THEMES FROM THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS AND THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
(a) Describe the temptation of Jesus as recorded in the gospel of Matthew.
(b) In what three ways were the temptations significant to Jesus in his ministry?
A. THE TEMPTATIONS OF JESUS AS RECORDED IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW (4:1-11)
i. After his baptism, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
ii. He fasted for forty days and nights and at the end of the fasting, He was hungry.
iii. The devil came to him saying, "If you are the son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread".
iv. Jesus replied that, "It is written that: 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'
v. The devil then took Him to the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will give his angels charge of you,' / and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'
vi. And Jesus replied him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'
vii. The devil took Jesus to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
viii. He said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."
ix. Jesus rebuked the devil to go away, saying that one must worship only God.
x. Then the devil left Jesus.
xi. And the angels of the Lord came and ministered to Him.
B. WAYS THE TEMPTATIONS WERE SIGNIFICANT TO JESUS IN HIS MINISTRY
i. During his baptism, Jesus reflected on his mission as the Messiah! He examined all the popular ideas about the Messiah and his work and dismissed all of them.
ii. Through the temptations, Jesus accepted suffering as a means of achieving God's purpose, which was the redemption of mankind.
iii. With His victory over Satan, Jesus assured his followers that with the word of God, they too can overcome the devil.
iv. The temptations signaled the preparation of Jesus for his ministry It helped him to explore what his mission entailed.
v. The first temptation was to make Jesus an economic Messiah. One who would satisfy the physical and material needs of the people. Jesus however rejected the idea of bribing the people with material things or performing a miraculous feeding of the hungry and thereby gaining a large following.
vi. In the second temptation, Jesus rejected Satan's suggestion because it meant lack of absolute faith and trust in God! it was to make Jesus appear as a wonder worker confounding the people with his super natural power/gaining cheap popularity by performing miracles and wonders.
vii. The third temptation was to show Jesus as a political messiah who would wrestle power from the Roman authorities and restore the Davidic kingdom Jesus however, rejected the common and corrupt messianic ideas, and chose the path of a spiritual suffering servant to establish his kingdom.
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