Ephesians 6:17; Characteristics of Jesus’ second temptation in the wilderness.
length: 69:00 - taught on Jul, 12 2022
Class Outline:
Tuesday July 12, 2022
Jesus shows Satan’s false interpretation of Scripture with another Scripture. Two truths cannot be inconsistent.
Scripture must be interpreted by Scripture. One truth cannot be inconsistent with another.
A divine promise can never justify what God has forbidden.
The 2nd temptation is to believe that we should have things in our own way and in our own time, and that God should acquiesce.
The first temptation is to believe that our natural appetites should always supersede everything else. There are times when doing the will of God means putting off the satisfaction of our natural desires until God wills.
Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
We ought to be able to trust God without testing Him.
We must wait upon God’s timing for whatever is to happen to us, focusing in ourselves the obedience to His commandments and ways. If it is change that we seek, we must leave it to God to orchestrate, while we focus on His will for our lives today. We are not remotely able to orchestrate the will of God in our own lives. If it is deliverance that we seek (for the trial to be over, for the devil to flee from us), we must leave God to deliver. None of us are told the timing of anything.
In all three temptations from the devil, Jesus is challenged to do something that He should not do.
No one of us can presume anything about the events of the future.
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you” (1PE 5:6-7).
He has made everything appropriate [beautiful] in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.
Everything is made beautiful in its time. God put eternity in our hearts, which seems to mean that we all know that “everything” around us came from somewhere or someone and for a purpose, which intimates a “someone.” However, we cannot know the work of God from the beginning of it to the end of it. We know there is a how, when, why, and what (God put that in us) but we can’t answer any of them fully.
“Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;”
Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written,
'He will give His angels charge concerning You';
and
'On their hands they will bear You up,
Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.'"
7 Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Consider the special characteristics of the second temptation.
- The opportunity is within reach.
The devil sets Christ on the pinnacle of the temple. He only needs to take a step and He will be forcing the Father to either catch Him or let Him dash to the ground. The tempting of the Father is available and possible.
The devil will supply opportunities for us to tempt God, and God will allow it. It won’t be a dream only, but a reality in which we have the possibility to think and do things in which we will take matters into our own hands and force God to act. We may take on a responsibility or position before we are ready. We may obtain something material that will distract us. We may enter a relationship in which God’s will is not clear, or leave one. We’re acting before we know if God wants us to take a step in that direction.
- A primary doubt. "If thou art the Son of God." Do you really have this position?
This thought, repeated from the first temptation, shows how doubt may be used as a door to sin. “Shouldn’t you take matters into your own hands? Are you really the apple of God’s eye? Are you really beloved by God as His Son? Hasn’t God ignored most, if not all of your desires? He’s not going to come through for you. You’ve waited this long, and look! Nothing from God. Get some courage and take matters into your own hands.” These powerful lies all lose their muster when we know that we are the sons and daughters of God and that our Father knows all our needs and He will provide them, and more, when we wait upon Him. He alone knows how to make us complete and joyful and strong.
- Jesus understands Scripture so as to know when it’s taken out of context.
The sword of the Spirit defends itself in the hands of the one who knows the word of God. Even though we don’t know it all, if we know enough, we will be able to see through any misinterpretation. The reason is wonderful. All Scripture agrees since it is all from one mind - the Holy Spirit. Though there are 66 books in our English Bible and these have been written by over forty men over a period of 1,500 years, the Bible is seamless throughout. We can discern a misinterpretation of a Scripture that we don’t know when it contradicts what we do know.
Christ quoted Scripture in the first temptation and so Satan decides to quote Scripture also, but with a wrong interpretation. It is as if the devil is saying, “If you’re married to sticking solely with the Scripture, then do exactly as it says!”
Satan always misuses Scripture.
But this is to deny humanity a brain from which to reason. Not only are we more than animal, but mankind is made to think. We are not robots in which the Bible is the programing code. God has given us reason and the Holy Spirit to discern the proper interpretation of Scripture by employing the science of interpretation. We compare all Scriptures on a particular subject. In those Scripture we look at the original language, the writer, the theme of the Book it is in, the context of the surrounding themes in which it is found, the original audience, the culture and mindset of the readers in that historical time and we take all of that and express a translation that means the same thing in our own current language, and include further explanation. We do this to be sure that we have the right interpretation, which is the science of hermeneutics (from Greek word hermeneuo - to translate).
- Rejecting the fascination with miracles over the love of the truth.
Wielding the sword of the Spirit is almost always rewarded with the love of the truth. Christ is not going to do any miracles during His temptation. Mankind is fascinated with wonders and miracles, which is understandable, but miracles are far lower in importance than is a love of the truth. Miracles come and go. They become a faint memory, and over time they are often emptied of power through scientific theories that doubt their origin. The love of the truth is everlasting and it changes hearts forever.
- Master of the Scripture, Jesus quotes another passage to debunk Satan’s false interpretation. Two truths cannot be inconsistent.
He shows us how to use the sword of the Spirit in all the ways that it can. We should have confidence to be able to interpret thoughts as either true or lies, and if we’re not sure, and none of us are perfect in knowledge, we search and find out the truth we need, whether we research or ask someone who knows.
Scripture must be interpreted by Scripture. One truth cannot be inconsistent with another. A divine promise can never justify what God has forbidden.
Another vital lesson here is that we cannot expect God to protect us from dangers that we manufacture for ourselves. If we sin in ways that endanger us or others, God may sovereignly will to ensure that just consequences are not felt, but the general rule is that we reap what we sow. If we abuse our bodies, they are going to break down. If we abuse our souls, they are going to decay into misery. If we abuse our relationships, they will not bear fruit but only pain. If we sow unto the wind, we will reap the whirlwind. If we invest in God, we will reap eternal life.
A reminder of the first two temptations (remember the principles that you can).
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." 4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'" 5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written,
'He will give His angels charge concerning You';
and
'On their hands they will bear You up,
Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.'"
7 Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
The third temptation: Ambition (one last mad assault).
Temptation 3: Ambition - grab hold of something “similar” to God’s will. Clue: it can only be had in a wrong way.
Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, "All these things will I give You, if You fall down and worship me." 10 Then Jesus said to him, "Begone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'" 11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
The theories as to whether this is some literal mountain or whether what kingdoms Jesus beheld were in a vision, are distracting from the main idea. The glory of the kingdoms of the world are all offered to Jesus by the devil who is allowed to give it.
And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”
The offering of the glory (all the wealth, power, influence, prestige, etc.) of the world shows us that the offer is more than a position of service, but of paramount status in all the world.
Universal dominion over all peoples is a theme of some Old Testament hopes for the people of God or their royal Messiah.
'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Thy possession.
And let all kings bow down before him,
All nations serve him.
And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language
Might serve Him.
And His dominion will be from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Therefore, Jesus knows that the Father is going to give Him the kingdoms of the world to rule, which Jesus would desire, not out of ambition, but because He is the only one qualified to rule in righteousness. His rule is the only way for righteousness and peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
Jesus doesn’t want to rule for the same reasons that anyone else would.
If the Father is going to give the kingdoms to Him there is no need to attempt to change the timing on that. The proposed route to rulership, to worship Satan, is unacceptable for many reasons.
It is an offer of something that looks like the right end, and it comes by the wrong means.
Satan’s idea of ruling the kingdoms of the world would not be the same as Christ’s rulership. Jesus will rule as a servant of all and He will not seek paramount glory like the devil would. Jesus will receive glory, but as one submitted to the will of the Father. So we would say that Satan’s offer only looks like the right end, and because it is not exactly the goal of the Father, its achievement is in a wrong way.
Christians have entered into situations or conditions that looked to be godly but were not. None of us are perfectly freed from being deceived. However, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear, it won’t be long before we realize that the “thing” is not from God and then and there we must abandon it. A lonely Christian enters into a relationship that initially looks like it might be godly, a discouraged Christian takes another job that seems like it may be from God, a bored Christian takes up a kind of entertainment that looks harmless …, etc., and when the wrongness of the thing shows itself, we have to have the courage to make an about face and get behind Christ rather than standing in front of Him.
The true things from God can only be attained God’s way.
Jesus can only rule as the Father’s chosen Servant from Isaiah. He is the one in whom the Father delights (ISA 42:1). He is the one who is to gather Israel back to God (ISA 49:5). He is the one who would have to be like a lamb led to slaughter (ISA 53:7).
Satan’s offer is not a bluff. Multiple times in the New Testament, he is described as the ruler of this world (JOH 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2CO 4:4; EPH 6:11-12; 1JO 5:19; REV 12:9-17). Yet still, the devil can only act under the sovereign will of God.
The Lord’s answer is again from Deuteronomy (16:13), but not before He demands, “Away with you!” Jesus is not just terminating the interview: He is sending the adversary packing.
Notably, Jesus used the same word (hupage) when He told Satan to be gone as He addressed Peter.
But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."
This rebuke of Peter is remarkably severe. Even the body language adds to the effect. Peter took the Lord aside and the Lord “turned” so as to face Peter and issue a public rebuke. Jesus adds “behind Me” to his rebuke of the devil in MAT 4:10. Calling a man “Satan” is unprecedented and it has no parallel anywhere. That it would be done to a lover and loyal follower of Jesus is even more remarkable.
Jesus’ choice of epithet suggests that behind the human thoughts of Peter is an attempt to divert Christ from His chosen course, which is very similar to what the devil tempted Him with in the wilderness. Peter was speaking for Satan while Peter thought he was very good and right in doing it. Any of us might be used in this way when we are ignorant of certain important things, and we always are on some level.
Peter falls for the third temptation of Satan in the wilderness. Satan suggested that Jesus achieve worldly power by an easier course than what was necessary and Peter also sees it this way. Peter’s vision is that the Lord should take power; not lay Himself down to the authorities of the world.
Jesus had just told Peter that he was a rock upon which He would build His church, but now Peter’s lack of understanding has become a stumbling block sitting in between Jesus and the cross. Peter gets in the way of God’s purpose with what is natural for the human mind to think about the Messiah who has all power and authority. Things that seem sure to our human thinking may stand in the way of God’s purposes and derail the in our lives.
Temptation 3: Ambition - grab hold of something “similar” to God’s will. Clue: it can only be had in a wrong way.
The devil has been defeated and leaves the field. Matthew does not say, as does Luke, that his withdrawal was temporary, but the narrative that follows will contain many further encounters with the demonic forces.
Though Jesus is victorious, He is weak and hungry. From many of our fights with temptation we will emerge with cuts and bruises (figuratively) though we are victorious.
Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
The angels thus fulfill their protective role as it was promised in the devil’s quotation of PSA 91:11. They bore Jesus up.
Satan leaves out, “If you are the Son of God,” probably because that title is so at odds with bowing down to the creature Satan.
Still, there is another aspect to this that is easy to miss.
Jesus’ destiny is to rule heaven and earth, not just earth. Satan cannot offer the heavens to Him.
But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up
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