The New Testament – Verse by Verse Bible Study – Part 4

In this Bible Study series on Internet Pastor we will be studying through the New Testament verse by verse. You can watch or listen to the study by going to the Online Church page.

Matthew Chapter 4

Matthew 4:1-25 (NKJV)
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 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.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 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.’ ” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. 12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. 23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.
25 Great multitudes followed Him–from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

One of the first things that many people ask is why the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted. It was ultimately to demonstrate the quality of Jesus. That He would be the sinless sacrifice that would be able to pay for our sins on the Cross. There are three specific temptations that Jesus went through. They are almost identical to what took place in the Garden with the first Adam.

The evil one appealed to the physical appetite

Genesis 3:1-3 (NKJV)
1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”

Matthew 4:3 (NKJV)
3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

The evil one appealed to the desire for personal gain

Genesis 3:4-5 (NKJV)
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Matthew 4:6 (NKJV)
6 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.’ ”

The evil one appealed to an easy path to power or glory

Genesis 3:5-6 (NKJV)
5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Matthew 4:8-9 (NKJV)
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

In both instances the devil twisted God’s Word

Genesis 3:4 (NKJV)
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.

Genesis 2:17 (NKJV)
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Matthew 4:6 (NKJV)
6 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.’ ”

The evil one leaves out the phrase in Psalm 91:11-12 “in all your ways” which alludes to the promise being fulfilled only when you are doing the will of God. The enemy was trying to get Jesus to operate outside the will of God.

The first Adam failed the test. The Second Adam passed. Jesus demonstrated His willingness to follow the will of God. The evil one tried to have Jesus be a Messiah some other way than the way of suffering God had appointed. Jesus did not give in to this temptation, or any other temptation.

Jesus defeated temptation by trusting in and following the will of God. He knew the will of God because He knew the Word of God.

Deuteronomy 8:3 (NKJV)
3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 6:16 (NKJV)
16 “You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massah.

Deuteronomy 6:13 (NKJV)
13 You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.

Temptation today still looks pretty much the same

1 John 2:16 (NKJV)
16 For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world.

However, because Jesus passed the test, willingly went to the Cross, gave His life as payment for our sin, and then sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, we now have the power available to us to stand on the Word of God and overcome the temptation the evil one throws at us. If we choose to!

Come back often to see the latest sermons or bible studies on your Online Pastor site. We are blessed to be your Pastor Online!