Lectionary Central

     

     Home      Back to Lent 1

 

 

 

 

Sermon 17: The Temptation of Christ.
by George Whitefield 
 
Matthew 4:1-11, "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to  be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty  nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he  said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone,  but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil  taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the  temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down:  for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in  [their] hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot  against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not  tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding  high mountain, and sheweth him 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. 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. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and  ministered unto him."    

Dearly beloved, today you are invited to take a walk into the  wilderness, to behold, sympathize with, and get instruction and comfort  from a Savior tempted. In the conflict, he approves himself to be God's  beloved Son; and the Father gives demonstrable evidence, that with, and in  him he is indeed well pleased. Let us with serious attention consider when,  where, and how, our great Michael fought with and overcame the dragon. The  Evangelist Matthew is very particular in relating the preparations for, the  beginning, process, and issue of this glorious and important combat. 

"Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness, to be  tempted of the devil." In the close of the foregoing chapter we are told,  that the blessed Jesus had been publicly baptized, and was also solemnly  inaugurated in his mediatorial office, by the opening of the heavens, by  the Spirit of God descending on him like a dove, and by a voice from  heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;" and  then it was, when he came from the solemn ordinance of baptism; when he was  about to show himself openly unto Israel; when he was full of the Holy  Ghost (Luke 4:1); even then was he led, with a holy unconstrained violence,  as a champion into the field, to engage an enemy, whom he was sure to  conquer. But whither is this conqueror led? Into a lonesome, wide, howling  wilderness; probably, says Mr. Henry, into the great wilderness of Sinai; a  wilderness, not only lonesome, but inhabited by wild beasts, Mark 1:13.  Hither was our Lord led, not only that he might prepare himself by  retirement and prayer, but also that he might be alone, and thereby give  Satan all the advantages he could desire. In this combat, as well as that  of his last agony, "of the people, there was to be none with him." Neither  does he content himself with praying, but he fasts also, and that "forty  days and forty nights," (verse 9): as Moses and Elias had done, many years  before, it may be, in the very same place. All these fasts were miraculous;  and therefore, though we are taught hereby, that fasting is a Christian  duty, yet, to pretend, in an ordinary way, to imitate them, by fasting for  so long a term together, in no doubt superstitious , presumptuous, and  sinful; but few people, I believe, need such a caution. 

During these forty days, we may suppose, our Lord felt no hunger;  converse with heaven, to him was instead of meat and drink; but "afterwards  he was an hungered:" exceedingly so, no doubt. And now, the important fight  begins. For, then "the tempted," emphatically so called, because he first  tempted our first parents to sin, and hath ever since been unwearied in  tempting their descendants; then the tempter, who in an invisible manner  had been attacking our blessed Lord all the whole forty days, when he saw  him hungering, and in such distressing circumstances, came to him, as it  should seem, in a visible shape, and probably transformed into the  appearance of an angel of light. And what does he tempt him to? To nothing  less, than to doubt of his being the Son of God." "If thou be the Son of  God." What! Put an if to this, Satan, after the glorious Jesus had been proved to be God's son, and repeatedly too in such a glorious manner? 

Surely, thou thyself couldst not but see the heavens opened, and the Spirit  descending; surely, thou didst hear the voice that came to him from heaven,  immediately after his baptism, saying, "This is my beloved Son:" And dost  thou now say unto him, "If thou be the Son of God." Yes; but Satan knew,  and believed he was full well; but he wanted to make our Lord to doubt of  it. And why? Because he was in such a melancholy situation. As though he  had said, "If God was thy father, he would never suffer thee to starve to  death in a howling wilderness, among wild beasts. Surely, the voice thou  lately didst hear, was only a delusion. If thou wast the Son of God,  especially his beloved Son, in whom he was so pleased, thou wouldst be  taken more care of by him." Thus he attacked our first parents, by  suggesting to them hard thoughts of their all-bountiful Creator: "Yea, hath  God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree in the garden?" "Hath he placed  you amidst such a variety of delicious fruits, only to tease and make you  miserable?" And how artfully now does he labor to insinuate himself into  our Lord's affections, as he then did to ingratiate himself with our first  parents. "If thou be the Son of God, says he, come, prove it, by commanding  these stones (a heap of which, probably, lay very near) to be made bread:  this will demonstrate thy divinity, and relieve thy pressing necessity at  the same time." Thus, as in all his other temptations, Satan would fain  appear to be his very kind friend; but the holy Jesus saw through the  disguised enmity of his antagonist; and scorning either to distrust his  righteous Father on the one hand, or to work a miracle to please and  gratify the devil on the other, although he had the Spirit of God without  measure, and might have made use of a thousand other ways, yet answers him  with a text of scripture: "It is written, that man shall not live by bread  alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." This is  a quotation from Deuteronomy 8:3, and contains a reason given by the great  God, why he chose to feed the Israelites with manna; that they might learn  thereby, man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that  proceedeth out of the mouth of God. This our blessed Lord here applies to  himself; and his being in the wilderness, made the application of it still  more pertinent. Israel was God's son: out of Egypt was he called to sojourn  in the wilderness, where he was miraculously supported. And therefore our  Lord, knowing that he was typified by this Israel, and that, like them, he  was now in a wilderness, quotes this scripture as a reason why he should  not, at Satan's suggestion, either despair of receiving help from his  Father in his present circumstances, or distrust the validity of his late  manifestations, or make use of any unwarrantable means for his present  relief. For as God was his father, he would, therefore, either in an  ordinary way spread a table for him in the wilderness, or support and  sustain him, as he did his Israel of old, in some extraordinary way or  other without it: "For man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word  that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." 

Thus is the tempter foiled in the first onset; but he hath other  arrows in his quiver, with which he will farther strive to wound the  immaculate Lamb of God. Since he cannot draw him in either to distrust, or  despair, he will not try if he cannot prevail on him to presume. In order  to effect this, "He taketh the blessed Jesus up into the Holy City," or  Jerusalem, called by our Savior, the city of the Great King, and here  called holy, because the holy temple was in it, and, we would hope, many  holy people. This was a populous place, and therefore, would greatly  befriend the devil's design. And not only so, but "he setteth him on a  pinnacle," a battlement or wing, "of the temple," the top of which was so  very high, that, as Josephus observes, it would make a man's head run giddy  to look down from it. And some think this was done at the time of public  worship. How the holy Jesus suffered himself to be taken hither; whether he  was transported through the air, or whether he followed Satan on foot, is  uncertain; but certainly it was an instance of amazing condescension in our  Lord, that he would permit so foul a fiend, to carry or lead his holy body  about in this manner. Well! Satan hath now gotten him upon the pinnacle of  the temple, and still harping upon this old string, "If thou be the Son of  God, (says he) cast thyself down," and thereby show to this large  worshipping assembly, (who will assuredly then believe) that thou art God's  beloved Son, under the special protection of heaven, and art the Messiah, 

"who was to come into the world." This was artful, very artful. But he seems to improve in cunning: for he brings his Bible with him, and backs  his temptation with a text of scripture; "For it is written, (says he) he  shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall  bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." But is  Saul also among the prophets? Does the devil quote scripture, yea, and  seemingly such a very apposite [appropriate] one too? I suspect some  design, without doubt: for herein, he would mimic our Lord, who, he  perceived, intended to fight him with this weapon; and not liking the sharp  edge of it, he thought that if he quoted scripture, the Lord Jesus would  not employ it against him any more. "It is written, (therefore said he) he  shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall  bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone: and  therefore, since thou art sure of such protection, thou needst not fear to  cast thyself down." This was plausible, and by the length of it, one would  be apt to imagine, it was a fair quotation; but Satan takes care, not only  to misapply, but also to maim it, purposely omitting these important words,  "in all thy ways." It is true, God had given charge to his angels,  concerning his children in general, and his beloved Son in particular, that  they should keep him in all his ways; but, if our Lord had at this time, at  the devil's request, and to gratify pride, thrown himself down from the  pinnacle, and thereby unnecessarily presumed on his Father's protection, he  would not have been in God' s way, and therefore, would have had no right  to the promised protection at all. Satan was aware of this, and therefore  fitly left out what he knew would not suit his purpose. But is scripture  the worse, for being abused or perverted by the devil, or his emissaries?  No, in no wise. Our Lord, therefore, lets him know, that he should not  throw aside this important weapon upon this account, but puts by this home  thrust, with another scripture: "It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt  the Lord thy God." Still our Lord quotes something out of the book of  Deuteronomy, and hath his eye upon Israel in his wilderness state.  Originally these words were directed to the Israelites in general, and  accordingly are in the plural number; but here our Lord, as before, makes a  particular application of them to himself: Satan bids him cast himself  down, assuring him, God had promised in his word, to order his angels to  take care of him. Now, says our Lord, "It is written in another part of his  word, that the Israelites should not tempt the Lord their God, by  distrusting his goodness on the one hand, or presuming on his protection on  the other. And, therefore, as I would not command the stones to be made  bread, needlessly and distrustfully set up to provide for myself; neither  will I now presume unnecessarily upon God's power, by casting myself down,  though placed by thee in such a dangerous situation. 

Thus our great Michael comes off conqueror in the second assault. And  doth not the serpent feel his head bruised enough yet? Not at all: on the  contrary, being more and more enraged at such unusual opposition, and want  of success, "He again taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, (what  mountain is not very material) and showeth him all the kingdoms of the  world, and the glory of them," St. Luke adds, "in a moment of time:" which  confirms the common conjecture, that Satan did not show our Lord really the  kingdoms of the world, (for that must have taken up more time) but only  took him up into an exceeding high mountain to humor the thing, and by  exerting his utmost art, impressed on our Lord's imagination all at once, a  very strong, and to any but innocence itself, a very striking prospect of  the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; not the cares: that would  not serve Satan's turn. He showed our Savior crowns, but never told him  those crowns were gilded [inlaid] with thorns; "He showed him, (says Mr.  Henry, my favorite commentator) as in a landscape, or airy representation  in a cloud, such as that great deceiver could easily frame and put  together, the glorious and splendid appearance of princes, their robes and  retinue, their equipage and lifeguards; the pomps of thrones and courts,  and stately palaces; the sumptuous buildings in cities; the gardens and  fields about the country feats, with the various instances of their wealth,  pleasure, and gaiety; so as might be most likely to strike the fancy, and  excite the admiration and affection. Such was this show." Our Savior very  well knew it, only lets Satan go to the full length of his string, that his  victory over him might be the more illustrious. And now, says the devil, 

"All these things ( a mighty all indeed; a mere imaginary bubble!) will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.  

He would fain have it taken for granted, that he had succeeded in the two preceding temptations:  "Come, thou seest thou art not the Son of God, or if thou art, thou seest  what an unkind Father he is; thou art here in a starving condition,  therefore take my advice, disown thy relation to him, set up for thyself,  call me father, ask of me blessings, and all these will I give thee; while  all that I desire in return, is but a bow, only fall down and worship me."  Here Satan discovers himself with a witness: this was a desperate parting  stroke, indeed. It is not high time for thee, O thou enemy of souls, to be  commanded to depart! Filled with a holy resentment at such hellish treatment, and impatient of the very thought of settling up for himself, or  alienating the least part of his heart and affections from his Father, or  dividing them between his God and the world; "Then said Jesus unto him, Get  thee hence, Satan, (I know thee who thou art, under all thy disguises) get  thee hence, thou grand adversary; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the  Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve; this is the great commandment  of the law; this is the commandment my Father gave unto his Israel of old,  and wouldst thou have me, who came to fulfill the law and the prophets,  thus shamefully be a transgressor of it? Get thee hence, I will bear thy  insolence no longer: thy other temptations were hellish, like thyself, but  this intolerably so; get thee therefore hence, Satan: my heavenly Father is  the Lord my God, and him only will I serve." 

And now the battle is over; the important combat is ended; Jesus hath  won the field: Satan is routed and totally put to flight. "Then," when the  devil found that Jesus could withstand even the golden bait, the lust of  the eye and pride of life, in the two last, as well as the lust of the  flesh in the first temptation, despairing of the least success, and quite  stunned with that all-powerful GET THEE HENCE, SATAN, "he leaveth him." 

Hell, we may well suppose, like the Philistines of old, was  confounded, and gave a horrible groan, when they saw their great Goliath,  in whom they had so long trusted, thus shamefully and totally defeated in  no less than three pitched battles. The first Adam was attacked but once,  and was conquered; but the second Adam, though thus repeatedly assaulted,  comes off without the least sin, not only conqueror, but more than  conqueror. Think you not, that there was joy, joy unspeakable in heaven,  upon this glorious occasion? Think you not that the angels, those sons of  God, and the multitude of the heavenly host, who shouted so loud at our  Lord's birth, did not repeat, if possible, with yet greater ecstasy, that  heavenly anthem, "Glory be to God in the highest." For a while they were  only spectators, orders, we may suppose, being issued out, that they should  only wait around, but not relieve their praying, fasting, tempted Lord; but  now the restraint is removed: Satan departs, and "behold, angels came and  ministered unto him;" they came to administer to his bodily necessities,  and to congratulate him upon the glorious and complete victory which he had  gained: some of them, it may be, had done this kind office for Elijah long  ago; and with unspeakably greater joy, they repeat it to the Lord of Elijah  now. His Father sends him bread from heaven; and by this lets him know,  that notwithstanding the horrid temptations with which he had been  attacked, he is his own beloved son, in and with whom he was well pleased. 

And was there joy in heaven on this happy occasion? What equal, and if  possible, what infinitely greater joy ought there to be among the children  of God here on earth? For we should do well to remember, that our blessed  Lord in this great fight with, and conquest over the dragon, acted as a  public person, as a federal head of his mystical body the church, even the  common representative of all believers. We may therefore from this blessed  passage gather strong consolations; since by our Lord's conquest over  Satan, we are thereby assured of our own, and in the mean while can apply  to him as a compassionate High Priest, who was in all things tempted as we  are, that he might experimentally be enabled to succor us when we are  tempted. 

Who, who after hearing of or reading this, can think themselves hardly  used, or utterly cast off by God, because they are tempted to self-murder,  blasphemy, or any other horrid and shocking crimes? Who can wonder at wave  being permitted to come upon wave, and one trial to follow upon the back of  another? Who can admire, that Satan follows them to holy ordinances, and tempts them to doubt of the reality of all their manifestations, and of their being God's children, even after they have enjoyed the most intimate  and delightful communion with their heavenly Father? Was not our Lord  treated thus? And "shall the servant be above his Lord, or the disciple  above his Master?" No, it is sufficient that the servant be as his Lord,  and the disciple as his Master. 

But not to dwell on a general improvement, let us see what particular  lessons may be learned from this affecting portion of holy writ. 

And FIRST, was our Lord thus violently beset in the wilderness? Then  we may learn, that however profitable solitude and retirement may be, when  used in due season, yet when carried to an extreme is hurtful, and rather  befriends than prevents temptation. Woe be to him that is thus always  alone; for he hath not another to lift him up when he falleth, or to advise  with when he is tempted. As a hermit in America once told me, when I asked  him whether he found that way of life lessened his temptations: "Dost not  thou know, friend, (said he) that a tree which grows by itself, is more  exposed to winds and storms than another that stands surrounded with other  trees in the woods?" Our Lord knew this, and therefore he was LED BY THE  SPIRIT into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Lord, keep us from  leading ourselves into this temptation, and succor and support us whenever  led by thy providence into it! Then, and then only, shall we be safe amidst  the fiery darts of the grand enemy of our souls. 

SECONDLY, Did our Lord by prayer, fasting, and temptation, prepare  himself for his public ministry? Surely then, all those who profess to be  inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon them the office and  administration of the church, should be prepared in the same manner. For  though the knowledge of books and men, are good in their places, yet  without a knowledge of Satan's devices be superadded, a minister will be  only like a physician, that undertakes to prescribe to sick people, without  having studied the nature of herbs. And hence, it is to be feared, many  heavy laden and afflicted souls have been sent by certain ministers, to  surgeons, to be blooded in the arm, instead of being directed to apply to  the blood of Christ to cleanse their hearts. Hence, conviction is looked  upon as a delirium, and violent temptations censured as downright madness.  Hence, souls that are truly and earnestly repenting of their sins, and as  earnestly seeking after rest in Christ, have been directed to plays,  novels, romances, and merry company, to divert them from being righteous  over-much. Miserable comforters are such blind guides! Surely, they deserve  not better titles than that of murderers of souls! They go not into the  kingdom of heaven themselves, and those who are entering in they would by  this means hinder. Go not after them, all ye young men who would be able  ministers of the New Testament; but on the contrary, if you would be useful  in binding up the broken hearted, and pouring the oil of consolation into  wounded souls, prepare yourselves for manifold temptations. For as Luther  says, "prayer and meditation, reading and temptation, make a minister." If  now exercised with spiritual conflicts, be not disheartened, it is a good  sign that our Lord intends to make use of you. Being thus tempted like unto  your brethren, you will be the better enabled to succor and advise those  who shall apply to you under their temptations. What says the apostle Paul?  "If we are afflicted, it is for your sake." And if you are afflicted, it is  only that you may save your own souls, and help to save the souls of those  who shall be committed to your charge. Be strong therefore in the grace  which is in Christ Jesus, and learn to endure hardness, like good soldiers,  that are hereafter to instruct others how they must fight the good fight of  faith. 

THIRDLY, Did the tempter come to Christ when he saw him an hungered?  Let those of you that are reduced to a low estate, from hence learn, that  an hour of poverty is an hour of temptation, not only to murmuring and  doubting of our sonship and the divine favor, but also to help ourselves by  unlawful means. "If thou be the Son of God, said Satan, command that these  stones may be made bread." This is what Agur dreaded, "lest I be poor and  steal." Learn, ye godly poor, to be upon your guard, and remember that  poverty and temptations are no marks of your being cast off by God. Your  Lord was an hungered; your Lord was tempted on this account to doubt his  sonship, before you. Learn of him not to distrust, but rather to trust in  your heavenly Father. Angels came and ministered unto Christ; and he who is Lord of the angels, will send some kind messenger or another to relieve your wants. Your extremity shall be the Redeemer's opportunity to help you.  Make your wants known unto him, he careth for you. Though in a desart  [desert?], though no visible means appear at present, yet you shall in  God's due time find a table spread for you and yours; "For man doth not  live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of  God." 

And may not such among you, who are exalted, as well as those who are  brought low, from Satan's taking the Lord Jesus, and placing him upon a  pinnacle of the temple, learn also a lesson of holy watchfulness and  caution. High places are slippery places, and are apt to make even the  strongest heads and most devout hearts to turn giddy. How necessary  therefore is that excellent petition in our Litany, "in all time of our  wealth, (as well as in all time of our tribulation) good Lord deliver us!"  Agreeably to this, Agur prays as much against riches as poverty; if he was  poor, he feared he should be tempted to steal, if rich, that he should  trust in uncertain riches; and say, who is the Lord? 

I charge, therefore, all of you, who are rich and high in this world,  to watch and pray, lest ye fall by Satan's temptation. Those especially of  you, that are placed as on the pinnacle of the temple, exalted above your  fellows in the church of God, take heed in an especial manner unto  yourselves, lest by spiritual pride, vanity, or any other sin that doth  most easily beset persons in such eminent stations, ye cast yourselves  down. This is what Satan aims at.