“The Lust of the Flesh”

TUESDAY
“The Lust of the Flesh”

Matthew 4:1-3
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

Looking at the life of Jesus helps us gain clarity in our own lives. This is a turning point in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus is going to be tested in the wilderness and is going to say “NO” three times. What we see here is that Jesus is willing to say no to the counterfeit offers that Satan makes.

The form of Satan’s question in the Greek text indicates that Satan assumed that Jesus was the Son of God. The Greek conditional phrase assumes that Jesus is indeed the divine Son. To submit to Satan’s suggestion and satisfy His hunger would have been outside of God’s will.

The Spirit of God is leading Jesus. This same Spirit who brought Jesus into the world (1:20) and demonstrated God’s approval of Him (3:16) now led Him into the wilderness for tempting by Satan. First, Satan appealed to the lust of the flesh.

In this first temptation, Satan’s goal was to seduce Jesus into using His God-given power and authority to independently work outside of His Father’s will. Jesus was being challenged to do something apart from God’s will.

QUESTION: Are you trying to DO something apart from God’s will?