may fetch us off. The tempter here 
ups his assault by repeating the appeal to Christ's divine 
sonship and then employing the word of God in his ploy. Manton would go on to write these 
words, and it's helpful for us to understand this in what's 
going on in this second temptation. The Apostle telleth us that Satan 
is sometimes transformed into an angel of light, and we read 
that once he took the habit and guise of a prophet, and indeed 
he deceiveth more by the voice of Samuel than by the voice of 
the dragon. We read We read of the depths 
of Satan in Revelation 2.24. Here he cometh like a divine, 
with the Bible in his hand, and turneth to the place. Here the 
enemy of God cometh with the word of God, and disguiseth the 
worst of actions with the best of words, opposeth God to God, 
and turneth his truth to countenance a lie. Being refuted by scripture, 
he will bring scripture too, and pretendeth to reverence that 
which he chiefly hateth. Christians you have not to do 
with a foolish devil who will appear to us in his own colors 
and ugly shape But with a devout devil who for his own turn can 
pretend to be godly We need to fear that in our Christian walk. The devil will not, as he said, 
appear to us in his ugly colors, with his ugly shape, but under 
many forms and under many guises and disguises to steal us away 
from our grip upon Christ and our true knowledge of the Holy 
Scriptures. Notice then that there is a blessed, 
steadfast response on the part of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ 
answers again, resolutely, with the Word of God and the proper 
meaning. Notice how Christ responds here. 
Jesus said to him, it is written again, you shall not tempt the 
Lord your God. There are two ways we could approach 
this particular text here, where the Lord Jesus Christ gloriously 
responds, it is written again, you shall not tempt the Lord 
your God. Some have taken that to mean 
that the Lord Jesus Christ as God, as the Son of God, the blessed 
of the holy triune God, the second person, that he is saying, Satan, 
do not tempt me as God. Now, there is obviously truth 
to that. Satan is not to tempt God, and insofar as Christ is 
God, Satan is not to tempt him. But we are to draw that Jesus 
Christ as man, as the second Adam, as the true Israel of God, 
as the mediator between God and man, who is in this context and 
in the context of his entire life perfecting obedience, that 
he is answering, pointing the devil back to, the wilderness 
wanderings of Israel, and pressing that he is, in this new exodus, 
the better Moses and the better Israel who will not fail. It 
is written again, you shall not tempt the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 
chapter 6, you can turn there quickly with me. Deuteronomy 
6 and verse 16. Notice the connection to the 
wilderness generation of Israel, you shall not, verse 16, you 
shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massa. You shall diligently keep the 
commandments of the Lord your God, His testimonies and His 
statutes, which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is 
right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well 
with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land 
of which the Lord swore to your fathers to cast out all your 
enemies from before you as the Lord has spoken." So you see 
this blessed connection here and I want to press an emphasis 
at verse 17 after the text that the Lord Christ quotes, we read, 
you shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your 
God, his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded 
you. The Lord Jesus Christ is drawing 
the devil back to the point and the evangelist is showing forth 
Christians the point that the Lord Jesus Christ will most surely 
be obedient to the Lord's commands. and that in the perfection of 
the response to the covenant of redemption. As the Lord Jesus 
Christ goes about his incarnate work, as the Lord Jesus Christ 
goes about his messianic work, it is in conformity to the covenant 
of redemption, that eternal compact before the foundation of the 
world where the three persons of the blessed Trinity covenanted 
together to save the elect by virtue of the perfect work of 
Jesus Christ. And here in the context, Christ 
is setting forth that reality, that the devil is not to tempt 
the Lord your God, that in the context, the people, the true 
Israel of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, shall not presume upon 
divine providence, because in order to execute the task of 
the Messiah, he is to rest upon divine providence and not test 
it. He is to work in the timing of 
God as the Messiah and the Savior of men and bringing forth the 
reality of blessed salvation. So Christ answers steadfastly. He sets his trust upon his Father 
for the provision of care. and for the vindication of his 
sonship. The execution of covenantal faithfulness 
on the part of the Savior, in contrast to Old Covenant Israel, 
is clearly in view. Don't believe any so-called Christian 
who tells you that it is the Christian's responsibility to 
be covenantally faithful in order to enjoy saving blessings. That 
is a lie from the pit. There has been one in the history 
of the world who has been covenantally faithful, and that is the Lord 
Jesus Christ. And it is in Him alone that we 
have salvation. We're saved by grace through 
faith in Jesus Christ alone. And this Christ goes alone in 
the wilderness that unto Him might be all praise. The third 
temptation then. We want to observe here the third 
and final temptation. As we move towards an end, notice 
what we have in this third temptation in verse 8. Again the devil took 
him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the 
kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to them, all 
these things I will give you if you will fall down and worship 
me. So this is the villainous final 
temptation. The devil now transports Christ 
to an exceedingly high mountain. Now, when the devil transported 
Christ to the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, that's what 
the holy city here refers to as Jerusalem. when he transports 
Christ there, and when he transports Christ to this exceedingly high 
mountain, he is doing so not by force, but by the permission-granting 
reality that the Son of God has to go along with the divine plan 
to effect salvation. And it is a real transportation. 
Some have held that it's just a a visionary experience that 
the Lord Jesus Christ is subject to these devilish temptations 
by Satan sort of projecting, if you will, in this case, all 
the kingdoms of the world. No, I believe it is a transportation 
really to an exceedingly high mountain, and this may have been 
the same mountain, Mount Pisgah, that God took Moses to when he 
showed him the land of Canaan. You see the connection consistently 
being demonstrated here in this passage. The evangelist God, 
through the evangelist, wants us to see Christ as the new and 
better Moses, as the true Israel, as the second Adam. But this 
mountain, this I think is just a wonderful thing to behold, 
that this mountain is most likely the same mountain that God showed 
Moses the land of Canaan upon. Notice in Deuteronomy 34. If 
you can turn there with me, Deuteronomy 34. This is the particular scene 
just mentioned in Deuteronomy 34, beginning in verse 1. Then Moses went up from the plains 
of Moab to Mount Nebo. to the top of Pisgah, which is 
across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the 
land of Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali and the land of 
Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western 
Sea, the south and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the 
city of palm trees as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, 
This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
saying, I will give it to your descendants. I have caused you 
to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there. 
So if we move back to the passage and read it again, again the 
devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed him 
all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory. You see the 
connection here. The devil is assuming to himself 
the posture and the station of God himself. It is only God who 
is to show the kingdoms of the world to the sons of men in such 
a way. It is only God who can rightfully 
give these things to the sons of men. in that proper way. And the devil assumes to himself, 
upon the same mountain, the same sort of power to give to the 
Lord Jesus Christ the kingdoms of the world. Probably it was 
not so far that he, upon the mountain in a visionary experience, 
showed throughout the passage of time all the kingdoms of the 
world. but casting or bringing the Lord's attention upon the 
valley, upon the expanse beyond the mountain, looking upon that 
same breadth of land that Moses looked upon, the devil is whispering 
in his ear and by word speaking about the kingdoms of the world 
and their glory and prompting the Lord Jesus Christ to fall 
down and worship him." What madness for the devil himself, a creature, 
to call upon God himself, the Son of God, the second of the 
triune God, fully God, to bow down and worship a creature. 
It's absolute madness. With regards to this particular 
scene, we want to see the connection with Him, all the kingdoms of 
the world and their glory, and the Pisgah display by God to 
Moses. The tempter seeks to claim to 
himself that which can only be given by God, and which was Christ's 
already by virtue of promise. was Christ's already by virtue 
of promise. Now we know that the Lord Jesus 
Christ here in a moment answers well. But imagine the scene and 
the presumption of the devil that Christ will bow down to 
one to receive things from him, a creature no less, when he has 
already been promised by God the Father that he will receive 
the inheritance of the nations. In fact, what's probably or what 
is in view thematically is the language of Psalm 2 and verse 
8. Ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance 
and the ends of the earth for your possession. Do you see as 
we move towards food, as the preacher finishes up in two minutes 
and 47 seconds, do you see the connection here? The father speaking, 
ask of me to the son and I will give you the nations for your 
inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. The 
devil here in this wilderness testing is in essence saying 
the same thing that the father promised to the son. But notice 
how the Son responds. We have this strong and final 
response by our champion of the howling wilderness. Notice the 
response. Then Jesus said to him, Away 
with you, Satan, for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your 
God, and Him only you shall serve. A wonderful response by the Savior. The Lord Christ here ups his 
response as well. The devil has added words to 
his response. He's moved from not citing scripture 
to citing scripture. He's strengthened his opposition 
to the Lord Jesus Christ, but with every reply, the Lord Jesus 
Christ is the better champion, of course. Remember the scene 
with David and Goliath? One of the things that took place 
in single combat instances, and we have it with the David and 
Goliath episode, is that one champion would speak what we 
would call trash talk to the other champion, and the other 
champion would reply with more trash talk. sort of combat rhetoric. We see the giant Goliath saying 
that, that he will kill David with sword and spear and leave 
his body for the beasts of the field, for the wild beasts. And 
David responds that he is going to, without spear and without 
sword, but by the power of the living God, remove the head of 
Goliath and give his flesh for the beasts of the field and the 
birds of the air." You see, here the Lord Jesus Christ is doing 
the same thing to the devil. There is, if you will, trash 
talk on the part of the devil, but blessed and glorious speak 
from the Lord Jesus Christ, who replies in kind, once, twice, 
thrice. And he responds, Away with you, 
Satan! For it is written, You shall 
worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve. He 
engages in some righteous indignation and banishes the devil. Away 
with you, Satan! Our champion responds to the 
tempter's final temptation with a rebuke. Away with you, Satan! And the Savior is righteously 
indignant in the face of opposition to the glory of God. Just like 
David so many decades and centuries before Christ. Who is this uncircumcised 
Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? 
Christ here, away with you, Satan! For it is written, you shall 
worship the Lord your God. and Him only you shall serve." 
A blessed response, pointing back to Deuteronomy 6.13 and 
Deuteronomy 10.20, you shall worship the Lord your God, and 
Him only you shall serve. This furnishes proof of the necessity 
of the Son's assumption of our human nature. Because Adam failed, 
because Israel failed in the wilderness wanderings, we needed 
a champion. and even God himself to assume 
to himself man's nature with all the essential properties 
and the common infirmities thereof and yet without sin. Man isn't 
that boring creedal language. No, it's blessed creedal language 
that the Lord Jesus Christ assumed our humanity. He came down into 
our lower ignominy and shame. He took upon himself man's nature 
without sin in order that he might be the true champion for 
God's elect. Blessed truth Manton closes something 
of this something of this section with the following words He writes 
therefore the Son of God who interposed on our behalf and 
undertook the rescue of sinners did assume the nature of man 
that he might conquer Satan in the nature that was conquered 
and also offer himself as a sacrifice in the same nature as for the 
demonstration of the justice of God. First, Christ must overcome 
by obedience, tried to the uttermost by temptations, and then he must 
also overcome by sufferings. The passage closes with the victory 
of the incarnate Son of God. Then the devil left him, and 
behold, angels came and ministered to him. There's much in this 
passage that we can't say because we need to eat. But there's blessed 
language here, then the devil left him. This punctuates the 
victory of the Son of God in this wilderness episode. Christ 
Jesus, unlike Adam before him, unlike the nation of Israel before 
him, now perfects obedience. for His people. This was not 
just a perfection of obedience, generally speaking, but it was 
a perfection of obedience, substitutionarily speaking, vicariously speaking. He did this for us. He did this 
for His people. Blessed Christ, blessed tomb, 
blessed cross, blessed obedience, blessed Savior. He is the champion. Then the devil left Him, and 
behold, angels came ministered to him. What did these angels 
do? They gloried in his triumph, and they fed him bread. He hungered 
after these 40 days and 40 nights, but it wasn't until he was victorious 
over the devil that he could avail of divine provision and 
divine providence. It wasn't until in this episode 
he perfected obedience that that he could be fed, that he could 
receive the sustentation from the angelic company, and that 
he could go forth and then proclaim that, repent, the kingdom of 
heaven is at hand. Blessed Savior, blessed Christ. And you know what? The Lord Jesus 
Christ receives all that he didn't avail of were he to cave to the 
devil's temptations. He receives bread. He receives 
the visitation of angels, temptation number three, or number two. 
And then with regards to three, being obedient to God, he goes 
forth, and with respect to kingdom, he says, repent for the kingdom 
of heaven is at hand. He didn't own the kingdom's offer 
to him by the father of lies, but much rather, he had a kingdom 
for his people. that he was to secure by the 
perfection of his work and by the shedding of his own blood. 
Sinner believe in this savior. What a colossally fallacious 
and just miserably ignorant thing to reject the king of kings and 
lord of lords, the champion of the howling wilderness. You're 
either with the champion who prevailed and vanquished the 
devil or you're with the devil who was vanquished. Close with 
Christ. He is the obedient one. He is 
the one who perfected obedience for his people. He is the one 
who died as a substitutionary sacrifice for his people. Believe 
on him and you will be saved. And Christian, rejoice in him. 
We can learn lessons about facing temptation by this particular 
episode, but the chief design by God through the evangelist 
is to show forth Christ as our blessed king, as our blessed 
champion. as the one that we are to believe 
in with faith upon faith. Well, let us pray. Heavenly Father, 
we thank you for your holy word. We thank you for this episode, 
the Lord Jesus Christ, our champion vanquishing the devil in this 
testing episode. We thank you that he is our blessed 
substitute, that we are not saved by deeds of righteousness which 
we have done, but we're saved by the deeds of the King of Kings 
and Lord of Lords, the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, his doing, 
his dying, and his rising again. We do pray that You'd go with 
us into the rest of this Lord's Day. We pray, Lord God, that 
You would help us to hold true Your day, to hold fast to Your 
Word, to glory in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we do pray that by 
the Spirit and by the Word, You would bring sinners to salvation 
from the darkness of sin to life and light in Jesus Christ our 
Savior. And it's in His name we pray. 
Amen. We can stand. Are we singing the doxology? 
We are singing the doxology. Let's stand and sing the doxology. 
It's 568 in your hymn books if you do need to turn there. is is Now may the God of peace who 
brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd 
of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 
make you complete in every good work to do his will, working 
in you what is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, 
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Please be seated. We'll have a brief time of prayer. 
When the piano is finished, I will come up and I will say a prayer 
for the food as we go into the luncheon.