In reading the first part of Matthew 4, we see that Jesus truly is a man because He is able to be tempted. He is also clearly the Son of God and is able to overcome the temptation of Satan. This is a good reminder that, while I am human and do not have the same abilities as Jesus, I do have the same strength through Him if I just trust in Him and follow the Holy Spirit’s leading.
In the second half of Matthew 4, it shows Jesus’ beginning to His ministry. I love the way the disciples follow Jesus. It is almost humorous to see them drop everything and follow Him. At the same time, it is a great example to us to know How we should follow Jesus. We aren’t supposed to put our affairs in order or wait to fix our lives, we are simply supposed to trust and follow Him. Everything else is fixable through His power, mercy, and grace.
A quick note here… We will be jumping around quite a bit as we read the book of Matthew. Parts of Matthew are written based on topic rather than chronological order, so it will seem like we are all over the place. Also, if you are following the reading plan I posted, I need to make some adjustments because I have a couple chapters listed twice. This is because some chapters are supposed to be broken in half since the events of the chapter are not chronological. I should have these adjustments done in the next day or so. Sorry for any confusion this may cause.
Daily Devotion 
There are a couple of things I realized in the first half of this passage that I have somehow missed in the millions of other times I’ve read this passage. I’ve always known that Jesus was taken by the Spirit to be tested. The Message version says that “Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights.” For some reason, I always had this idea in my head that he was tested for 40 days and 40 nights. But that’s not the case. He knew the test was coming so he prepared for that amount of time. There have been many times in my life when I knew a test was coming up, but I didn’t really think to prepare. Sure, I’d pray, but that was the extent of it. I prepare for everything else in my life (I’m sort of the preparation queen), yet when it comes to the most crucial part of my life, preparation isn’t really even on the radar. Hmmmm.
The other thing that struck me was the actual test itself. Yes, Satan tempts Jesus with his hunger. But what is more striking is he plays on Jesus’ position of authority and power like a snotty nosed kid in the play ground. “You’re God’s son? Prove it!” Satan’s had thousands of years of success playing this game with humans, why not try it on this guy? Obviously, it doesn’t work. So he tries again, but this time engages Jesus’ tactic by backing up his temptation with scripture, which he has, of course, twisted. But Jesus, knowing the scriptures, but what I think is even more important, knowing the heart of God, knew that Satan was twisting truth. Sound familiar? It is vital that we know the heart of God. Satan and his legions know scripture, too. Just because you read a verse somewhere, or someone quotes something or teaches something out of the Bible doesn’t make it accurate. Does it line up with who we know God to be?
Great observations, Sarah! Your first point about preparation is spot on! We spend a lot of time working on every aspect of our lives, then we assume our spiritual lives will just fall into place. The second observation is also excellent… scripture is not a manipulation tool!! It is not meant to be used to prove our point. It is meant to point us to who God is in our lives and what our purpose should be on this earth, which is to glorify Him!
Thanks for joining us!!
Great points Sarah. I’ve thought the same thing about the time Jesus was tested, but you’re right, that was all about preparation.
I guess I focused on the led into the wilderness to be tempted. Borrowing from a study I’ve done before, it just makes sense that the trials would come at times in our lives when we are most vulnerable. But I love that those times end in “angels came and ministered to Him” v11. Sarah, you make a good point about needing to prepare for those times. I am so moved to know that once out of temptation,God restores us and leads us on to our purpose. That Satan would want to get ahold of us in that time in the desert just before God leads us to our destiny makes sense too – he just doesn’t want us to fulfill our purpose. He’d love to get us distracted with what this world has to offer. Thankful that our Saviour was up to the task and overcame it so we can press into Him to overcome as well!
I think it’s great we get an insight into Jesus’ life like what we have today. Jesus shows us exactly how to respond to temptation. At every turn, with every attempt from Satan, Jesus relies on scripture. It’s awesome that we have the same tool today that Jesus had 2000 years ago. Sometimes I take it for granted, but I’m so thankful for God’s word that’s readily available for me whenever I need it.
I’m struck with the truth of Matthew 4:1-4, “Jesus prepared for the test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, which the devil took advantage of in the first test: “Since you are God’s Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread.” Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: “It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.” That statement is so powerful, if we just let it soak in. To stay alive, we need a daily word from God. Many Christians think that accepting salvation and going to church is enough to keep them alive; I know I used to think that. But the real truth is that each one of us needs spiritual manna from heaven, every single day. Last Sunday at church, Dr Lemons (spelling?) spoke at the Journey Church and reminded us that reading the Bible (in addition to the other duties I just mentioned) STILL isn’t enough. The missing piece is that we need to still our hearts and listen to Holy Spirit speak, on a daily basis. This is probably the hardest discipline of any of ones here! We are only truly alive when we marry the reading of the Word with our silent listening to the Holy Spirit. He really does have things to say to each of us, I just wish I listened more! I wish we all listened more! Unfortunately, it’s a rare person that carves out time in their daily schedules to simply listen. That’s the kind of believer I want to be. (Francis Chan wrote a book called “The Forgotten God” about this very truth. Check it out.)