Matthew 4:1 “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.”
Satan’s Gameplan
A man once wrote, “If your enemy brings a knife to the fight, you bring a gun.” I suppose that is sage advice, but Matthew 4 reminds us that when your enemy, Satan, brings a knife to the fight, you bring a Sword. The Lord Jesus was intentionally led “of the Spirit” to be tempted by Satan after fasting for forty days.
What was Satan’s first temptation? “Command that these stones be made bread.” The Lord Jesus was hungry, and the very first blow was about food. Satan always sucker-punches you right where you are weakest and most vulnerable! The Lord’s answer was simple: “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
What did Satan try next? He quoted Scripture! “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee. . . .” The devil knows the Bible. How sad that he knows more of the Bible than some Christians.
Satan’s last shot came down to receiving glory and worship. He showed the Lord Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” You are never more like the devil than when you are keen on yourself. Likewise, you are never more like the Lord Jesus than when you are Spirit-led, Bible-based, and selfless.
Your assumptions and applications today will determine your outcomes tonight. Knowing the Bible is good, but just reciting Scripture will not work against Satan’s gameplan. The devil used weakness and the Word of God to tempt God’s Son, and he will do the same to you. He will use your lack of physical things and your knowledge of the Bible in order to turn them both against you. That is why you must have the right application of God’s Word and the right assumptions about God’s character. Do what you can; trust God to do what you can’t. As you accurately apply what God has said in His Word, you can have the very same power against temptation as the Lord Himself had!