Welcome to day 5 of our 40 day challenge! Today, we are in Matthew 4.

(You can catch up on our Intro, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4 if you missed them)

Today we are in Matthew 4:

Matthew 4:1-11

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness

4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

The devil says, if you are the Son of God. The tempter knows who Jesus is. And he knows who we are. He knows our doubts, our wounds, and our weaknesses. And he knows the good desires we have. He knows he can’t get Jesus to do evil. But can the enemy get Jesus to do the good He’s going to do by evil means? Oh my goodness, is this ever appropriate in hundreds of ways for us, both personally and collectively, today.

Jesus has been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. I’ve never done a 40 day fast from all food. I’ve done 40 day limited food fasts, and they left me hungry enough. Jesus is ravenous as He is approached by the tempter.

Knowing this, the tempter tells Him to turn stones into bread. The desire for bread and the bread itself are good.   But for Jesus to take a shortcut and abuse His power is not. Jesus is the Son of God! He can do this. But Jesus shows us that doing good is not all that matters. We must do the good things in good ways. The end does not justify the means. The entire process matters to God, not just the end result.

In the second temptation, the devil takes Jesus to the top of the temple and tells Jesus to throw Himself down. Relying on God’s protection and trusting that God will take care of us are both good. But tempting God and abusing the power of God are not. The end does not justify the means.

In the third temptation, the devil takes Jesus to the top of a high mountain and promises him all the kingdoms of the world and all their splendor. Having Jesus as our ruler would be good for the world, and it would eliminate so much suffering. But taking power and dominion, especially through the worship of evil, is not good. Jesus knows the end does not justify the means.

In each of these temptations, what the tempter is offering is not a bad thing. This is why Jesus told us to be as wise as serpents but as innocent as doves. We aren’t only on the lookout for the temptation to do bad things. We are on the lookout for the temptation to do good things in un-Christlike ways.

As always, Jesus is the Way through. We must be on guard as the evil one uses scripture, and our own desires for good, to get us to do or condone evil ways.

The way we do things matters to God. The evil one will tempt us to take a shortcut, or end our season of waiting by taking control, or to fulfill good desires in bad ways. He will tempt us to do good things in un-Christlike ways.

So we must remember that the will of God will never be accomplished by the means of the evil one. Even if it seems like good could come from it in the end, the end will never justify the means.

Options for further  journaling or discussion throughout the challenge:

• Choose a part of the passage to write out by hand. Writing by hand helps us slow down and focus on what the Lord might highlight for us in the passage. Our brains can focus and remember better by writing than just reading alone.
• Journal about what the passage brings to mind. Does the passage tell us anything about God? Does it tell us anything about our response to Him?
• Does your heart respond in gratitude to any part of the passage? Write or pray your gratitude to the Lord.

We’ll see you tomorrow, for Day 6 in 1 Kings!

♥ Samantha