Matthew part 5

Resistance and Fishing

The Temptation : 4:1-11

Warren Wiersbe reminds us in his commentary on Matthew to not fall into the error of thinking Jesus used His divine powers to overcome temptation. When Jesus confronted Satan, He did so as a human. Consequently, when Jesus quotes “Man shall not live on bread alone,” it reinforces the point. Jesus is fully human and is dealing with temptation as a human. It is why Hebrews says that Jesus faced temptation as we do, and so He is our Great High Priest who sympathizes with our sinful situation.

Jesus understands the pressures of temptation because he faced it just as we do.

The difference is that Jesus has overcome these temptations. Before we look at the three individually, let’s take a second and compare Jesus’ temptation with that of Adam’s. The New Testament, especially Paul, contrasts the two many times because it helps us understand how it is that Jesus has overcome sin and death. It helps answer the question, “Why did Jesus have to come and die?” If God is all-powerful and forgiving, why couldn’t He just wipe the slate clean and be done? Well, there are many parts to answering that question, but one is that Jesus’ coming provided the necessary victory over sin and death. How? Well, let’s look at humanity’s first temptation.

In Genesis 3, we find humanity in a beautiful garden, but now Jesus must face Satan in the wilderness. Adam had everything he needed for survival and prosperity. Jesus has undergone 40 days of fasting and living homeless. Despite Adam’s advantage, he falls to sin’s temptation and plunges the world in death. Jesus will overcome Satan through the Word of the Lord and will eventually destroy the works of the Tempter.

The First Temptation

The first temptation is a curious one. Satan suggests Jesus should turn the stones to bread. After all, Jesus is hungry. Jesus is the Son of God. He could do it, so why not? Is it a sin to feed yourself?

The temptation has little to do with bread and more to do with timing. Jesus is in a period of fasting which was a designated time given to God. He removed food from His life in order to focus on what God had to say to Him. We don’t know what these conversations entailed, but we do know that it was not time for the fasting to be over. Satan is attempting to get Jesus to circumvent God’s timing and will for His Son in order to fulfill an earthly need.

Now, we should remember that the act of eating wasn’t the problem. I don’t even believe performing the miracle itself would have been sinful. Jesus will later perform several food-based miracles. The problem is the timing. It was not time for Jesus to eat. It was time for Jesus to focus on the ministry that He was beginning.

Sometimes in life Satan will tempt us to circumvent God’s timing. Rarely does Satan tempt us with something overtly evil. It’s usually something that we would consider a good thing, but when that good thing gets in the way of what God is trying to do in our lives, it becomes idolatry.

You may have heard it said God answers prayers in one of three ways: yes, no, and wait. ‘Yes’ is always a great answer. We ask; God says ‘yes’, and, boom, we have what we ask for. ‘No’ usually only seems like a bad answer at first. In time, some of the best things in life come because we didn’t get what we originally asked for. The principle makes me think of two things. The first is the Garth Brooks song, “Unanswered Prayers.” The hook states, “Some of God’s greatest gifts, are unanswered prayers.” Garth is a great singer, but his theology needs work. It’s not that God didn’t answer the prayer. He just said ‘no.’

The other thing is one day in the past I was in search of a church to minister. I had been in youth ministry, but I was also feeling pulled toward pastoring. I interviewed at a church in Arkansas, and, at the time, I thought it would be great. It was a smaller church, and it wasn’t too far from where I lived. We would have still had to move, but we could take our time with it. I thought the interview went well, except I had a feeling something wasn’t quite right. They decided to find someone else, and I was annoyed. I kept going, but periodically, I would think about that church, and it bugged me. Then, one day I was talking with my old pastor/mentor, and the topic of the church came up. He said, “Don’t worry about them. God did you a favor not letting you go there.” Now, I still don’t know the details, and nor did I ever want to know them, but apparently that uneasy feeling I had was God saying, “You really don’t want to come to this church.”

‘No’ and ‘wait’ are not bad answers from God. They may not be what we want to hear, but God is too good to give us what we think we want when He knows what we really need. Satan will try to destroy us by tempting us to circumvent what God is doing.

Satan tempts us to move quicker than God’s timing in order to destroy the good things God has in store.

Consider what happens after the devil leaves. Angels come and minister to him—undoubtedly with food as they did for Elijah. Satan wanted Jesus to make some crackers, but God was on the way with Angel food cake!

The Second Temptation

This one is very similar to the first in that Satan is once again trying to get Jesus to perform a miracle in order to demonstrate Jesus’ identity. This time, Satan throws in a verse from Psalm 91. Psalm 91 is a psalm about God’s faithfulness and protection for those who trust in Him. Jesus replies with a verse of his own reminding Satan the Word of God says to not test God. In other words, Satan wants Jesus to do something self-destructive, but lies and says God wouldn’t let the destruction happen.

It’s actually the same lie Satan tells us all the time. “It’s OK to do this self-destructive thing, because God loves you and won’t let anything bad happen.” While it is very true God loves us, He will not enable us to continue in our self-destructive sin. In fact, the Bible is very clear that God disciplines those He loves. In fact, Hebrews 12:6 says,

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.

Hebrews 12:6

Satan tempts us to excuse our sin by confusing ‘love’ and ‘enabling’.

God’s forgiveness is not so that we can continue in our sin and destruction. It is so that we can move away from it and seek life.

The Third Temptation

The last temptation is something of a Hail Mary Pass. Satan takes Jesus to a “very high mountain” where they can see all the kingdoms of the world. Now, of course the world is round, so this is probably more of a vision of all the kingdoms, but regardless, the temptation is for Jesus to bow to Satan in order to conquer the world. It is a temptation very much akin to the first. Why should Jesus go through all the pain and suffering of the cross when Satan can fast-forward Jesus to a supreme world ruler?

Jesus is done playing the temptation game at this point. He sends the devil away with a resounding, “Be gone, Satan!” And for good measure, Jesus quotes one more Scripture to the Adversary. And with this we see how James 4:7 works.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

James 4:7-8a

In each of these temptations, Jesus goes back to Scripture. He leans on the Word of God for clarification of His purpose, God’s goodness, and rejects the lies of the devil. He draws nearer to God and resists the devil. And after three attempts, the devil has to flee.

The key to resisting the devil’s temptations is to return to Scripture.

This reason is why Paul calls the Word of God a double-edged sword in the armor of God. It cuts away the lies of Satan and the confusion of this world. And when we hear the lies of Satan luring us away from God’s goodness and plan, we quote Scripture and tell him, “Be gone!”

The Message and a Fulfillment : Matthew 4:12-17

Some time after the temptation, Jesus hears that John the Baptist has been arrested. Matthew reminds us once again that Jesus’ travels are fulfilling the prophecies of old. This prophecy uses the same imagery that John enjoys in his Gospel. Jesus is the “great light” that has come to the people living in darkness.

While we read this as something of a transition section, it contains a wonderful truth.

Jesus is the Light of the World that brings life and knowledge to those living in darkness.

Whenever we consider the lostness around us, it can be disheartening. We can wonder, “Can God really save these people?” The answer is “YES!” Jesus came to Israel in one of its darkest moments in history. She was surrounded by some of the darkest of Gentile nations. In that darkness, Jesus pierced through to bring light and love to those far from God.

When you consider the lostness around you, don’t lament, pray! Pray for God to pierce the darkness with the light and love of Jesus Christ. And be ready to be the channel in which God demonstrates that light.

The Called and the Crowds : Matthew 4:18-25

In fact, in this darkness, Jesus calls his first disciples. They are four fishermen, which Luke adds the detail these four worked together. Now, the promise, “I will make you fishers of men” has been well examined in churches for centuries. It is a relatively simple statement. You were fishing for fish, but now you are going to fish for people. They are going to go find people who need to hear about Jesus and tell them. They are going to lead an entire population of people to Christ and help establish the Christian Church.

Before we go any further, I must remind us all that this is the call of every disciple. We are all called to be fishers of men. Evangelism is a natural part of being a Christian. Just as Christ used disciples to lead us to Him, so now are we to lead others to Christ, as well.

Jesus calls each of us to go be fishers of men.

And there are many ways to fish. The disciples used nets which fish indiscriminately and can pull large loads. Today, most fishermen like to use bait in order to get a particular kind of fish. There’s also spear-fishing, which requires extensive practice and accuracy. God calls us to fish for men in a similar fashion. Some of us are called to use a wide net. Share the Gospel with as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, in order to save some. Some people are called to particular people or people groups. They have to know exactly the situations, lifestyles, and culture of those people in order to share the message in a way that those particular people will respond positively.

And some of you believe God has handed you a spear. You go and attack them with the Gospel. As I said, that only works with a lot of practice and insane accuracy.

My point is simply this. However God has called you to fish, do it to the best of your ability and don’t be afraid to get better at it. Learning to fish is easy. Learning to fish well takes time. Learning to evangelize is easy. Learning to do it well takes time.

I was at a leadership conference a few weeks ago, and one speaker said this: “Anything worth doing well is worth doing poorly at first.” Evangelism is something that we absolutely must do well. But none of us will be great at it at first. It takes time and practice. So, if Satan is tempting you to avoid evangelism because “you aren’t any good at it,” then resist that! Go tell the Good News. Tell it poorly. Stumble over words. Be unable to answer questions. When you stumble, it gives you something to work on. When you can’t answer a question, it gives you something to study. And the next time you go out, you’ll do better. Do that enough times, and you’ll be witnessing in your sleep!

Evangelism, like any other skill, takes time to develop, so the sooner we get started, the sooner we will be great at it.

The last bit in this chapter describes throngs of people coming to see Jesus. They bring their sick, their possessed, and their heartbroken in order to be restored. Jesus’ fame takes over the countryside while He works miracles. It all started because some fishermen had an encounter with the Savior and started fishing for men.

Today, we absolutely need to see more revivals in this country, and especially in our little town. It doesn’t begin when darkness gets its act together. Revival begins when God’s people get on their knees and pray. They pray for a renewed passion for reaching the lost. They pray for a renewed passion to see lives transformed. They pray for wisdom in discerning when the voice they hear is Satan’s and wisdom to use Scripture to resist his lies.

It is time for God’s people to resist the lies of Satan, get back to Scripture, and go fish for lost souls.