jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted

And if Jesus Christ is indeed the true King He must demonstrate His power over the present monarch. He is the current usurper king, he is the prince of power of the air, he is the ruler of darkness. Now this is very important to establish His credentials because currently in this time in which we live, since the fall of man, Satan rules the world.

And here the first and most formidable foe of all, none other than Satan engages himself in an assault on the incarnate Son of God. The battle begins to take place, the battle of rejection, the battle of hostility in chapter 4. Following all of that glorious presentation of Jesus Christ as God’s true King, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. But in chapter 4 we see the first rejection, the first conflict. He came as a King but He was rejected as King and as we shall see at the close of this great gospel He was executed, dying on the cross. And he has given to us the affirmation of the King in His baptism by the descending of the Holy Spirit and the words of the Father, “This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Three chapters focused on the kingliness of Jesus Christ.īut there is a second purpose in the gospel of Matthew, not only to show the King, to present the King but to demonstrate the rejection of the King. He has introduced us to the announcer of the King, John the Baptist, His forerunner. He has given us the attestation of the King by the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. He has given us his adoration of the King by the resident Persian kingmakers that we know as wise men. He has given us the arrival of the King His virgin birth. Matthew has given us the ancestry of the King, his royal genealogy. And up to chapter 4 everything has focused on the kingliness of Christ. You will remember that Matthew, in writing his gospel, is concerned to present Jesus Christ as King, King of kings, the sovereign savior. Matthew chapter 4, verses 1 to 11, records for us the temptation of Jesus Christ. As we turn to the book of Matthew tonight, we are going to come to one of the most monumental portions of all of Scripture.

Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted