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MATTHEW 4 (ESV)

¹ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴ But he answered, “It is written,

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple ⁶ and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” ⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

REFLECTION

• After Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where He overcame Satan’s temptation and demonstrated His commitment to God. Thus prepared, Jesus began to preach, called His first disciples, and demonstrated His God-given authority by miracles of healing.
• If Jesus had turned stone into bread, thrown Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple or worshiped Satan, in order to feed Himself, prove Himself to the crowds, or gain His kingdom without dying for it, He would no longer have been the obedient Son of God worthy of our imitation.
• However, Jesus didn’t take the shortcut to glory, but followed the hard and long path of obedience, lived by God and resisted temptation by relying on God’s word. God’s wisdom isn’t just for us to know the truth, but to obey it.
• What’s your attitude toward God’s word? How do you resist when temptation comes?

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, in these last days, the devil is walking around like a roaring lion, always trying to devour us. We live in the temptation of the world all the time. Please let me understand that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. Let my heart pant for You like a deer pants for streams of water. Let me live in Your Word every day, fill me with the Holy Spirit at all times, and let me follow You closely to serve You, not to follow and serve the world. Amen!

HYMN:

Thy Word – youtu.be/kI1ABsX4Fgo