Proven Weapons for The King
Matthew: The King and The Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted
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· 60 viewsJesus faced incredible temptation after the monumental event that was his baptism. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. This leading by God's spirit was not a temptation to sin, it was merely a test. But a major aspect of this test was temptation to sin by the Devil Himself. Jesus wins decisive victory over Satan, and he uses the same weapons that he grants to us as well - the Spirit and the Word.
Notes
Transcript
I wonder what your favorite bible story is? If you’re like me, and I suspect that many of you are, you grew up in church, in Sunday school, and you heard the great Bible stories from a very young age. One of the great joys of my life in the last couple years is to hear Chloe repeating back to me the Bible stories that she has heard and learned.
When we think about the stories we learn in sunday school as a child, there are certainly a few that stick out. The creation story, Noah’s ark, the parting of the Red Sea, Samson. But perhaps one takes the cake in my mind, and that is the story of David and Goliath. The story of David and Goliath is attractive to us, because everyone enjoys hearing about the victory of the underdog. Here you have young, ruddy, shepherd David. Lean and strong, no doubt; but a warrior he was not.
As I was preparing for this sermon today, my mind kept going back to David’s interaction in Saul’s tent before he went out to the battlefield. David recounted to King Saul how he slew a lion and a bear while tending Jesse’s sheep. Saul relented to the unlikely warrior, and before sending him out to battle, he offered David his armor and his weapon. As the account unfolds, David tries on the armor, and sheathes Saul’s sword on his side - then he turns to Saul and says, “I cannot go with these; I haven’t proven them.” That is, he hadn’t tested them. He hadn’t fought with them. He had no experience with Saul’s armor and his weapon.
Well, we know how that story ends. David indeed went to battle without the sword and shield, but simply with the sling and stones, and he defeated Goliath in a miraculous way, for God was with Him. And the underdog became victorious.
In today’s passage, we have the story of the true and greater David, the true and greater warrior, Jesus, in a very real battle with another giant of sorts. In his temptation, Jesus went toe-to-toe with the adversary of all adversaries, Satan: that Devil himself. Beloved, know today firstly that spiritual warfare is a real thing.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
In the western world, we are less and less predisposed to mystical things. And for the most part, the Bible is not a mystical thing. God has spoken clearly and vividly. But one of the things he has told is is that these spiritual battles are very real, and temptation to sin is probably the biggest one we will ever fight. The Reformer Martin Luther recounted fighting such vivid and real spiritual battles that one time he was even said to throw an inkwell at the adversary. Satan and his minions are very real foes, and they are to be fought valiantly.
In this narrative, Jesus has just come off the incredibly high-point of his baptism, his acclamation by God the Father, his anointing with the Spirit. This great confirmation and revelation that this is the Son of God, this is the Savior, the Lamb of God who takes away sins. Remarkably, he is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Isn’t that how life often works? After great victory, we are often led directly into great testing? The following battle that ensues is intense, personal, and real. It is in stories like this that we must remember that Jesus’ humanity is as real as ours. It is interesting that in these temptations, Satan attempts to lure Jesus into using his Divinity to overstep his humanity in self-preservation. Yet, the way that Jesus fights these temptations is perhaps surprising to the first-time reader. Jesus doesn’t supernaturally banish Satan, he doesn’t cast him away or enact some kind of force-field that we would imagine in the star-wars saga.
Rather, we find Jesus fighting this intense, very real and personal battle in a very specific way. He is led by the Spirit, and relies on the Word of God. Those are his weapons. They are the same weapons that God’s people had used to fight temptation in the past, and they are the same weapons that God’s people have been using to fight temptation ever since. David didn’t use Saul’s armor and sword because he hadn’t proven them. Jesus has proven these implements of battle, and they stand as sure and as sharp as they were for spiritual battle.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
Jesus’ temptation was as real as ours. The weapons that Jesus used to defeat Satan in his temptation are the same weapons he supplies us with.
Jesus’ temptation was as real as ours. The weapons that Jesus used to defeat Satan in his temptation are the same weapons he supplies us with.
1. The Stage for Battle - Vs. 1-2
1. The Stage for Battle - Vs. 1-2
It is incredibly important to note what sets the stage for this battle, and that is the fact that Jesus was led by the Spirit into this situation. Now, from James we know that God never tempts any man to do evil.
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
That is a clear statement in scripture. We can deduce from that, in this situation, that while the leading into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted was part of God’s plan, it was not God’s desire or intention that Jesus’ actually fall into temptation to sin. There is a critical piece of information here that is incredibly practical to our lives. The New Testament speaks of testing and temptation with the same word most of the time. In that way, God often does give or lead us into tests in our lives. Trials and hardships in our life are tests, they are meant to prove and strengthen us. But just because God is testing or allowing us to be tested does not mean that he is tempting us to sin.
James is also very clear that we are tempted to sin from within, from our own sinful desires. This is why we cannot say, when we sin, “well, God brought me into this incredible hardship. he put me into this temptation. its his fault that i sinned!” No, dear one. The reason we sin in those situations is because we gave in to our sinful desires. The reason we were tempted to sin in the testing is because we fell back on the flesh, rather than walking in the Spirit.
But doesn’t God know that we will be tempted? Doesn’t he know that we are human? Yes, of course. Just like he knew that Jesus would be met by the devil in the wilderness. This is purely hypothetical, because Jesus remained sinless: but had Jesus fallen to these temptations, it would’t have been The Spirit’s fault for leading him there, it wouldn’t have been the Devil’s fault. He knew that satan would come to Jesus at a point of incredible physical weakness, after fasting for forty days. In this we find that God can be sovereign over these situations, without himself tempting us to sin. If we sin, it is not God’s fault - and it is not the devil’s fault - we are fully culpable for our own actions.
And here there is a play on words, even with the title of this message. Both the Hebrew and Greek words for temptation really mean “to test or prove.” Here in this story, Jesus is tested and proven. But also, the weapons he will use are tested and proven. Abraham was tested by God when he was called to give Isaac his son as a sacrifice. Job was tested by God when God gave satan sort of a carte blanche access to Job’s life. These things were part of God’s purpose, and so this testing in Jesus’ life is God’s purpose to test and prove His beloved Son, and also to test and prove the tactics that Jesus would use.
2. The Attacks of the Enemy - Vv. 3,6,9
2. The Attacks of the Enemy - Vv. 3,6,9
Now, here is another layer of God’s sovereignty that we have to keep in mind. God works through means, and there are always layers of cause and effect. From God’s perspective, this was purely a testing and proving of Jesus. But, from Satan’s perspective, operating under the freedom that only God can grant, Satan’s intention was fully evil. While God had no intention that Jesus succumb to temptation, the Devil had every intention that Jesus succumb to these temptations, culminating in the worship of Satan himself by the son of God. Now, why doesn’t the all-powerful God who is holy and righteous at once do away with the Devil and his Demons, and remove the very thought of sin from existence? Well there are big reasons for that, things like the display of God’s glory in salvation, the display of God’s wrath in reprobation and condemnation, the display of God’s ultimate victory through the Gospel, but we don’t know the mind of God. For whatever reason, he allows us to walk in this world filled with these kinds of temptations, just like Jesus walked in.
In the end of verse 2, we are told that Jesus was hungry. Now, that hunger was a two-edged sword. Jesus was hungry because he had been fasting. He had been communing in prayer with God in the wilderness. He was walking in the Spirit in this whole process. Spiritually, he was prepared for this battle. But physically, physically, he was famished. To say, “he was hungry” would be the understatement of the millenia. I speak of being hungry after the 5 hours has passed between lunch and dinner. I don’t know this kind of hunger. Jesus did, he knew it fully well at this point.
And just as Jesus knew this kind of hunger, the Devil knew the basic desires of the human life - and food is one of those basic desires. Herein we find the first attack of the enemy.
“if you are the son of God, command theses stones to become bread.”
That if, might just as well read “since.” Satan knew the drill here. Satan knew that Jesus was who God said he is. Satan is not testing whether or not Jesus was God’s son, but rather what kind of Son would Jesus prove to be? Would he be obedient, submissive, following his Father’s plan? Or Could Jesus be enticed to freely use his power for his own personal gain? If so, then God’s plan would be foiled. For certainly if jesus couldn’t endure this temptation, Jesus would never endure the temptation to save his own life from gruesome death on a cross a few years later.
This temptation goes back to the Israelites experience in the wilderness. The forty days fast reminds us of the forty years wandering. The huger of Jesus reminds us of the hunger of Israel. But what was Israel’s response? To murmur and complain. What about when God provided bread from heaven? They complained some more. Satan was leaning in hard here, attempting Jesus to look at the physical part of his situation - his hunger, he was appealing to “the desire of the flesh.” Note, that the experience of hunger was no sign of sinfulness on Jesus’ part. The basic desire and need of food is no failure. Food was part of God’s original, perfect earth. The temptation here was to obtain food at the cost of disobeying and subverting God’s plan, and moreover, to obey Satan rather than God in this instance.
In the second temptation, Satan “takes him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple.” Now, this transportation seems to be real, and it seems to be referring to one of the “wings” or points on the temple that jut out. Some of these parts of the temple were well over 150 feet tall. When Satan told Jesus to throw himself down, not only was the temptation real, the danger was very real.
This temptation is interesting. Perhaps picking up on Jesus proclivity to quote scripture, Satan quotes some scripture for himself. He quotes from Psalm 9. Essentially saying, “two can play at that game!” Like he’s saying, “i see you memorized some scripture from Deuteronomy? What about this verse in the Psalms that says the Angels will protect you? Isn’t that true? Aren’t you the Son of God? Why don’t you prove it here and now.”
I think we can see this temptation to the desire of the eyes, because it would have been an appeal to the eyes of those who would have seen this great feat. If Jesus had lept off this pinnacle and survived, certainly he would have been exclaimed as a supernatural. It would have been the sign of the century! An appeal to the “wow” factor, to the “next big thing”, the “fantastic” always seems to be right around the corner. Whether it is advertising that appeals to our eyes, or whether it is the temptation for us to appeal to others’ eyes, that desire to please the eyes is ever with us.
Finally, the text tells us that Satan takes Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Now, obviously, this part of the scene at least must delve into some sort of vision - there would be no mountain in the whole world from which you could see all the kingdoms, even those localized to Palestine in the first century. But regardless, imagine Satan pointing out the kingdom of Egypt, and Rome, and Persia - everything imaginable, and all their glory.
Satan makes an offer - “all these can be yours if you will only worship me.” Here the offer is to expedite Jesus’ earthly kingship. Here the offer is to appeal to the desires of everyone else also, because many were looking for a political messiah. All the kingdoms in the whole world can be yours if you will only worship me!
3. The Weapons of the King - Vv. 1, 4, 7, 10.
3. The Weapons of the King - Vv. 1, 4, 7, 10.
But what was Jesus’ response?
What was Jesus’ response in all these temptations? What was his sword, what was his shield in this battle?
He repeats himself all three times - it is written, it is written, it is written.
All three temptations from Satan were met directly with God’s word, rightly applied.
For the first temptation, to turn stones into bread, His response was to quote from Deuteronomy 8.
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Jesus, in essence, is saying: “God can provide for me and sustain my physical life, just as he did for Israel in the Desert. What is more important is whether I trust and believe what He says.” It is not that Jesus, and scripture in general, is disregarding the need for physical food - it is getting the priority straight. In the temptation, Satan wanted Jesus to simply look at his hunger, but Jesus, in stead, looked to God, His word, his promises. God and His Word must always take the prominent place in our thinking, especially in temptation.
For the temptation to leap off the pinnacle of the temple and prove the Angel’s safeguarding, his response was to quote again from Deuteronomy, this time chapter 6. “you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”
I love this response in particular. If you remember, Satan used scripture, too, in this temptation. This is really reaching back all the way into the garden of Eden where, as the serpent, he said “did God really say that?” Satan calls God’s word into question by twisting it - by misapplying it - by taking it out of context. But Jesus did not just have the words of scripture memorized, he was aware of the meaning.
This is critical to us - it is not simply enough to have words of scripture memorized as if they are random, disjointed literature. We must know what scripture means - we must allow the Spirit to illuminate the words of God. You can make scripture say anything you want it to if you take it out of context - and that is exactly what Satan was trying to do here. He often disguises himself as a messenger of light, and scripture taken out of context is a big way in which he does that.
For the final temptation, Jesus again says “it is written” and he goes back to Deuteronomy 6, “you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.” Even if all the kingdoms of the world were Satan’s to divvy up, not even that was temptation enough to get any reaction from Jesus. To succumb to that temptation would be blatant disregard for the foundation of the Old Testament - the worship of the one True God alone.
4. The Results of the Battle - Vs. 11
4. The Results of the Battle - Vs. 11
So what is the outcome of all this? Verse 11 tells us, the devil left him, and the angels came and ministered to him.
Simply put, Jesus was proven, the weapons were proven. Now, that didn’t mean the battle was over for good. Luke’s Gospel tells us that the Devil departed him “until an opportune time.” The Devil is a persistent foe - but the precedent had been set. The tactics established, the weapons proven, the pattern would not be broken. Jesus would never succumb to temptation from Satan, not even in his dying moments.
Now, the primary and overwhelming application for this passage to us is the point that the author of Hebrews 4:15 makes. Jesus was tempted just like us, only he remained sinless. Jesus proved in this fashion in his whole life to be worthy to be out perfect, faithful high priest. He is a high priest who is not ignorant or uninformed of our troubles. He has been put to the test by God the Father, he has been tempted by the evil one, and he proved righteous and strong in the Spirit and the Word. That is why we can approach him boldly in time of need - in time of testing. Because he has been there!
Consider that, dear one! Are you distraught in sadness? Jesus has been there! Are you in a season of testing? Jesus has been there! Are you struggling with some great physical torment? Jesus has been there! Is the evil one pulling you to disregard God’s word? Jesus has been there! Are you faced with great dread about a situation that God is bringing you through in life? Jesus has been there! And in all these things, he has proven faithful and true. He is your faithful high priest.
Another great application for this in our lives, is the example that Jesus set! Jesus fought these temptations as he was led by the Spirit, and wielded the sword of God’s word. Let me ask you a pointed question - are you battling great temptation in your life? The overwhelming chance is that you are. Are you fighting that temptation? How is it going? Jesus had a choice in this - would he obey God and resist the Devil? Would he trust God’s plan and his ways? We have the same choice in every test, in every temptation. The choice is real, and the choice is ours. Jesus made his choice, and fought the battle with the Spirit and the Word.
Can I be blunt for a moment? If you are not walking in the Spirit and wielding the sword of God’s Word in the face of temptation, you are not even in the fight! Without those weapons, you are simply being dragged along in your temptation, pulled in every direction. Apart from God’s Holy Spirit and the Word of God in our lives, we have no ability to fight temptation. Apart from those things, we are left only with our desires and our resolve - both of which are radically sinful.
Remember what James said - every one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desire and enticed. Without God’s Spirit and God’s word, we are left only with our sinful desires. That is why this is such a critical example for us to look at. Jesus didn’t simply defeat the tempter because he is God - he defeated the tempter by the Spirit and the Word. And just as we have the same choice that Jesus had, we can have the same victory!
That is why James can be so bold as to say in James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James can say this to believers because this is exactly the example that Jesus left us. When we walk in the spirit, we have the power to submit to God and resist the Devil. When the Spirit illuminates the word of God to us, we have the ability to wield that great weapon which Paul calls the sword of the Spirit.
At the beginning, i brought up that great story of David and Goliath. David didn’t use Saul’s armor and sword because he hadn’t proven them. But he defeated Goliath because God was with him. Well, that wouldn’t be the only battle David would fight. There was another foe in David’s life, even more formidable than Goliath - that foe was the tempter.
David, particularly in his sin with Bathsheba and the killing of Uriah, exhibited the opposite of our Great Lord in this story. David, as King, who should have been in battle with his army, was comfortably perched on his throne. He succumbed to the temptation - the desire of the flesh, committing adultery, having a man killed, and covering the whole thing in deceit.
King Jesus departed his heavenly throne and walked directly into the battle of temptation. Having fasted for 40 days, and in extreme hunger, he faced a direct attack from the Devil himself. He wielded the Sword of the Spirit - the word of God - and defeated his foe.
I want to leave you with a couple encouragements.
1, if you are battling temptation in your life, be encouraged - at least you are battling! The fact that you are in the fight is evidence of the work of God’s Spirit in your life! Otherwise, you would simply give in and be at the enemy’s mercy.
2, we don’t have to fight these battles alone. Jesus was entirely alone in the wilderness. The Spirit led him there for this testing. But you are not alone! If you are a believer, you are indwelt with God’s Spirit, and you are surrounded by his people! We are called to bear one another’s burdens, and confess our faults to one another. We all face temptation to sin - be honest. Fight these battles together. We are in this together for a reason, as God is building his church and sanctifying his people.
3, Know this - God is sovereign even over Satan. As a believer, the attacks of Spiritual warfare are strong, but they are never stronger than our Savior. He has gone before us - he has proven himself and his weapons. He has given us the same weapons, the same resources, and he has promised to be with us always - even in the trial, even in temptation.