Session 1
Matthew 3:13-4:11
Memory Verse: Matthew 3:17
Perhaps no other subject generates more controversy than the nature and mission of Jesus Christ. Arguments regarding most issues-from abortion to gender identity and more-depend on what one believes about Jesus’s person and purpose. People who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior don’t fear or hate those who hold different societal or personal values. By their words and lives, believers simply proclaim Christ as God’s Son and Lord of all. Their beliefs, values, and choices are defined by their commitment to Jesus.
Consider how you make decisions. Are they based on your affirmation of Jesus as Messiah and Master? If He is our Savior, He is our Lord. If He is our King, He holds authority over every aspect of our lives. As you prepare to lead this opening session from Matthew’s Gospel, reflect on how Jesus affects the way you relate to others and how you can surrender more control to Him each day. Ask God to help you lead adults to understand that the more we embrace Jesus as the Son of God-our Sovereign and Savior-the more others see Christ in us and desire to know Him too.
Think back to the last time you started a new job. Perhaps you felt excitement as well as apprehension. If you went through a new employee orientation, those feelings of apprehension may have been dispelled-or they may have heightened. They might have lingered until the first words of affirmation came out of the mouth of your boss. Words of encouragement are important in any new endeavor. (PSG, p. 10)
“In those days.” The opening phrase of Matthew 3 establishes foundations on which the ministry of John the Baptist and the mission of Jesus the Christ are understood. Those days followed centuries of preparation across generations from Abraham to David to Jesus. “Those days” looked back at an angelic annunciation to a young virgin that she would bear the Son of God. Those days occurred in the aftermath of wise men from the East searching, finding, and worshiping the One born as King of the Jews. Casting a glance into Luke’s Gospel, those days saw the miraculous birth of a prophet to a childless, priestly couple-a child who rejoiced in his mother’s womb at the approach of the mother of his Lord (Luke 1:5-45).
Fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 40:3), the adult John did not look like one who would herald the Son of God. He lived a rough life in the wilderness, wore rough clothing, and shared a rough message. He called religious leaders a “brood of vipers” when they came to his baptisms (Matt. 3:7). Still, the people streamed from Jerusalem, the Judean countryside, and the Jordan River valley to hear John preach, and they remained with repentant hearts to be baptized.
John’s ultimate purpose was to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. John’s commission centered on identifying God’s Son, the Christ (John 1:29-34). When Jesus came, requesting baptism, John immediately knew He was the One. As Jesus rose from the water, John watched as the Holy Spirit descended in dove-like fashion and rested on Him. John heard the voice of God proclaiming from heaven that this was His Son in whom He was well-pleased.
Though you have not seen and heard as John did, Bible study leaders can experience and express the reality of Jesus-the Son of God.
Jesus quickly experienced challenges to His identity and His mission. Going further into the wilderness, He fasted and prayed for forty days. In the midst of His physically weakened condition, Satan challenged Him with a series of temptations. Twice the enemy questioned His identity: “If you are the Son of God . . .”
(Matt. 4:3,6).
On his third attempt, the devil confronted Jesus’s mission. Of course, Satan cared nothing for the kingdoms of the world. Jesus could have them all and avoid the cross if He would worship him. None of these tests swayed Christ. He knew who He was and why He had come. He dismissed the devil as He had before-with Scripture.
You and I also have the power to resist temptation as we submit to the Son of God and resist Satan with the Word of God.
Read Matthew 3:1-4:11 in your Bible. Highlight all the affirmations of Jesus’s identity. What do John the Baptist, the Father, the Spirit, and the angels reveal about Jesus? (PSG, p. 11)
EXPLORE THE TEXT
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?” 15 Jesus answered him, “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John allowed him to be baptized. 16 When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”
Human nature struggles with submission, even when it comes to obeying God. Jesus demonstrated obedience to the Father in every way. Paul declared that Jesus, who is God in human flesh, still humbled Himself and obeyed His Father-all the way to the cross (Phil. 2:5-8).
Jesus provided an excellent example in His baptism. John the Baptist had been ministering for some time when Jesus came from Galilee. Growing up in Nazareth, Jesus likely worked with His family until He reached the age to begin His ministry. He traveled to the Jordan so He could be baptized by John. The English word “baptize” is a transliteration of the Greek word baptizo, meaning “to immerse or put under.”
John’s baptism was different from typical Jewish baptism. Many Jews saw baptism as a cleansing ritual or as a way to initiate proselytes into Jewish traditions. John, though, required proof of true repentance
(Matt. 3:8).
When Jesus approached, John was shocked. He recognized Jesus as the Son of God who had no need to repent (John 1:27). Instead, John protested, I need to be baptized by you. Here was the Christ who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, the One whose sandals John was not worthy to untie (Matt. 3:11).
Jesus did not deny John’s statement but told him, Allow it for now because it would fulfill all righteousness. Jesus was not saying that baptism makes anyone righteous. Righteousness means being in a right relationship with God.
Jews thought righteousness was obtained by following the Mosaic law. Scripture says we are made righteous through faith in Christ and His sacrifice for our sins (Rom. 10:3-11). Centuries earlier, Habakkuk had declared that just people (or righteous ones) live by faith (Hab. 2:4). Paul reiterated this truth in his letters (Rom. 1:17).
Jesus told John that by obeying God in this manner both of them could demonstrate faith and fulfill the demands of righteousness. Consequently, John allowed him to be baptized.
Christians understand the deeper faith meaning of baptism. Immersion points people toward Jesus’s death and resurrection, and it identifies believers with Him (Rom. 6:3-5). We are not saved by baptism. We are baptized to demonstrate our obedience to Jesus because He has saved us.
He went up immediately from the water described Jesus rising out of the river. The historical nature of baptism and the innate meaning of baptizo combine to support immersion as the method of
Jesus’s baptism.
After His baptism, the heavens suddenly opened, and the triune God testified to Christ. The Spirit of God came down like a dove. This suggests no actual bird appeared, but the Spirit still made His presence felt in a real way.
The Father also spoke: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. He would affirm Jesus in a similar way on two other occasions: on the mountain of transfiguration (Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35) and a few days before the crucifixion (John 12:27).
EXPLORE THE TEXT
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.”
To obey God, we must hear Him. One tool God uses to speak to us is His Word. In these verses, Jesus displayed the value of knowing and applying Scripture. The introductory word then indicates that these events took place shortly after Jesus’s baptism. Mark left the same impression in his Gospel (Mark 1:9-13).
Many believers think hearing God and following His Spirit frees us from difficulties, but this scene shows that the Spirit may lead us into challenging situations. After seeing the Spirit descend and remain on Him at His baptism, Jesus followed the Spirit’s leadership into the wilderness. The Jewish concept of led up did not mean a northerly direction, but moving to a higher elevation. The wilderness here may have been a rough, mountainous area far from towns or villages.
More difficult than the terrain was the purpose of the trek. The Spirit brought Jesus to this harsh place to be tempted by the devil, the enemy of God. The Bible makes it clear that God does not tempt anyone
(Jas. 1:13). However God does give Satan limited permission to engage people, as with Job (Job 1:8-22).
The Father did not need to test His Son since the two are one (John 10:30). Instead, the temptation likely served as a rebuke of Satan. The devil is not some mere personification of ultimate evil. He is a real supernatural being. Having failed in his rebellion against God, Satan turned his wrath on humanity-God’s highest creation-and on His Son who was sent to be humanity’s Savior.
Jesus’s temptation also allowed Him to identify with humanity. The writer of Hebrews noted that Jesus experienced everything we experience, only without sin (Heb. 4:15). This is possible because Jesus endured Satan’s temptations, which gave us yet another example of how to live out the Christian life in a
meaningful way.
Often, we experience spiritual challenges when we are physically weak. Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights. Being completely human, as well as fully divine, Jesus felt the same physical needs we do. The term hungry suggests an intense craving. Having gone without food for more than a month, Jesus
was famished.
Once Jesus reached the physical breaking point, the enemy showed up. Scripture describes Satan as our adversary (1 Pet. 5:8), the Father of lies (John 8:44), and the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10). Here, he is called the tempter. His purpose in temptation is to use trickery, lies, and other deceit to entice people to sin.
Satan approached Jesus. The term suggests more than merely coming near someone. It carries a sense of hostility and malevolence. Imagine the arrogance of accosting Christ with evil intent!
The first temptation involved commanding some stones to become bread. Since Jesus was hungry, the enticement to use His divine powers for immediate gratification was real, but it wasn’t purely physical. Depending on how one translates the Greek word for if, Satan’s proposition also subtly may have questioned Jesus’s identity as the Son of God. (Some translators render it “since,” which would make Satan’s statement more sarcastic than cynical.) Like a playground bully, the devil challenged Jesus to prove it.
Jesus could have commanded Satan to leave Him alone. Instead, He responded to the attack with the sword of the Spirit-the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). He appealed to Scripture: It is written.
Christ’s quotation of Deuteronomy 8:3 draws to mind the context for the original statement. During Israel’s wilderness wanderings, God deliberately allowed His people to experience severe hunger and then fed them with heavenly manna. His goal was to help them recognize that their lives were sustained not merely by bread, but by the very words of God.
We can rely on Scripture to find strength and resist temptation. We should read the Bible, memorize its passages, and ask God to help us apply them to our lives.
EXPLORE THE TEXT
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will give his angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” 7 Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”
When his first temptation failed, Satan took Jesus to the holy city (Jerusalem). The text does not specify the manner of their movement to the site. Obviously, they did not walk into town. Satan likely used supernatural power to transport Jesus to the next place of temptation.
The tempter led Christ to the pinnacle of the temple. The term pinnacle translates a Greek word also used for “wing.” Some commentators suggest this may have been Herod’s portico. Others identify it as the peak of Solomon’s Porch on the east side of the temple. Both locations reached hundreds of feet above the floor of the Kidron Valley. The fact that crowds in the temple courtyard did not witness Jesus’s presence above them attests to the supernatural nature of this event.
Satan’s second temptation repeated his assault on Jesus’s identity as the Son of God and His trust in the Father. Again, Satan undoubtedly knew who Jesus was, just as his demons did (Matt. 8:28-29). He used this taunt to elicit a reaction from Christ and prompt Him to prove Himself. If the devil could induce Jesus to act contrary to God’s will, His actions would disqualify Him from being humanity’s Savior.
Since Jesus employed Scripture in response to the first temptation, the devil also quoted an Old Testament text, Psalm 91:11-12. This text is part of a larger psalm that describes God’s provision and protection for the person “who lives under the protection of the Most High” and those who reside “in the shadow of the Almighty” (Ps. 91:1).
In this case, Satan was saying that Jesus could do whatever He wanted and know that God would protect Him. He was encouraging Jesus to test God’s faithfulness by leaping off the pinnacle point. However, the psalmist was talking about someone who might stumble in their walk with God.
The enemy’s misuse of this passage was supposed to justify Jesus’s violation of God’s will. Satan often bends God’s Word to trick believers into doing his bidding. We need to beware of taking Scripture passages out of context or applying them in a way that was not intended by their divine Author.
The first half of Satan’s words comprise a false application of the text. Throw yourself down. Again, nowhere does the psalm suggest doing so. Like the tempter’s encounter with Eve in the garden, he twists truth with his lies to beguile his victim into doubting God and acting contrary to His will (Gen. 3:1-5). Like his first temptation, Satan wanted Jesus to use His supernatural power and His relationship to the Father to perform a spectacular feat.
Some Bible scholars argue the devil was trying to detour Jesus into a short-cut around the cross. The temple courtyards would have been teeming with people. Imagine the awe onlookers might experience if they saw Jesus jump from the heights and be saved by angels! The assumption is that they would accept Him as Messiah without the agony of the crucifixion. However, Jesus’s purpose was to atone for sin, not amaze the people. And that required a sacrificial death, not a miraculous rescue.
As one might expect, Jesus was not fooled by Satan’s tricks. He again relied on Scripture to interpret Scripture. Christ reiterated what was written. He knew the passage Satan misused was not intended to justify dramatic action. Quoting the first half of Deuteronomy 6:16, He said, Do not test the Lord your God. We cannot behave presumptively toward God. Like Christ, we respond to His Word with faith and obedience, not distorting it to mean what we want.
We can trust God’s faithfulness without demanding miracles. God sometimes works wonders on our behalf, but He does so for His purposes, not ours. He cannot be manipulated to do our bidding.
EXPLORE THE TEXT
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and began to serve him.
Satan again tried to tempt Jesus into leaving the Father’s path. The scene shifted from the pinnacle of the temple to a very high mountain. The text does not specify the mountain’s location, but not even Mount Everest would have provided a vista from which all the kingdoms of the world could be seen at once.
The phrase the devil . . . showed him indicates that Satan supernaturally offered a vision of all the nations and their splendor. He did not show their squalor or suffering. Rather, he emphasized their wealth
and wonders.
This time, the tempter did not appeal to Jesus’s identity as God’s Son or to Scripture. Instead, Satan went to the heart of his goal. The devil did not desire these kingdoms or their inhabitants. He wanted to usurp the place of the Most High God (Isa. 14:14). He offered Jesus all these things if Jesus would just fall down and worship him.
Scholars agree that Satan has some level of power over the world. He is called “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) and “the god of this age” (2 Cor. 4:4). However, God holds ultimate power over all the world and beyond.
Satan’s temptation went beyond authority. He offered Jesus a path without the cross. If Christ’s goal was building an earthly kingdom, He could have skipped the suffering and shame of Calvary. However, Jesus was committed to the kingdom of God and the salvation of the human race.
Jesus did not argue with his adversary. He did not need to weigh Satan’s offer. He recognized the father of lies for what he was, and He also knew who He Himself was. He had the authority and used it: Go away, Satan!
Once more, Jesus backed up His power with Scripture: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” His declaration incorporated the heart of Deuteronomy 6:13 as well as the primary commandments of Exodus 20:2-7. The term “your God” also emphasized that He was Satan’s God, even though the devil rebelled against God’s lordship. Rather than seeking to be worshiped, Satan should worship God-and will one day.
After this ultimate rebuke, the devil left him. Luke’s Gospel affirms that the devil only left Jesus for a while (Luke 4:13). While the Gospels do not share another instance of temptation, we can be sure that Satan continued his assault.
Imagine the heavenly hosts as this scene played out. The angels of heaven were poised to intervene at the Father’s command. Later, Jesus reminded His disciples that He could summon legions of angels to His aid (Matt. 26:53). For now, it was enough that they would serve him. We do not know the details of this ministry, but the angels did what they were created to do-serve the Son.
Spend time praying Scripture using Matthew 4:10. Read the verse, then respond to these questions:
Ask God to help you memorize Scripture so you can reject the temptations of Satan. Thank Him for providing this powerful tool to strengthen your walk with Him.
During the session, invite adults to pray this Scripture, as well. You and the adults in your group can also take advantage of the Explore the Bible Prayer Guide. This QR code also appears on page 19 of the Personal Study Guide.
Review these points from Apply the Text on page 19 of the Personal Study Guide:
Emphasize that baptism is the first step of obedience after salvation and that if anyone has questions you are available to talk with them. Also, remind adults that Scripture memory is a vital tool for fighting temptation. Suggest they reflect on the first set of questions (PSG, p. 19) during the week and consider how they can encourage one another to resist temptation.
Draw attention to the second set of questions on page 19 of the PSG. Encourage them to consider how they can begin memorizing Scripture more effectively. Remind them that they can start with this session’s memory verse, Matthew 3:17.
Encourage adults to continue using Pack Item 9 (Handout: Praying Scripture in Matthew’s Gospel) to pray through this session’s passages. Close the session in prayer, asking God to help adults move forward in obedience and to rely on the power of Scripture each day.
Email or text the group and share that you are praying for them this week. Remind them that while this session largely focused on using Scripture to fight temptation, a well-rounded Christian also uses it proactively. Consider praying Philemon 6 for the group: “I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for the glory of Christ.”
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.
(See Acts 2:41-42; Romans 6:3-5.)
Create a compare/contrast chart to study a passage.
Make a chart with two columns. Title one column “Temptations” and the second column “Responses.” In the first column, describe aspects of each of Satan’s temptations. Do the same with Jesus’s responses in the second column. List ways Satan tempts believers today. Find Scripture you can use to meet each of the
listed temptations.