Daily Devotional For Sunday, August 11, 2024

We have finally made it to the Lord’s Day as we call it – Sunday. On Friday we looked at the first temptation the devil presented to Jesus as He was about to begin His ministry. And then yesterday, Saturday, we looked at the second temptation the devil presented to Jesus as He was about to begin His ministry. Today, we are going to look at the third temptation the devil presented to Jesus as He was about to begin His ministry. Let’s look at Matthew 4:8-9, “Next the devil took Him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. (9) “I will give it all to You,” he said, “if You will kneel down and worship me” (NLT).

So, why did the devil think this would be a possible temptation for Jesus? In the devil’s first temptation, he sought to tempt Jesus to do for Himself. In his second temptation to Jesus, the devil suggested that the Father ought to do something for Jesus. Now, in his final desperate temptation, the devil sought to convince Jesus that he personally could do something for Jesus that neither Jesus nor the Father could do for Him. We are not told which mountain, but whichever it was, the devil using his evil and sinful power, was able to show Jesus all the kingdoms of the world – Rome with its political and military power, Egypt with its pyramids, temples, libraries and vast treasures. 

Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords, was already entitled to all these kingdoms. And this is what the devil’s temptation was. “Why should you have to wait for what is already rightfully yours?” he suggested to Jesus. “You deserve to have it now. Why do you submit as a Servant when you could reign as a King? I am only offering you what the Father has already promised.” It is possible the devil used or suggested the promise given to God’s anointed Messiah in Psalm 2:8, “Ask of Me, and I will make the nations Your heritage, and the ends of the earth Your possession” (ESV). 

The devil was aware that this was promised by God to the Messiah for His Servant’s obedience to the Father. I like how pastor and author John MacArthur puts it:

“Satan was offering the world to Jesus on his own corrupt terms, not God’s. That which the Father promised to the Son because of His righteous obedience, satan offered to the Son in exchange for His unrighteous disobedience. God’s plan in testing the Son was to prove the Son’s worthiness to inherit and rule the world. satan’s plan was to draw the Son away from that worthiness by enticing Him to grab the kingdom the Father promised to give Him. Instead of enduring the long, bitter, humiliating, and painful road to the cross—and the even longer wait in heaven for God’s time to be completed—Jesus could rule the world now!” 

Satan always comes at us in that way. He suggests that the world of business, the world of politics, the world of fame, or the world of whatever our heart desires can be ours—if only...! We can get what we want; we can fulfill our lusts and our fantasies; we can be somebody. All we must do to get those things of the world is to go after them in the way of the world—which is satan’s way” (Source: John MacArthu, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 96).

We see this with how the devil did this with Adam and Eve. He promised them that God had lied to them and they could become a god and not die by eating the forbidden fruit. This is why self-will is always satan's will and not God’s will as Jesus talks about in Matthew 6:33, “..... Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness . . .”  Because Abraham sought his own will to fulfill God’s promise to him of a son, he had sex with Hagar and the results have ever since been tragic. Ishmael is the father of the Arabs and nothing but death and the shedding of innocent blood has come from it even up to our time.

Satan is the best counterfeiter there is. He offers cheaper what God offers at the price of discipleship –denying yourself and taking up our cross daily. At some point in infinity, the devil, once the top angel, did not like to be second fiddle to the Trinity. He rebelled and led ⅓ of all the angels to rebel, who are now demons. The devil’s price always costs more because it leads to spiritual death.

Jesus saw this for what it was. His response to the devil was this in Matthew 4:10, “Get out of here, satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only Him’” (NLT). Jesus reminded the devil Who is in charge – He is. He said to the devil, “Be gone.” This is the Greek New Testament word [ὑπάγω, hupago]. This in Greek is what we call the imperative tense – a command. As Lord of the universe, Jesus ordered the devil to leave Him immediately. Because the devil’s power is only by God’s permission, the devil had no choice but to obey the King of kings and the Lord of lords. This tells me that Jesus Christ demonstrated the sovereign and absolute power that the devil “offered” Him. As soon as the devil left Jesus, we are told in Matthew 4:11, “Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus” (NLT). The devil left Jesus immediately because he had no other choice. 

During the wilderness Jesus could have asked for angels to minister to Him, but He did not. I believe at any time during these temptations Jesus could have asked what Matthew 26:53 states: “Do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once send Me more than twelve legions of angels?” (ESV). We are not told how the angels ministered to Jesus. It is possible they brought Him food for His physical needs and they worshiped Him as God. 

Pastor and author John MacArthur puts it this way:

“satan tempts us in the same basic ways he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. First, he will try to get us to distrust God’s providential care and to try to solve our problems, win our struggles, and meet our needs by our own plans and in our own power. Second, he will try to get us to presume on God’s care and forgiveness by willingly putting ourselves in the way of danger—whether physical, economic, moral, spiritual, or any other. Third, he will appeal to selfish ambitions and try to get us to use our own schemes to fulfill the promises God has made to us—which amounts to trying to fulfill God’s plan in satan’s way”  (Source: John MacArthu, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 98).

We see all three of these written about in 1 John 2:16, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world” (NASB). I really like what pastor and author Chuck Swindoll writes on this:

“Now, on the one hand, satan was offering something he had no power to give. We know that God alone is sovereign over all nations and that no king or kingdom can reign apart from His will (Ps. 103:19; Dan. 2:37). Furthermore, God Himself will one day set up a kingdom of His own under the Messiah to replace the wicked kingdoms of the world (Dan. 2:44). On the other hand, until the coming of the Messiah’s kingdom, the kingdoms of this world will be under the sway of the evil one (1 Jn. 5:19). The implication is that the kingdoms that satan offered to Jesus were the corrupt, impure, and rebellious worldly empires of the present age—and Jesus could have these kingdoms without having to endure the suffering and death predicted of the Messiah in Isaiah 53!

But Jesus is no fool. With His fast and sharp response to the devil’s “best offer yet,” Jesus made it clear to satan just who it was he was dealing with. Jesus was no mortal pushover. He wasn’t a fallen, depraved man who would sell his soul if the price was right. He wasn’t an angelic being like one of the heavenly hosts that had followed the    devil in his fall. And He wasn’t the kind of “son of the gods” we find in Greek and Roman mythologies that can be manipulated, deceived, or lured into wickedness. No, Jesus is the God-man, fully human and fully divine—able to be tempted because of His humanity, but always empowered to conquer temptation because of His divinity” (Source: Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary, “Matthew 1-15,” Vol. 1A, pp. 68-69).

When it comes to all three temptations satan presented to Jesus, here are a few words of application. 

1. First, when it comes to satan, never forget that he is already a defeated foe. This means there is no need to fear or be intimidated by him. Trust 1 John 4:4, “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world” (NLT). God the Father has defeated the devil and with the indwelling presence of the God the Holy Spirit, you can also. Every move the devil makes in this game of life only moves him closer to be cast in the lake of fire (see Matthew 25:41).
2. Second, Jesus used Scripture to refute the devil. This is why we need to trust the truth of Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (NLT). This is why we all need to memorize it, study it, and apply it to our lives. Believe me, the devil, your worst and greatest adversary knows the Word also. Failure to be in the Word on a daily basis opens you up to the finality to the word of the devil in your life daily.
3. Third, when it comes to Jesus, remember He is our Savior forever. Take to heart the words of Psalm 18:2, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and the One who rescues me; My God, my rock and strength in whom I trust and take refuge; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower—my stronghold” (AMP). This Psalm tells me Jesus Christ is our sustainer, shield and ultimate Savior. This means that since Jesus shared in our infirmities, we get to share in His victories.
4. Fourth, when it comes to this issue of sin, we do not have to give into it. I call to your memory a verse we saw several months ago in our sermon series on the Book of James. Trust to your heart and soul James 4:7, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (NLT). When we humble ourselves to God, acknowledging we need Jesus Christ, His holy Word, the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and our heavenly Father, then we will attempt to fight the devil on our own. We all have a choice that we sometimes might forget: we can either submit to our Savior, or we can submit to satan.

Scripture Verse To Meditate On: Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (5) You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (ESV).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, please forgive me when I follow selfish ambitions rather than obedient ambitions. I want to love You with all my heart, soul and strength. I want to seek Your righteousness and not pursue self-sufficiency. Let me see the devil’s temptation as they are: evil shortcuts that pay out with death. I love You Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly