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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter four. Matthew chapter four, as we take 
up the testing of the Son of God. It was God's purpose to 
test the Son. The devil seized the opportunity 
to tempt the Son. The same Greek word can be used 
in either sense. We see it in James. James says, 
Blessed is the man who perseveres through trial or testing. And 
then later on, James says, God does not tempt anyone. He does 
not elicit or solicit people to do sin. We need to understand 
that this test is according to the sovereign plan of God. The 
devil, as I said, seizes the opportunity to seek to solicit 
the son to engage in evil against his father. I'll just pick up 
reading in Matthew four at verse one. 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 in their glory. 
And he said to him, 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 us pray. Our Father, we come now to consider 
this passage of Scripture, and I pray that You would fill each 
one of us with Your Spirit, cause us to understand the truth set 
forth here, cause us to see the glory of Jesus Christ, our great 
mediator, our representative. How we thank You, Lord God, for 
His ministry on behalf of sinners. And I pray that those who do 
not know the Lord Jesus today would believe on Him, would know 
the joy of being found in Christ. not having a righteousness of 
their own, which is from the law, but having that righteousness, 
which is from you through faith in the Son of God. We just pray 
that you would be glorified in this glad hour. And God, again, 
I pray that we would truly rejoice in our King of Kings and Lord 
of Lords. And we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, certainly, 
as we just saw, we see the Son of God go forth to war in this 
particular passage. Remember that there were three 
events that prepared the Lord Jesus for his public ministry. We saw the ministry of John the 
Baptist in chapter three, verses one to twelve. John was the forerunner, 
the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of 
the Lord, make his path straight. That second event in the preparation 
of the Lord Jesus is his baptism, where he tells John the Baptist, 
verse 15, permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for 
us to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus fulfills the righteousness 
of God so that his people can be clothed in a righteousness 
not their own and be able to stand before him. Well, we see 
he was not just playing games or setting forth theological 
concepts, but he comes to this temptation as our representative. He comes to this temptation in 
our place. Some of us probably wouldn't 
last forty minutes without wanting to turn rocks into bread. The 
Lord Jesus did it for forty days. And then thirdly, this particular 
test or temptation in the wilderness. Just want to quote a commentator 
that I think grasps sort of the theme of this section. He said 
in the ancient world, all sons of the king had to be tested 
and prove their right to the throne. He says in the heroes 
of the Old Testament were put to the test before their ministries 
as well. Jesus passes the test and proves 
himself to be truly son of God, thus entering his ministry on 
a note of triumph. He is announced in chapter 3, 
verses 1 to 12. He is anointed and empowered 
in chapter 3, verses 13 to 17. And he is proven by combat here. There is wilderness typology 
and a deliberate contrast with Israel here. It's interesting 
that Christ quotes from Deuteronomy 8 and Deuteronomy 6. Deuteronomy 
8, God tells the nation of Israel precisely why he sent them out 
to the wilderness, why he led them out to the wilderness. There 
it was to be tested. There it was to undergo trial 
so that they would learn dependence upon the Lord God Almighty. Well, 
we see in their 40 years of wilderness wanderings, they failed the test 
several times. They failed over and over. Jesus 
shows himself as the true Israel, as the obedient son. And also, 
we ought not to forget the fact that Jesus is the second Adam. Adam, preface, or Adam predated 
Israel. Adam was placed in that position 
of probation. He was called upon to obey, and 
he failed. Israel comes in his way. They're 
called upon to obey, and they fail. We see this typology a 
little bit more fully in Luke's gospel. He puts the wilderness 
temptation right after the genealogy, right after linking the Lord 
Jesus to Adam. There's a theology of the second 
Adam, and we ought not to miss that in this wilderness. Of course, 
the contrast, Adam was tested in paradise, and he failed. Jesus 
is tested in the wilderness, and he passes. He is triumphant. He is victorious. We need to 
understand that with reference to this situation. We're going 
to take up these eleven verses under three considerations. We'll 
note first the setting, verses one and two. Secondly, the temptations 
themselves, verses three to ten. And then the conclusion in verse 
eleven. But notice the setting. The Spirit 
leads Jesus, verse 1 of chapter 4. Then Jesus was led up by the 
Spirit into the wilderness. This testing period, this time 
in which the devil would tempt our Lord, is according to the 
sovereignty of God. I don't want to moralize, but 
along the way we should recognize certain truths. that there are 
instances and times in our lives when, instead of crying out, 
where are you, Lord? Have you abandoned me? We ought 
to realize that it is his purposes to put us through trials, to 
put us through tests, to put us through difficulty. And notice 
specifically that it's the spirit who drives him into the wilderness. 
That same spirit that had just descended upon him in the form 
of a dove and alighted upon him. stayed upon him. Notice that 
the Spirit of God in the life of the Christian does not remove 
him from the path of temptation. The Spirit of God does not get 
us out of all of our difficulties in our trials. It is just the 
opposite. The Spirit of God empowers us 
and enables us to press through those trials in a distinctly 
God honoring way. There's an analogy here in 1 
Samuel chapter 16. Remember that transfer of power 
is going from David to Saul. The spirit is taken from Saul. The spirit is given to David. 
And then what happens? Does David just go sit in the 
palace and eat grapes and have people fan him and drink beverages 
and just chill out and look upon his great kingdom? No, as soon 
as the spirit comes upon David, the trouble begins. He is persecuted. He is pursued. He is hunted like 
a dog. So Christian believer, do not 
ever conclude that the spirit has departed because you're going 
through trials. No, the presence of the spirit, 
as I said, does not remove us from trial. The spirit of God 
empowers us and enables us to press on through trials. of Deuteronomy 
chapter 8, verse 2, the Lord led Israel into the wilderness 
to be tested. It said, and you shall remember 
that the Lord your God led you all the way these 40 years in 
the wilderness to humble you and test you to know what was 
in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 
Again, the links with what has gone before this are very pronounced. Jesus has made this statement 
of chapter 3 verse 15. It is fitting for us to fulfill 
all righteousness. He is functioning in a representative 
character. He is our mediator. He is our 
surety. He is our covenant head going 
through this on our behalf. And John Calvin said, Christ 
was tempted as the public representative of all believers. So he makes 
this statement, chapter 3, 15, and then he enters into it fully 
in chapter 4, verses 1 to 11. As I mentioned in the last hour, 
don't come to chapter 4, verses 1 to 11, to find 10 principles 
on how to deal with your temptation. Along the way, we can make some 
of those applications. Along the way, we can make some 
lessons. But we mustn't miss the point in what is going on 
here. This is a unique, non-repeatable situation in which our Lord represented 
us, in which our Lord went to this extent so that you and I 
don't have to. The Lord Jesus Christ is functioning 
here in a public capacity. There's some parallels with the 
Old Testament. Remember Moses on Sinai. He was in the mount for 40 days 
and 40 nights where he neither ate nor drank. I think that Jesus 
only didn't eat. It just says that he was hungry 
and when the devil tempts him specifically, it's to eat food. What does that suggest? I think 
it suggests that this was not a supernatural fast. Now, let 
me qualify that Jesus is a supernatural being to be sure he's got the 
Holy Spirit, but it wasn't a direct support from heaven keeping him 
alive. You can't live usually for 40 
days without water. Moses was probably sustained 
supernaturally by the Lord in this fast from food and water. God Almighty sends his son into 
a position and in some respects does not sustain him directly. Christ is here on our behalf 
in all the fullness of his manhood to withstand the attack of the 
devil himself. Now, we need to understand as 
well from this that he is not setting forth a pattern for imitation. Right now, we find ourselves 
in a particular season of the year according to the liturgical 
calendar. That season is Lent, wherein 
people will fast or give up certain things for 40 days. They do this 
in obedience or they do this in imitation of what we find 
here in Matthew 4 verses 1 to 11. Please don't do that. There 
are seasons and periods where you can fast. The Bible speaks 
to that issue. But Jesus is not setting forth 
here a pattern for your imitation. Calvin said, it is mere folly, 
therefore, to appoint a 40 days fast, as it is called, in imitation 
of Christ. Those who fast daily during all 
the 40 days pretend that they are imitators of Christ. But 
how? They stuff their bellies so completely 
at dinner that when the hour of supper arrives, they have 
no difficulty in abstaining from food. What resemblance do they 
bear to the Son of God? To believe that such fasting 
is a meritorious work and that it is part of godliness and of 
the worship of God is a very base superstition. Go read Matthew 
4, 1 to 11 and say, I'm not going to eat gum on Fridays for 40 
days. That's not the point. The point 
is the Son of God has gone forth to war. The Son of God is engaged 
in hand-to-hand combat. The Son of God is in the process 
of winning our redemption. That's what you're supposed to 
take away from a study of Matthew 4, 1 to 11. The emphasis shouldn't 
be on, I need to give this up and I need to do that. You might 
need to, but based on another text. When you come to Matthew 
4, verses 1 to 11, you should cheer the champion of your redemption. You should praise the Son of 
God who has gone forth to war and who has redeemed His people 
from their sins. Jesus' fasting is not presented 
as a model for His followers' practice. This is an experience 
unique to the Son of God at the outset of His mission. So just 
so we're aware of that. Now notice the temptations. The 
first one. Verses three and four. Now, when 
the tempter came to him, verse three, he said, If you are the 
son of God, command that these words are that these stones become 
bread. Look back for just a moment to 
317. 317 at the baptism, it says, 
And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, This is my beloved 
son in whom I am well pleased. Now, at first sight, it may look 
as if the devil is challenging that, but he's really not. He's 
assuming the sonship of Jesus Christ. You ask, how do you know 
that? Well, it's a first class conditional 
clause. If you're interested, it indicates 
that the reality of the statement is assumed. So what the devil 
is essentially doing is saying, if you are the son of God or 
we might translate since you are the son of God, he's going 
to explore that relationship to see if he can get the son 
to falter. You see what I'm saying? He is 
trying to trip the Son up, trying to cause a breach between the 
Father and the Son. In many respects, when we understand 
verses 3 and 6 this way, the nature of the temptation is that 
much more pernicious. He assumes the reality, but he 
wants to exploit the relationship. He wants to cause a wedge, or 
drive a wedge, between the person of the Father and of the Son. 
Since you are the Son of God, or if you are the Son of God, 
command that these stones become bread." Notice that the devil 
is an opportunist as well. Forty days he went without food. Again, forty minutes might be 
a long time for some of us, some of us of the larger persuasion. 
I was with Earl Blackburn, this pastor, two weeks ago at the 
ARBCA conference. He was a pastor in Southern California 
for many years. Now he ministers in Shreveport, 
Louisiana, among the brethren of the darker complexion, he 
calls that. He ministers to our black brothers 
and sisters in the Lord Jesus. Well, some of us of the larger 
complexion, of the larger disposition, forty minutes or four days would 
be a great test. Forty days without food. Remember, 
Jesus is God, but he's man. There's other instances where 
Jesus is hungry. There's instances where Jesus 
eats. The devil is an opportunist. 
When he sees a chink in the armor, he's going to exploit it. When 
he sees a chink in the armor, he's going to go there. You're 
tempted or you're hurting in a particular area. Don't be alarmed 
or surprised that he breaches the wall at that particular place. 
He seizes this opportunity. And I think his argument goes 
something like this. Since you are the son of God, 
and you have the prerogatives of deity, and you have the power 
over the created world, and it's not right that one so prestigious 
as yourself should actually suffer hunger, why don't you work a 
little of your magic, turn these stones into bread, satisfy yourself, 
and everything will be hunky-dory. Satan is not inviting Jesus to 
doubt his sonship, but to reflect on its meaning. He wants to exploit 
this relationship. This is D.A. Carson. He says 
that sonship of the living God, he suggests, surely means Jesus 
has the power and the right to satisfy his own needs. You see, 
Jesus understands the nature of the temptation. The very passage 
that he quotes shows us that he understands the nature of 
this temptation. The quote comes from Deuteronomy 
8, verse 3. Notice what he says. Verse 4, 
he says, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but 
by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Israel went 
hungry under the direction of God, and then God provided them 
with manna from heaven. What was the designed lesson 
to teach them that their dependence was upon God? Jesus understood 
that at this particular juncture in his redemptive mission, it 
was the purpose of God for him not to eat. So if he would have 
changed those stones into bread, he would have asserted something 
that was not true. He would have shown that he was 
not submissive, he was not dependent upon God, and as our representative, 
would not have won our salvation. So a lot more to all of this 
than meets the eye when you consider the fact that he is winning our 
righteousness through his obedience at this particular juncture. He answers this. He tells them 
this. The Lord Jesus understood that 
God's will for him presently was to forego food. Notice what 
Jesus is doing. He is setting forth what he will 
later teach didactically in Matthew 6. Seek first the kingdom of 
God and his righteousness, and then all these other things will 
be added to you. And just look at what he's saying here, kids. 
I want all your attention, all your eyes up here. I don't know 
if you're as hot as I am in this room, It's a cooker this morning. I better start coming and turning 
on that heat in the morning, because it's going to kill me. 
And then you're probably all going to pass out as well. Look 
at what Jesus says here. What's the most important thing 
in your lives each and every day? Not your dolls, not your 
toys, not your whatever, but food, right? I'm not a medical 
doctor. I'm not a chemist. Didn't do 
well in biology or science or any of those things. But I know 
this much. If you don't eat, you will die. 
It's the general pattern of things. Look at what Jesus says. It's 
not by bread alone. He's not negating the fact that 
you need to eat. In fact, that's the lesson later 
on in Matthew 6. It says trust God for your sustenance. Seek God first and then these 
things will be added to you. But what's more important than 
eating your daily bread? That which proceeds from the 
mouth of God. being dependent upon the Lord, 
understanding who God is submitting to the will and rule of God. 
Wanting to be in his plan. Wanting to function according 
to his word. Wanting to live in a manner that 
is well pleasing in his sight. It's interesting that Israel 
was taken into the wilderness to learn this lesson. Jesus presupposes 
this lesson and uses it as the sword of the spirit to cut down 
his attacker. He's not learning it. He knows 
it. He's applying it. Obedience to 
God's will takes priority over self-gratification. It's almost 
like the devil is plying him. Oh, go ahead and turn these rocks 
into stone, or turn these rocks into brick. Work some of that 
holy magic and we'll just be out of here. Jesus says no. The 
priority of God's plan takes, or obedience to God's will takes 
priority over self-gratification. Even over the apparently essential 
provision of food. It's not bad to eat, it's not 
wrong to eat, but at this particular time in Jesus' life and ministry, 
he realized he wasn't supposed to do that. Notice, secondly, 
Jesus is taken to the holy city. This is Jerusalem. Read some 
of the better commentators on how this all took place. Was 
it visionary? I mean, some of the prophets 
were taken places and obviously were visionary. Ezekiel was in 
Babylon, but was taken by vision to Jerusalem. We're not going 
to get into all those particular details. Suffice it to say, the 
devil took him up into the Holy Spirit, set him on the pinnacle 
of the temple, and said to him, same use of the word, same use 
of the language. If you are the son of God, throw 
yourself down. He assumes the sonship of Jesus. 
He's not challenging the sonship of Jesus. Pastor Cam read Psalm 
91 at the outset of worship. Psalm 91 is a beautiful song. 
It's a glorious song. It talks about God providing 
protection for his people. And isn't it interesting what 
the devil does here? He's quoting scripture. It's almost as if Jesus says, 
it is written, and the devil comes and says, well, you can 
play at that game. I know your Bible, too. I know Psalm 91. 
I'm going to bring Psalm 91, and again, I'm trying to put 
a wedge between you and your Father. I want you to test the 
Lord your God. I want you to throw yourself 
off of the pinnacle here, and I want to see the Father dispatch 
His angels so they can shimmy you right back up to a position 
of safety. The Lord Jesus realizes the devil's 
tactic and again withdraws the sword of the Spirit and hacks 
at his enemy. The vivid imagery of the psalm 
envisages some of the hazards which may be expected to confront 
God's people. That's precisely what Psalm 91 
is about. It talks about all those things 
that may befall us. RT France goes on to say, though, 
and it promises God's protection for them, but it does not suggest 
that they should take the initiative in courting such dangers. God 
has promised to protect you, but please wear your seatbelt. 
You're strapping yourself into a little tube and driving at 
high speeds alongside of and against other people strapped 
in the little tubes. Yes, God protects his people, 
but put your seatbelt on. I like what Spurgeon says in 
his comment on this particular situation. He says, we are to 
be kept in our ways, but not in our follies. You don't throw 
yourself off of the pinnacle of the temple because God has 
promised protection. And I don't believe the devil 
is just wanting them to work a little magic so everybody can 
say, wow, look at that. It is to test God. Jesus' response 
makes that clear. It is written, do not test the 
Lord your God. You say, well, how would that 
be a test? Well, throwing yourself off of the pinnacle of the temple 
to see if God's angels will shimmy you up is to test God. Genuine 
faith doesn't test God. Genuine faith walks according 
to the Word. Genuine faith is resolute. It 
trusts. It realizes. It knows that if 
trouble befalls me, God will take care of me. Genuine faith, 
however, does not go out and court disaster to put a test 
to God. You see, this is the problem 
here. He's trying to create the wedge. He's trying to create 
a situation. He's trying to turn the two parties 
against one another. Go ahead, throw yourself up. 
Let's see if your father responds. This is to invert the whole process 
as well. Jesus is to submit to his father's 
will. This task would make the father 
submit to Jesus will. We're not supposed to live that 
way. And it's beautiful. Again, Jesus goes back to Deuteronomy, 
chapter 6, a context where God is telling the people through 
Moses what love to him looks like. Love to him looks like 
this. Do not test the Lord your God 
like you did at Massah, like you did at Meribah, when you 
grumbled and you whined and you complained and you said the Lord 
is going to leave us out here to die. You don't test God. Believer, 
you and I need to get this down as well. We're not supposed to 
test God. You know, we hear a lot about 
the fleets, Gideon's fleets. That was an interesting, again, 
unrepeatable instance in the history of redemption that you 
and I aren't to imitate. You're to obey, come what may. You're to walk in humble obedience 
to the Lord. Don't test Him. We don't put 
up obstacles to see if the Lord will deliver us, and then we'll 
be obedient to you. That's what the devil is suggesting. 
Jump off of here. Since you are the son of God, 
certainly he will carry you, he will protect you, everything 
will be great. No, that's to test God. He protects 
me in my ways, he doesn't protect me in my follies. Believer, we 
need to understand and learn something from this. Israel tested 
God at Massah in a time of hardship. This is not an expression of 
love to God or faith in his word. And as well, Jesus is saying 
that scripture is consistent. You don't use Psalm 91 to invalidate 
the rest of the Bible. Though the devil may quote scripture, 
he certainly isn't applying it properly. He certainly isn't 
interpreting it properly. It's a good caution for us. Not 
everybody who quotes scripture is necessarily right. If you 
don't listen to the devil, you jump right off of that pinnacle 
and you make a big slap. You get up to the pearly gates, 
as they say, and God would say, I promise to protect you in your 
ways, not your follies. Don't listen to the devil. Don't 
get Bible study from the devil. Jesus takes out the sword of 
Deuteronomy 6 and again hacks at this fiend. Notice the third 
temptation. Verse eight, 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. There's no subtlety here. No 
difficulty here. Not even in if you are the son 
of God here. Certainly the Son of God is right 
and entitled to all the kingdoms of the earth. What the devil 
is saying is forgo your father's plan. Forgo this whole thing 
of living in obedience to his law, fulfilling all righteousness 
of God. Forget it all. Bow to me and 
you will have everything that you see right before your eyes. 
That's a powerful statement. Let's think about it for a minute. 
Aren't you glad? that your temptations don't take 
on this character. I'm not minimizing your temptation. 
I'm minimizing my temptation. Temptation is a real issue. Temptation, 
by the way, is not sin. Yielding to temptation is sin. 
Right? Jesus is being really tempted 
here, but he's not yielding to it. In all of your temptations, 
in all of your trials, in all of your woes, you have to come 
back to this question. Have I spent 40 days in the wilderness, 
deprived of food, going one-on-one with the devil? Have I honestly 
done that? Has the devil seized upon the 
opportunity of my hunger in such a unique way that he has tempted 
me to sin against my God? Has he brought me to the pinnacle 
of a temple and told me to jump off so that I can test and see 
whether or not Psalm 91 is really true? And have you ever been 
given a view of all the kingdoms of the earth and all their glory 
and the devil say, look, we can make this really quick and really 
simple. You just sign here on the dotted 
line and I will give it all to you. But you do need to bow down 
and worship me. I praise God for the representative 
character of the Lord Jesus. I praise God that he is the mediator 
of the new covenant. I praise God that within the 
realm of the redemptive work of Christ, he has built into 
our prayer life the ability to cry to God and do not lead me 
into temptation. Christ withstood several assaults 
that were very, very huge. Notice Jesus' response here. 
Before he pulls out the sword of the Spirit, he says, Away 
with you, Satan. away with you. That's it. It's done. This conversation 
is over, and he sends him packing. Then he reaches back into the 
arsenal, pulls out Deuteronomy 6.13, which again is a context 
very similar. God is reminding them that they 
have come into a land that is filled with good things, that 
is filled with beautiful things. that is filled with all the lusciousness 
of the land. And he calls on them to guard 
their hearts against idolatry. As you enjoy those good things, 
you might start to become like the people who enjoy those good 
things. And you might start to bow down 
to their gods. In essence, the devil is duplicating 
that very temptation. The people of Israel saw the 
good things. Their hearts went a-whoring after 
them and ended up in the laps of their gods. If Jesus were 
to accept this particular proposal and accept this kingdom, or this 
glorious kingdom and authority over it, he would have been in 
a laugh of Satan. He says, no, absolutely not. Away with you, Satan. For it 
is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only 
you shall serve. Jesus rebukes the devil. He sends 
him packing. It is over at this particular 
time. And that brings us to consider, 
finally, the conclusion. Notice in verse 11, then the 
devil left him. Isn't that beautiful? Just like James says, resist 
him and he will flee from you. See, we don't believe that sometimes. 
We don't always believe that. We've got to go to this conference. 
We've got to learn these coping skills. We've got to learn these 
principles on spiritual warfare and how to deal with the enemy 
of our soul. Resist him. It may not be as glamorous as 
what you see on the DVD series. It may not be as enticing as 
what some of these guys look like, but it is effective. Resist him and he will flee from 
you. That is precisely what took place 
in this incident. Jesus reproves him. Jesus rebukes 
him. Jesus says away with you for it is written you shall worship 
the Lord your God and him only you shall serve. Then the devil 
left him. It would have been a good thing 
for the devil to continue in Psalm 91. I'd love to have everybody right 
now take out a piece of paper and a pencil and say, what came 
after these two verses? Verse 13. Yeah. What did it say? After God promises, he promises 
his protection to the Messiah, to the Lord Jesus in Psalm 91, 
verse 13, it says, you shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, 
the young lion and the serpent. You shall trample underfoot. You see, if the devil was a better 
exegete, he would have known where this was heading to. He 
would have known that he would be trampled underfoot. He would 
have known that the Lord Jesus would gain decisive victory in 
this particular exchange. And then notice, the devil leaves 
him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him. Psalm 
91, 11, and 12. He didn't engage in folly, he 
didn't test the Lord as God, but in the Father's providence, 
in his good timing and plan, the Lord God sends these angels 
to minister to him. Probably food, probably drink, 
probably rest, probably comfort. Grant Osborne says, the one who 
refused to satisfy his hunger by misusing his miraculous powers 
and who refused angelic aid by jumping from the temple heights 
is now fed by those very angels. It's beautiful. Look at the way 
the package ends. The devil will come and ply his 
wares and get or seek to get you to give in. Be faithful. Be on guard. Take out the sword 
of the Spirit. Stand fast. Swing it. Spurgeon makes the comment that 
Deuteronomy was the book that the critics were especially antagonistic 
toward in his day and age. That hasn't ceased. People say, 
oh, there's no way Deuteronomy could be written by Moses when 
it was written. because of what it says. It had 
to have been written much later in Israel's history to sort of 
fit in with the prophetic literature. Well, that started around Spurgeon's 
time. Spurgeon says that the book of 
Deuteronomy is the specific target of the enemy's opposition. It 
is very telling that the Lord takes the sword of the spirit 
with Deuteronomy 8, Deuteronomy 6, and Deuteronomy 6 to hack 
at his opponent. It's the word of God, the word 
of truth. The Lord Jesus waits upon Jehovah. The Lord Jesus waits upon God. He never doubts Psalm 91. He understands its application. 
He understands he's not supposed to test that the Lord is God. He waits and God is faithful. The devil leaves him and behold, 
angels come and they minister unto him. Well, a few lessons 
and then we'll close. First, as I mentioned in the 
introduction, can't miss the tithes. Something that happened 
in the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New Testament. God used 
Israel as a people to mediate his blessings to the nations 
around them. You can see that for yourself 
in Deuteronomy also. God put them to the test and 
they failed. They did not become that vehicle 
to mediate God's blessings to the nations around them. So, 
he sends Jesus. Jesus is the second Adam. Jesus 
is the covenant Lord. Jesus is the Israel that doesn't 
fail. This is why Paul in Galatians 
3 can say that the seed of Abraham is Christ. The seed of Abraham 
is singular. It is Jesus alone. One man has 
seen the parallels, and I hope that we will too, between Israel 
in the Exodus and with Jesus. As Israel, God's son is called 
forth from Egypt to a mountain. Exodus 4, Exodus 3. So is God's 
son. You say, well, how does that 
happen? Remember Hosea 2.11? Out of Egypt I have called my 
son. It's talking about Jesus. What are we supposed to get? 
Wow, that's kind of interesting. No, we're supposed to get that 
God is realizing His blessed purposes in Christ. The Bible 
is Christocentric. The Bible has Jesus at its center. The Bible is about Him. Jesus 
says, you search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have 
eternal life. These are they which testify 
of me. You miss Christ and you miss 
everything. God's son called out of Egypt 
to a mountain. Coming to the waters of the Red 
Sea, the Israelites grumble. Remember that? Oh no, there's 
a sea between us and safety and there's an army in hot pursuit. They don't say, well, patiently 
wait upon Yahweh. He'll part it. He'll fly us over. 
Somehow, someway, they grumble. What happens when Jesus comes 
to the water of the river? He does all the Father's will. 
In the desert, whereas Israel longed for water and food, the 
Son lives on the Word of God. Whereas Israel put Yahweh to 
the task, the Son refused to do so. Don't miss that. I want you to live a life where 
you're able to resist temptation. I genuinely do. I want you to 
resist the devil and see him flee from you. But in that pursuit, 
don't miss what's happening in verses 1 to 11. Don't miss the 
broader context. Don't miss that God is in Christ 
reconciling the world, that Jesus is fulfilling righteousness. 
And whereas Israel worshiped golden calf, Jesus refused to 
yield worship to Satan. That's what Matthew wants us 
to see. He's weaving together a great 
picture of how Jesus successfully fulfills all the righteousness 
of God. The second observation on the 
passage is the victory of Jesus. And here we do see some things 
that we can learn. When you are sorely tempted and 
when you're vexed by the devil, it's a good old King James word, 
we don't use it much, but it certainly fits. You're vexed 
by the devil, that righteous man Lot whose soul was vexed 
day by day. How do you resist him? You take 
that sword of the spirit out, you swing it at his head. You 
hide the word of God in your heart that you might not sin 
against him. Isn't that what the psalmist 
says? Thy word I have hidden in my heart that I might not 
sin against you. Notice, thy word I have hidden 
in my heart so that I may win prizes, so that I may get a buck, 
so that my dad will be proud of me, so that my mom will give 
me a cookie when we get home from church. Now, if you want 
to do all that, that's fine, but don't miss the primary purpose. 
You hide that word in your heart so that it's a ready resource 
to do battle with the foe. The victory of Christ is displayed 
in its vivid detail throughout Matthew's gospel. On several 
other occasions, Jesus is tested. What does he do? He doesn't go 
to the psychiatrist's couch. He doesn't pop a pill. He takes 
the sword of the spirit out and he swings it at the devil. R.T. Frantz made a comment concerning 
this situation. He says when eventually Jesus 
is able to claim on another mountain that all authority has been given 
to me, it will be as a result not of kowtowing to Satan, but 
of suffering in obedience to God's purpose. And then it will 
be all authority, not only on earth, but also in heaven, an 
authority which the devil was not able to offer. Don't miss 
that either. Just because I've got a sensitive 
conscience and I don't want to bloody anybody here, if you take 
pills for a legitimate reason, praise God, you do that under 
your doctor's prescription. That's not what I was inviting. 
I was inviting that escapist mentality, that retreat mentality 
that seeks refuge in other places than in God. God is Lord, both 
of the spirit and of the body. There are certain maladies, certain 
physical infirmities that God, through general revelation, has 
taught principles to men so that they can prescribe proper medication. So don't go here saying, Butler's 
against medication. That was not my point. Butler's 
against seeking refuge in something other than God. Again, not to moralize, but what 
do we learn from Jesus? His dependence upon God alone. 
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds 
from the mouth of God. That's a good principle for us. 
Is that how you live, Christian? I would suppose that most of 
us in this room would profess to be Christians. Most of us 
would say we've had a conversion experience of sorts. We've been 
born again. By God's grace, we believe on 
the Lord Jesus. Is your dependency upon God? Is it? Can you say of a truth? I depend on every word that proceeds 
from the mouth of God. I'm going to beat this drum again. 
If you can say that, or if you do say that, then the Bible should 
have priority in your life. The Bible should not be a dust-collecting 
object on your shelves of curiosities. The Bible should be read. The 
Bible should be studied. The Bible is the means by which 
we express our dependence upon God. Do you depend on Him? Is it every word that proceeds 
from the mouth of God? Do sermons that go along cause 
you to go, Bible reading, if the father or the mother at the 
family table starts to read the Bible, oh man, if that's your 
response, you need to believe the gospel. God's people love 
his word. Maybe not like they ought, maybe 
not as consistently, maybe not as faithfully, but if you oppress 
them, if you shine a bright light on them and threaten to beat 
them with a rubber hose, they're going to say, yeah, I do love 
the word of God. I do delight in the Bible. I 
do want his word. If anything, they're crying out 
that they don't want it more. Do we follow Jesus' independence 
upon God? And then notice the submission 
to God's will. Again, these are interrelated 
and interconnected as they're played out here in the wilderness. 
Submission to the will of God. God had his purposes to feed 
Jesus. Jesus didn't rush it. Jesus didn't 
thwart the purpose or thwart the plan. Jesus didn't say, my 
needs are most important right now, and you had better perform 
for me. No, he didn't do that. He submitted 
fully and wholly to the will of the Lord. He submitted wholly 
and fully to the will of God that he wasn't going to test 
him. He wasn't going to throw himself off of the temple, the 
pinnacle of the temple, so that God could dispatch angels and 
swoop him up. We're not trying to reduce God 
to a parlor trick, brethren. We're not at a restaurant on 
a Friday night and some guy's coming around and hiding quarters. 
That's not the God of the Bible. He is not a domesticated house 
pet. He is not on our leash. We are 
not going to tame him. We don't tell him jump and he 
says how high. That's the way modern Christianity 
has sought to reduce God. We need to come back to a passage 
like this and we need to see the son of God in humble dependence 
and in submission to the will of the Lord. We see that later 
in Luke, very obviously, and in Matthews as well, when Jesus 
is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. And he says, Father, 
if it is possible, let this come past from me. He says, nevertheless, 
not my will but thine be done. And then thirdly, we see that 
worship and service is to be given to God alone. Worship and 
service is to be given to God alone. Don't make the mistake 
of Israel in the Old Testament. When they saw those lands, when 
they saw those vineyards, when they saw those cities, they said, 
well, that's good stuff. We want that stuff. It wasn't 
long before they were bowing at the Canaanites' gods. Because 
the Canaanites said, well, Baal gave us this. Asherah gave us 
this. Moloch gave us this. Well, if 
he gives you that, then I want a piece of that. Let me at him. 
You see, it's this whole barter system with God. He gives me 
what I want, I'll worship him. He doesn't give me what I want, 
I'll go seek Baal. He doesn't give me what I want, 
I'll go seek Asherah. He doesn't give me what I want, 
I'll go seek my own God. Maybe myself, ultimately, that 
I will worship. And then finally, I want to close 
with a specific word concerning the gospel. The gospel means 
the good news. The good news is, is that Jesus 
Christ said, permitted to be so now, for thus it is fitting 
for us to fulfill all righteousness. The good news is that Christ, 
at every step of the way, lived in obedience to the Father. At 
every step of the way, he obeyed the Father completely. Now, that's 
an amazing thing, because you and I might obey externally, 
but our hearts are far from God. You see, Jesus will teach in 
Matthew 5 to 7 in the Sermon on the Mount that the law of 
God was never just an external thing alone. These people are 
patting themselves on the back. Well, I've never committed adultery. 
I've never went and lain with my brother's wife. Jesus says, 
I tell you, if you look upon a woman to lust in your heart, 
you have broken the command. That's not new to Jesus. The Mosaic Law stipulated that. They were patting themselves 
on the back that they had never committed murder. Yeah, but if 
you say in your heart, fool, raka, Brother, I've been indicted 
of the Sixth Commandment so many times driving the streets of 
Chilliwack. I would be in hell forever and 
ever for that sin alone. Getting angry without cause. 
Why? Because somebody dared to cut 
me off? You see, the law is spiritual. 
Cuts to the heart. All of us are dead in the water. 
All of us are gone. All of us are completely rendered 
ineffectual. But the good news is, is that 
Jesus fully and always obeyed perpetually, personally, completely. His heart was never far from 
God when he engaged in external obedience. His heart was there. He satisfied the righteous requirements 
of God's law for us. Remember, it's a representative 
person, but doesn't end there. It's not just that righteousness 
that we need. We've got a sin problem. We've 
got to get this sin dealt with. That's what the latter chapters 
of Matthew is all about. Jesus at the cross. Why did he 
go to the cross? So we could go, wow, look at 
what a good example of selflessness and love that is. No. So we could say, wow, I need 
to be more like Jesus and pour myself out like the martyr that 
he was. No. He's not an example on that 
cross. He is the wrath-bearing, curse-bearing, 
substitutionary, atoning sacrifice for the sins of his people. That's 
what the gospel is. It's not moral suasion. It's 
not be a better guy. It's not pull up your bootstraps. 
It's look and live. Christ has paid it all. He satisfied the law of God. 
He died as a sacrifice. He rose again. And every sinner 
that looks to Him in faith receives the forgiveness of sin and a 
righteousness that avails with God. That's why gospel is good 
news. We ought not to strip it of its 
meaning. We ought to appreciate it in all of its saving glory 
and power. And if you are not Christ this 
morning, I invite you, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. and 
you shall be saved. You'll get to go home rejoicing 
that the mercy of God has been displayed in your life. Not because 
you're good, not because you've earned it, not because you've 
deserved it, but through the doing, the dying, and the rising 
of Jesus Christ and Him alone. Well, let us pray. Oh, Father, 
what a glorious Savior we have. What a great Lord. What a blessed 
mediator of a better covenant built on better promises. Our 
Father, we thank you for Jesus and the fact that he fulfilled 
all righteousness and that he died as a sacrifice. We thank 
you that he withstood the devil in these fierce temptations in 
the wilderness. We thank you that throughout 
the remainder of the gospel account, he withstands the temptations 
presented before him. and that he comes through triumphantly 
and victoriously and securing the salvation of all those whom 
the Father had given him. I pray, God in heaven, that you 
would be pleased to save sinners today. I pray that today would 
be the day of salvation, that they would look and live, believing 
on the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. And we ask this in 
His most blessed name. Amen.