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February 10, 2008
The 1st Sunday in Lent
Jesus Gives Victory over
Temptation
Matthew 4:1-11
Pastor Michael Ewart
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Oscar Wilde, a famous writer and play write, once said, “I can resist anything – except
temptation.” How true these words are! Each of us struggles daily with many temptations. We
very often lose the battle and cannot resist. When we give in to temptations, the results are
devastating.
 First of all, giving in to temptation means enduring a troubled conscience. Having a troubled
conscience means sleepless nights, guilt, shame… even depression.
 But that troubled conscience, as unpleasant as it is, is only a symptom of a much greater
underlying problem. It is testifying that our relationship with God has been damaged. When
we give in to temptation, we are doing that which God hates – we are sinning. Our holy God
does not tolerate sin.
 The end result of that troubled conscience and the guilt we bear for crossing Almighty God,
is eternal separation from God. Those who live and die in sin, will live eternally in hell,
separated from God, suffering unimaginable agony.
And so we see, temptation is a very serious matter. How can we overcome temptations? This
question is answered for us in our sermon text today where we hear the account of the temptation
of Jesus. Dear Christians, receive encouragement and strength from this truth: “Jesus Gives
Victory over Temptation”
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty
days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son
of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not
live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil
took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the
Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ”‘He will command his angels
concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot
against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to
the test.’ ” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the
kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow
down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship
the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ ” Then the devil left him, and angels came and
attended him.(Mt 4:1-11)
This account of the temptation of Jesus follows after the baptism of Jesus. At his baptism,
Jesus had been anointed to begin his public ministry. The Father had called out from heaven,
“This is my Son whom I love; with him I am well pleased! (Mt 3:17)” After this, Jesus was led
by the Holy Spirit into the desert where he was tempted by Satan. Now normally if you ask a
Christian what Jesus did to save us, they answer, “He died on the cross.” Of course this is true.
But rarely mentioned is the fact that Jesus first had live a holy and perfect life. If Jesus had given
in to temptation even once, his death on the cross would have been meaningless. He had to be a
perfect sacrifice. Had he sinned, he would have died for his own sins, meaning no payment for
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our sin, meaning we pay for our own sins. So what was played out in that desert was every bit as
important for our salvation as the crucifixion!
Now our text relates how Jesus was tempted by Satan himself. And make no mistake, the
temptation was real. Jesus was every bit as human as you and I are. The temptations were real.
The devil had easily tempted Adam and Eve to doubt God. We heard that in our first reading.
Satan was able to infect the whole world with sin through our first parents. Perhaps Satan was
equally confident that he could ensnare Jesus who came to rescue Adam and all his descendents.
And so, in our text, we have recorded one of the greatest battles fought for our salvation.
Let’s first look at all the ways Satan tempted Jesus. For 40 days and 40 nights Jesus fasted in the
desert. As true man, Jesus was very hungry and very weak. To Satan it was obvious where he
should strike first. Adam and Eve had given in quickly when tempted with food. Certainly, Jesus
would give in too, Satan thought. So he said to Jesus: “If you are the Son of God, tell these
stones to become bread.” Actually, here Satan attacked with two temptations in one. But both
temptations had the same goal: that Jesus would stop putting complete trust in God the Father.
Knowing Jesus was hungry, Satan said, “Turn stones into bread!” Why would it have been a sin
for Jesus to do this? It would have been a sin because it was the Holy Spirit that led Jesus into
the wilderness to fast. It was God’s will that Jesus be tempted there. It was God’s will that Jesus
be without food for a while. It was also God’s will that he serve others, not himself. To turn
stones into bread would have been to say, “Enough, Father! I don’t trust you. I am now going to
do things the way I want and when I want.”
But notice the second temptation contained in Satan’s words. “If you are the Son of
God…” Satan was trying to produce doubt in Jesus’ mind that he truly was God’s Son. Satan
probably thought he had Jesus in the perfect trap… damned if you do, damned if you don’t. If
Jesus turned stones to bread, he would be showing a lack of trust in the Father. If he didn’t turn
stones to bread, then maybe Jesus would doubt that he really was God’s Son. So, the first
temptation was to mistrust God. Before looking at how Jesus responded, let’s look at the other
two temptations.
Satan took Jesus to highest point of the temple in Jerusalem. Some parts of the temple’s
outer wall are built by a ravine. The drop off from the top of the temple all the way to the bottom
of the ravine may have been 500 feet. Satan said, . “If you are the Son of God throw yourself
down. For it is written: ”‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in
their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Satan once again tries to
produce doubt in Jesus that he is God’s Son. He also tries to get Jesus to test God’s promise.
Note that he even uses Scripture to tempt Jesus! He says, “If you really are his Son, then
certainly he will keep you from all harm if you throw yourself off this temple. For God promises
to protect you in the Bible.” How would Jesus have been sinning if he had listened to Satan? To
test God is to doubt and show contempt for God. If one must test God to see if he really will keep
a promise He has made, then that person never fully trusted God’s promise in the first place.
One more temptation is recorded. We read: “Again, the devil took him to a very high
mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give
you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” In this final temptation, Satan tempts Jesus
to break the 9th and 10th commandments (do not covet). “Forget the cross! Forget about suffering
and dying. I’ve got a better plan for you! I’ve got an easier path for you. Immediate
gratification!” But in tempting him, Satan also reveals his hidden and true intent. “Worship me,
not God!” he says. The glory and power and honor that belong only to God, Satan wants for
himself. All temptation ultimately goes back to the first commandment: “You shall have no other
gods.”
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Before we look at how Jesus responded to Satan’s temptations, let’s consider first how
Satan tempts us too. Satan has one purpose – to separate people from God. Satan hates God, and
he wants everyone on earth to hate him too. He put every effort into tempting Jesus to sin, for he
knew that if he succeeded, all people of all time would be stuck in sin, and doomed for hell.
Satan also tempts us to sin to destroy our faith in Jesus so we experience God’s wrath.
How does Satan tempt us? His methods are very similar to the way he tempted Jesus.
Let’s consider some of his typical tactics:
 Satan commonly tempts us by way of our immediate earthly needs. Satan says to us,
“Don’t worry about eternal life – worry about how you will put bread on your table and a
roof over your head!” He says, “Take care of yourself, because no one else will – not
even God!” He say, “Seek first this world and your immediate needs, and you can worry
about spiritual matters later.” (The opposite of what God says!)
 Satan also commonly tempts us to test God’s promises. He says, “God promised to
provide for your needs, so sit home and watch TV until the money starts falling from the
sky! No need to work hard.” He says, “God promised that Jesus died for your sins. Then
go and sin all you want! Don’t worry about it. You’re forgiven.” He says, “God promised
that believers were elected from all eternity to be his children. So why bother sharing the
good news with others? They’ll find out about God some other way.” He tempts us, “God
promises to always do what’s best for you. So why pray? It’s not worth your time.”
 Satan also commonly tempts us with earthly power and wealth. He says, “Why hope for
eternal blessings when money can make you happy now!” He says, “The more people
you control, the greater your authority. Authority is happiness.” He says, “Live how you
want. Get drunk. Life is a party, and then you die. Get the most out of life while you
can.”
 And in all of these temptations, Satan enjoys twisting and contorting God’s Word God’s
Word to give an air of legitimacy to what he’s saying. False teachers take words out of
context to make it appear God says something which he really does not. They accent
some teachings while ignoring other teachings, and in this way distort God’s truth.
Friends, in all these ways Satan deceives us. Satan hates you and he hates God, and he’ll say
anything to hurt you and tear you away from God. Satan is a powerful enemy – far more
powerful than human beings. How can we possibly withstand his temptations?
The answer to this question is simple: we can’t. But our text shows us the one who did.
Friends, the first and most important step to overcoming temptation is to know and believe that
Jesus Christ, our Savior, is the victor over temptation! Despite Satan’s mightiest attacks, Jesus
never for a moment doubted the love and purpose of his heavenly Father. We know he never
doubted because he always refuted Satan’s temptations in the same way – with God’s Word.
When Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread, Jesus replied with Deuteronomy 8:3:
‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
Moses spoke these words to Israel reminding them how they had survived 40 years in the
wilderness living on manna which God provided daily. They lived daily only on God’s promises.
Jesus rebuked Satan with those same words.
Satan tempted Jesus to throw himself off the temple, and even quoted Scripture to try to
show it was God’s will. Jesus replied by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, ““It is also written: ‘Do not
put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
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When Satan promised to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he would worship him,
Jesus again quoted Scripture. Based on Deuteronomy 6:13, Jesus said, “‘Worship the Lord your
God, and serve him only.’ We see in each case, our Lord Jesus quoted God’s Word to repel
Satan’s attacks. With this last temptation, Jesus commands: “Away from me, Satan!”
Immediately, the devil left Jesus, and angels helped Jesus.
In this great battle of Good and evil, Jesus won the victory. He resisted every temptation and
his trust in the Father never wavered. But what does this mean for us when we face temptation?
The writer to the Hebrews tells us: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just
as we are—yet was without sin. (Heb 4:15)” Jesus, our great high priest, knows what it’s like to
be tempted. In fact, the temptations he faced were far more severe than anything we’ll ever face.
And yet Jesus was without sin. By remaining perfect and holy, Jesus could then go on to
sacrifice himself on Calvary’s cross for your sins and mine. When we are faced with temptation,
remember Jesus. In your baptism, you were connected to him for all eternity. Through God’s
Word and through Holy Communion, this connection to Christ is strengthened and becomes
unbreakable. His victory is your victory. His power is your power. The one who overcame every
temptation now lives by faith in your heart! In the name of and through the strength of Jesus
Christ, God’s Son, you can withstand temptation!
Dear friends, overcome temptation by using God’s Word just as Jesus did. God has
equipped us with “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). The
sword of the Spirit is a mighty weapon, and Satan is powerless against it. Of course, to use this
weapon, we must know it. Even Jesus, God’s Son, thought it useful to memorize God’s Word.
To be properly equipped to fight Satan’s attacks, we need to hear God’s Word regularly. Read it,
study it, think about how it applies to your life, attend worship services, go to Bible classes,
study the catechism, read our books and commentaries. All of these things will immerse you in
God’s Word. Each hour spent in God’s Word equips you with a bigger, stronger sword with
which to strike Satan when he attacks. When we know God’s Word well, we will immediately
identify people who misuse and misinterpret God’s Word to lead us into temptation.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, temptation is a serious matter. We dare never think,
“Everyone sins in this way, so it’s not so bad.” Neither should we ever think, “I’ve tried to resist
this temptation, but it’s useless. Now I don’t try anymore.” Sin is never safe! Sin is never
excusable! Temptation is always deadly. Satan doesn’t play games. Flee temptations. Avoid
places, people and circumstances that are likely to lead you to temptations. Turn to Jesus and
trust fully in him for protection and strength. Know God’s Word as a sure defense against
Satan’s attacks. With God’s help, we can resist anything – even temptation! Amen.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus.(Php 4:7)
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