Reflections

Matthew 4:1-11

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
The tempter approached and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command that these stones become loaves of bread.”
He said in reply,
“It is written:
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.”

Then the devil took him to the holy city,
and made him stand on the parapet 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 with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus answered him,
“Again it is written,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you,
if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”
At this, Jesus said to him,
“Get away, Satan!
It is written:
The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.”

Then the devil left him and, behold,
angels came and ministered to him.


These are a few of my own personal reflections on the Gospel, and maybe some thoughts shared by the girls in our young adult Bible Study. Nothing too brilliant, just some humble observations and insights. :) I will try to do this weekly.

-The devil uses the phrase "IF you are the Son of God" here in the desert temptings that Jesus later hears while He is hanging on the cross. It is interesting to note that the passers-by fling these same words at Jesus in scorn: "Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!" (Matt 27:40)

• I remember reading Jeff Cavins' take on this phrase. That this was actually perhaps the worst temptation in the desert, even worse than the pleasure, power, and possessions the devil "offered" to Jesus. Because the devil is challenging Jesus' sonship of God the Father. Jeff Cavins related it to the devils' tempting of Adam and Eve...and to us today...how every temptation is aimed to destroy our right and good relationship with the Father. Makes us question our place as child of God, makes us question God's perfect and providential love for us, makes us question whether He really has our good in mind. Jesus, by the wisdom, perseverance, and faith You modeled for us in the desert when You resisted this temptation, grant that we may recognize the lies of the destroyer of relationships with God the Father!
• The second thing that jumped out at me was the significance of that phrase used later on during the crucifixion. When is it first used? By the devil in the desert. When was it used again? By humans, simple bystanders at the time of Jesus' crucifixion. The people spoke the words of the devil, while not being the devil. This made me see one of the reasons why God allows temptations. Sometimes temptations are so blatant that we know the devil is clearly behind it. We know it is wrong and that the voice is his. Other times, a temptation can be more subtle. Maybe it is the voice of a friend, for example. Whatever the situation, if we have been tempted and recognize the evil one as its source, we are less likely to fall for the same temptation when the devil uses/hides behind someone or something to tempt us. 

-When satan tempts Jesus to turn stones into bread, Jesus responds: "one does not live by bread alone, but by every word which comes from the mouth of God". Taking this literally, the words that come from the mouth of God are found in the Bible! So when the devil and my flesh tempt me to break my fasts (whatever they may be), I am going to open Scripture and let the Spirit minister to me.

-The devil began by trying to tempt Jesus to misuse His power to serve His own purposes. Jesus doesn't do that! He would never do that. Finally, so fed up with these failed attempts, the devil cuts to the chase: worship me! And of course, Jesus would never do that! How foolish can the devil get!!! Of course we talk about how smart he is and all, but he's also so consumed with pride that he does some really stupid things when he gets desperate. I'd say he was pretty desperate. Seriously...did he really think he could tempt Jesus to sin? He is so prideful. He just wants to"one-up" God. It made me realize...we talk about how intensely he desires our destruction...but maybe the real reason he wants to destroy us and make us fall into sin, and win us over to hell, is because he wants to hurt God, and steal us from God! God hates to see us suffer, and so the devil does everything he can to us because he knows how deeply God loves us.

-And a word of encouragement: All Jesus said was "Get away, satan!" And satan went away. And the angels came and ministered to Jesus. Wow. The devil really has no power. Imagine that. God has given us His power. If we recognize the devil, we too can tell him "get away"! And he will go! As long as we stay rooted in God and allow the angels to come minister to us too in prayer.