Serving God in Times of Trial

Matthew 4:1-10

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

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This is a passage many of us are familiar with. As soon as Jesus is baptized, he is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for the express purpose of being tempted by the devil. In this we see Jesus effectively retracing the steps of God’s chosen people Israel and succeeding where they failed. Where Israel was tested for forty years in the wilderness failing the test and God was not pleased with them (as 1 Corinthians 10 says), Jesus was tested for forty days, and the Son with whom the Father is well pleased was “in every respect... tempted as we are, yet without sin”.

So in the wilderness we see Jesus living out the perfect, sinless life that would be necessary as an offering to God in place of my sinful life. His substitutionary life was just as necessary for our salvation as was his atoning death.

Jesus was tempted by Satan to elevate physical desire over spiritual need. He was tempted to satisfy human pride and put God to the test. And he was tempted to covet possessions and power. In each case, the answer to temptation is to treasure the Lord more and lean on His Word completely. So looking closer at verse 10, I want us to notice two specific things. First, the sin Jesus overcomes in this third temptation is what I will call the sin of pragmatism. And second, Jesus will point us to the importance of exclusive worship, even in times of unusual trial and temptation.

1. Jesus Overcomes the Temptation of Pragmatism

By the time we get to verses 9-10, Jesus had already overcome the temptation to satisfy his physical needs apart from God’s sufficiency and to put God’s goodness to the test. Now he is tempted with power and possessions.

The odd thing about this temptation is that Jesus already had the promise of all the kingdoms of the world by way of the Father who actually owns all things. Psalm 2:7-8:

I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

So what is the temptation here? It can’t be that Jesus longed to be given all the kingdoms of the world; he effectively already had them. No, the temptation was to gain the kingdoms without having to go through the prerequisite work and suffering. Philippians 2 tells us that Christ left heaven and humbled himself to die on a cross. After that, he would be highly exalted by God and every knee in heaven and on earth and under the earth will bow and confess that Jesus is Lord. Pragmatism says the end justifies the means. So if the end goal is to be King over all earth, then what difference does it make how you get there? God offered a difficult road, but Satan offered an easy road to the same end. Of course, we fully recognize in Jesus’ case that to take the easy road would mean death and damnation for all. Without Christ’s atoning work on the cross we are all without hope, which of course was Satan’s desire here.

Jesus’ response to this temptation is simple and direct: “Be gone, Satan!” Jesus identifies the tempter by his name, which means adversary, and thereby identifies his intentions. Satan is opposed to the plans of God and the salvation of God’s people. Jesus easily identified the deception, and we are called to identify the same deception when we are tempted to achieve a desired outcome.

2. Jesus Declares the Importance of Exclusive Worship

Notice that the means to the desired end centered on worship. Satan said to Jesus: “just fall down and worship me, and I offer you a quick and painless path to gain the kingdom that does not involve the suffering and humiliation of a cross. Jesus’ response is our second point: Exclusive worship is the only acceptable worship. “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.” Notice that Satan does not demand exclusive worship. He does not say that Jesus must only worship him in order for him to give the kingdoms. He is actually quite content to be worshipped along with the one true God. We have an illustration of this in 2 Kings 17:34-41:

To this day they do according to the former manner. They do not fear the LORD, and they do not follow the statutes or the rules or the law or the commandment that the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel. The LORD made a covenant with them and commanded them, “You shall not fear other gods or bow yourself to them or serve them or sacrifice to them, but you shall fear the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm. You shall bow yourself to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to do. You shall not fear other gods, and you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not fear other gods, but you shall fear the LORD your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” However, they would not listen, but they did according to their former manner. So these nations feared the LORD and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children – as their fathers did, so they do t this day.

Verve 34 says they do not fear the Lord, while verse 41 says they feared the Lord and served their carved images. The meaning is clear: to fear the Lord and fear other gods is the same as not fearing the Lord. Satan is happy to have God’s people worship God if they are worshipping him at the same time because he understands worship. Jesus, too, understands worship, and he proclaims that worshipping the Lord your God means serving him only. And that is the end of the discussion. Satan’s true intentions have been revealed, and Jesus commands him to leave. Exclusive worship of the one true God is the final word. There is nothing left to be said, and no temptation left to withstand.

Application

So what truth can we meditate on this week when we reflect on how Jesus was tempted? If you will allow me to offer some suggestions, I propose the following:

First, beware of the desire for instant results without pain. It is this temptation that lures us into justifying sin by elevating the desired outcome over the means. Jesus is our example. In his pain and suffering we are made free. Had he bypassed the cross, then we would remain dead in our transgressions. According to that pattern, God will use our pain and suffering, and how we endure it, to point others to Christ and his salvation. This does not mean that we seek out pain and suffering, but that when it does come, our primary goal will be to bring glory to God through it rather than avoid it by any means necessary. As we find ourselves under mandated isolation and loss of income, how will we glorify God and point others to him?

Second, we must recognize that if Jesus saw it as his duty to worship God and serve him only, then so must you and I. These two points converge in the realization that by utilizing pragmatic solutions to reach desired ends, we are actually serving other gods. This is how we are tempted: we trust Jesus to cover us when it comes to salvation, but for the other problems in our life, we seem to think that relying on other gods is more effective. Ultimately, that other god turns out to be me. Jesus has saved me, but if I am going to get ahead at work, I will need to work harder and possibly cut a corner or two. If I need to get a good grade, it is not that big of a deal to cheat on a test or plagiarize a paper, because it is really the result that counts. If I am struggling in my relationship with a spouse or another family member, the best I can do is fabricate a story to help smooth over the point of disagreement. If I am suffering as a result of a worldwide pandemic, I will look to government solutions and hope for the crisis to end quickly. You get the point. Instead, we are called to look to Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith. When we are faced with the temptation to serve an alternative means to an end, we need to remember how Jesus defeated Satan, and lean on the truth of Hebrews 4:14-16:

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

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~ written by Wes Burgess