After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
Summary: We turn now to the ultimate temptation and the ultimate test. God himself is tested.
When Jesus became a man he submitted himself to our broken dual nature. Like us, he was shackled to a body that had a will of its own. Unlike us, he maintained his spiritual relationship with God the Father.
Satan knew this.
If Satan was ever going to have a chance to tempt (aka “test”) God’s Son, this was it. While Jesus was with God in Heaven’s realm, he was untouchable. But when Jesus submitted to becoming a man, he left heaven’s protection and lived for a while on Satan’s home turf.
The concept of being “tempted” or “tested” is perfectly illustrated in the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.
To review the story, Jesus has just been baptized (Matthew 3: 13-17). The Spirit of God comes upon him, and in Matthew 4:1, the Spirit of God leads Jesus into the wilderness for the express purpose of being tempted by Satan.
Keep in mind how temptation and testing work. A test is a means of determining how well a person is prepared for a certain task. Think of my grandson at his gymnastics competition. He is judged on how well he performs each different event. Temptation on the other hand, is the flesh’s response to a test. Temptation is the desire to avoid risk and failure and gratify the flesh’s desire for what it wants.
Understanding our dual nature helps us understand the difference between the two.
When Jesus is tested in the wilderness, the Spirit has him go where there is no food. Of course, the body (flesh) wants food to eat, and like you and I, when Jesus was hungry his body was constantly tugging at him to find some food.
Who is in charge of Jesus, the flesh or the spirit? This is the question that we all face, and Jesus is no different.
Scripture says:
“After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’” (Matthew 4: 2-3)
Satan knew that Jesus had the power to multiply a few loaves and fishes to feed thousands of people (Matthew 14:13, Matthew 15:29). He knew that Jesus was a man who could change water into wine (John 2: 1-10). Turning a rock into bread would be child’s play for the Creator of the Universe (John 1: 1-5).
Just as when he tempted Eve, Satan was speaking to Jesus’ flesh. He wants the flesh to usurp the power of the Creator for its own purposes. Forty days of hunger motivated Jesus’ flesh to cry out, “Yes, Yes! That is a great idea!,” and instantly, every rock within a mile would turn into a fine pastry of every type.
But that is not what happened. Instead:
“Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)
What is a man? What is a woman? Are we not flesh and spirit, body and soul? What does the invisible part of us eat? What nourishes our spirit?
Jesus tells us.
“…every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
If our spirit is alive, it needs to be fed. If our spirit lives, our spiritual life is more important than the flesh.
Live.
Application: Be aware of the spirit within and nurture that part of yourself in the same way you cater to your body’s needs.
Food for Thought: How does going without food (fasting) affect the relationship between body and spirit?
How does going without food (fasting) affect the relationship between body and spirit?
It really keeps you very mindful and in the present, which helps greatly to recognize God’s voice. In an odd sort of way, as soon as you begin fasting you think more often about the thing you have given up, and in that constant reminder you have to remind yourself that you are fasting, and why. That constant reconfirmation of why humbles you, focuses you, and prepares your heart for the Holy Spirit. So much of our daily life is full of physical activities tied to our life on Earth; fasting is a way to make a greater space in our life for the spiritual.
Chris,
Thank you! Your comment reminds me of a concept used in graphic art known as “negative space.” (Link here) The human eye can only focus on one type of space at a time. Fasting, as you point out, switches the focus spiritually and we are able to discern the boundaries of the physical by food’s absence.
I think one purpose of fasting is to demonstrate dependence upon the Lord and be intentional about recognizing that we need to feed our spirit and not just our body.
I also think fasting reveals what is in our heart – much like a test. While fasting, the spiritual battle can intensify, just like it did with Jesus. The tempter will always tempt, it is what he does, but the Spirit can use this to reveal what is in our heart and lead us to better pastures.
Brother Rich,
So true! Our spiritual battle does intensify during fasting. Well said!
Howdy brothers! Jeff, thank you for this daily devotional. I rarely comment but I read most every day. This made me think of the following link that Gregg Smith sent me a while back when I asked this question. I wonder what y’all think? Danny Lippis
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/possible-jesus-sin/
Danny,
Thank you for checking in! Great to hear from you!! I will check out the article you linked to and share my thoughts.
Blessings!!
Danny,
Thanks again for checking in to the blog and sharing your question about Jesus and sin. One of the things I look for in things people have written about God is what their source or authority is. Secondly, have they defined their terms? Third, do they approach God with humility or something else.
Now I am simply offering an opinion here, and good people of all types might disagree in good faith, so please keep that in mind.
To my first question, while the author relies on Scripture, they also rely on human reason. Now to be fair, we do the same thing here at Three Minute Bible. However, what we don’t do is make dogmatic statements about what God can and cannot do.
To my second question, I would be very interested to know what the author means by the word “sin.” We have discussed this concept at length here on this blog and I have a very specific understanding of what the word means. However, I don’t believe that my view of the word is commonly accepted, so I wonder what the article means by the word.
Third, I am very suspicious of people who make statements about God that are not clearly supported by Scripture. The BIble does not speak to what Jesus could or could not do in regards to sin.
Why should we care?
When someone takes the position that Jesus (aka God) can or cannot do something, we put ourselves above God. We actually are judging what God can and cannot do, as if we could know.
And what happens when we share this teaching with others?
Several things. One is that people assume the speaker is claiming the authority to know. If we don’t really know what we are talking about, we are at risk of being judged.
Secondly, we might be leading people astray without realizing it. If a person accepts our teaching that “Jesus could not sin” this might lead some to discount what Jesus accomplished on earth. At the end of the Bible is a warning:
“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.” (Revelation 22: 18-19)
You can argue that this is limited to one book of the Bible and not the whole, but I think that would be a mistake. Then there is Matthew 18:6 —
“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
Such teachings have caused me to “stumble” in the past. I would not want to do that to others.
So, if someone takes the position that they can determine what God can and cannot do, that seems to me to be a bit arrogant. If I have the power to put limits on God then I am superior to God. This is not a good place to be and it doesn’t work out well for most people who try it.
Well, there you have it. I don’t know if this answers your question but I hope it offers a little insight into my perspective.
Wow Jeff, I’m so grateful you took the time to write such a thoughtful response! I really appreciate your critical approach to these sorts of things…check it against scripture as the final authority, amen! I haven’t read the article in a long time actually, so I’ll read again.
I understand that this type of question is not that important to my daily walk with the Lord. I’ll try to keep it simple. thank you so much brother! Danny
Thanks Danny!
Blessings on you, brother!!
01-17-2023, How does going without food (fasting) affect the relationship between body and spirit?
We are all spiritual beings, created by God to live for a limited time, confined within our physical bodies. There is a conflict within each of us as our spirits and our bodies, “our flesh” struggle for control of the being created by God.
Our flesh seeks food, comfort, physical possessions, the praise, approval of other physical beings, and status. Things that sustain physical life and satisfy our desires to be looked upon favorably, admired by other people.
Without Christ, our spirits are powerless against our flesh (the natural man), and we live for the approval of others, we are ruled by our flesh.
Romans 6:6, 7:18-25, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:9-10
Christ who came to us in the flesh, empowered by the Holy Spirit proved Satan, the tempter, could be defeated by allowing God to rule our lives and fight this battle.
Romans 8:3
As Christ physically left this earth, He promised to send another, who would guide us in all truth, the Holy Spirit.
John 16:7-15
In my heart I believe fasting is being sensitive to and living daily in obedience to the Holy Spirit. Feeding our spirits with the Word of God, and prayer, depriving our flesh of anything that would take us away from God, distract us from our service to God on earth and seek the approval of man.
Ron,
Thank you! I appreciate your words today because they help me “see” the difference between flesh and spirit. Being able to “see” through our spirit’s point of view is so important. This discussion is helping me understand the difference between flesh and spirit.
This is great. it is helping me also!
Blessings,
Ron