Daily Devotional For Friday, August 9, 2024

It seems as if yesterday was Friday and here we are again – it’s FRIDAY, not Freaky Friday, but Fabulous Friday. We are hours from the weekend. It seems at least for now as I write this, we got through Tropical Storm Debby without any loss of power, flooding and loss of life here. We thank the Lord for that. Of course we still have the rest of today to go.

A lot of people have the wrong belief about Jesus. Because He was God in the flesh, some people think that Jesus did not have any struggles or vulnerabilities. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

How could God in the flesh, who cast out demons, healed people of sicknesses and raised some from the dead, be vulnerable? Some feel that as God in the flesh and being omnipotent, He had a privileged life. That is not true either according to Scripture. Look at Hebrews 2:14, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (ESV). The NET puts it this way: “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death He could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil).” Notice it says that Jesus shared in our humanity. 

Share means to experience life exactly the way we do. Though He never sinned, He was tempted just like we are in the areas of His life where He was most vulnerable. We see this when the devil came and tempted Him with three specific temptations. In Matthew 4, we see that Jesus got hungry, The Greek word here is [πεινάω, peinao]. Jesus had come off a 40 day fast. 40 days folks. I don’t know how He did it. If I miss eating during the day I can get “hangry” – hungry/angry. Jesus, physically, was famished. He was starving.

Matthew 4:1 says this, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (ESV). That was the sole purpose. Ever since eternity, the devil has made it his purpose to tempt others. We see this when he convinced ⅓ of the angels to follow him in a rebellion against God in heaven. He and his demons (fallen angels) were no match for our omnipotent God and were cast out. And then ever since the Garden of Eden, his sole purpose has been to tempt us who remind him of God. We are created in God’s image. 

Many Christians through the years have come up with their own way to resist and overcome temptation – sometimes successful and sometimes not. Pastor and author John MacArthur shares some people’s attempts to deal with temptations:

“Throughout the history of the church much has been written and spoken about overcoming temptation. A fifth–century Christian wrote, `Fly from all occasions of temptation, and if still tempted, fly further still. If there is no escape possible, then have done with running away and show a bold face and take the two-edged sword of the Spirit. Some temptations must be taken by the throat as David killed the lion; others must be stifled as David hugged the bear to death. Some you had better keep to yourselves and not give air. Shut them up as a scorpion in a bottle. Scorpions in such confinement die soon, but if allowed out for a crawl and then put back into the bottle and corked down, they will live a long while and give you trouble. Keep the cork on your temptations, and they will die of themselves.’ 

Benedict of Nursia (c. 480–543) sought an increase of grace and exemption from temptation by wearing a rough hair shirt and living for three years in a desolate cave, where his scant food was lowered to him on a cord. Once he threw himself into a clump of thorns and briars until his body was covered with bleeding wounds. But he found no escape from temptation. It followed him wherever he went and in whatever he did. 

Others have tried to overcome temptation by, in effect, denying it. Jovinian, a heretical fifth–century monk, taught that after a person was baptized he was forever free of the devil’s power and from temptation. Jerome, his most outstanding opponent, wisely commented that baptism does not drown the devil” (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 84).

Jesus’ temptations come right after His baptism, which declared His royalty, His commissioning, His coronation and His kingship. The Son of God went into the boxing arena with the son of perdition. And how Jesus handled His temptations reveal to us how we can handle ours also. You may have heard others say, “pride comes before the fall” or “don’t let success go to your head.” 

I read about a high school football team that was ahead by over 50 points. The clock was about to run out and they had the ball on the 5-yard-line. It was obvious they could score. So, with that much leverage the coach decided to put in the 4th string running back so that he could at least have one touchdown before he graduated the next spring. When his offensive line created a hole for him to run through and score, he took it. He got a touchdown but as he crossed the line, he turned around to wave at the fans in the stands but he kept running. So proud he was that with his head turned looking at the stands as he kept running, he ran into the goal post and literally knocked himself out cold. He was unconscious and had to be carried off the field to the hospital. He was so carried away with his triumph that he completely lost his perspective and his sense of reality. Consequently his victory was short-lived.

Jesus never lost His sense of perspective and of reality. The first Adam lost his perspective in a perfect environment and the second Adam, Jesus, never lost His in a barren desert wilderness. The Bible says “the devil” came to tempt Him. The Greek New Testament word for “devil” is [διάβολος, diabolos] and means “the accuser or slanderer.” Wow! Doesn’t that description fit him? It says he came to “tempt” Jesus. The Greek New Testament word is [πειράζω, peirazo] and it is a morally neutral word which means “to test.” It can refer to a good test or an evil test. The context or situation lets you know which it is. So, this first temptation was more than just about Jesus using miraculous power to feed Himself. 

The real temptation involved Jesus’ supposed rights as the Son of God. Look at Matthew 4:2-3, “And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. (3) And the tempter came and said to Him, `If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread’” (ESV). God the Father had fed the Hebrews in the wilderness with manna when they were hungry. If Jesus was really God’s Son, why wouldn’t the Father feed Him? Wasn’t Jesus more important than the Hebrews as God’s Son? If God had let His people die in the wilderness, how could His plan of redemption have been fulfilled? If He lets you die in this wilderness, how can you fulfill your divine mission on His behalf?

Again, I like what pastor and author John MacArthur writes about the devil’s first temptation of Jesus:

“The purpose of the temptation was not simply for Jesus to satisfy His physical hunger, but to suggest that His being hungry was incompatible with His being the Son of God. He was being tempted to doubt the Father’s Word, the Father’s love, and the Father’s provision. He had every right, satan suggested, to use His own divine powers to supply what the Father had not. The Son of God certainly was too important and dignified to have to endure such hardship and discomfort” (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 90).

The devil attempted to get the Son of God to doubt the love of God the Father for Him and to doubt His welfare for Him. Didn’t Jesus have the right to use His power, if God the Father wouldn’t use His power to meet His most basic physical need –  hunger? Tomorrow we will look at the devil’s second temptation to Jesus.

Questions To Consider

1. Have you ever thought that Jesus had an advantage that we do not have to resist temptation? If so, why? If not, why?
2. We have this saying, “If you play with fire, you’re going to get burned.” I told you the story about that 4th string running back who was put in the football game in the last few minutes on the 5 yard line. What does this story tell you about temptation and where you are vulnerable? What are your own ways of overcoming temptation? Do they work? Why or why not? If not, what do you think will work and why?
3. Obviously, Jesus went through more temptations in his 33 years than these three. It may be challenging for you to think that as a child or teen, Jesus never talked back to His parents, or decided to sow some wild oats or use some profanity or etc. He was sinless to the day of His physical death. What does this tell you about temptation in your own life?
4. Matthew, Mark and Luke make it clear that Jesus was hungry, starving we might say after a 40 day fast in a desert wilderness. He is spent spiritually, emotionally and especially physically. This is why Jesus was so vulnerable. The devil knew exactly where to tempt Jesus – to question God the Father’s love for Him. When are you most vulnerable to doubt God the Father’s love and provision for you?
5. Having not eaten in 40 days, plus coming off a high at His baptism, I think that when Jesus looked down at the stones, they might have even reminded Him of His mother’s bread cakes. There is no question Jesus was hungry and starving, so why do you think responded the way He did to the devil in Matthew 4:4, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (ESV)?

Scripture To Meditate On: Deuteronomy 8:3, “And He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (ESV).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus,. Please forgive me when I think I can live by anything other than You. Jesus, You showed me in this that the best weapon against any temptation is the Word of God. I need to learn and memorize it more. Please forgive me when I question Your love for my life and welfare. I know You love me, but I can get distracted by so many other things and think I deserve to be treated better. You as the Bread of Life is enough. I love You Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly