March 10, 2025
Temptation - Part 1
Matthew 4:1
03/10/2025
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the
wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (ESV)
There is a difference between testing and temptation. A
test is a situation which God allows with the intention of
revealing our loyalties, motivations, character, or trust in Him.
A temptation is an enticement to sin, to disobey God's Word, to
go against that which we know to be the correct action.
Saint Matthew recorded Jesus' baptism.
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up
from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to
him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a
dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice
from heaven said, ``This is my beloved Son, with whom I
am well pleased.''
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness
to be tempted by the devil.[1]
Immediately after being baptized, anointed as the Lamb of
God who takes away the sins of the world, Jesus went into the
wilderness. As the Savior, He had to keep the Law perfectly on
our behalf. He had to expose and defeat the lies of the devil,
the world, and our own sinful flesh while remaining faithful to
God the Father.
Jesus, as true man, suffered every temptation we suffer.
Jesus, as true God, overcame the enticement to sin, the
enticement to take the forbidden fruit, no matter how delicious
it might be, no matter how giving in to temptation might bring
Him temporal power and glory.
This week we will be looking at the temptation of Jesus to
learn of His power over sin and death. May our Lord grant that
we be not led into temptation but delivered from all evil. Amen.
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1. Matthew 3:16-4:1 (ESV)