led by the Spirit

Tempted Like Us

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1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him 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 command his angels concerning you,’

and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 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 I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 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.’”

11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. – Matthew 4:1-11 ESV

Matthew’s account of the temptation of Jesus is not just a retelling of the details surrounding the event. He has an ulterior motive, and it is the same one he has had from the moment he began His Gospel. Matthew intends to support Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God, the long-awaited Messiah, and the rightful King of Israel.

Immediately after His baptism by John, Jesus heard the following words from His Father in heaven: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17 ESV). God Himself acknowledges the deity of Jesus, presenting Him as His own Son and expressing His pleasure or satisfaction with Him. The descent of the Holy Spirit onto Jesus, in the visible form of a dove, was a sign of God’s approval of Him. And it was the Spirit who led Jesus “into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1 ESV). And Luke adds that Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit” (Luke 4:1 ESV). The Son of God was filled with the Spirit of God. And this indwelling by the Spirit would allow Jesus to model the very lifestyle His death and resurrection would make it possible for all those who would eventually place their faith in Him. The same helper, comforter, and advocate who assisted Him in His earthly ministry would be available to all who became His followers.

And we should not overlook the fact that the Spirit of God led the Son of God from the banks of the Jordan into the Judean wilderness. This one who had allowed Himself to be baptized by John to “fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15), and who had received the approval of God, was now being led into the desolate wilderness. Why? Matthew provides us with the answer: “…to be tempted by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1 ESV).

It is easy to miss the weight of those words. But it is essential that we understand what is happening in this scene. Jesus, the Son of God, who had just received the full approval of God, was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness and for one solitary purpose: To be tempted by Satan. This is the one of whom John said: “he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie” (Luke 3:16 ESV). This is the one to whom God declared, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22 ESV). And yet, He is being led by the Holy Spirit into an encounter with Satan, whose very name means “adversary.”

This entire scene appears incongruous to us. It seems strange that God would send His own Son, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, into the wilderness to endure starvation and temptation at the hands of the enemy. Why would God willingly put His Son through such an ordeal? But that begs the question, why would God send His Son to die in the place of undeserving sinners? The temptation of Jesus was just one part of the divine agenda that God the Father had put in place before the foundation of the world. Peter reminds us that “God chose him [Jesus] as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake” (1 Peter 1:20 NLT).

Jesus came to this earth in the form of a man, and in that form, He would suffer and endure many trials and temptations, just as we do. The author of Hebrews describes Jesus as our High Priest, who “understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NLT). Jesus took on human flesh, so that He might be the second and final Adam, the one who would live in perfect obedience to God, through the power of the indwelling Spirit of God. And the apostle Paul reminds us of the ramifications of Adam’s disobedience and Jesus’ obedience.

For just as through the disobedience of the one man [Adam] many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man [Jesus] many will be made righteous. – Romans 5:19 NLT

Jesus had to be tempted and tested. He had to suffer and endure deprivations of all kinds. In order for Him to understand our weaknesses, He had to experience them for Himself. And the very first days of His earthly ministry were going to test whether He would continue to bring pleasure to His heavenly Father. Would He continue to fulfill all righteousness?

And you can sense that Satan had a strategy in mind. The temptations he threw at Jesus were well-planned and designed with Him in mind. And notice that Satan began his attacks by raising questions regarding Jesus’ identity.

“If you are the Son of God…” – Matthew 4:3 ESV

He had used a similar strategy with Eve in the Garden of Eden. He had begun his temptation of her with the words, “Did God actually say…?” He raised doubts concerning the word of God. He wanted Eve to doubt the fairness and faithfulness of God.

In his temptation of Jesus, Satan wasn’t trying to get Him to doubt His identity as the Son of God. He wanted Jesus to doubt God’s plans concerning His role as the Son of God. It had been God’s plans from the beginning that Jesus would suffer and die. Don’t forget what Peter said: “God chose him [Jesus] as your ransom long before the world began.” Suffering was part of God’s plan for His Son, and Jesus knew it. He would later state, “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 28:20 NLT). Jesus knew who He was, but He also knew why He had come. But Satan tried to get Jesus to consider a different way. He was offering Jesus an alternative plan.

And he began by appealing to Jesus’ physical needs. Matthew makes it clear that “after fasting forty days and forty nights, he [Jesus] was hungry” (Matthew 4:2 ESV). So, as Satan is so prone to do, he aimed his first salvo at this apparent point of weakness.

“If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” – Matthew 4:3 ESV

Satan was not questioning the identity of Jesus. He was attempting to get Jesus to operate outside of His God-ordained identity. In a sense, Satan wanted Jesus to prove who He was, but in a way that was not in keeping with God’s will. Satan’s appeal was aimed at what he knew was the human propensity for selfishness and self-centeredness. He wanted Jesus to use His divine power to meet His own needs. But that is not God’s plan for His Son. Jesus had been sent to serve others. He had been sent to offer His life as a ransom for many, not to use His divine powers and prerogatives to meet His own needs. And Jesus responded to the temptation by reminding Satan that obedience to the word of God was far more fulfilling than bread could ever be.

Years later, the disciples would offer Jesus food to eat, and He would respond, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about” (John 4:32 NLT). And He would clarify His statement with the words: ““My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work” (John 4:34 NLT). Jesus was committed to doing the will of His Father, and He found obedience to be far more fulfilling than anything this world has to offer.

The second temptation was a poorly designed attempt to fast-track God’s plan for Jesus’ future glorification. Jesus had been sent by God to die on behalf of sinful mankind. And it would not be until after He had suffered and died, that Jesus would be raised to new life and experience the glorification God had planned for Him. But, once again, Satan offered an alternative plan.

“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’” – Matthew 4:6 ESV

Satan wanted Jesus to skip the part of God’s plan that involved dying and instead to focus on self-preservation and premature glorification.

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” – Matthew 4:7 ESV

But Jesus saw through Satan’s ploy and knew this was less a test of Himself, than it would be a test of God. For Jesus to do as Satan said would have been a blatant testing of God’s will. Would He alter His plan by sending His angels to save His Son from an unplanned threat to His life that was outside of His will? Jesus was not about to test His heavenly Father. He knew the plan, and He was not going to deviate from it.

Finally, Satan offered Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” (Matthew 4:8 ESV). What is going on here? First of all, Satan had the right to offer these things to Jesus because of his position as the prince or ruler of this world (John 14:30 ESV). The apostle John states: “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19 ESV). So, in a sense, Satan had to authority to offer Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, but he failed to understand that any authority he possessed had been given to him by God. He ruled and reigned by divine fiat. And, whether he realized it or not, Satan was offering Jesus what was already rightfully His.

But Jesus wasn’t fooled by or remotely interested in the offer made by Satan. He saw it nothing more than a thinly veiled ploy by Satan to get Him to commit spiritual adultery. Satan wanted Jesus to worship him rather than God. And in exchange for His betrayal of God the Father, Satan was offering Jesus that which already belonged to Him: the kingdoms of the world and their glory. He had nothing to give Jesus that was not already His. And Jesus let Satan know that worship of God and obedience to the will of God was His highest priority. He needed nothing else.

And with that, the temptations came to an abrupt halt. But Satan was far from finished. He had not given up. Luke tells us, “And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13 ESV). The battle had just begun. The Son of God had arrived on the scene, and the spiritual war was about to go to a whole new level.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Bound by the Spirit.

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And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. – Acts 20:22-24 ESV

One of the primary functions of the indwelling Holy Spirit in the life of a believer is that of direction and guidance. He is to provide insight into how we are to live our lives in accordance with God’s will. But His direction is useless if we choose to avoid it or ignore it. Each day, we face the choice of walking according to the flesh or according to the Spirit. We will obey one or the other. And the truth is, the Holy Spirit will oftentimes direct us to do things that seem difficult or distasteful – even dangerous at times. He may prompt us to act in ways that are contrary to our human nature and that appear to be counter-intuitive. After His baptism by John, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, where He went without food for 40 days and was subjected to the attacks of Satan himself. And while that may sound illogical to us, the entire episode of Jesus’ life was part of God’s plan for Him. The apostle Paul would remind us, “the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Galatians 5:17 ESV). The key, he says, is to “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16 ESV).

And in this passage from the Book of Acts, we see Paul practicing exactly what he preached. Paul was on one of his missionary journeys and was attempting to return to Jerusalem. On his way, he stopped in Miletus and called for the elders of the church in Ephesus to come see him. When they arrived, he recounted to them his ministry to them, reminding them “how I lived among you … serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews” (Acts 20:18-19 ESV). And how he refused to “shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable” (Acts 20:20 ESV). Then he shared with them the news that he was on his way to Jerusalem, “constrained by the Spirit”. That is an interesting choice of words by Paul. Some translations use the word “compelled”, while others use the word “bound”. But the Greek word Paul used literally means, “to bind, to fasten with chains”. It was often used in a metaphorical sense to mean “to put under obligation” or “to be bound to one” as in a sense of duty. Paul seems to be saying that he was bound to the will of the Spirit for his life, even though that very same Spirit had not revealed to him what was going to happen to him when he arrived in Jerusalem. All Paul knew was that, the Spirit repeatedly warned him “that in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me”. What Paul was doing was counter-intuitive and counter-cultural. His message was not politically correct and would not prove to be popular among those who lived blindly, yet happily according to their sin natures.

Paul was obligated to do what the Spirit told him to do. He may not have completely understood what the Spirit was saying and he may not have particularly liked what the Spirit was demanding, but Paul “under obligation” to do what the Spirit said. For Paul, obedience to the Spirit was non-negotiable. He would rather die than disobey the Spirit’s promptings. Even if obedience to the Spirit’s direction brought with it suffering, he was on board. He was okay with that. Paul’s focus in life was to do the will of God. Nothing else mattered. Which is why he told the elders from Ephesus, “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God” (Acts 20:24 NLT). Paul had a God-given, Christ-conferred, Spirit-empowered mission to accomplish. It was not going to be easy. It was not going to be comfortable or conflict-free. To do what Christ had commissioned him to do, Paul was going to have to suffer rejection, ridicule, and even physical harm. He was going to have to go places where his message and his presence were not welcome. It would have been easy for Paul to stay in those towns where he received a warm welcome. It would have made common sense that he avoid the more dangerous locales, because if he got arrested, his ministry would be dramatically curtailed.

But we know that Paul’s determination to obey the Spirit at all costs DID eventually land him in jail. But it is from jail that Paul wrote the majority of his letters that we have contained in the canon of Scripture. Had he not listened to the Spirit’s promptings, he would have never had the time to sit down and pen the words that have played such a significant role in the building up of the body of Christ over the centuries. For Paul, life was not worth living unless it was lived in obedience to the Spirit of God. Life lost all meaning if it was lived for anything other than God’s will. Paul wanted to be faithful more than he wanted to be comfortable. Paul counted obedience as more profitable than his own convenience. He didn’t buy into the philosophy, “it’s better to be safe than sorry”. He was duty-bound and obligated to do the will of God as revealed through the leadership of the Spirit – for better or worse.

Filled, Directed and Protected.

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Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. – Matthew 4:1 ESV

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. – Mark 1:12-13 ESV

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. – Luke 4:1-2 ESV

These three gospel accounts provide us with a composite picture of what happened immediately after Jesus’ baptism by John. Matthew simply says Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness. Luke indicates that He returned from the river Jordan and then was led by the Spirit in the wilderness. But Mark indicates that the Spirit immediately drove Him out. Mark had a love for the word “immediately,” having used it 46 different times in his gospel. But regardless of how each of these men chronicled the events surrounding Jesus’ wilderness experience, they all clearly state that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit. The 40 days that Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness were part of God’s plan for His life. And Jesus, determined to obey the will of His Father, listened to the promptings of the indwelling Holy Spirit and did as He was commanded.

What amazes me about this entire story is the very fact that Jesus, the Son of God, was filled with the Holy Spirit and followed the Spirit’s direction in His life. Why would Jesus, as the Son of God, need to the filling of and direction from the Spirit of God? We must always remember that Jesus came to earth as a man. He took on human flesh. In order for the sins of man to be paid for, a sinless sacrifice was required. And while the sacrificial system God had ordained in the Old Testament could provide temporary forgiveness for sin, it was impermanent and incomplete. The write of Hebrews tells us, “But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:3-4 ESV). The sacrificial system was a shadow of something far greater to come. The death of bulls and goats could never fully satisfy the justice that God required. It would demand the death of a man – a sinless man. “Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book”’” (Hebrews 10:5-7 ESV).

It was essential that Jesus become a man. The sins of mankind demanded a payment. But because God is holy, only a sinless sacrifice would satisfy His justice and righteousness. Just as goats and bulls acted as substitutes for the people in the Old Testament, a man would be required to act as scapegoat for the sins of mankind. The writer of Hebrews reminds us, “For this reason he [Jesus] had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17 ESV). So Jesus became a man. He took on human flesh. And when the people of His day looked at Him, that is what they saw – a man. We know from the Scriptures that Jesus was fully human and full divine. He was the God-man. But to the disciples and every other individual, He appeared to be just a man. That is why His baptism is so important. As a man, He followed the will of God. At His baptism, He received the indwelling Holy Spirit, confirming His divine Sonship, but also indicating God’s coming plan to fill every child of His with His presence and power. Jesus, as man, was filled by the Spirit of God. He was led by the Spirit of God. He was protected by the Spirit of God.

Why would God require His Son, the Savior of the world, to undergo 40 grueling days without food and water, facing the relentless attack of Satan? Why couldn’t Jesus have just launched into His earthly ministry without having to endure this painful experience? It was essential that Jesus prove Himself to be morally qualified to act as the substitute for the sins of man. It was not enough that He be human. He must also be sinless. Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness would prove His worthiness. But His ability to withstand the temptations of Satan was not self-manufactured. It was divinely provided. It was the Spirit of God who gave His humanity the strength to say yes to God and no to Satan. In this experience we have a foreshadowing of the same divine power that each of us as believers have received. What Jesus did during those days was made possible by the indwelling Spirit of God. And we have that same Spirit within us. That does not mean that you and I can live sinless lives. The key difference between Jesus and us is that we have a sin nature inherited from Adam. Jesus did not. He had no earthly father. Jesus was born without a sin nature. But we can still say no to sin. We can still live in obedience to God, rejecting the temptations of the flesh, the world and Satan. Why? Because we have the Spirit of God living in us. But we must let Him lead us. We must allow Him to empower us. We must daily depend on Him to protect us. Jesus showed us the vital necessity of the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. He also demonstrated the victory that comes when we willing submit to His leadership in our lives.