Matthew 4 - The Battle of The Word

Matthew 4 tells not only of Jesus being tempted by the devil but also the beginning of his ministry. 

The very first verse starts off by saying, "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." This verse here conveys that this temptation was inevitable and almost a right of passage for Jesus, seeing that he was led up by the Spirit. This occurred right after his baptism which further illustrates that this was something that Jesus had to do. Possibly to show us that he himself was not immune to the temptations of the devil but He is able to overcome them just like we are able to if we are armed with the word of God.

The temptation of Jesus is what I like to call the "battle of the word." We see here how the devil uses the word of God and contorts it to support his intent. Jesus comes right back at him with the word of God to rebuke him. This is important because if we do not know the word of God, a scripture taken out of context can lead us astray. That's why it is so important to read the scripture but the whole chapter and sometimes even the whole book so that we will not be lead astray. As Paul states in 2 Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." As we see here every temptation that the devil set before Jesus, Jesus had a come back which was the word of God.

Many times we are weak in a facet of our lives and it's at that time when we are most vulnerable that the devil tempts us and we may fall for those temptations because he presents those things that we want, the mansion and fancy cars, the money, the fame, the love that we seek, the comfort that we crave, the stress free life many desire - whatever it may be, it can be quite enticing and we sometimes forget that they come at a great cost, even at the expense of your own soul.

Imagine if Jesus had fallen victim to these temptations, where would we be? Take a minute or two and really ponder that. I honestly don't want to imagine it! Thank God Jesus won the battle for us! 

Jesus serves as an example for us all, that regardless of what temptation comes our way, even at our lowest and weakest moment, hold on to the word of God. Fight your battles, armed with the word of God. Many times I can attest that it was speaking the word of God that gave me strength and kept me moving forward when all seemed dark and bleak. My only defense was the word of God. Whenever we feel overwhelmed by whatever is in our life, find a scripture that will encourage you and keep you moving closer to God.

What I love about this is after Jesus rebuked the devil, the angels came and ministered to Him (Matthew 4:11). That is just awesome right there! To know that after we have fought our battles and held on to the word of God as our pillar, as our defense that He will send his angels to minister, to help, to tend to us and to aid us. That is just encouraging right there.

Let us continue to fight the "battle of the word" and the only way we can truly do that is to know the word. Let us get absorbed in the word of God so that when those temptations, trails and whatever else comes our way, we may win the battle, just like Jesus showed us that we can.

I pray God's blessing upon you and your household. Shalom!