The Gospel Project® for Adults

POINT 1 THE SON OF GOD TRUSTS IN THE FATHER'S PROVISION (MATT. 4:1-4).

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness
to be tempted by the devil. 2 After he had fasted
forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
3 Then the tempter approached him and said,
"If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." ~`4 He answered,
"It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word
that comes from the mouth of God."

Read:

Ask a volunteer to read aloud Matthew 4:1-4 from his or her own Bible.

Explain:

Verses 1-2 highlight the following key doctrine

Key Doctrine #51:

The Sinlessness of Jesus:

While the Bible affirms the full humanity of Jesus, it also affirms that
Jesus was completely sinless throughout His earthly life
(2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26; 1 Pet. 2:22).
Nevertheless, because Jesus was fully human,
He experienced real temptation of sin, as seen during His trials
in the wilderness (Matt. 4).
Yet even though His trials and temptations were real and similar
to the rest of humanity's,
Hebrews 4:15 confirms that Jesus did not sin.

Discuss:

• What might we learn from the high point of Jesus's baptism
  being followed by a difficult time of challenge, such as facing Satan
  in the wilderness?
• (life comes with high points and low points, good times and challenges;
• Jesus seems more approachable to us because He faced
  the same difficulties of life that we face;
• following Jesus will often lead us to places of difficulty and temptation,
  but we have Jesus and His strength to trust God more)

Explain:

Verses 3-4 (the bold words fill in blanks in the DDG):

Satan tempted Jesus at a place of pain,
and Jesus countered that temptation by pointing to God's truth.

Discuss:

• How should we react knowing Satan is real and ready to tempt us
  at any time?
• (alert about the spiritual battles that are happening;
• be prepared with the armor of God and the sword of truth;
• prayerful, relying on God's strength and help;
• humble in realizing we are susceptible to sin through temptations)

Transition:

Matthew describes three scenes of Jesus's temptation
in this narrative. The first confronted whether or not Jesus
would trust the Father to provide. The second addresses Jesus's
trust of the Father's providential care.

THE NUMBER 40

The number 40 in the Bible has often been linked with
a time of testing of character and the ability to trust and remain faithful.
It rained for 40 days and 40 nights when Noah was on the ark.
Moses was in Egypt 40 years, in the desert 40 years, and with Israel
in the wilderness for 40 years. Saul, David, and Solomon
reigned for 40 years. Nineveh was given 40 days to repent.
And Jesus was tempted for 40 days.

VOICES FROM THE CHURCH

"Unbelief, just like Satan, will always take the easy way out.
It will tell us to eat the fruit in exchange for knowledge,
instead of fearing God to gain real wisdom. Unbelief will
unravel our perceptions of both suffering and the blessedness of life
and beckon us to skip self-denial at all costs with
the faux promises of comfort that can't extend beyond the grave." 1

-- Jackie Hill Perry