The E100 Bible Reading Challenge: The Early Jesus of Jesus: Baptism & Temptation (55)

Matthew 3:13-4:17

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved,^* with whom I am well pleased.’

4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ²He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. ³The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ ⁴But he answered, ‘It is written,

“One does not live by bread alone,

   but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ’

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
“He will command his angels concerning you”,
   and “On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’ 
⁷Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; ⁹and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ ¹⁰Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
“Worship the Lord your God,
   and serve only him.” ’ 

¹¹Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

12 Now when Jesus^* heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. ¹³He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 
¹⁵ ‘Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
   on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 
¹⁶ the people who sat in darkness
   have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
   light has dawned.’ 
¹⁷From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’

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Lead Us Not Into Temptation

KEY THOUGHT

Jesus shows us how to resist temptation.

OVERVIEW

Satan had prepared a trap for Jesus in the desert (4.1). Notice what Jesus did to avoid Satan’s temptations. Each time, Jesus went back to the Word of God, the Bible (4.4). The Bible can protect us, as it did for Jesus, but it can also mislead us if we misuse it, as Satan attempted to do (4.5, 6). That’s why it’s much easier to stay on track when you are accountable to a faithful community of fellow Christians.

CHALLENGE

THE BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE. BEAT TEMPTATION WITH GOD’S WORD.