Today’s Text
Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘People do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do 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 splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Psalms 51:1-71
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
Devotion
This Wednesday, February 22nd, we enter into a powerful time in the Church Calendar called Lent. This is a time when some take time to fast, remember the sacrifice that Christ endured on the cross, and prepare for Easter Sunday.
At the heart of Lent is the temptation of Jesus. During the time of Lent, many Christians decide to fast from something that is important to them for the purpose of going through a time of preparation. Just as the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert being tempted by Satan was a time of preparation for him.
After Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended on him, and the Father’s voice called out from heaven, “this is my Son, in whom I am well pleased,” Jesus was led into a time of temptation.
During this time of temptation Jesus’s identity was tempted. In Matthew 4:3 and 4:6, the Evil One states, “If you are the Son of God,” do this.
In the final temptation Satan attack’s Jesus’s identity in a different way, by attacking the right of Jesus’ Sonship that as the Son of God Jesus will rule over everything created.
You see, Satan attacks the core of who God says that Jesus is, his Son!
Something that can be hard to remember, but is a true reality, is that the Evil One is constantly trying to attack the core of who God says we are. In 1 Peter 5:8 states, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
The reality is that all fall into temptation and act outside of the core of who God says we are as his children, but that is where the good news of the gospel comes in! That is the beauty of Psalm 51. In this Psalm, King David cries out to forgiveness after he commitment adultery, murdered a man, and was then called out by his best friend!
The beauty of Lent, after going through a time of denying ourselves, going through a time of temptation, is that we are reminded on Easter Sunday that Jesus overcame the Evil One and Death! Through the death and resurrection of our LORD, we are made sons and daughters of God, we have overcome evil, and that we will be raised to eternal life!
The beauty of the temptation story also provides us with this hope: God can redeem you from temptation today!
Jesus overcomes Satan through the power of God’s Word! God’s Word is a powerful adversary in our battle against the Evil One. The Word of God reminds us who we, it reminds us that we have been redeemed, and it has the power to cast out Satan himself! Just this morning in my personal devotion I was reminded of this fact in Psalm 119, the psalmist states, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
During this time of Lent, I encourage you to be in God’s Word and to trust in his promise that you are redeemed!
Questions
1. How did Satan tempt Jesus? What part of Jesus’ identity did Satan tempt?
2. Why do you think Satan wanted to tempt Jesus in this way?
3. How did Jesus overcome Satan’s temptation?
4. What are some things in your life that try to tell you that you are not God’s son or daughter?
5. How can you rely on God to overcome these things?
6. How can we enter into this time of Lent together as a family?
7. How can we help each other remember who God says we are?
8. Pray together for this time of preparation and possible temptation in your family.
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