Matthew 4:1-11 The Temptation of Jesus

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

It seems strange that immediately after Jesus Baptism, the Spirit who attested him as the Son of God led him into the wilderness to be tempted. We are often so familiar with the stories that we don't let it really have the impact it should have. So imagine what it must have been like. What we've already learned of Jesus in the book of Matthew is that he was descended from Abraham through the Davidic line. He was born of a virgin and an angel told Joseph that Jesus would save his people from his sins. Hostile people tried unsuccessfully to kill him when he was only a toddler, and God saved him by warning Joseph to flee to Egypt. Then the story skips all the intervening years and brings us up to the time Jesus began his ministry. The very first thing that Jesus does in his ministry is to be baptized. As I mentioned in the previous post, by submitting to this rite (which was supposed to be for repentant sinners) Jesus identified with his people. He humbled himself and took on the identity of sinners--foreshadowing that great exchange where his righteousness is imputed to us. Then, after being baptized the Holy Spirit leads him out to be tempted in the wilderness. Let this sink in. Let's think of the who, the where, the when, and the why to help this sink in. First, this wasn't Satan seeking an opportunity to to tempt Jesus; it was God, as a part of his eternal plan, leading Jesus out to be tempted.  Next, it happened right after the baptism and before he publicly started his ministry. So, it was necessary that he go through a testing before he began his ministry. This was a part of the path that he must take to accomplish the goal of God. Then, Jesus went into the wilderness. This is significant. It points to one of the ways that Jesus is the fulfillment of Israel. Just as Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness, Jesus spent 40 days in the same place. Maybe not exactly the same geographical location, but the same term is used. Finally, the purpose of all this is to be tempted. Now this is puzzling. How can God be tempted? Could Jesus have really sinned? Was it even possible for him to fail this test? I don't think that's the point. Again, just like Jesus' baptism, this tempting was another way Jesus identified with sinners. Jesus temptation was a necessary part of God's plan because it was through his temptation that we know that our savior can sympathize with us. The author of Hebrews make this point. Jesus is our high priest and he can sympathize with weak sinners because he was tempted at all points just as we are. This gives us at least two reasons to celebrate. First, When we face temptation, we can look at Jesus experience of temptation and see how we are to respond. We are to resist the devil as he did and as James tells us to. We are to delight in the law of the Lord as he did and as Psalm 1 tells us to. Also, it gives us confidence that Jesus loves us. We can be discouraged when we are tempted and we fail. Yet, because Jesus was tempted we know that we have a high priest who sympathizes with our weakness. He was tempted and he knows what it is like. He knows and has felt the very things we feel, and he went through it all without sin. We know that this one who sympathizes with us is our advocate, pleading our case before the Father. When we fail, this great high priest stands before the Father and tells him, "This one is mine, I identified with him and took his sin. His punishment is paid."

 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.
 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
 (Heb 4:15-16 ESV)

The Love of Money and the 10 Commandments

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1Timothy 6:10 ESV)

This text tells us that all types of evil are rooted in the love of money. One might relate this to the Marxist claim that man is essentially an economic being, yet I think it goes deeper than this. While economics plays a major part in motivating human behavior it cannot be the ultimate motivation. Rather, man is essentially a worshiping being. God created human beings to bring him glory. Money comes into the picture because, as fallen mankind is apt to do, we create an idol out of it. We worship the security and the pleasures that money can bring. As I thought about this reality, I wanted to see how the 10 Commandments fit into this equation. The 10 Commandments are a summary of the moral law, so if the love of money is the root of all evils, then we can expect that it may motivate the violation of each of the commandments.

1. You shall have no other gods before me.

According to Jesus, the whole law is summed up in the commands to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. Yet, as sinful human creatures we fall short. We do not love God as we ought to love him. When we find our security, our comfort, or our meaning in something other than him we have committed idolatry. We are worshiping something other than the one true God. Money is easily worshiped. You don't have to bow down or have religious ceremonies to worship money. You just have to treasure it more than Jesus.

2. You shall not make for yourselves any graven image.

 Initially, this commandment seems more difficult to tie to the love of money. Yet Jesus asked whose image was on a coin in his day. It would be wrong to claim that the minting of coins violates this command; however, when our devotion is to money, our hearts care more for the image on a coin than the image of God in our fellow man.

3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

 If we say we worship God, yet we really only treasure the gifts that He gives. If we value His gifts above Him, then we take his name in vain. Taking God's name in vain is more than just using it as a curse word, it is using God's name emptily. To claim to worship Him when He is not our highest treasure is to violate this command.

4. Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.

 How often do we let our service of money stand in the way of our observance of rest and worship? The principle of the Sabbath is not easily transferred to New Testament believers. Not everyone understands the application of this command for today in the same way. However, at the very least we can say that when we allow the constant pressures to work stand in the way of making time for rest and worship we have allowed money to be our God.

5. Honor your father and mother.

 Jesus connects this command to money when he confronts the religious teachers about holding their traditions above God's word. To honor one's father and mother means to care for their needs and to provide for them in their old age when necessary. The love of money might keep some from fulfilling this duty.

6. You shall not murder.

The love of money might motivate some to kill for it.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

 One might not easily connect the love of money and the sin of adultery; however, when one considers that the from 2001 to 2007 the pornography industry in the US alone went from a $1 billion a year industry to a $3 billion industry, it is easier to see the connection. Young women who were created in the image of God, to worship him, and to bring him glory, are selling their bodies for the sake of the love of money.

8. You shall not steal.

This may be the easiest to relate to the love of money. People will take what does not belong to them because they love money more than they care about another human being created in God's image.

9. You shall not bear false witness.

It is often the idol of security that may cause someone to lie for the sake of personal gain or protection from material loss.

10. You shall not covet.

Coveting = Loving money (or material things) more than God or neighbor.

There are some of the commandments that are easier than others to relate to the love of money. I am sure that there are many aspects that I left out. I merely tried to show that there was some kind of connection to each of the commandments. Beware of the love of money. It is an internal enemy that is capable of pulling us into a pit in which we will be impaled upon many sorrows.