First Mennonite Church
August 3, 2025
The Temptations of Jesus
Text: Matthew 4:1-11
Today, we will begin a new series of sermons. We will follow Jesus as he prepares and embarks his ministry, according to the Gospel accounts. We will begin by considering the Temptation of Jesus according to Matthew’s version. (I do not know if you have noticed, but there is a slight difference in the order of the temptations of Jesus between Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels. In Luke, the second and third temptations do not follow the order as we find in Matthew. If you have not noticed this difference, take a look at it.)
The temptation of Jesus has as its background the Israelite experience in the wilderness, when Yahweh gave manna to his people. Israel wandered for forty years in the wilderness because it refused to believe in God’s full deliverance and provision. God humbled them and made them go hungry, and he gave them manna to teach them that “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out from the mouth of God” (Deuteronomy 8:3).
It is very important to take note of the context of Jesus’ temptation, according to Matthew gospel. Jesus had just come out of the baptismal waters of the Jordan River. Upon coming out of the water, a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (3:17). Therefore, Jesus went into the desert already having his identity publicly stated by the heavenly voice. Jesus knew he was God’s beloved Son.
In the first temptation, Satan tells Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.” This temptation could not have come at a more opportune time from the Devil. Jesus had already fasted for forty days and forty nights, and Matthew tells us, Jesus was starving. For Jesus, to act on this temptation would not have only solved his immediate and personal problem with hunger, but also would have proven him as the right kind of savior the hungry Jewish peasantry would get in him. We should recall what happened at Jesus’ first feeding of the crowds, according to John’s Gospel. Once fed miraculously, the crowds wanted to crown Jesus and make him king, even if by force. Jesus had to escape. Thus, if Jesus were to turn the rocks into bread, he would have easily secured for himself hordes of followers everywhere he went. Jesus could have easily gained acceptance from those he came to seek and save; however, only because he could give them free bread.
In response to this temptation, Jesus quoted God’s word to his people that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from his mouth.
Jesus’ response teaches us, among other things, the importance of knowing the Scriptures in our battle with temptation. Quoting scripture might not always be that practical in the moments we need to choose to do the right thing. For instance, who of us has quoted Colossians four, verse six after being humiliated or wrongfully accused of doing something we did not do? At that moment when we are puzzled, or angry, or frustrated, would we quote to ourselves Colossians four, six, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one”? I am not sure I have done that, nor that I have always been able to hold my peace. However, the point is if God’s word is “dwelling richly in our hearts,” as Paul says in Colossians three, 16, there is the likelihood that our response in moments of stress will reflect that.
But there is another lesson we can learn from Jesus’ response to this temptation. Jesus knew who he was and, more importantly, he knew whose he was. Jesus refused to provide for his immediate need, not because he could not perform the miracle, nor because he was not the Son of God. Jesus rejected the temptation because he did not have to prove his identity. He knew he came to do the will of the Father; thus, God’s word had preeminence over everything he would do.
Whenever we are tempted, let us always remember who we are. We are followers of the one who remained silent as a lamb even as he was being led to his death. We belong to the one who not only lived by every word that came from the mouth of God but was the very Word who was with God and who was God, according to the testimony of the apostle John.
Let us, therefore, remember not to respond in the manner of “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” when we are wronged. And let us not pursue our goal by any means. Immoral means to achieve even moral goals is not the way Jesus taught us in the first temptation.
In the second temptation, the Devil put Jesus on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, because it is written, God will send his angels to rescue you from getting hurt.” We should note here that even Satan can quote scriptures. So, why didn’t Jesus obey the scripture quoted by the Devil? This should remind us that not everyone who quotes the scripture does so with good intentions.
Once, a gentleman I knew came to me to ask for money to buy himself a drink. He was an alcoholic. As he approached me, he said to me, “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” He was quoting Matthew 5:42). As we see in the devil’s second temptation, the scriptures can be used to manipulate others. So, let us be cautious about those who quote the scripture. Oftentimes, Christians like it when their politicians quote the scriptures.
Jesus also responded by quoting scriptures: “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” The main reason Jesus did not yield to this temptation, even when it was a quote from scripture, was because he would have proven he had divine attestation or credentials. Had Jesus obeyed the Devil, he would have been immediately accepted as God’s appointed one to his people.
In the third temptation, the devil showed Jesus the world and offered him power and control over it if Jesus would bow down and worship the devil. Jesus was given the option of becoming Lord and King of the world in an instant, without having to die on the cross. By bowing before Satan, Jesus would have gained control and dominion over the entire world, without any opposition or resistance, or suffering. Yet, after his resurrection, he said to his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me; therefore, go and make disciples of all nations . . .” (Matthew 28:19).
The story of Jesus being tempted by the Devil might make us wonder today, some 2000 years after, if the language of Satan, the Devil, Demons, or the Accuser, is passé, old-fashioned, or obsolete. Is there still a place in our thinking that the forces of evil called by those names are real? In Matthew’s understanding of God-human relations (Matthew’s theological perspective), forces of evil play a very important role throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry. Behind Jesus’ rejection from the very start and until the very end, Matthew shows that the forces of evil were ever present. These forces were not only evidenced through the choices and inclinations of individual persons, but were supra-personal, also. That is, these evil forces were embedded within human institutions, thus creating systemic evil forces as portrayed in the religious institutions and Roman authorities that joined forces to kill Jesus.
Every week, we are saddened by the news of evil acts. A hiking couple was killed while hiking with their family. A man with a long gun killed several in NY. A woman was beaten by a mob in Cincinnati. This is evidence that evil exists and manifests itself in individuals. But evil also manifests itself within human institutions and systems. Wars, genocides, corporate injustices, and discriminatory systems are ways in which evil manifests itself beyond the individuals who lead or represent these institutions that cause suffering and pain to the lives of many.
Also, at the heart of these three temptations, according to our text for today, Jesus’ identity and mission as the Son of God were put to the test. These temptations presented Jesus with easy alternatives to achieve his work of salvation. Through these temptations, Jesus was given the option of not having to be the incarnate God, who would model God’s love, righteousness, and justice for his followers. However, by resisting the Devil, Jesus chose the way of the Father. He chose the way of servanthood, of suffering, and the way of the cross. And by doing so, he knew what he meant when he commands: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). By refusing these temptations, Jesus chose to live by example; thus, he knew what it takes to love the enemy. He knows the power of extending mercy. Jesus submitted to the Father’s will. He was Lord, yet he sought not to be served, but to serve instead. He did not make bread to satisfy his own hunger, but in his compassion, he multiplied the bread to feed the hungry. And He himself is the living bread.
Today, we will close our service by celebrating the Lord’s Supper. Jesus is our host. Jesus is the Living Bread from which we will be partaking. May the elements of the wine and the bread be reminders to us that we cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. I want to invite everyone to participate in Communion today. Jesus earned our salvation by giving himself to be broken, abused, and hung on the cross. He did all of this out of love. His blood cleanses us from our sins when we confess them. He heals our wounds and restores us to God. Amen!
Pastor Romero