Thinking Christian about Jesus's Temptation

The world is becoming increasingly proficient at telling stories that deny God. As such, we need thinking Christian to become as natural as breathing. Welcome to the Thinking Christian podcast. I'm Dr. James Spencer. Through calm, thoughtful, theological discussions, Thinking Christian highlights the ways God is working in the world and questions the underlying social, cultural, and political assumptions that hinder Christians from becoming more like Christ. Now, on to today's episode of Thinking Christian. Hey everyone, welcome to this episode of Thinking Christian. I'm Dr. James Spencer, and today we are doing our weekly devotional. We're going to take a look at Matthew 4. And really, we're going to be taking a look at both Jesus' baptism and his temptation. Now in Matthew's account of Jesus' baptism, he includes a discussion between John and Jesus. And when Jesus comes to the Jordan to be baptized by John, John is reticent to baptize Jesus. Jesus seeks to be baptized by someone of lower status than he is. And it is not that John doubts Jesus. Instead, he recognizes that he is of lower status than Jesus and asks why Jesus seeks John's baptism. John was, if you'll recall, providing a baptism for repentance. And knowing that Jesus is the Messiah, John is looking at it and saying, well, Jesus doesn't really need to repent of anything. And so what's going on here? But in response to John's question, Jesus is going to answer and say, let it be so for now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Now Jesus' response identifies him with the people of Israel who have already been coming to John. John has been doing this out in the wilderness. People from Israel have been coming. They've been coming for a baptism of repentance to prepare the way for this coming Messiah. And as Craig Keener notes in his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, this baptism hence represents Jesus' ultimate identification with Israel at this climactic stage in Israel's history. Confessing her sins to prepare for the kingdom, Jesus' baptism, alike his impending death, would be vicarious, embraced on behalf of others with whom the Father had called him to identify. Now Jesus does not need to be baptized as a sign or need for his forgiveness. Instead, he's baptized in solidarity with those he came to save. The post-baptismal scene underscores the fact that Jesus has no need for forgiveness. As the heavens open up and the Spirit descends on Jesus, God legitimizes Jesus and expresses his verdict about Christ as he prepares to begin his public ministry. In other words, as the Spirit comes down, God is going to voice who Jesus is. He's going to tell the world, all those who are in the audience here, all those who can hear who this person is. And what does God say? He says, this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. After being baptized and dubbed the beloved Son, Jesus is going to be led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tested by the diabolos, or often translated the devil. Diabolos was the word used to translate the Hebrew word hasatan in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. And the first time that Satan or hasatan is used in the Old Testament is actually in Numbers 22-22 when the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as his adversary. So this is a narrative where we're seeing Balaam go along on his donkey and the word of the Lord is going to stand in front of Balaam and he is going to be an adversary to Balaam. And so hasatan is really just not a generic term necessarily for adversary, but often refers to adversaries of various sorts. And we see a general usage of the word in passages like 1 Samuel 29-4 in which the Philistines are concerned that David will turn on them in the midst of battle and, quote, become an adversary to us. In any Old Testament, a Satan or an adversary can be a nation state, a specific person or an angelic agent. And the verb Satan is often translated to accuse and is associated with some sort of opposition or attack. For instance, Psalm 109, 3 and 4 read, they encircle me with words of hate and attack me without cause and return for my love. They accuse me, but I give myself to prayer. The same verb is used in verse 20 in parallel with those who speak evil against my life. Here the accusers are from the Lord and are set against the psalmist. And that the accuser is from the Lord accords with what we see in the book of Job. The accuser comes before God and is sent by God to test Job saying, behold, all that we have is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. In the subsequent meeting between the Satan and God in 2, 1 through 6, Satan is given license to take Job's health, but not his life. And a couple of points become clear in a survey of the Old Testament literature. First, the Hasatan is an accuser who comes against God's people in various ways. And based on God's command that Satan spare Job's life, it would seem that the accuser is not limited to speaking against or slandering others, but could in certain instances harm bodily, if not kill. And second, and perhaps more importantly, Satan is not equal to God or autonomous from God. The actions of Satan are subject to God's command and God can rebuke the Satan as he sees fit. For instance, when Satan accuses Joshua, the high priest, the Lord responds, the Lord rebuke you, O Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is not this a brand plucked from the fire? Satan is not an autonomous agent or a force that opposes God, but an agent that plays a particular role under God's authority. So as we approach the temptation of Christ, we do well to understand and keep these matters in mind. And in Jesus' temptation, it would seem that the accuser has come against Jesus to test his commitment to be a particular sort of son of God. Remember that Jesus has just been named the beloved son of the father in his baptism. He's been given that sort of verdict and this proclamation has been put forth over him. And so in some respects, within the book of Matthew, what's happening in the temptation narrative is that Jesus is going to prove out or demonstrate what it means to be the son of God. So by starting the first two temptations with the condition, if you are the son of God, the devil calls Jesus to demonstrate his position as the son of God by addressing his specific circumstances. Either Jesus narrows his focus to attend to his immediate needs or maintains a broader vision that reflects his trust in God despite his present circumstances. Grant Osborne suggests that Satan seeks to deceive Jesus by placing self-interest above his father's will. With each temptation, test Jesus's commitment to God. All three temptations focus on what it means for Christ to be the son of God. Let me ask you a serious question. If something triggered a major market drop in the coming months, would your retirement be ready or exposed? With inflation, market volatility and ongoing global uncertainty, more families are taking a closer look at whether their retirement plan is truly built to hold up. And many are finding that adding a layer of protection makes a lot of sense. Sanctuary Metals is a Christian-owned company that helps families strengthen their retirement savings with physical gold and silver through a gold IRA. During uncertain times, many people look to precious metals as a way to add stability when other assets may be under pressure. If you'd like to explore whether a gold IRA is a good fit for your situation, Sanctuary Metals makes it easy to get started. Text GUIDE to 94878 to receive your free retirement defense guide or call 888-958-6579 to speak with one of their knowledgeable team members. Again, text GUIDE to 94878 or call 888-958-6579. God. In the first two temptations, the devil jumps or tempts Jesus by seeking to limit or define what it means to be the son of God in terms of the use of power and privilege for one's own advantage and comfort. And this understanding of the narrative is similar to that of Craig Keener, who's a New Testament scholar, who notes that in the temptation narrative, quote, the devil seeks to refine Jesus's call by appealing to various culturally prevalent models of power to suggest how Jesus should use his God-given power. End quote. In the first temptation, Satan focuses on Jesus's hunger. Once Jesus has fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and is hungry, the tempter comes to do his work. He addresses a present need that would presumably provide an opening to play on Jesus's weakness. He urges Jesus to solve his own hunger problem by turning stones into bread. And despite his hunger, Jesus resists this temptation to narrow his options down to the ones presented by the tempter by citing Deuteronomy 8.3, which reads, man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. This citation not only mentions bread, which is relevant to the immediate context, but it also points to the basic dynamic of Satan's temptation. Satan tempts Jesus to solve his own problem. And Jesus, as the son of God, has the power to turn stones to bread. He can use his power for his own benefit. Instead, he chooses to depend on God. He has learned, as Israel should have, that obeying and trusting God is the wise course even when other options may be available. Let me repeat that. He has learned that, as Israel should have, that obeying and trusting God is the wise course even when other options may be available. So often...

Often, we take matters into our own hands. And yet, as we look at what's happening with Christ here, he is not going to take matters into his own hands. He's not going to fix the immediate problem. He is going to suffer through that problem in order to obey God and obey his father. Now in this first temptation, Satan encourages Jesus to depend on himself and his own power to solve his hunger problem. In the second command, Satan seeks to play on Jesus' willingness to depend on God. As part of his second temptation, Satan quotes Psalm 91:11-12. Psalm 91 is an individual psalm in which an individual seeks shelter from the Lord and is assured that God will provide care and support. And so Satan does not misquote the psalm, but the contexts here are a little bit different. Whereas the psalmist is seeking security and help in the face of the world's various adversities, Satan tempts Jesus to throw himself from the pinnacle of the temple. Putting oneself in harm's way is clearly not what the psalmist had in mind. As such, Jesus responds by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, which reads, You must not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. The episode at Massah appears in Exodus 17:1-7. And the Israelites become thirsty and contend with Moses and test the Lord. They do not believe God can or will care for them, and the episode becomes a cautionary tale about doubting God's faithfulness. Now the final temptation is similar, though it does not contain the conditional, if you are the Son of God, that began the first two. Instead, the devil offers Christ all the kings of the world in exchange for Christ's worship. And here again, the temptation seeks to limit or narrow what it means to be Christ. Will Jesus inherit all the kings of the world? Yes, he will. Ruling over all things is certainly part of what it means to be God's Christ. Yet Christ's rule cannot come through a backroom deal on a mountaintop. It must be accomplished according to the will of God and through the cup of suffering and crucifixion. It will come through a life lived in full devotion to God and God the Father, regardless of the difficulties life may bring. So Jesus' temptation not only demonstrates Jesus' unwavering faithfulness, but also serves as a paradigm for God's people. Resisting temptation involves a depth of knowledge of God's word. We see Jesus quote numerous biblical passages. We watch him as he deflects Satan's or the devil's sort of misquotation or misapplication of the psalm. And so Jesus has a depth of knowledge and understanding of God's word and he is using it in these times of temptation to draw on to help him make the correct decision and to move him in the right path. He's using it to justify his actions to root his obedience in the Scriptures so that we understand that there is a pattern here that's developing. That Jesus is not simply following some sort of broad biblical principle, but that he is really deeply understanding the scriptures and exhibiting a life that is going to be rooted in obedience and dependence and a desire to serve and follow the Lord regardless of the consequences. Even when there are other options available, Jesus is going to follow God. I think to resist temptation, we must also be willing to live through discomfort and suffering. We see this in this small narrative about Jesus. Number one, he has to be hungry. He's been out in the wilderness for a very long time. When we read the Gospel of Mark, for instance, it says that he's out there with the beasts and he is with the elements. He is in this overarching creation. He's not protected from the elements of nature or from anything else out there in creation. He is having and experiencing these difficulties and the suffering. And so, as we understand that Jesus is walking through this suffering, it makes his decisions all that more profound because he's hungry, he wants to get out of this situation, he would love to be rescued. In fact, at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, we see that the angels are going to come and care for him. So God ultimately does take care of him. But notice that Jesus is going to make the decision to live through the suffering and the pain. He's not going to force God's hand to care for him by jumping off the pinnacle of the temple. He is going to live through this suffering and this difficulty. He's not taking a shortcut. He's allowing that difficulty and that suffering, that challenge to sort of rule his life at the moment, but not dismiss or not take him away from depending on God, to obeying God, to following God with all that he has. And so this second temptation of jumping off the pinnacle of the temple and having the angels save him is really, you know, a moment in which Jesus recognizes, no, I have to go through this whole thing. That God will care for me, that God will protect me, that God is not going to allow me to die, for instance, before my time is right. But I have to walk through this rather painful circumstance and trust that despite the pain, despite the discomfort, despite the hunger, despite the everything else, everything that living in the harsh wilderness for 40 days would entail, that God is still with and faithful to Jesus Christ. Now, as such, we can, you know, Jesus has no doubt that God will be with him in his time in the wilderness. Now, the last temptation, what we see here is, will Jesus take the devil's offer to accept the kingdoms of the world? All he has to do is now bow down and worship Satan. A lot of times we can look at that and say, well, Satan is offering something that he couldn't give. I'm not a hundred percent sure that's exactly true. What we probably see here is that Satan is, you know, if we think of Satan as sort of the ruler of this realm, what he's offering Jesus is a secondary position behind him. He wants Jesus to worship him and experience all that he has to offer. And so we shouldn't think of this as, you know, sort of Satan having autonomy from God, Satan. Let me ask you a serious question. If something triggered a major market drop in the coming months, would your retirement be ready or exposed? With inflation, market volatility, and ongoing global uncertainty, more families are taking a closer look at whether their retirement plan is truly built to hold up. And many are finding that adding a layer of protection makes a lot of sense. Sanctuary Metals is a Christian-owned company that helps families strengthen their retirement savings with physical gold and silver through a gold IRA. During uncertain times, many people look to precious metals as a way to add stability when other assets may be under pressure. If you'd like to explore whether a gold IRA is a good fit for your situation, Sanctuary Metals makes it easy to get started. Text GUIDE to 94878 to receive your free Retirement Defense Guide, or call 888-958-6579 to speak with one of their knowledgeable team members. Again, text GUIDE to 94878 or call 888-958-6579. Being apart from God, but what he's promising Jesus is, you'll have everything that I have, just a little bit less. You'll have everything that I have if you'll just acknowledge me, worship me, follow me, conform to my ways, do things the way I think they should be done, not the way that God thinks they should be done. That's essentially the third temptation. And as Jesus has gone through this 40 days of fasting and difficulty and suffering in the wilderness, this temptation time, this temptation actually is fairly poignant. I'm sure that we can envision, just take a minute and think in your mind of a time when you have been through the ringer, when you've had a really difficult go over a certain period of time. And toward the end of it, somebody says, you know, comes to you and says, here's an easy way out. All you need to do is X. A lot of times that's an easier decision to make than it might be at the beginning. Because we feel like we need to exit the situation. We need to get out of this situation. And so there's a moment there where we might say, well, I could take less than I think I should get at this moment because I'm already at a deficit. I'm already at a loss. I've got to get out of this situation. In other words, the pain of the situation that we're in makes us make a bad decision. And Jesus doesn't. Jesus recognizes that, no, this pain is not the last pain I'm going to go through. I'm going to suffer even more than this. And yet settling for something where I am the son of God underneath Satan is never going to work. That's never going to be the position I should be in. It's never going to be the best that God has for me. And because I trust that God is faithful, even though I'm going through pain right now, I will continue to be faithful to him. And I refuse to worship anything. I refuse to take any action that would point to or glorify anyone except the triune God. And so as we look at this temptation of Jesus, we really can take some lessons away. None of us are Jesus, obviously. Jesus enacts a perfect life. He lives 100% faithfully to God the Father. But that's what we're shooting for. This is the pattern of life that we are to emulate. It's what we're trying to imitate. And so in those moments where we've had a fair degree of suffering, when we're tempted to use what God has given us for our own advantage, even if that means

becoming something we shouldn't be or defaming God's name. We need to take stock and take a step back and say, would Jesus have actually done this? And it's not as trite as the, what would Jesus do movement. But what I'm saying is, as we look at this temptation narrative, we see in this a paradigm of how to go about dealing with our temptations. Number one, we need to be deeply aware of what God's word says. We need to understand it so that we can not only have resources to combat the falsehoods that come at us, but also to recontextualize and re-understand some of the various Bible verses that might be thrown at us as justification for making the wrong decision. Number two, we have to look at God's word and understand God's word such that we come to grips with the fact that we are going to suffer, that there is going to be pain in this life, that we aren't built for health and wealth, prosperity gospel sort of stuff. This is going to be a painful life. We are going to experience difficulty and suffering of some sort. And as we go through that difficulty and suffering, we have to hold fast to the faithfulness of God. These things that we're going through can tempt us to opt for easy comfort, for temporal comfort, for just those moments of relief. But we have to resist that. We have to go through the pain. We have to go through the suffering. We have to sit in the discomfort because it's those things that are really refining us, changing us. And ultimately, we need to remember that God is the only one who is worthy of our worship. God is the only one who is worthy of our worship. And so just as Jesus denies worshiping the devil so that he can have all the kings of the world so that he would live according to the way that Satan would want him to live, we also have to recognize that we are too quick to give our worship away. I know that many of us wouldn't, you know, sing songs to Satan or sing songs to money or sing songs to whatever. But ultimately, our actions are worshipful as we set these things up alongside the Lord and say, yes, I serve the Lord, but I also need this. Yes, I serve the Lord, but I also need this. Yes, I serve the Lord, but I also need this. That is a mentality that takes us away from worshiping the Lord, our God, with all we are and with all we have. That is the greatest commandment. And in this temptation, Jesus exhibits his desire and his willingness and his ability to do just that. Through the Holy Spirit, we have that sort of conviction. We have the ability to live out the fruits of the Spirit. And so we need to lean into that. We need to be cultivating that in our lives. And we need to be setting aside some of these other temptations that really are basically us worshiping other gods. We're adding them to what God gives us. And so in this temptation narrative, I think we can learn those three lessons. And my hope is that as we reflect on Jesus' temptation, that we not get lost in the idea that we're not Jesus, that Jesus was this unique God-man and uniquely enabled to resist temptation. Yes, in some sense, Jesus was that. But at the end of the day, we have the Holy Spirit inside of us. And so we also have these resources. We just have to learn to tap into them. We have to understand how we go about really trusting, listening to, and being convicted by the promptings of the Holy Spirit. So as you go through this next week, my encouragement would be just to think about this temptation narrative, to consider it. Go to usefultothegod.com, download our 30-day gospel reading plan, read through the gospels, try to understand and learn about Jesus' life so that you can better imitate him. That's at usefultothegod.com. You can find that. I'd also just encourage you to like and subscribe to the podcast. That helps us out. And if you have any other interests in studying Scripture or theology or any other Bible topics, please take a look at the courses that we have available on our website, usefultothegod.com. Thanks a lot, everybody, and we will catch you on the next episode of Thinking Christian. I just want to take a second to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the Thinking Christian podcast. If you go to lifeaudio.com, you'll find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network. They've got shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more. This, this is my skyship, Dreamer. My cargo is stories and our destination, dreams. With Abide Sleep Stories for Kids, you can help your children fall asleep fast and learn about God. To find these kids' bedtime stories, go to lifeaudio.com or search your favorite podcast app for Abide Stories for Kids. You can also download the Abide app for more biblical meditations at abide.com.