When Temptation Comes | The Gospels | Matthew 4:1–11
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Why does Jesus go into the wilderness right after His baptism?
Welcome to 10-Minute Bible Talks,
where we connect the Bible to your life
and the time it takes to get to work. I'm
Jensen Holt McNair. Matthew chapter 4 begins a new section of the book. This is the chapter where we will see Jesus begin his ministry, begin proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Jesus has just been baptized in the water. He's heard a voice from heaven declaring that he is the Son of God. The Spirit visibly descends on him, the heavens open wide. And you'd think that on this high going into his ministry, Jesus would go out and preach or teach somewhere public with all the people who just witnessed this miraculous declaration. But that isn't where he goes. Matthew chapter four, verse one tells us that at the start of his ministry, directly following this incredible baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Jesus goes into the wilderness. And he goes because the spirit leads him there. And we learn that he goes into the wilderness so that he can be tempted by the devil. It's important to note that it's the spirit who leads him and the devil who tempts him. God is leading Jesus into the wilderness, into a time of testing and tempting and But it's not God who does the tempting. And if we remember our author and the way that he has used the last three chapters to set up the foundation that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures, he's come to be what the Israelites couldn't be, to fulfill the covenants they had failed to uphold, to be a leader for God's people, a greater Moses, then we can uncover even more from this revelation.
While the wilderness may not be where we'd expect Jesus to go after such a spiritual high, it's not the first time that we've seen God lead his people in this way.
What does the first temptation (turning stones to bread) reveal about Jesus’ physical vs. spiritual needs?
When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, out of slavery. They passed through the Red Sea, through the waters, a miraculous and a powerful moment in their history. They saw God work in marvelous ways. His presence was evident. But what follows this huge event? Forty years in the wilderness, a time of testing and temptation for God's people. And the next verse in Matthew chapter two tells us that after fasting forty days and forty nights, he, Jesus, was hungry. Forty days and nights in the wilderness. You can hear the echoes in the story, can't you? Even more, Exodus thirty four twenty eight tells us that Moses was in the wilderness with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water.
And he does this as he gets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments from God, before returning to the Israelites to tell them the law of the Lord. So you see that God seems to have this pattern of taking his people into the wilderness, with drawing with him before sending them out. Now, many scholars do make the point that Jesus is at his weakest. He hasn't eaten for 40 days and 40 nights. And it's at this point that the devil tempts him. And it is so true that Jesus is at his physically weakest point. But I don't think we're necessarily supposed to infer that he is spiritually weak. See, it's the spirit that led him here. In Moses' forty days of fasting, it tells us he was there with the Lord.
How does Jesus use Deuteronomy to answer the devil’s offer of food?
Jesus is in the physical wilderness. He is physically malnourished, but God does not abandon him here. He's with him. It's in solitude that Jesus often withdrew to be with God. And so Jesus is about to face the temptations of the devil while he is physically weak in his physical human body, but he is spiritually strengthened. And the devil begins his temptations with the most obvious need that Jesus is facing its food. 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. So the tempter, the devil, is focusing the temptations around Jesus, proving himself as the Son of God.
Now remember, Jesus was just declared so by a voice from heaven. He's been strengthened and led here by the Spirit to do what the Israelites couldn't do in the wilderness, to do what Adam couldn't do in the garden, to resist the temptations of the devil.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why does Jesus go into the wilderness right after His baptism?
0:05–2:04
2
What does the first temptation (turning stones to bread) reveal about Jesus’ physical vs. spiritual needs?
2:04–3:44
3
How does Jesus use Deuteronomy to answer the devil’s offer of food?
3:44–5:26
4
Why does the devil tempt Jesus to jump from the temple’s highest point?
5:26–7:15
5
What is the significance of quoting Deuteronomy when Jesus refuses to test God?
7:15–9:15
6
How does the final temptation (offering all kingdoms) illustrate Jesus’ mission versus worldly power?
9:15–10:53
7
What lessons does Jesus’ victory in the wilderness give us for facing our own temptations?
10:53–12:57
8
How can listeners apply the wilderness‑temptation teaching while staying faithful to Christ?
12:57–14:36
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