BATTLE PLAN
“IF you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle” – from the fifth century BC Chinese battle treatise “The Art of War”. This truth seems self-evident, but that doesn’t mean that we always practice it. No one should go to war without a clear knowledge of the enemy’s strategies and capabilities. On the battlefield, knowing the enemy helps your side to prepare to defeat the enemy forces. But we must also know ourselves- our strengths, weaknesses, and our limitations. Spiritual battle has only one difference. We need to have a clear knowledge of our enemy, his capabilities, and his usual methods of attack- but we also need to seek the help of God. The Old Testament is full of examples where God intervenes and gives the people a marvelous victory. But there are other examples where not calling on God for His help led to disasters.
We discover our battle plan by looking to Jesus, asking for God’s help, and seeking the Holy Spirit to guide us. The Gospel of Matthew reveals how Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. Matthew showed how Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. For these reasons, it is likely that Matthew was written primarily for a Jewish (or mostly Jesus) audience. It’s vital to remember that Jesus was an Israelite (Matt. 1:1-17), so the expectations and hopes of Israel were very real for Jesus. He did not come to replace Israel, but to fulfill what God had always said He would do through Israel.
Read Matthew 4:1-4
Matthew never identified himself as the author of this Gospel. It was the early church tradition that linked the apostle Matthew to the Gospel book bearing his name. However, it is clear that Matthew had access to Mark’s account of the life and ministry of Jesus, because there is some overlap between them. But Matthew’s Gospel is different from the Gospel of Mark in that it contains an introduction and five major teaching blocks of material. All of this material set the stage for the climactic events recorded at the end of the book: the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 26-28).
One of the things that stands out in Jesus’ ministry is the consistency in which He was led by the Spirit of God. In Matthew 1-2, angels appeared to Mary and Joseph, but in Matthew 3-4, the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus (Matt, 3:16) and led Him (4:1). Jesus was empowered by the Spirit of God for the work that God called Him to do. The first verse of Matthew 4 reminds us that Jesus was not a mere man doing good things. He was not a guru or sage. He was empowered by the Spirt of God to do the specific work of God. Spiritual power and authority was critical to Jesus’ ministry. The Spirit’s anointing, leading, and power characterized Jesus’ ministry. The same Spirit helps us understand who Jesus is, what He did, and what He’s doing. So, Jesus had great help with His “battle plan” and the same help is available to us also.
Verse 1 says that “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil”. Why did Jesus go there? What is it about the wilderness? Perhaps it is in the wilderness, away from comfort and ease, where desires are best refined and faithfulness to God is proved. Today, the earthly “wilderness” is where most are tempted. So, it was with Jesus, and so it is with those who follow Him. Jesus’ model prayer says, “And do not bring us into temptation” (Matt. 6:13). The Holy Spirit does not drive us to temptation, but He can. Temptation may come in the wilderness, but it is not the Spirit who brings us into temptation. The Spirit leads us, like He did our Savior, into wilderness. It is in the wilderness that we face trials, experience God’s refining fire, and gain intimacy with our Lord. So, the Spirit did not lead Jesus into temptation, nor does He lead us into temptation. But rather He leads us to the wilderness, where much of God’s transformative, refining work takes place.
The echoes from the stories of the Old Testament in Matthew 4 are too significant to ignore. In the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, God’s people traverse the wilderness on their way to the promised land. It is in the wilderness that God’s people fail in their obedience to the Lord and falter in their faith. In fact, the wilderness is the place of death. The Hebrew title if the Book of Numbers is actually called “bamidbar”, which is translated “in the wilderness” (and we thought it was due to all of the numbers). It is in this book that we read of an entire generation dying because of their unbelief and sin. We see that Moses died because he failed to consecrate the name of the Lord (Num. 20). Miriam and Aaron died in the wilderness too. The difference is that Jesus was faithful to God in the wilderness and resisted temptation (Matt. 4:1-10).
There are other things here that connect Jesus to the story of Israel, such as: 12 tribes of Israel, with a king at their head, and 12 disciples of Jesus, who is the King at their head; Moses waited 40 days on the mountain in the wilderness to receive God’s law, and Jesus waited 40 days in the wilderness; Moses received God’s instruction at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19-24), and Jesus gave God’s instruction in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7). Other connections appear throughout Matthew’s Gospel as well. The point of all of these connections is simply to say that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament and the Old Testament points to Him.
Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights to prepare Himself for the temptations He would face and the ministry He would soon begin. He was determined to complete the work the Father had given Him. Prayer and fasting are powerful spiritual disciplines that remind us that while we are flesh and blood, we are more than mere flesh and blood. Fasting and prayer open us up to God in a unique way, growing our intimacy with Him and helping us hear His voice. Fasting and prayer reminds us that nourishment and health for our lives requires more than food; it requires us to feast on the Lord and all that He is for us. Fasting and prayer strengthen us and prepare us for spiritual battle.
From the introduction to Jesus’ time in the wilderness, Matthew moves us to Jesus’ experience with the tempter. This title connects Satan’s work with the temptation that is mentioned in verse 1- “to be tempted by the devil”. This title “tempter” reminds us that Satan’s work is to lead us away from God, His will, and His ways. And often Satan’s means of temptation is a lying voice. Consider that the voice of God had already declared over Jesus: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased” (3:17). Satan tempted Jesus to think differently- he wanted to split Jesus away from God’s declaration by speaking another word. It is as if Satan was saying “If you really are God’s beloved Son, then do a magic trick and turnstones to bread; fill the rumbling of your empty belly”. Recognizing the mode of Satan’s temptation- his voice- is important to be able to stand firm against him. Satan tempted Jesus three times, with different “hooks”. He tempted Him regarding physical appetites, a desire to test God and experience freedom from pain, and a compromise in devotion.
The first temptation involved hunger and “bread” -turn bread to stones. Jesus response was clear and unambiguous: He would not yield to Satan’s temptation with a statement: “Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”. Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. Our Savior proclaimed that His appetite did not determine His life. He could and would be sustained by the Lord. Tricks like turning stones to bread would not provide the nourishment that Jesus really needed at the time. Jesus needed God’s strength to sustain Him all the way to the cross. As Jesus would later say, “My food is to do the will of the One who sent Me and to finish His work” (John 4:34). Jesus’ food was the will, the work, and the ways of God. He would trust in God and not Himself.
Read Matthew 4:5-7
The devil’s second strategy was to get Jesus to test God. The goal was to get Jesus to avoid pain and suffering (the cross). Satan took Jesus to the pinnacle, the highest point, of the temple in Jerusalem. Sacrifices were made at the temple. God met humanity there through the shedding of blood. But the devil wanted Jesus to avoid shedding His blood at the temple. The devil brought Jesus to this place and encouraged Him to throw Himself down, only to be rescued by angels. The devil actually quoted Psalm 91:11-12 in verse 6 but in a twisted way. He implied that since Jesus was the Son of God, then God would preserve Him and keep Him from pain. Satan wanted to test Jesus’ commitment to God’s purpose. The road to the cross was the path of pain that Jesus was called to walk. The journey to His death on a cross was His purpose in coming to earth. Jesus knew this as well and was determined to fulfill His mission.
Once again, Jesus replied with Scripture: “Do not test the Lord your God”, quoting Deuteronomy 6:16. Although Jesus would later ask that the cup of pain and wrath be taken from Him (Matt. 26:39), He would not be tempted away from the path of pain. His purpose was the cross. The devil attempted to draw Jesus from His mission on earth, His purpose in His incarnation. But Jesus would not be dissuaded; He would fulfill His mission to give His life as a ransom for many (20:28). Jesus embraced the ways of God- from death to life, from humiliation to glorification- and so must we as we follow the Lord. We can always trust God regardless of what may tempt us to think otherwise.
Read Matthew 4:8-10
Satan’s final temptation was to split Jesus away from His pure devotion to the Lord. In short, Satan tempted Jesus to compromise. Satan showed Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world” and Satan promised to give Jesus all of these things if Jesus would worship him. Satan tempted Jesus by offering glory without humiliation. It was a serious offer but it was an empty one. Satan was tempting Jesus with a compromise of worship. Satan was trying to do anything to win and take Jesus’ place – and to gain revenge on God. The Gospel of Matthew is crystal clear that Jesus’ glorification comes through His suffering on the cross. Jesus taught His disciples that to do the will of God, He “must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day” (16:21). Jesus’ resurrection would bring victory and glory. But to achieve the glory that God had in store for Him, Jesus would first suffer humiliation and pain.
Jesus’ response indicated that He would not be swayed, there would be no compromise. This is the lesson for all of us. His purpose would only be met by obeying the Lord, worshiping Him only, and fulfilling the will of the One who sent Him. For a third time, Jesus responded from the Book of Deuteronomy: “worship the Lord you God, and serve only Him” (Deut. 6:13). Jesus chose to devote Himself to God’s ways and God’s plan. Jesus chose the cross rather than Satan’s short-lived, false glory. More than that, after His resurrection, God would give all power and authority to Jesus anyway. Notice that the “Great Commission” of Matthew 28 begins with the key phrase: “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). Jesus said these words after His resurrection, and it was after Jesus’ suffering and resurrection that God the Father gave to Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. He has the authority and got all the kingdoms of the world without Satan. Because Jesus is King over all, He commissioned those who follow Him to go into all the world and spread the news of the great and gracious King who reigns forever.
We should find it extraordinarily comforting to know that Jesus faced temptation just as we do. “For since He Himself has suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:18). But more than that, the Bible declares that we are not alone in our temptations. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin: (4:15). What a strength and a comfort we have in our tested and victorious Savior. As a reminder, the same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is the same Holy Spirit who we can call upon every day. And now Jesus is at the right hand of God to provide the only path to the Father.
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