The Temptation of Jesus Christ - Part 4

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It was in 1604, that Christopher Marlowe published his famous play, The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Dr. Faust. Many of you've heard the story of Faust. That was the first time the famous legend was put in print. Since that time, it's been developed and expanded in countless plays and poems, in films, and even in song lyrics. When I was growing up, Charlie Daniels' band did a kind of version called, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” The story is of a tragic human figure who strikes a deal with the devil to enjoy worldly success. But to do so, he has to agree to surrender his soul, eventually, to the devil as payment and spend eternity damned in hell. The deal is sealed with a document that Faust must sign with his own blood. So, as the story unfolds, Faust, having made this deal with the devil, enjoys a life filled with everything that he has longed for, everything he has craved.  But as the end of life draws near, he's gripped by two realities. The first is that all of those things that he has craved haven't satisfied his soul; and secondly, that he has now damned his soul forever. 

It's a compelling story, and it's compelling because, at some point in each of our lives, we have all heard our own version of that same siren song–the temptation to sell our souls for power or prosperity. We shouldn't be surprised by that because, after all, that is one of the three recorded temptations of Jesus Christ our Lord, the one to which we come this morning. We're studying the temptation of Christ here in Matthew, chapter 4; and in His temptation, He undeniably demonstrated His supremacy over Satan, over temptation, and over sin.  Matthew provides us with several crucial insights into the temptation of our Lord, in which we not only learn about Him and who He is, but we also learn about ourselves and how to address temptation in our own lives. 

Now, just to remind you where we've been, we first considered in verse 1, “The Circumstances of Jesus' Temptation.” But we've been studying the last couple of weeks the heart of this passage, verses 2 through 10, which is “The Climax of Jesus' Temptation.” Both Matthew and Luke record three temptations that are representative of the temptations that Jesus faced over that entire forty days. But these three temptations are climactic. These three come at the end of that forty-day period. Matthew makes it clear that he's recording them in chronological order, so we're studying them together in the very order in which our Lord was tempted at the end of that forty-day period. 

So far, we've examined Satan's first two temptations, and we've summarized them like this. Verses 2 through 4, “The First Temptation,” we said, was for Jesus and for us “To Meet Legitimate Physical Needs Contrary to God's Word.” This is a huge category of temptation for every human being, for you, for me. We looked at it together. If you weren't here, go back and catch up because there's so much we can learn from Christ about dealing with this in our lives. In verses 5 through 7, I summarized “The Second Temptation” this way, “To Pursue Personal Glory Instead of God's Glory.” Today, we come to the third and final temptation. Let's read it together, Matthew, chapter 4, you follow along as I read, beginning in verse 8. 

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’ ”   Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

In “This Third Temptation,” we learn that Satan tempted Jesus, and he tempts us in this way, “To Pursue Personal Fulfillment Instead of God's Will,” to pursue personal fulfillment instead of God's will. Now that's my summary, and then as we walk through this passage and as it unfolds, I think you'll see that that is the heart of this temptation of our Lord. So, let's begin by looking at the third temptation in verses 8 and 9. It's ostensibly to worship Satan. So, let's look at it. 

He begins by telling us “The Location,” verse 8. “Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain.” Now there's the same debate about this third temptation as there is about the second. And that is, did the devil physically take Jesus to this location, or did he simply show Him these things in a vision? Well, we can't be absolutely sure; there are arguments that it's a vision. For example, there is no mountain high enough to see all of earth's kingdoms. In addition, Luke says that it happened in a moment of time, which certainly implies that it was something highly unusual and perhaps miraculous. There are also two passages in the Scripture that describe someone who is taken in a vision to a high mountain, and it's clear that it's a vision. Ezekiel, in Ezekiel 40, verse 2, and John, the Apostle, in Revelation,  chapter 21, and verse 10. So, it could be a vision.

On the other hand, there are arguments for this happening physically. Luke, chapter 4, verse 5, the parallel passage, uses “kingdoms of the world (inhabited earth),” a phrase that refers to the kingdoms of the Middle East. So, maybe he showed Him those kingdoms that were within His physical vision and described the rest. Also, the Greek verb that's translated ‘showed’ here can mean ‘to show physically,’ but the same verb can mean ‘to describe something or explain something.’ For example, in Matthew 16:21, it says, “…Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and be killed, and be raised on the third day.” That doesn't mean He showed them physically those things; it means He described them, He explained them to them. So, what we need to understand is this temptation, like the others, really happened, and either it happened physically or in a vision; we can't be absolutely certain, but that's where we are. So, verse 8 continues, “Again, the devil took Him to a very (or literally, extremely) high mountain.” 

Now, in light of what I just said to you, we can't be sure where this was. If it was physical, it could have been there in the Judean wilderness where Jesus had been tempted for 40 days. The highest elevation there was some 3,000 feet; this could have been Mount Nebo, which is 4,000 feet and less than 40 miles from the Temple where the second temptation took place if it was a physical place. It could have been Mount Hermon, the highest point in all of Israel at 9,200 feet, some 140 miles north of the Temple; it would require a multi-day journey. Or, it may have simply been a mountain in a vision. We don't know. 

But look at “The Scene” that unfolds, the scene in the end of verse 8, and he “showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.” Now think for a moment about Jesus' earthly life so far. For His entire earthly life, with the exception of just a few months when He was an infant, that He was in Egypt, perhaps in the city of Alexandria, which He wouldn't have remembered, apart from those few months, He had lived His entire life in a tiny little village, the village of Nazareth, less than five-hundred people in that village in the first century. In other words, there were fewer people in Jesus' hometown than sitting in the bowl of this room. That's where Jesus grew up. Starting at least at the age of twelve, we know that He went to the Temple annually, so He got to see on an annual basis the great city of Jerusalem and its magnificent Temple. But He hadn't traveled outside of Israel; He hadn't seen anything other than really Nazareth and Jerusalem. 

And now, Satan shows Him all the kingdoms of the world. As it were, he turns Jesus three-hundred-sixty degrees, and he lets Him see how far and wide the world is. He shows Him beyond what Jesus' physical eyes could see; he described or showed Him in a vision all of the world's great empires. Egypt, with its ancient history, its advanced civilization, its pharaohs, and its pyramids. He showed Him Greece with its antique civilization, its scientific advances, its great philosophers, its beautiful architecture, its refined culture. He showed Him Rome with its great armies, with its far-flung empire, art, and science, a network of roads across the Mediterranean world, and magnificent cities which are a precursor of our own. In the same way, Satan gave Jesus a glimpse, either physically or descriptively, of the rest of the kingdoms of men. But notice, Satan showed Him, not the disgusting and the dirty, not the evil and the corruption, but their glory. He showed Jesus everything that made those civilizations, those empires, great and magnificent; those things that would take your breath away, that's what he showed Jesus. And according to Luke 4:5, he showed Him all of these empires and kingdoms “in a moment of time.” Alfred Edersheim writes, “The world in all its glory, beauty, strength, majesty is unveiled. Its work, its might, its greatness, its art, its thought all emerges into clear view in the eyes of our Savior.” That's the scene. 

And out of that scene, notice “The Promise” in verse 9, “And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You.’” Now, you'll notice with this third temptation, the devil doesn't say, as he did with the first two, “If you are the Son of God.” But as we've already described and discussed, even then he wasn't saying, “I'm not sure you are the Son of God.” Both Satan and Jesus knew who Jesus was. So now, there's no need to say that. Instead, as John Broaddus puts it, “Conceding that Jesus is Messiah and will have a kingdom, Satan now proposes to help Him.” He promises, notice, “All these things I will give You.” Satan offered to give Jesus possession of all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Now, how could Satan make such an offer? Well, Luke, chapter 4, the parallel passage where Luke describes the temptation of Jesus, Luke, chapter 4, verse 6, quotes the rest of what Satan said to Jesus in this temptation. Listen to that verse, “I will give you all this domain and its glory,” and here's what Luke tells us Satan added, “for (because) it has been handed over to me, and I (will) give it to whomever I wish.” Satan says to Jesus, “It has been handed over to me, and I (will) give it to whomever I wish.”

Now, let me give you a little quiz. Is that true? Sort of. Alright, the first part is partly true. God has permitted Satan to rule over the world system that stands opposed to God, but even that's under God's firm control. So, Satan is called, in that sense, “The ruler of this world.” John, chapter 12, verse 31, and other verses in John's writings, “the ruler of this world,” meaning the ruler of this world system. But it's not true that the created world has been handed over to Satan. “This is My Father's world,” as we sing. The Lord has complete control of the created world and it's under His sovereign purpose. Neither is it true that Satan has sole authority to appoint earthly rulers. In other words, he may influence the way things go in this world through sinful and fallen human beings, through the temptations of demons, etc., but he doesn't decide who sits on the throne in the various capitals of our world. In Daniel, chapter 4, verse 25, we read this, “…the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and He bestows it on whomever He wishes.” 

So, how then should we reconcile what Satan says here with what the rest of the Scripture teaches? Well, here's how you start. Remember what Jesus said about Satan, “He is a liar and the father of all lies.” You see, there's a little bit of truth in what Satan says, but there's a whole lot of lie. And folks, you need to understand the same thing is true when he tempts you. Think about this, Satan's temptations always promise more than they deliver. That was true in Jesus' life; it's true in your life. Satan's temptations always promise more than they deliver, and his final price is always higher than he admits! The same thing is true with Jesus. At the same time, it's true that Satan has some control, some power, some influence over the world's great empires. How? Because most of its leaders, most of the leaders of the nations and empires of our world are not true believers and followers of Jesus Christ. They are his children under his control; they are slaves to their father. And so, that's really what he's offering Jesus. 

But notice in verse 9, “The Condition,” “if You fall down and worship me.” Literally, the Greek text says, “If falling down, You will worship me.” Now don't misunderstand, I don't think Satan here was asking Jesus to permanently renounce the true God and forever treat Satan as if he were God. That wouldn't be a real temptation for Jesus. Instead, he's asking Jesus to just acknowledge Satan's authority over all these things, just once. Just acknowledge that it's mine to give. Just one quick bow, just one quick acknowledgement of Satan's authority over the world. This wasn't an acknowledgement of Satan's divinity; Satan himself has just said, “All these things were given to me.” This isn't a recognition of Satan's worthiness to be worshipped. No, it's a simple acknowledgement, a one-time acknowledgement that Satan has authority over these things and can give them. As William Hendrickson, the great Presbyterian commentator, puts it, “All this wealth is offered by Satan to Christ, all for the price of just one genuflection, just one little bow.” 

But don't misunderstand what's going on here. The real temptation in this third temptation is not to worship Satan. Bowing before Satan was only a means to a greater end. The end goal and the real temptation here is in this statement in verse 9, look at it, “All these things I will give You.” That's the temptation, “All these things I will give You.” Luke, in Luke, chapter 4, verse 7, says, “it shall all be Yours,” that's the temptation. If Jesus would simply admit Satan's authority over these things, He could avoid all of the conflict and the pain and the suffering that it would cost Him in order to take these things away from Satan; He could just be given these things. 

Now, again, remind yourself of the context. It's right for Jesus Christ to have the kingdoms of this world. The Father has already promised that He will have them. Psalm 2, speaking of the Messiah, verse 7  8, “I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession.” That's a thousand years before Jesus came. You're going to get it; it's Yours.” Daniel, chapter 7, verse 14, The Son of Man, the Messiah, comes up to the Ancient of Days, and it says, “to Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.” That's what God had promised Jesus, hundreds of years before He ever showed up on this planet. So, this temptation then, in Jesus' case, was to get what God had promised, but not in God's way, not the way of suffering and death, and not in God's time, because Jesus was supposed to get this (When?) after His death. You remember what He says in chapter 28 when He gathers with the disciples after the resurrection? He says, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth;” as a result, as the God-man, as a result of His suffering and death. Fast forward to the future in Revelation, chapter 11, verse 15, we learn that “The kingdom of this world” will one day “become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever;” it's coming! The temptation was to take it now and not in God's way. John Calvin writes, “The temptation here described was that Christ should seek, in another manner than from God, the inheritance He has promised.” 

So, what's the heart then of this third temptation? How do we condense it to sort of a simple understanding? What's really going on here? What's the temptation? Let me put it this way. It is “To pursue power, the right to rule, and wealth, all those kingdoms in their glory, instead of the will of God,” to pursue power and wealth instead of the will of God. Or we could put it this way, “To pursue self-fulfillment instead of the fulfillment of God's perfect plan.” This is such a temptation for those who profess Christ. I read this week the story that in the 1500s, Henry IV of Navarre, decided to compromise his Protestant faith in order to become the King of France. And when he was asked about it, he laughed and said, “Paris is well worth a mass.” For Jesus, the entire world wasn't worth a single bow! 

But what about us? What forms does this temptation for power and wealth take for us? Let's see if we can understand it. Think about, apart from our flesh now, think about how God made us as human beings. This temptation really springs from God's design. God designed us that we are to rule over this earth. He put mankind on this earth to rule over it, to be His vice regents here on this planet, and to work hard in the fulfillment of what God created us to do, and then to enjoy the fruit of that labor. All of those things are God-given. But what happens for us, sadly, not for Christ, Christ had no fallenness, there was no flesh in Him, He was fully human but without sin; but for us who are fallen, our flesh perverts that God-given design and desire into a sinful craving. And what is it we crave? We crave either position and power, we want to rule, or we crave possessions and wealth we want to have. Position and power or possessions and wealth. It's what 1 John 2:16 calls, “the lust of the eyes.” It's seeing and sinfully craving to have or to possess what our eyes see. 

So, “What form does this temptation take with us?” I'm not going to walk through all these in detail; I'll just give you an outline. The verses will be there; you can go back and chase them down after this is posted later this week. Here are the common ways “The sinful desire for power and wealth expresses itself in our lives.” Number one, “Not having them but craving them,” (Ex. 20:14; Ps. 62:10; Eccl. 5:10-11; 1 Timothy 6:9-10). You see, you don't have to have power and wealth for it to be sinful in your life. A lot of people don't have it, but they crave having it. Exodus 20, verse 17, the tenth commandment says, “You're not to covet, you're not to crave anything that belongs to your neighbor,” (Paraphrase). 1 Timothy, chapter 6, verse 9 says, “those who want to get rich,” if that's your aim, “those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil.” So, the temptation is to not have these things but to sinfully crave them. 

Secondly, the temptation is to “Pursue them in a way contrary to God's commands.” For example, “By Force,” (stealing, robbing; Micah 2:2-3; Proverbs 22:16); or “By Stealth,” (lying, deceiving, cheating, conniving, embezzling; Proverbs 13:11; 21:6; 28:20; Jeremiah 17:11); or “By the sacrifice of biblical priorities,” to pursue these things. You pursue them at the cost of, “worship, or faithful involvement in a local church, or your family,” (Proverbs 23:4-5; Luke 12:15). Wealth and power become everything. Jesus reminded us of the danger of this in Luke, chapter 12 , verse 15, when He says, “…be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” It's really easy for us to have our vision skewed by wealth. Leon Morris writes, “Many who profess to follow Christ have purchased their own empires at the cost of the acceptance of evil.”

Number three, “Having these things and trusting in them,” (Job 31:24; Mark 10:23-25). 1 Timothy, chapter 6, verse 17, Paul writes, “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not… to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God.” There's a real danger of putting your confidence in your investments, putting your confidence in what you've accumulated. Listen, that can go away in a moment, as some of it did just in this last week. Put your trust in God.
“Having them and hoarding them.” Some people are hoarders of stuff or of wealth. Matthew 6:19 says, Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourself,” don't hoard up all these things; invest it in the kingdom. 

Number five, “Having these things and disobeying God to keep them.” For example, “By neglecting other biblical commands,” such as being generous. In other words, you keep your wealth, but you do it at the cost of not doing what God requires. 1 Timothy 6:18, instruct those who are rich “to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.”

Number six, “Having them and attributing them to your own abilities and efforts,” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18; Proverbs 10:22; Ecclesiastes 5:19; 1 Timothy 6:17). Boy, this is so common. “You know why I have what I have? You know the success I have? It's because of me, it's because of how smart I am, it's because of how creative I am, because of how hard I've worked. That's really the key.” That's not what God says. Deuteronomy 8:17-18 says, “It is God who is giving you the power to make wealth.” The truth is, this is true of me and it's true of you, there are people who are better at what we do than we are and haven't had the level of success we've had–it's God's providence. 1 Timothy 6:17, “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited.” Don't be proud and say, “It's because of me!” No, it's not. 

Number seven, “Worshiping them as an idol.” You see, the craving for power and wealth is simply greed or covetousness. In Colossians 3, verse 5, Paul makes this shocking statement. He says, “greed amounts to idolatry.” Literally, the Greek text says, “greed which is idolatry.” Ephesians 5:5, the parallel passage, says, “the covetous man, who is an idolater.” Now, I think both of those passages are talking about sexually coveting another person in context, but I think the point is broader. Covetousness in all its forms is idolatry. You see folks, rarely does the craving for power and wealth come with the condition of this third temptation to bow down and worship Satan. But when we give in to the temptation to pursue these things contrary to God's word and will, it is idolatry. 

Be honest with your own heart for just a moment and ask yourself these questions as I've had to ask my own heart these questions. Do you covet power and wealth? Do you love them more than you love God? Are you willing to disobey God to get them? You know, it's just a little compromise; it's a little white lie. And listen, once I have these things, “Hey, I can use them for God. Yeah, I can take these things from my company or from my employer because, frankly, I deserve it. They ought to pay me more for what I do around here.” Do you believe that these things will bring you your greatest happiness? Do you obey your desire for these things and make sacrifices? Maybe you sacrifice your time, your family, your health, whatever to have them. Then they are idols; they are idols. For Jesus and for us, this third temptation is “To Pursue Power and Wealth or Self-fulfillment instead of God's will.” 

So, how do we respond? Well, let's go back to our text and look at “The Biblical Response.” Verse 10, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go, Satan!’” Jesus begins His response with a command, “Go away!” And for the first time in this passage and the first time in Matthew's Gospel, we're introduced to the name of this evil supernatural being. So far, he's just been called “the devil.” That's a title which means ‘slanderer’ or ‘accuser.’ That's what he does. Satan is his name, and it means ‘adversary’ or ‘enemy.’ So, Jesus says, “Go away, Satan! Leave Me, My enemy! (Literal).

And again, Jesus wields the Sword of the Spirit in responding to this temptation. Look at the second half of verse 10, “For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’ “ Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:13, and He adds the word ‘only,’ which isn't in the original passage, but it captures the essence of that passage. In fact, the context of the passage he quotes is very important. Go back with me to Deuteronomy; Deuteronomy, chapter 6, and look at Deuteronomy 6, verses 10-14. Moses says to the children of Israel who are gathered there, ready to go into the promised land, he says:

Then it shall come about when the LORD (YAHWEH) your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you. (I want you to notice how often he talks about ‘something being given to you,’ “to give you.”) great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, (Here it is.) then watch yourself that you do not forget the LORD (YAHWEH) who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall fear only the LORD (YAHWEH) your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name. You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you. 

Now, those verses really highlight three powerful reminders, and folks, they are the three reminders you need to rehearse every time you're tempted to crave power and wealth. What are those reminders? Number one, “What you have has been determined by God,” what you have has been determined by God. Again and again, he says, “I brought you here, and I'm the One who's determined that you're getting these things.” What you have is determined by God. Number two, “What you have is a gift from God.” You didn't get it because you're smarter, brighter, more creative, you work harder than other people–it's a gift from God. And number three, and this is really where Jesus is going, “What you have can become a replacement for God.,” what you have can become a replacement for God. He's saying, “Be careful, you are going to forget the Lord, and that stuff is going to become way too important.” It's really what Jesus says in Matthew 6, verse 24, when he says, “You can't serve God and wealth,” (Paraphrase). You can have wealth and serve God, but you can't serve both God and wealth–it's impossible. This is a temptation to allow power and wealth to become an idol, to allow your possessions to possess your soul. Jesus faced these three climactic temptations, and He was victorious over Satan, temptation, and sin! 

That brings us then to a third, back to our text, and a third brief insight in verse 11, “The Conclusion of Jesus' Temptation.” Look at Matthew 4, verse 11, “Then the devil left Him.” Now, as I’ve pointed out before, that doesn’t mean that Satan was done with Jesus. Luke tells us in Luke 4, verse 13, “When the devil had finished every temptation,” during these forty days, “he left Him until an opportune time." He'd come back, he'd tempt Jesus again and again throughout His earthly life. Verse 11 goes on to say, “and behold, angels came,” and the verb tense in the Greek is, “they were ministering to Him in an ongoing way.” Likely, the angels cared for Jesus as they had for Elijah in 1 Kings 19, by bringing food and water and meeting His immediate physical needs. That's the conclusion. 

But having studied all three of these temptations, there is a fourth and final insight that we need to consider today, and that is “The Implications of Jesus' Temptation,” the implications. We've looked at some of them practically along the way, but there are three key implications that you need to take away from Jesus' temptations. First of all, there is an “Apologetical” implication, and that is that “Jesus is God's Son.” In resisting temptation, Jesus showed His utter uniqueness. Listen, all of us are tempted, but guess what we share in common? We all give in; we all sin! Jesus was unique! Don't miss this, because this is Matthew's main point. At the end of chapter 3, verse 17, God the Father speaks from heaven, and He says, “This is My beloved (only begotten) Son.” It's not a coincidence that in the very next paragraph, we have the clearest evidence possible that that's true, because Jesus does here what no other human being in history has ever done. He demonstrated His power over Satan, temptation, and sin. There is not another human being who has ever lived on this planet, there's not one person in this room who can say what Jesus said in John 14, verse 30. He says, “The ruler of this world…has nothing in Me.” John 8:28, “I always do the things that are pleasing to the Father,” (Paraphrase). You see, Jesus' power over temptation here is clear evidence of Matthew's theme. Matthew includes this to remind us, to give evidence, that Jesus of Nazareth is the divine Messiah. He is the King. He's the only one who ever met Satan in sin and came out victorious!

There's a second key implication here in this temptation, and that's a Theological” implication; “Jesus, the second Adam, is sinless.” You see, in both time and location of Jesus' testing, there is both a comparison and a deliberate contrast. The comparison is with Israel; they wandered in the wilderness under God's direction for forty years. Jesus, under the direction of the Spirit, wandered in the wilderness for forty days. But the real point here is not the comparison, but the contrast. And it's a contrast with Adam. Romans, chapter 5, verse 14, says, “death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam.” And then it says, Adam is “a type of Him (Jesus) who was to come.” In what sense was he a type? He was a representative of ours, and Jesus is a representative of ours. He goes on in verse 19 of Romans 5 to say this, “For as through one man's disobedience,” that's Adam, all of us “were made (constituted as)” sinners, “even so through the obedience of the One,” that's Jesus, the second Adam, “many will be made (constituted as) righteous.” I mean, think about the contrast. Adam was in the best possible circumstance; he was in the Garden of Eden. He had everything he wanted, everything he needed. But after one temptation, acting as our legal representative, he sinned, and in him we sinned. We were all constituted as sinners. Just one temptation in a perfect garden, with everything he needed and wanted. Jesus, the second Adam, was in the worst of circumstances, completely deprived of life's basic necessities. And through forty days of temptation, acting as our representative, He never sinned, and in Him, we are constituted as righteous. 1 John 3:5 says, “…in Him there is no sin.” 

Thirdly, there are, “Pastoral” implications, pastoral implications. The fact that Jesus didn't sin, that He demonstrated His power over all temptation, has two very practical pastoral implications. Number one, “He's qualified to be our sinless substitute.” Think about what the temptation of Satan, of Jesus, really was. Satan's temptation of Jesus was a diabolical way to try to undermine God's plan of human redemption by causing the Savior to sin, disqualifying Him to be the Savior and substitute. But Jesus overcame, and because He overcame, the implication is huge. Hebrews 9:14 says this, “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” You see, He could stand in your place; He could be our Savior because “He was without blemish;” He was without sin. He never, ever gave in! If you're here this morning and you're not a follower of Jesus Christ, the only way you can ever be reconciled to God, God says right now you're His enemy. If you haven't accepted His Son, you're His enemy. That's God's Word, not mine. And He says the only way you can be reconciled to Him is if you will give up your rebellion, if you will repent of your sin, and you will cry out to Him to forgive you. The only way that's possible is because on the cross, God treated Jesus as if He had committed the life and sins of everyone who would ever believe in Him, as if He had committed their sins, and God treated Him for those six hours as if He had committed those sins, so that God could be just and still forgive those who trust in Jesus. And then God raised Him from the dead. That's the only way you can ever be reconciled to God. repent and believe in the Savior. He's the only One who can because He's the only sinless One. 

But for us who have believed, there's a second “Pastoral” implication, and that is, “He can help us in our temptation.” Let me just list these for you. You can think about them, meditate on them. But he can help us, first of all, with “His Sympathy.” Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” Listen, Christian, Jesus understands what it is to be tempted. He understands the weaknesses of humanity, not your fallenness, but the weaknesses that come with being human. He understands. 

Secondly, He can help us with “His Intercession.” One example comes from Peter in Luke 22, verse 31-32, Jesus says to Peter, “Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat.” He wants to tempt you, and in tempting you, destroy your faith. And Jesus says, “I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail.” He does the same for us. 

Thirdly, we have ‘His Assistance.’ Hebrews 2:18, “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.” Jesus can help you in the midst of temptation. You say, how? “Cry out to Him. Without Him, you can do nothing.” Do what Spurgeon said, you know, “When you're in the midst of temptation, cry out and say, ‘Jesus, you came to save your people from their sins. I'm one of your people. Save me not only from the guilt of my sin, but from its power in my life.’” Seek His assistance. 

And finally, “His Example,” (Matthew 4:2-10). That's what we see in these temptations. Jesus shows us how we, too, can overcome temptation in our lives. How? Ephesians 6:17, “And take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God,” and fight back. Meaning, take little, short statements of Scripture, understand them, digest them, meditate on them, and in the midst of temptation, quote them to your soul. Remind yourself of the truth. This is how we overcome temptation; it's the same way that Jesus did. This is our Lord Jesus Christ. It tells us a lot about ourselves, this temptation does, but it tells us more about Jesus. He is the only sinless One, the only One who's never given in to temptation and who never will. And therefore, He can come to our aid. 

Let's pray together. Father, thank You for the truth of Your Word. Drive these truths deep in our souls. Lord, help us to learn and digest what our Lord encountered for us and also as an example to us. Lord, help us not to go into battle unarmed. I pray for those here who don't know You through Your Son. Lord, may they see their only hope today is the sinless One, the only One who never gave in to sin and temptation, that He alone, by His death and His resurrection, can reconcile them to Yourself. May they repent and believe in Him even today, we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.