Matthew 4:1-11

The TEMPTATION of JESUS

Jesus was tempted by the devil, too. After He fasted forty days and forty nights, He was hungry, of course. The tempter came to Him and asked Him to prove that He is the son of God by turning the stones there to bread. Jesus responded to him by saying that man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from God. Then, the devil took Him to the Holy City and had Him stand at the highest point of the temple. The devil told Him that if He is the son of God, He should jump down as it was written that “He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike foot against a stone” (in reference to Psalm 91). Jesus answered him by saying that it was also written that one should not put the Lord your God to the test. Afterwards, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and he told Jesus that he will give it all to Him if he would bow down and worship him. To that Jesus said, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’ The devil then left Him and angels came and attended Him. 

MEDITATION:

Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. Fasting means not eating any food and just meditating on the word of God. As we can see, Jesus fasted for a long time that he was really filled with the Holy Spirit. Thus, even when Satan asked Him to turn the stones into bread (take note, Jesus was not just hungry, He was FAMISHED), He did not do it and He resisted the devil.

CHALLENGE:

Can you fast for forty days and forty nights? My grandmother’s sister who is also a Christian said that it was possible. You can start little by little. Start fasting for three days.. after that, try five days.. then, seven days.. and so on.. until you reach 40 days. 

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*Satan knows the word of God and he tries to use it to his own advantage. There are times when he actually causes people to sin by telling them some Bible verses and explaining it to them in an inappropriate way, a way that would benefit him. Still, Jesus fought him with words of God, too.

*When the devil tries to tempt you, there are only TWO things to do:

      1. Submit yourself to God.

      2. Resist the devil.

By doing those things, the enemy will flee from you. (James 4:7)