Jesus Baptized and Tempted

GOLDEN TEXT: “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” —Matthew 4:10

MATTHEW 3:16 – 4:11

JOHN the Baptist at first declined to baptize Jesus, saying to him, “I have need to be baptized of thee.” (Matt. 3:14) John’s baptism was for the remission of sin, and he knew that Jesus was not a sinner. The Master replied to John, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus sit behooveth us to fulfill all righteousness.” (vs. 15) Then John complied with Jesus’ request.

Water immersion was a fitting symbol of Jesus’ full surrender to do his Fathers will which was that he lay down his life in sacrifice for the sins of the world. This was his real baptism. Giving himself up to be put under the waters of Jordan, his life was in the hands of John, for he depended upon John to raise him up out of the water. When Jesus’ death baptism was about to be consummated he said to his Heavenly Father, “Into thy hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23:46) On the third day thereafter the Heavenly Father, raised Jesus from the dead, as pictured by John raising him up out of the water.

Immediately following his immersion the Holy Spirit of God came upon Jesus, and he heard a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (ch. 3:17) Thus Jesus was given the assurance of his divine sonship, and that the step he had taken was well pleasing to his Heavenly Father.

“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil.” (ch. 4:1) It is understandable that having received such a marvelous revelation of truth Jesus would seek the solitude of the wilderness where he would have an opportunity to reflect upon the “vision” which he had received.

Jesus’ meditation upon spiritual things continued for forty days, and during this time he fasted. Naturally, “he was afterward an hungered.” “Then the tempter came to him,” and said, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” (vs. 4) Satan chose what he supposed would be a weak moment for Jesus, when it would be difficult for him to resist the desire to use his newly acquired miracle-working power to satisfy his craving for food.

But Jesus was quick to grasp the significance of this temptation. He knew that he was not to use his God-given power to perform miracles to satisfy his own natural cravings. He knew that his flesh was to be sacrificed, hence to perform a miracle in order to sustain his life would be contrary to his Heavenly Father’s will for him. He knew that obedience to his Father’s expressed will for him was the only proper course, so replied to the tempter, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”—vs. 4

Foiled in this effort to lead the Master into disobedience, Satan next suggested that he cast himself off from the pinnacle of the temple, quoting a text of Scripture to prove that he would be held up by the angels and hence not injured (Ps. 91:12) This temptation was also prefaced by the statement, “If thou be the Son of God.”

This expression was designed to cast a doubt into the Master’s mind concerning his sonship. But it was only forty days prior to this that he had heard the voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus knew that it would be wrong now to ask for a confirmation of this great truth, because it would indicate that he doubted’ his Heavenly Father’s words. So he replied, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”—vs. 7

Satan then made one more effort to turn Jesus aside from his course of faithfulness in doing his Father’s will. He presented the Master with a mental picture of all the kingdoms of this world, and saith, unto him, “All these will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Jesus’ reply to this temptation is contained in our Golden Text—“Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

Jesus knew that he had come into the world to be a King. He knew that the time would come when all the kingdoms of this world would be under his control. (Rev. 11:15) He knew, however, that before this glorious triumph of his kingdom he must suffer and die so he did not yield to the suggestion of an easier path to glory.

Many of the professed follower of the Master have yielded to this temptation, some of them in joining hands with the state to form the church-state governments of Europe; and others by seeking to please the world, and thus avoid persecution. Indeed, the nominal churches today are seeking new members by alluring them with the advantages to be gained. This is not the way of the cross.

QUESTIONS

Why did John the Baptist at first decline to baptize Jesus?

What great truth is represented by Jesus’ immersion in water?

What is meant by the “heavens” being opened to Jesus?

What were the three temptations Satan presented to Jesus, and how did he reply to the tempter?

Are the followers of Jesus tempted along these same lines?

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