In Matthew 4, Jesus is tempted by satan on 3 separate occasions. Jesus was tempted the first time, just after fasting for 40 days and nights. Jesus must have been extremely hungry after fasting for this period of time. Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into loaves of bread. I am pretty certain that Jesus would have had no problem changing stones into bread, but Jesus was focused on something bigger. Something bigger than the physical hunger he was facing that very moment.
In order to stay focused, Jesus knew that He needed to focus on God’s Word. Thus we see in Matthew 4:4 Jesus responds to satan’s temptation with “It is written” and then quoted a passage from Moses’ law. Jesus used God’s Word to overcome the temptation that was put before Him by satan. He used this same strategy in Matthew 4:7, 10 on the second and third temptations by satan.
But how do we often deal with temptations in our lives? We often turn to popular opinion, the latest trendy pick, friends, family, social media, Hollywood, and many other things. What we ought to be doing is doing the same thing Jesus did to overcome satan’s temptations. That is going to scripture and using our knowledge in His Word to deal with the issues presented before us.
We should remember that there is a connection between loving God and loving His Word. In John 14:15 Jesus says “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” If we make the claim that we are Christians and that we love God, we must study, know His Word, & obey His Word.
When we fail to love and respect God’s Word, we will soon forget God and disrespect His Word. In Deuteronomy 8 Moses warns the Israelites not to forget God’s Word. But we know as time passed, they forgot, and began disobeying/ disrespecting God’s Word. When we forget God’s Word, we tend to replace it with man’s teachings or traditions.
We must continue to cling to God and His Word even through troubles and trials we face. Jesus passed these 3 temptations in Matthew 4 by relying on God’s Word. We need God in our lives, especially through the tough trials and temptations we face. We have a much deeper need than just physical needs. We need God in our lives.
