Home Bible Study - Jesus - Tempted in the Wilderness - Day 1

Matthew 4:1-11 - Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,

    and they will lift you up in their hands,    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus answered him, “It is also 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 splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Day 1

In the story of Jesus being tempted in the Wilderness, we seeing Jesus practicing social distancing, however, it was not a self-quarantine.  Jesus was just baptized in the Jordan River by his cousin, John, and when he came up out of the water the Holy Spirit descended upon him “like” a dove and the voice of God the Father spoke and said, ““This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  I love this story, because it is one of the few places in the scripture that we get to how the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are always working together.

Jesus doesn’t get too long to enjoy his baptism because right after he is baptized, the Bible says "immediately" other places, the Holy Spirit leads him out into the wilderness to be tempted.  4:1 is a very important verse that we may need to spend a little time on to make sure we completely understand.  The Spirit led Jesus out to be tempted or tested and I believe this was to prepare him for the trails and temptations that would come at Jesus during his earthly ministry.  We see this often in the Bible.  Moses led the Israelites 40 years in the wilderness to prepare them to enter the Promised Land.  John the Baptist lived in the wilderness, before he began his ministry of public baptism. 

Sometimes God may allow us to be tempted (but only what we can handle – 1 Corinthians 10:13) to get us ready for something that he may be about to do in our lives.  This does not mean that God is angry with us or has forgotten us, it means that God is preparing us for something greater.  Temptation is not a punishment, but it actually shows God's level of trust in us, so he is preparing to use us.

It is very important to point out that God does not do the tempting.  The Devil does the tempting.  This does not mean God is not in control.  God is always in control. God allows the temptation, but he also controls the level of temptation.  As 1 Corinthians 10:13 states, “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.”  So even when we are being tempted, we need to see God’s grace, that he will not let more fall on us than we can handle, but also that he is still in control of all things. 

How do you think Jesus felt right after his baptism?

Why do you believe the Spirit led Jesus out to be tempted?  Why do you believe God allows us to be tempted sometimes?

What did you learn about God and temptation from this story?