May 22, 2025; Matthew 4:1-11

Daily Dose of Hope

May 22, 2025

Day 4 of Week 8

 

Scripture – Matthew 4:1-11

 

Prayer:  Holy and Almighty Father, We come to you today with humble hearts.  We know we are broken and need you.  We are weak.  We are vulnerable to temptation.  Lord, fill us with your strength.  Give us your stamina and wisdom.  We can’t do this life without you, Lord.  It’s in the powerful name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

 

Welcome back, everyone, to the daily devotional that complements New Hope Church’s Bible reading plan.  This is the Daily Dose of Hope, a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts. 

Today, we begin Matthew 4.

 

In the first portion of this chapter, Jesus is led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan.  The Judean wilderness doesn’t look like a forest, by any means.  Rather, it is dry, rocky, and hot.  It is more like a desert with rocks.  Let’s start by envisioning that. 

 

The first big question is why did the Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness knowing what would happen?  We can assume that this is part of getting Jesus ready for his public ministry.  Jesus has the credentials and the authority, but now he gets to have the experience of coming face to face with evil.  Consider this: He has just been baptized and the Spirit is with him.  Afterall, the Spirit didn’t leave him in the desert.  But he then allows himself to be made weak with lack of food.  Remember, Jesus was God but he was also human.  He allows himself to be made physically weak for this purpose – to demonstrate that he could still resist temptation.

 

Now, he is ready to face his main adversary.  And as you read this, notice that the devil is never in control of the situation.  Jesus is.  He may be weak, tired and hungry, but he is totally in control.  Jesus is strong and ready for each and every temptation.  In this scene, Jesus gives us a powerful picture of how to go into a spiritual battle, leaning totally and completely on the Word of God. 

 

What were the temptations?  There is the temptation to make stones into bread (remember, he was fasting), the temptation to hurl himself down from the top of the Temple and have God rescue him, and the temptation to have political leadership over all the Kingdoms of the world.  .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}