The Power of the Word (Matthew 4:1–4)

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
– Matthew 4:1–4

What a passage. And this is fresh on my mind, because I just preached on this. But this picture of Jesus going into the wilderness, being tempted by the devil, with the fullness of the Holy Spirit on him, as he’s just been baptized. This whole picture of the Father’s delight in his Son, the Spirit of God on his Son, the Trinity, and the end of Matthew 3.

Matthew 4:1–4 shows us how Jesus used the Word to fight temptation.

So Jesus is being tempted in the wilderness. And the tempter, Satan, comes to him, says, “If you’re the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread”. And Jesus could have said anything in response to Satan at this point. He could have spoken anything, and it would’ve become Scripture. Instead, he quotes Scripture. Instead, he says, “It is written”. And he quotes from Deuteronomy about how God’s Word applies specifically to this temptation.

And in this picture– well, there’s so much here in Matthew 4. But among all the things we see, we absolutely see an example and an exhortation for you and me. When we face temptation to sin, to be equipped with the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit, to fight against temptation. We are powerless in our fights against temptation, in our battles against the adversary, if we do not have God’s Word hidden in our hearts, hidden in our minds, to be able to pull up and apply it in particular situations.

Matthew 4:1–4 challenges us to imitate Jesus in His fight against temptation.

And so I want to encourage you today, identify where are you most tempted right now in your life? Where are you most tempted to sin? Where are you most tempted to not trust God? When are you most tempted to worry? Where are you most tempted to be afraid? Where are you most tempted to doubt? And wherever that is, identify what does God’s Word say about fear, worry, those specific doubts, those specific temptations you face most in your life.

You can’t fight that temptation. You can’t fight the adversary if you don’t have the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God in your heart, in your mind, saying in the middle of temptation, “it is written”. And you’re experiencing the victory over sin that comes with the Sword of the Spirit. So I want to encourage you, identify scriptures, and memorize them in order to overcome specific temptations in your life.

This verse encourages us to use God’s Word in our battle against sin.

Oh God, we praise you for your Word. We praise you for the Sword of your Holy Spirit in the spiritual battles we face today. That we are not alone. We have your Holy Spirit in us. We have all the armor that Ephesians 6 talks about, and we have this weapon, the Sword of your Spirit. So help us to wield it wisely and well. God, we pray, help us to meditate on your Word, to memorize it so that we can apply it when we are tempted. God, we pray that you would help us to experience victory over temptation, through the power of your Word. And oh God, to help one another in this way. Help us to build up other brothers and sisters in Christ with your Word amidst anything they’re walking through. God, help us to be speaking your Word, to encourage others around us.

And God, we pray that you would help us to spread your Word today to people around us who don’t know where life is found. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God. Help us to spread life through your Word today.

Prayer for the Jenaama Bozo People

We pray and we pray specifically for the Jenaama Bozo people of Mali. God for half a million, Muslim, Jenaama Bozo people in Mali. Please cause your Word to spread to them. We pray for the spread of your Word throughout Mali, so that they might experience the life that comes from every Word proceeding from your mouth. Oh God, we pray all this according to your Word, which we love. God, we thank you for not leaving us alone in our battles against sin and temptation. Thank you for giving us your Word that leads us to life. We pray all this according to your Word. In Jesus’ name, in the name of the one who conquered sin for us, and whose Spirit now lives in us. Amen.