Mat 4:1-2 | KingComments | STEP | In Matthew 4 we see the temptation of our Lord. He Who is the born King must first be subject. His right to rule must be demonstrated in His joy to obey. He Who has the exclusive right to command, first takes the place of a servant. If God wants to have a redeemed creation that has enduring stability and of which every part will be without the stain of sin or shadow of imperfection, then He, Who will keep everything together, must be put to the test. The beginning and guarantee of that new creation is Christ. But He must be tested, and in a way no one else will ever know. Before the Lord is tempted, two things have been clearly established in the preceding verses ( ): He is the Son of God and He is sealed as Man with the Holy Spirit. This also applies to the believer. Temptations are part of the Christian’s life. Before we are confronted with them, we see how the Lord has gone before us in this. Christ has to deal with three temptations. In the first temptation He is tempted as Man, in the second as Messiah and in the third as the Son of Man. The first temptation is about dependence on God, the second is about trust in God and the third is about worship and service for God (cf. ). The Spirit, Who has just recently come upon Him, leads Him up into the wilderness into the devil’s presence. The devil is not a ‘bad principle’, but is as much a person as the Lord Jesus. From Genesis 3 onwards he is used to deceiving people by addressing their lusts and pride. He does not find this with the Lord Jesus. God has not placed any special protection around His Son, so that He would remain free from being tempted by the devil. Christ is tempted by the devil for the full period of forty days, that is, as long as He is in the wilderness. Only the last three temptations are recorded in the Bible. In the temptations that the Lord Jesus undergoes, there are two kinds. The first kind of temptation is not general for man, but especially for Him. They are not described because they do not include lessons for us. The second kind is those which He goes through at the end of the forty days. These are the three temptations described from onwards. Such temptations are also our portion. The purpose of the temptations Christ goes through, is not to see if He can sin. He can’t. With Him, the temptations prove that in the most extraordinary circumstances He does nothing other than obey and fully trust the Word of God. He overcomes where the first man in much more favorable circumstances has failed. For after all, Adam and Eve handed down the Word of God to the devil, while the Son of Man withstands through the Word of God. Throughout the entire forty-day period, the Lord has fasted. When He speaks of fasting in one of the following chapters ( ), He speaks out of experience. He is perfectly aware of the enormous power of the temptations of the devil and what is at stake. Everything shows that He is truly Man. Nor is he above the consequences of fasting. He becomes hungry. He goes through everything that can happen to a person.

‏ Matthew 4:1-2

Introduction

In Matthew 4 we see the temptation of our Lord. He Who is the born King must first be subject. His right to rule must be demonstrated in His joy to obey. He Who has the exclusive right to command, first takes the place of a servant. If God wants to have a redeemed creation that has enduring stability and of which every part will be without the stain of sin or shadow of imperfection, then He, Who will keep everything together, must be put to the test. The beginning and guarantee of that new creation is Christ. But He must be tested, and in a way no one else will ever know.

Tempted by the Devil

Before the Lord is tempted, two things have been clearly established in the preceding verses (Mt 3:16-17): He is the Son of God and He is sealed as Man with the Holy Spirit. This also applies to the believer. Temptations are part of the Christian’s life. Before we are confronted with them, we see how the Lord has gone before us in this.

Christ has to deal with three temptations. In the first temptation He is tempted as Man, in the second as Messiah and in the third as the Son of Man. The first temptation is about dependence on God, the second is about trust in God and the third is about worship and service for God (cf. 1Jn 2:16).

The Spirit, Who has just recently come upon Him, leads Him up into the wilderness into the devil’s presence. The devil is not a ‘bad principle’, but is as much a person as the Lord Jesus. From Genesis 3 onwards he is used to deceiving people by addressing their lusts and pride. He does not find this with the Lord Jesus.

God has not placed any special protection around His Son, so that He would remain free from being tempted by the devil. Christ is tempted by the devil for the full period of forty days, that is, as long as He is in the wilderness. Only the last three temptations are recorded in the Bible.

In the temptations that the Lord Jesus undergoes, there are two kinds. The first kind of temptation is not general for man, but especially for Him. They are not described because they do not include lessons for us. The second kind is those which He goes through at the end of the forty days. These are the three temptations described from Mt 4:3 onwards. Such temptations are also our portion.

The purpose of the temptations Christ goes through, is not to see if He can sin. He can’t. With Him, the temptations prove that in the most extraordinary circumstances He does nothing other than obey and fully trust the Word of God. He overcomes where the first man in much more favorable circumstances has failed. For after all, Adam and Eve handed down the Word of God to the devil, while the Son of Man withstands through the Word of God.

Throughout the entire forty-day period, the Lord has fasted. When He speaks of fasting in one of the following chapters (Mt 6:16-18), He speaks out of experience. He is perfectly aware of the enormous power of the temptations of the devil and what is at stake. Everything shows that He is truly Man. Nor is he above the consequences of fasting. He becomes hungry. He goes through everything that can happen to a person.