February 19, 2023
Matthew 3:13 – 4:11
“Fulfill and Resist”
Service Overview: Jesus not only died to save people from their sin, but to offer mankind an example of what it truly means to live. And here we catch some important glimpses of this in the life of Jesus as he is baptized and resists Satan in the wilderness.
Memory Verse for the Week:
“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4 (NIV)
Background Insights:
- The “what” of God’s speech is highly instructive. His words allude to Psalm 2, where the messianic King is addressed as the Son of God; and to Isaiah 42, where the Servant of God is introduced whose sufferings atone for sin. Thus the address blends what has been termed the “coronation-formula” of the King and the “ordination formula” of the Servant. Both of these figures, the Ruler and the Sufferer, are joined now in the one Person, Jesus. (William E. McCumber, Beacon Bible Expositions, Volume 1: Matthew, 27)
- In each Synoptic Gospel it is indicated that there were three elements in the baptism experience: The heavens were opened, the Holy Spirit descended, and the voice of the Father was heard. The opening of the heavens probably signified that the experience was from God and not from man. More was involved than human actions on earth. Heaven was open; God was moving, acting, and opening up the way for the descent of the Spirit. (Reuben Welch, Beacon Bible Expositions, Volume 3: Luke, 49)
- The Jews baptized Gentile converts, but John was baptizing Jews! His baptism was authorized from heaven (Matt. 21:23–27); it was not something John devised or borrowed. It was a baptism of repentance, looking forward to the Messiah’s coming (Acts 19:1–7). His baptism fulfilled two purposes: it prepared the nation for Christ, and it presented Christ to the nation (John 1:31). (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 15)
- The three texts from Deuteronomy (6:13, 16; 8:3) he cites (Mt 4:4, 7, 10) were commands God gave to Israel when he tested Israel for forty years in the wilderness, the context of the first one addressing God’s “son.” Unlike Israel of old, Jesus as Israel’s representative (1:1; 2:15) passes the tests. (Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 62)
- Jesus came into the world to identify with men; and to identify with men is to identify with sin. He could not purchase righteousness for mankind if He did not identify with mankind’s sin. Hundreds of years before Christ’s coming, Isaiah had declared that the Messiah “was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors” (Isa. 53:12). Jesus’ baptism also represented the willing identification of the sinless Son of God with the sinful people He came to save. (John MacArthur, MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 1-28, 103)
What amazing things do we see in Jesus from this text?
- His identification with those he came to save.
(vv. 3:13-15 | Is. 7:14; Matt. 28:19; John 1:1-18, 29-34; 3:5; Col. 1:15-19; Heb. 2:10, 14, 18)
Jesus was utterly righteous. Paul called him our “righteousness” (1 Corinthians 1:30). He had fulfilled all manner of righteousness from his youth up—moral righteousness, legal righteousness, spiritual righteousness. He was sinless. As such, he had no need to undergo John’s baptism, but he did. Why? Because as the embodiment of righteousness, he purposely identified with the righteous actions of his people. Jesus did not come to John to confess and repent of his own sins, of which he had none. He came to make himself one with those who did submit to the rite in order to fulfill all that the Law required. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word, Luke, 132)
- How his identity was rooted in God’s word and on His authority.
(vv. 3:16-17, 4:4 | Prov. 30:5; Is. 40:8; Mat. 24:35; Luke 11:28; Heb. 4:12; 2 Tim. 3:16-17)
The devil tried to shape Jesus’ understanding of “sonship” (3:17) according to worldly models of power; Jesus allowed Scripture to define his mission. (Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 62)
Notice how the first two temptations begin with Satan saying, “If You are the Son of God” (Matt 4:3, 6), a clear reference back to Matthew 3:17, where God said of Jesus, “This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him!” At the core, temptation to sin is an assault on sonship. Just as the Devil was trying to attack the relationship between the Father and the Son in the wilderness temptations, so the temptations you and I face today are really attacks on what it means to relate to God as Father. (David Platt, Exalting Jesus in Matthew, 76)
- How his resistance served as a model for us in ours.
(vv. 4:1-11 | Mat. 26:41; Luke 4:1-13; Heb. 2:18; 4:15; Ja. 1:12-16; 4:7; 1 John 4:4)
Let us learn in the next place that the chief weapon we ought to use in resisting Satan is the Bible. Three times the great enemy offered temptations to our Lord. Three times his offer was refused with a text of Scripture as the reason: “It is written.” (J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, 19)
In His temptation, Jesus exposed the tactics of the enemy and revealed to us how we can overcome when we are tempted. This experience helped prepare our Lord for His present ministry as our sympathetic High Priest, and we may come to Him for the help we need to overcome the tempter (Heb. 2:16–18; 4:14–16). The first Adam was tempted in a beautiful garden and failed. The Last Adam was tempted in a dangerous wilderness (Mark 1:13) and succeeded. (Warren Wiersbe, Be Compassionate: Luke 1-13, 46)
Conclusion… How can we walk in the way of Jesus today in light of these things?
A. By rooting our identity in Jesus above all else.
(John 15:15; 1 Cor. 12:27; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:10; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 3:1-3)
Christ is not valued at all, unless He is valued above all. (Augustine, Confessions)
Godly living centers not on what we avoid, but on whom we embrace. Anytime we talk more about dos and don’ts than about Jesus, something’s wrong. (Randy Alcorn, The Grace and Truth Paradox, 37)
It is impossible to be a follower of Christ while denying, disregarding, discrediting and disbelieving the words of Christ. (David Platt, Counter Culture, 17)
B. By finding our ultimate fulfillment in God.
(Ps. 16:11; 107:9; Mat. 4:4, 7, 10; John 6:35 ; Romans 6:12-14; 1 Peter 4:1-2; 1 John 2:16)
If Satan cannot change the goal, he seeks to change the route. He always offers an option to the expressed will of God. (William E. McCumber, Beacon Bible Expositions, Volume 1: Matthew, 30)
You and I need bread for the body (Matt. 6:11), but we must not live by physical bread alone. We also need food for the inner person to satisfy our spiritual needs. This food is the Word of God (Ps. 119:103; Jer. 15:16; 1 Peter 2:2). What digestion is to the body, meditation is to the soul. As we read the Word and meditate on it, we receive spiritual health and strength for the inner person, and this enables us to obey the will of God. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 148)
C. By looking to Jesus’ triumph as an example of our own.
(Mat. 4:1-11; 1 Cor. 10:13; Eph. 6:11; Heb. 2:18; James 1:2-4; 4:7; 1 Peter 4:12; 1 John 4:4)
We have at our disposal the same spiritual resources that Jesus used when He faced and defeated Satan: prayer (Luke 3:21–22), the Father’s love (Luke 3:22), the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:1), and the Word of God (“It is written”). Plus, we have in heaven the interceding Savior who has defeated the enemy completely. Satan tempts us to bring out the worst in us, but God can use these difficult experiences to put the best into us. Temptation is Satan’s weapon to defeat us, but it can become God’s tool to build us (see James 1:1–8, 13–17). (Warren Wiersbe, Be Compassionate: Luke 1-13, 47)
The temptations [Jesus] faced are precisely the ones that underlie our own. We meet the temptation to doubt our own relationship to God or turn away from filial dependence upon the Father, to deny in subtle ways Christian sonship. And like our Lord, we experience the temptation to turn away from the path of obedience and servanthood. His struggles were His own and His victories were His own. Nevertheless in His triumph we may share and learn from Him how to persevere in the wilderness of our own testings. (Reuben Welch, Beacon Bible Expositions, Volume 3: Luke, 55)
Gospel Application…
In overcoming temptation, Jesus not only identifies with all those who face it, but is able to save all those who give into it, by having gone through it, without succumbing to it.
(Ps. 51:5; Rom. 5:12–19; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 7:27; 9:22; 10:10; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5)
The encounter of Christ and Satan was the greatest combat which has ever taken place on the face of the earth, and by far the most important. If Christ had failed at any point, we would have no hope of resisting temptation (the Eichmann in us) or of receiving salvation. Our Lord was, of course, victorious. As we look at his victory, we look at ours. What was the nature of Christ’s three temptations? How did he resist them? (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word, Mark, 41)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- What is the difference between regretful confession and true repentance?
- How do we see all three members of the Trinity present in Matthew 3:15-17?
- Why was Jesus baptized if He had no sin?
- What is the difference between resolving to be good before salvation and resolving to obey God after salvation?
- Of Satan’s three temptations in this passage, which one do you struggle with the most? What promise from Scripture might help you battle that temptation?
Quotes to note…
The essence of following Christ, as initially displayed in baptism, is death to self and to every effort to improve yourself by obeying God in your own strength and resolve. Don’t look to yourself; trust in Christ. (David Platt, Exalting Jesus in Matthew, 65)
Mention of the “schemes” of the devil reminds us of the trickery by which evil and temptation present themselves in our lives. Evil rarely looks evil until it accomplishes its goal; it gains entrance by appearing attractive, desirable, and perfectly legitimate. It is a baited and camouflaged trap. (Klyne Snodgrass, NIV Application Commentary-Ephesians, 339)
Christian maturity is not indicated by the infrequency of temptation but by the infrequency of succumbing to temptation. (Douglas Moo, James, 76)
He that would be conformed to Christ’s image, and become a Christlike man, must be constantly studying Christ Himself. (J.C. Ryle, Holiness, 192)
The devil’s single purpose is to frustrate the plan of God and to usurp the place of God. He therefore continually attacks Christ and all who belong to Him. (John MacArthur, Matthew 1-28, 113)
We must not count temptation a strange thing. “The disciple is not greater than his master, nor the servant than his Lord.” If Satan came to Christ, he will also come to Christians. (J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, 19)
The devil offers worldly models for what it means to be God’s “son” (4:3); trusting the Father’s voice (3:17), Jesus defines his mission instead from Scripture. (Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 62)
One victory never guarantees freedom from further temptation. If anything, each victory we experience only makes Satan try harder. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 17)
No person is too low for God to deliver. Someone may feel that his personal moral (or immoral) life is so bizarre that there is no hope. But the Holy Trinity disagrees. A man or woman, perhaps you, may be in such a relational quagmire that he or she feels utterly beyond understanding and grace. He or she is wrong! The gospel is the good news of a divinely wrought righteousness made available by faith through the power of God. The Trinity delights to save the “unsaveable.” What cheer this brings to fallen sinners—to all of us! What hope is ours! (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word, Luke, 137)
God has given us His Spirit, the same Spirit who led Jesus not only into the wilderness, but also through the wilderness unscathed. This same Spirit is alive in you! You cannot triumph over temptation, but Christ can. And Christ is in you, the hope of glory (Col 1:27). (David Platt, Exalting Jesus in Matthew, 83)
There are no new temptations—just new ways of succumbing to old temptations. (David Platt, Exalting Jesus in Matthew, 78)