March 14, 2025
Temptation - Part 5
Matthew 4:11
03/14/2025
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came
and were ministering to him. (ESV)
Jesus, immediately after He was baptized, was led by the
Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Each of
the temptations was a temptation we also face. Jesus was told to
use His power to serve Himself rather than trust in His Father.
Jesus was told to trust in a promise never given in the Bible.
Jesus was told to worship something other than God.
You and I are confronted with the same temptations. How
easy it is to be selfish, to listen to lies, and to turn our back
on God. We daily fail when confronted with the same temptations
Jesus faced. ``Seek first the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness''[1] seems to take a back seat to ``You only go
around once, so live for today.''
Jesus overcame temptation on our behalf. Saint Matthew
recorded, ``Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and
were ministering to him.'' That which the devil promised, but
could not deliver, was given to Jesus because He remained
faithful to His heavenly Father.
Jesus' obedience to God's Word is credited to each of us.
We do not earn God's love, nor do we deserve it. Yet, when Jesus
cried out on the cross, ``It is finished,'' your sin and mine
were obliterated. The offer of the forgiveness of our sins is
given to everyone for the sake of the death and resurrection of
Jesus.
That is the message of the Church, the message you will hear
each Sunday at 9:00 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church. Come, hear
of God's grace and undeserved love, and receive the hope which
comes from faith in Christ Jesus as our Redeemer from sin and
eternal death.
May our Lord grant us faith to trust in Him alone. Amen.
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1. Matthew 6:33