March 22, 2020
WHAT IF JESUS…? – Part 2

“What If Jesus Gave Into Satan’s Temptation”

Jesus is at the

of his ministry.

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. —Matthew 3:16-17 (ESV)

Jesus is coming off this incredible moment, with God supernaturally affirming He is the

of God.

In the incarnation, Jesus gave up none of his divine self, so that he was

God and

Reveal Answer

man.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. —Matthew 4:1 (ESV)

Why would God’s Spirit lead Jesus “into the wilderness to be

by the devil”?

And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. —Matthew 4:2 (ESV)

The Greek word that’s translated as “tempted” means to tempt in order to

, to see how far one can go in order to reveal or develop character.

But Joseph replied, ‘Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. —Genesis 50:19-20 (NLT)

God, who is ultimately good in every way, obviously intended to use this experience for

.

And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God…. —Matthew 4:3 (ESV)

Satan is probably trying to get Jesus to

what it means to be “the Son of God.”

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” —Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV)

…God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. —James 1:13 (ESV)

Jesus, while fully Man, was also fully God, and God

Reveal Answer

**.

Jesus: “… My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. —John 4:34 ESV
Jesus: … I always do the things that are pleasing to [the Father]. —John 8:29 ESV
Jesus: … Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. —John 5:19 ESV

For Jesus to give into Satan’s temptation would have meant he couldn’t be

.

Since Jesus couldn’t give in to Satan’s temptations, it means God didn’t intend for the outcome of this test to be seeing how Jesus would do but instead showing

how he did!

THREE BIG IMPLICATIONS FOR YOU AND ME

1.Jesus

everything we go through.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. —Hebrews 4:15 (ESV)
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. —Hebrews 4:15 (NLT)

2. Jesus faced Satan’s temptations by relying on

and His

Reveal Answer

.

And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. —Matthew 4:3-4 (ESV) Deuteronomy 8:4

What Satan really desired was for Jesus to use His Sonship for

Reveal Answer

purposes rather than God’s.

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on 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 command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. —Matthew 4:5-7 (ESV) Psalm 91:11-12; Deuteronomy 6:16

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ 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. —Matthew 4:8-10 (ESV) Deuteronomy 6:13

Satan seems to be offering Jesus a kingdom, but Jesus knows this shortcut isn’t the

his Heavenly Father desires.

3. If we trust God and His Word, He will

us through whatever we’re going through.

Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. —Matthew 4:11 (ESV)

We will find God’s help, hope and peace when we

_ Him and His Word and strive to live them out in our lives.

Find these resources on Gateway’s Find-It Page: gateway-community.org/find-it
• Through the Word with Gateway Facebook Group: The Gospel of John
• Worship
• Online Prayer Group
• Parent Resources for Kids & Students

We can use these challenging times to drive us to

.

Jesus: The thief [Satan] comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. —John 10:10 ESV

Next Week: What If Jesus Didn’t Invite Disciples to Follow Him?