TEXT: Matthew 4:11

SUBJECT: Henry on the Temptation of Christ #5

Tonight, with God’s blessing, we’ll finish the study we began a few weeks ago; it’s called Matthew Henry on the Temptation of Christ.

We started with the nature of the temptation. It is a contest—a life and death struggle—between the Lord Jesus Christ and Satan--and not only the two of them, but also of their people. We servants of Christ stand and fall with our Master—and so do the servants of Satan. The Lord’s victory over the devil was not only His, but ours too! In confounding the devil that day in the Wilderness, Jesus Christ dealt a fatal blow to Satan and to his kingdom. Now,

We then looked at the circumstances of the temptation. The Lord did not take on the devil when He was at His physical and mental peak—no, the opposite is true! It was only after forty days of loneliness and fasting that He met the evil spirit. He was greatly weakened at the time, so much so, it seems, that He might have died without the help of angels. Yet even then, when the Lord was worn out and nearly starved-to-death, He crushed the Serpent’s Head. Now in glory—above all weariness and hunger—how mighty He must be! How firmly we can trust Him to win our battles for us!

After this, we studied the three temptations in turn. In the first, Satan would have our Lord to not trust His Father’s mercy and wonder about His Word. "Is God able to set a table in the wilderness?" Israel didn’t think so, but our Lord knew better. He would not turn the stones into bread because He would live "By every word that proceeds from the mouth of God".

With that failing, Satan runs to the other extreme: if the Lord trusts His Father, let Him prove it by jumping off the Temple and letting God catch Him. God would have done this if He needed to, but the Lord would not tempt His Father. His Word was believed and didn’t need to be proven.

Finally, the devil pretends to be impressed with our Lord and insinuates that He is Lord of all and ought to have the kingdoms of the world and all the glory they offer. And he’ll be happy to hand them over—right now—if only the Lord would bow the knee to him. But there’s no way this is going to happen. The Lord is insulted by the temptation and tells Satan to get out there! Which he does without hesitation. Funny, isn’t it? The one who offered the rule to Christ has no choice but obey Christ. Even hungry, tired, lonely and tempted,

Tonight, Matthew Henry takes us through the aftermath of the temptation. As always, the Puritan is clear and practical. He tells us what happened, what it means, and how it can help us.

The first thing he underlines is the sovereignty of God over temptation. Henry says,

Satan did not tempt our Lord against the wishes of God. In fact, Mark says the Holy Spirit drove Him into the wilderness "to be tempted of the devil". Satan was in the temptation, of course, but so was God. While the devil hoped to corrupt our Lord with his wicked enticements, God’s intent was quite different!

He sent the Lord into the wilderness to do Him good. For one thing, it increased His faith in His Father’s goodness. For another, it made Him more sympathetic to men who are battered with temptations. It also shook up the devil, who wasn’t accustomed to losing fights. The devil’s desire was only wicked, but God’s overruled his evil designs to bless the Lord and us, too.

The other thing to note here is the number of temptations: three of them, not four, ten, or seventy-nine. God permitted Satan to tempt His Son, but He also limited the temptations. In tempting us, the devil has a certain liberty from God, but no more than that. This means that—when tempted—we have to hold out for a time. But only for a time. God will not allow the devil to have his way with us forever.

Thus, when you’re tempted, remember two things: (1) it won’t last and (2) God is in it, making you better by it (even if you cannot see how).

Knowing these things does not make temptations easy, but it does make them easier.

God is the devil’s King and has a lordship over your temptations. That’s good news!

The next thing Henry points out is also good news: the devil is a quitter!

Have you ever thought of the devil in this way? I know you think of him as powerful and cunning and relentless and so on, but has it ever occurred to you that he’s a big fake bully? That he scares the dickens out of us, but when we stand up to him—and mean it—he backs down!

Think of The Wizard of Oz. The big green face, the terrifying voice, the fire, the threats, and all that, only concealed a little man behind the curtain.

When we’re half-hearted he’s a "roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour". But when we mean business—when we watch and pray and try hard, he becomes a nervous housecat.

We must not be conceited, of course. In our own strength, we’re no match for him. Let a man resist some outward sin and he feels proud of himself—a sin worse than the one he was tempted by in the first place. But watch and pray and try hard in humility and dependence on God, in the power Christ gives, and the devil will flee. The Bible says so. Henry says,

Satan will never give up, but he’s knows he’s whipped and this has to demoralize him. Remember this the next time he tempts you. And fight back with confidence in your Savior!

After the Lord beat back the devil, He was attended to by angels. They didn’t come during the temptation—Henry says—

But then they do come—because the Lord needs them and God will always provide what His servants need. Henry says,

The man is speculating a bit here. The Bible doesn’t say the angels brought food for the Lord, but it does seem reasonable. In any event, the point is the same: God does not leave us alone in our conflicts and needs. He has angels who are happy to help us—and do help us! Hebrews 1:14 calls angels,

Some Christians make too much of the angels—they see them everywhere all the time. But that’s not our temptation: we make too little of them. To most Reformed Baptists, angels are nothing more than doctrines. But they are not doctrines; they are powerful spirits sent by God to help us in times of need.

Their presence should greatly encourage us when we’re feeling tempted. They’re here to assist us in the battle. In Daniel 10, an angel came to the prophet and said he had been fighting the king of Persia—fighting for Daniel, among others! Why, if an angel would stand up for Balaam’s donkey, why wouldn’t he stand up for us?

Angels are God’s army. Now, just imagine that you were a son of the king. One day, you went for a stroll in the country and were soon surrounded by a gang of robbers. As the men close in on you, flashing their knives and telling you what they’re going to do to you, you hear the bugle blow and there’s the Royal Guard, come to get you out of the scrape. Do you think that might be comforting to know? Well, we are the King’s family and He has His soldiers on every road keeping an eye out on us.

Angels, sent by a sovereign God, and empowered to do His will ought to greatly encourage us in our temptations. When contending for the body of Moses, the archangel said to Satan,

And won the day.

Henry reminds us of what the temptations of the Lord do for us. They are

Two very good things here: Because the Lord was tempted in every possible way, He feels for you in your every temptation. Now, we cannot do this. There are sins I do not understand and can’t feel for people who are under their power. I know a man, for example, who has lost tens of thousands of dollars gambling. I have no sympathy for him at all because gambling has no hold on me. I could live in a casino without ever feeling the tug. But, if a man is tempted by gluttony, let’s say, I can feel for him: I know what that is.

But because the Lord was tempted in every possible way, you can "Cast all your cares upon Him". He understands every temptation and He knows how hard it is on you.

That’s not all He knows, of course: He also knows what to do about your temptation. If a man asked me how to quit using drugs, I wouldn’t know what to say, because I’ve never used drugs. Others have to help him on that one. Because the Lord was tempted in every way—and beat back the devil every time—He can help you in whatever temptation is upon you. He understands every one of them—and knows what to do about it.

Henry finishes with a call for admiration,

He’s right. The story of our Lord’s temptation has many helpful hints in it. But that’s not what it’s about: it’s about the glory of Christ. The chief aim of the story is to make you and me admire and praise and love and trust and fear and want to be with the Lord Jesus Christ.