Overcoming Temptation

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” — Matthew 4:1-4

The Temptation of Jesus is a passage we're probably familiar with, but also one we probably tend to gloss over. One of the beautiful things about Jesus is that He experienced everything we experience — including temptation and even death — and He overcame them all. He provides an example for us as we seek to do the same. That’s what this passage is all about.

Jesus is about to begin His ministry. His whole reason for coming to earth is about to begin. But first, He is led to the desert, where He spends 40 days and 40 nights. This, I think, is the first thing this passage can teach us. Before we can live out our faith, we need quiet time to reflect and talk to God. Frequently during His ministry Jesus stepped away from the crowds, stepped away from His disciples, and spent time alone in prayer. We need that quiet time, time to think, reflect, marinate on His Word, and listen. That should be a part of our routine. We might not get 40 days and nights, but we should be able to carve out 40 minutes.

It is in the desert, after His time of prayer, fasting, and meditation, that Jesus faces temptation. I love what the passage says, “After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” First of all, don’t let anyone tell you the Bible doesn’t have humor. That first line always gets to me — after fasting for 40 days Jesus was hungry. I don’t know about you, but if I get busy and miss lunch I’m hungry. Jesus was in the desert for 40 days fasting, so I can’t even imagine how good a carrot would have looked to him.

That is the second point — we often face temptation during time of weakness, or in areas of weakness. We moved through the season of Lent in March and April. It’s a time during the 40 days leading up to Easter — not including Sundays — where we are supposed to think about and reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice. It’s also a time when some Christians decide to make a sacrifice of their own as a way of drawing closer to Jesus during that period. I have tried — and failed — at this a couple of times. But this year I thought I would try again. I decided to give up sugar. But it didn’t take long for me to face temptation. You see here at church we have a break room on the lower level. Frequently, people will put food on the counter in there that they want to share. On Ash Wednesday, the day Lent began, after proudly making my sacrificial proclamation on Facebook — the 21st Century equivalent of peer accountability — I walked to the break room for some coffee. And what do you think I found?

That’s right, three dozen fresh donuts in boxes for the taking. I had barely undertaken my task when I faced cruel temptation staring me straight in the face. So I did the only thing I could think to do. I picked out a donut, I wrapped it carefully in a napkin, I took it to my office, I waited for my wife to come pick me up, and then I let her eat it and lived vicariously through her. Before you think too highly of my efforts, I will admit I didn’t make it all through Lent on my quest. And I know that might seem like a humorous example, but it’s an example of how temptation comes to you when you’re weak, and in your areas of weakness. As soon as I decided I couldn’t have donuts — or any kind of treat — for the duration of Lent, that’s all I wanted.

In the passage, Jesus was in the desert without food for 40 days. The first thing Satan does is tempt Him with bread. Jesus was weak, and Satan sought to exploit that weakness. The same is true for us. We face temptation when we’re weak, or in our areas of weakness. And it takes a lot of strength, and a lot of faith, to resist those temptations. Which is why Jesus’ example here gives us hope.

How did He respond to this temptation — and to the subsequent temptations in this passage? Matthew 4:4 says, “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” That’s a great response, and it’s also not something He had to come up with on His own. Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3. He responds to the temptations of Satan with the truth of Scripture.

That’s the next thing we can take away from this passage. When we face temptation, we need to turn to the truth of Scripture. Jesus said as much himself in John 8:32 when He said, “Then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Grounding ourselves in truth is a cloak of protection against deceit and temptation that comes our way.

I don’t know how many of you watch “The Daily Show,” but there was a correspondent on that show named John Oliver. He is British and very funny. Last summer he had a chance to guest host “The Daily Show” while Jon Stewart was away. He did such a good job, he got his own “Daily Show”-type show on HBO. That show — “Last Week Tonight” — premiered on April 27. During the first episode, Oliver looked at some of the false claims of advertisers.

We live in the most consumeristic society in history. We are bombarded with messages constantly, and it can be hard to know what the truth is. He talked about the a Supreme Court case where the company Pom Wonderful is suing Coca-Cola, the parent company of Minute Maid, over misleading ads. The cause was Minute-Maid’s pomegranate-blueberry juice that was found to be actually 99 percent apple and grape juice.

The ironic part of the lawsuit is that Pom Wonderful itself has been selling a lie. For years their marketing campaign has centered on the wonderful, life-giving, and life-saving properties of pomegranate juice when, in reality, it’s untrue. In fact, Pom Wonderful was called out by the Federal Trade Commission for making false claims based on dubious research.

But when you don’t know what the truth is, you are more likely to be sucked in by the lie. Consider what Satan offered Jesus. Satan, in his final temptation, offered Jesus the world. But it wasn’t Satan’s to give. In fact, it already belonged to Jesus. Jesus knew the truth of the Scriptures, and it served to safeguard Him from temptation.

Satan wants to tempt us with lies. He wants us to believe the lie and stray from what is right. Knowing the truth of Scripture helps us guard against these lies, and helps us resist temptation. And that’s what Jesus used in this passage.

Finally, I think the last thing we can take away from this passage is what it precedes. Following this time of temptation in the desert, Jesus called His disciples, began His ministry, and gave the greatest sermon in history — the Sermon on the Mount. He did incredible things and had an incredible witness and ministry to the world. And all of it began with overcoming temptation.

Satan not only tempts us in our times and areas of weakness. He not only tempts us with lies and false promises. He brings those temptations to distract us from what God would have us do. These temptations are meant to distract us from our mission. And it is only when we spend time seeking the Lord, recognize our weaknesses, and ground ourselves in the truth of Scripture that we can overcome temptation and embrace all that God has planned for us.

We might not all have 40 days in the desert. We might not all have the kind of grand temptation offered by Satan in this passage. But we all face temptations meant to distract us from what God has called us to do. And we must overcome those temptations and distractions to live out the mission that Jesus Christ has called us to in this world.

Think about what serves to distract you or tempt you from what God is calling you to do. And remember the model Jesus gave us for moving past that, and you’ll be amazed what God can do.