Satan offers Jesus a shortcut to gaining the blessings God has promised him. But idolatry is looking to someone or something other than God to grant us Life.

For each of the temptations, we’ll answer 3 questions:

Why is the choice wrong?

Why is the choice attractive?

How does Jesus respond?

Review

At Jesus’ baptism, we have a dramatic heavenly confirmation that Jesus is the Messiah. After that, we might expect Jesus to rally an army and march to Jerusalem to claim the throne of David amidst the cheers and adoration of his nation.

Instead Jesus is led into the wilderness, alone, to face starvation and temptation.

On the one hand, Jesus has been powerfully confirmed as the Son of God, the Messiah.  On the other hand, God has put him in a place where he is facing great hardship and deprivation. This tension lies behind all these temptations.

Satan wants to destroy Jesus personally and more importantly he wants to disqualify Jesus to be the Messiah. 

God is testing Jesus and demonstrating that Jesus is, in fact, worthy to be the Messiah.

God tests Jesus in a way that echoes the story of Israel’s journey in the wilderness to teach us that Jesus is succeeding where Israel failed. 

Jesus shows he understands this parallel between his situation and Israel’s by quoting from Moses’ sermon to the nation before they enter the promised land. 

Why is the choice tempting?

8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  9And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”  10Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”  11Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.  - Matthew 4:8-11

Satan is not asking for Jesus' complete loyalty, but for an act of respect.

This word translated "bow down" refers to the physical act of prostrating yourself as a gesture of respect, the kind of homage a subject would give a king (e.g. Revelation 3:9; Mark 15:19).

Satan is asking Jesus to perform the physical act of bowing down before him in exchange for the kingdoms of the world.

Ruling over the kingdoms of the world is Jesus' destiny as the Messiah (e.g. Daniel 7:13-14). Jesus must have longed for it insofar as he longs for God's will.

God has promised to give Jesus authority over all the earth, but to realize that promise Jesus must suffer and die. 

Satan is offering to "fulfill" God's promise to Jesus WITHOUT the suffering.

Luke 4:6-7 implies that Satan has authority to grant these kingdoms.

Deuteronomy Review

1“Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it,  2that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long.  3Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey." - Deuteronomy 6:1-3

The focus in this section is on the future.  Israel is about to cross into the land God promised their fathers.

Moses reminds the present generation that in the promised land they will face the same temptation their fathers faced in the wilderness:  Will they be faithful to the Lord or not?

4“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  5You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  6And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart." - Deuteronomy 6:4-6

What does it mean that that Lord is one? Compare with Mark 12:28-34.