Matthew 4:1. Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
He had just been baptized, the Spirit of God had descended upon him, and the Father had borne witness to him, saying, «This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,» yet, immediately after all that, he was led into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. So, after your times of sweetest fellowship with God, after the happiest enjoyment of gospel ordinances. After the sealing of the Spirit within your hearts, you must expect to be tempted of the devil. You must not suppose that, in your Christian life, all will be sweetness, that all will be spiritual witness-bearing. You have to fight the good fight of faith, and your great adversary will not be slow to begin the encounter. You are a pilgrim in a strange land, so you must expect to find rough places on the road to heaven. Yet, since you are so much weaker than your Master was, you will do well to pray the prayer that he taught to his disciples, «Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.»
Matthew 4:2-3. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him,
See how Satan seizes opportunities. When he finds us weak, as the Saviour was through long fasting; when he finds us in trying circumstances, as the Saviour was when hungry in the desert; then it is that he comes to tempt us. This dastardly foe of ours takes every possible advantage of us, that he may, by any means, overthrow us.
Matthew 4:3. He said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made into bread.
He begins with an «if.» He tries to cast a doubt upon the Saviour's Sonship, and this is the way that he often attacks a child of God now. He says to him, «If thou be a son of God, do so-and-so.» He challenged Christ to work a miracle for himself, to use his divine power on his own behalf, but this the Saviour never did. He challenged Christ to distrust the providence of God, and to be his own Provider; and this is still a very common temptation to God's people.
Matthew 4:4. But he answered and said, It is written,
That is the only sword that Christ used against Satan, «the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.» There is nothing like it; and the old dragon himself knows what sharp edges this sword has. Christ said, «It is written,»
Matthew 4:4. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
God can sustain human life without the use of bread, although it is the staff of life; for bread does not sustain life unless God puts power into it to do so, and he can, if it pleases him, use that power without the outward means. Our Lord thus showed that God could provide for him in a desert without his interference with the plans of divine providence by selfishly catering for himself. So the first victory was won,
Matthew 4:5-6 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written,
Here he plays with the Word of God, for the devil can quote Scripture when it suits his purpose to do so: «It is written,»
Matthew 4:6. He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
The devil did not quote correctly from Psalms 91:11-12; he left out the most important words: «He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways,» but it was not Christ's way to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple. Jesus therefore answered Satan's misquotation with a true quotation.
Matthew 4:7. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
I know some people, who earn their living in employments which are very hazardous to their immortal souls. They are in the midst of evil, yet they tell me that God can keep them in safety there. I know that he can, but I also know that we have no right to go, voluntarily, where we are surrounded by temptation. If your calling is the wrong one, and you are continually tempted in it, you may not presume upon the goodness of God to keep you, for it is your business to get as far as you can from that which will lead you into sin. God does not put his servants on the pinnacle of the temple; it is the devil who puts them there; and if they ever are there, the best thing they can do is to get down as quickly and as safely as they can; but they must not cast themselves down, they must look to him who alone can bring them down safely. With some professors, presumption is a very common sin. They will go into worldly amusements and all sorts of frivolities, and say, «Oh, we can be Christians, and yet go there!» Can you? It may be that you can be hypocrites, and go there; that is far easier than going there as Christians.
Matthew 4:8-10. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Christ will not endure any more of this talk. When it comes to a bribe the promise that the devil will give him earth's glory if he will but fall down and worship him, Christ ends the whole matter once for all. Thrice assaulted, thrice victorious, blessed Master, enable us also to be more than conquerors through thy grace!
Matthew 4:11. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Regarding it as their highest honour to be the servants of their Lord.