The Gospel According to Matthew
Copyright© 2006, Darroll Evans
Following His baptism, The
Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness.
It was there that He would be tempted by the Devil.
After Jesus fasted
forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.
At the time of His wilderness hunger Satan came to tempt Jesus.
Satan does not
tempt us during times of godly strength.
He tempts us during our times of hunger.
What is your
greatest hunger?
Do you hunger
fame, wealth, or personal glory?
It is at the times
of your greatest hunger that Satan will come.
Satan may offer what God is willing to freely give, or at least he will
seem to offer it to you.
In this case,
Satan offered what already belonged to Jesus, because He was God the Son.
Jesus was tempted
three times in the wilderness.
All these temptations are
based in ego. Satan began his temptation
by saying, “If you are the
Son of God, turn these rocks into bread.”
The first thing Satan does is
challenge Jesus’ position in the Kingdom.
Human ego would have us
say, “Certainly we are
children of God, let us show
you how powerful we are.”
Satan said, “If You
are the Son of God----prove it!”
But Jesus did not fall into
the ego trap. Jesus responded with, “It is written, ‘Man shall not
live on bread alone, but on every word from the mouth of God.’”
Jesus did not say, “Sure I’m the Son of God. Watch this.”
If we respond to temptation
with human responses we will fail! Jesus
used the word of God, the same word of God that is available to us.
Then the devil then took
Jesus into the holy city,
Satan said, "If You
are the Son of God, jump. It is written, 'He will give His
angels charge concerning You. And, they will lift You
up with their hands lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
This temptation is bases in a
combination of ego and self-worth. Many
think highly of themselves.
Jesus quoted Scripture, so
Satan quoted it back to Him. Satan
quoted Psalm 91:11-12. Quoting Scripture
is not a sign of righteousness or righteous intent.
But, Jesus was
ready and said, “It is written again!” Scripture may be quoted out of context or
with the wrong purpose. We must be ready
to respond.
The Lord told
Satan, “It is written again,
‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”
Lastly, Satan took
Him to a high mountain showing Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their
glory. There, Satan promised, “I will
give You all these---if You fall down and worship me.”
This temptation is
based in ego and greed.
Here is where I
part company with many commentary writers.
Could Satan have
delivered on that promise?
Absolutely not!
Psalm 50:10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand
hills.
Ezekiel 18:4a Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of
the father, so also the soul of the son is mine:
Travis Ogletree, the writer of Abiding Logos, has written
concerning this confrontation, “In light of all that we have said thus far, I
am taken to a wilderness with wild beast and I see a man alone who is fasting
and growing hungry. This man is approached by the spirit that operates in the
children of disobedience. This spirit does not come with an assault of some
demonic force, the spirit does not even open his
dialogue with an insult. He questions a truth and plays on the temptation of
hunger. The response to this begins with three words: IT IS WRITTEN! (Matt.
4:4).
“In the next
attempt this spirit takes what is written and poses yet another question, but
once more the response begins with the same three words: IT IS WRITTEN! (Matt.
4:7).
“This spirit
speaks a third time and he offers a proposition, but the response is once more
drawn from the scriptures: GET THEE HENCE, SATAN: FOR IT IS WRITTEN...! (Matt.
4:10).
“Rather than
rebuking the devil, the Lord simply said, “IT IS WRITTEN.”
IF THE LIVING WORD
USED THE WRITTEN WORD IN HIS HOUR OF TEMPTATION, WHY THEN WOULD IT BE CARNAL
AND UNSPIRITUAL FOR WE WHO ARE CALLED LIVING EPISTLES TO USE THE SCRIPTURES?”
There are two
rules we must understand.
Rule # 1---God is
in charge!
Rule # 2---If
there is any question, always refer to rule #1!
Some seem to think
that if Satan could not deliver on his offers, there was no temptation. All temptation is based on the lies of Satan.
The Bible is
explicit. It tells us that Lucifer is a
liar, and the father of it (John 8:44).
His promises are not true. Satan
tempts us with promises of greatness, but all he can deliver is ruin.
There are many
verses Jesus could have used to defeat Satan, but He addressed to question of
worship. Satan is not worthy of our
worship, no matter what he promises.
Jesus said, “Go away Satan! Because it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him!’”
Matthew 4:11 Then the devil leaveth
him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
At that point, the
devil left Him, and angels came and ministered unto him. They are waiting to
minister to us.
Matthew 4:12-16
12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into
prison, he departed into
13 And leaving
14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
15 The
16 The people which sat in
darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of
death light is sprung up.
Hearing that John had been
taken into custody, Jesus returned to
That area was inhabited in
the day of the judges by members of the tribes of Zebulun
and Naphtali. It is the northern area of
current
Jesus’ work within the mainly
Gentile area of Israel was to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy.
Isaiah 9:1-2
1 But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times
He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of
Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of
the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
2 The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a
dark land, the light will shine on them. (NASB)
Isaiah 9:2 The
people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the
land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. (KJV)
It is difficult for many to
understand, but all of Jesus’ life was built on Hebrew prophecy.
Let me say that understanding
prophecy is a matter of connecting the dots.
Many don’t take the time in study or prayer to understand that there are
dots to connect. God has given us a
complete overview of His plan for the ages, and yet most Christians have not
studied that plan.
Matthew 4:17 From that time
Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand.
Jesus’ move to
Matthew 4:18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee,
saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net
into the sea: for they were fishers.
This is the basis
for Billy Graham’s call to accept Jesus openly.
His Apostles were called openly and they responded openly. Do you believe in an open invitation and
acceptance?
Matthew 4:19-20
19 And he saith unto them,
Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed
him.
The first Apostles
were small businessmen. They heard
Christ’s call and responded immediately.
Matthew 4:21-22
21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of
Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending
their nets; and he called them.
22 And they immediately left the ship and their
father, and followed him.
First,
Peter and Andrew, then James and John. All left their fishing
businesses and joined Jesus without hesitation.
Matthew 4:23 And Jesus went
about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of
the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among
the people.
With His
followers, Jesus traveled around
Does your Church
believe in healing? If not, you are
missing a great blessing, and you are hearing only a partial gospel.
Some of my friends
do not believe in healing. Without
healing there can be no salvation. Salvation is the greatest healing. Besides, I have personally seen and
experienced too many miracles to believe that the age of miracles is dead.
Matthew 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria:
and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases
and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
Look at what is
written in this verse.
The news of Jesus’
healing power spread into
Matthew 4:25 And there
followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and
from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond
Large crowds followed
Christ. They came from Galilee,
Decapolis,