A SERIES OF DEVOTIONS BASED ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 

JESUS WAS TO BE TEMPTED      

Matthew 4:1 “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” 

God led Israel from Egypt through the wilderness on the way to the land He promised them would be their new home. Moses, in Deuteronomy 8:2 wrote about God’s purpose for leading them through the wilderness: “Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands.” If one were grading Israel, they would have received an “F.” Countless times, rather than trust God, they panicked and complained to Moses.   

God, through the Holy Spirit, led Jesus into the wilderness, not to test Him but that Satan would tempt Him to sin. Why would He do that? It was because Jesus was the perfect Son of God. It was because as God’s perfect Son He would not be overcome by Satan’s temptations. Rather, in every instance, He overcame the temptation. He remained perfect. He never sinned. He overcame Satan and remained perfect in behalf of, as a substitute for the sinful Israelites and all of humanity. 

The voice of God when John Baptized Jesus continues to say of Jesus, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Having been baptized as the representative and substitute for the people, Jesus entered into the wilderness to carry out His mission to overcome Satan and save God’s people from eternal death. Jesus was on His earthly journey to lead God’s people into the eternal promised land as God, through Moses, had led Israel into the land He had promised them. 

The vicarious (substitutionary) work of Jesus was front and center as the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. While Israel during its forty years of wandering the wilderness repeatedly gave in to Satan’s temptations, doubted God and participated in gross idolatry; Jesus, as you will see in the next verses never once obeyed Satan. He remained faithful to His heavenly Father. He trusted His Father completely!   

Prayer: Thank You Jesus for overcoming Satan’s temptations in my behalf. Amen. 

O love, how deep, how broad, how high,  
Beyond all thought and fantasy,  
That God, the Son of God, should take  
Our mortal form for mortals’ sake! 

He sent no angel to our race,  
Of higher or of lower place,  
But wore the robe of human frame,  
And to this world Himself He came. 

For us baptized, for us He bore  
His holy fast and hungered sore;  
For us temptation sharp He knew;  
For us the tempter overthrew. 

For us He prayed; for us He taught;  
For us His daily works He wrought,  
By words and signs and actions thus  
Still seeking not Himself but us. 

For us by wickedness betrayed,  
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,  
He bore the shameful cross and death;  
For us He gave His dying breath. 

For us He rose from death again;  
For us He went on high to reign;  
For us He sent His Spirit here  
To guide, to strengthen, and to cheer. 

All glory to our Lord and God  
For love so deep, so high, so broad;  
The Trinity whom we adore  
Forever and forevermore.  (LSB 544)