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Edited By W. T. P. Wolston.
(Read Matthew 4:1-11, 23-251Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. (Matthew 4:1‑11)
23And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. 25And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan. (Matthew 4:23‑25); Luke 4:1-15, 40, 411And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 5And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 9And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: 10For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 11And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 13And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. 14And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. 15And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. (Luke 4:1‑15)
40Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. 41And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ. (Luke 4:40‑41)).
WE find in the end of the fourth chapter of Matthew that, Satan being overcome, Christ comes out to bless and deliver man: “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people” (vs. 23). In plain language, He fulfills a striking verse found in Luke’s Gospel. There the Lord Jesus says, “When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils” (Luke 11:21, 2221When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: 22But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. (Luke 11:21‑22)).
Now what is the meaning of that? Satan is the strong man, and he is armed with everything that can encircle and hold his vassal―man. This strong man keeps his palace. His armor is the knowledge he has of the weakness of man, a weapon which he has well learned to use in upsetting and overcoming man. His palace is the world. His goods are sinners. And while he holds them thus, they are in peace. You were never in anxiety about your soul? Never. You have been in peace all your days. You do not believe in Satan. Not you. You are just an illustration of the truth.
Well, who is the stronger Man? The blessed Lord Jesus, the Son of God. He overcame Satan, and bound him morally in the wilderness. He took all his armor from him. Christ has gone into the devil’s camp of set purpose, hence we read, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:88He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)). He has come here to refute the devil’s lie that God did not love men. God is love, and He has given His own Son to death for us. At so great a cost is His love expressed.
When the devil left Christ in the wilderness, we are told by Luke that it was “for a season” (ch. 4:13). Another time Satan crossed His path in the garden of Gethsemane. Regarding that attack the blessed Lord said to His disciples, “The prince of this world cometh and Hath nothing in me” (John 14:3030Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. (John 14:30)). He had met Him once before, and been defeated by Him. But, unabashed, he came to Him again in the garden. Then he evidently pressed on Him the awful consequences of His pathway if He would go on, even death. What was Christ’s resource? Prayer. We read, “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, unto him that was able to save him from (or out of), death, and was heard in that he feared” (Heb. 5:77Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; (Hebrews 5:7)). His agony was so deep then, that “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:4444And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:44)).
Doubtless Satan then suggested to Him to pause and not drink that cup, for it would cost Him His life, and the forsaking of God. He looked into the cup and measured its contents. It was all God’s judgment against sin. If He drank it He must be forsaken of God, and he cast off, upon the cross. Not merely was it the physical suffering and sorrow that men could give Him, as they nailed Him to the tree, but the inevitable sense that God and He must part company. Hence, as He looked at that cup, He said, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done.” He knew that if He did not drink that cup of judgment upon the cross, you and I would have to drink it in eternity. If He did not drink the cup, in our room and stead, there was no deliverance, no salvation, no pardon, no cleansing possible for you and me. As He looked at that cup He shrank from it in all the perfect holiness of His being, and deprecated it with the utmost intensity. Then He took it, and drank it to the very dregs, in the perfection of His love. Blessed Saviour! Well may each redeemed one cry, Hallelujah, I am saved; I am saved by His death. We are saved because He drank God’s cup of wrath, to the very dregs, so that He, in tender love and divine righteousness, might put the cup of God’s salvation into our hands, and press it to our lips. May we not joyfully say, “What hath God wrought?”
Nor is this all. He died to save us, He now lives to succor us. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:1515For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)). What is that? Just what we have before considered—the temptation in the wilderness. And now He is able to succor us. “For in that he himself suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted” (Heb. 2:1818For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. (Hebrews 2:18)). He is able to save, He is able to succor, and He is able to sympathize (Heb. 4:1515For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)). Note well the passage― “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:2525Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)). What is the meaning thereof? That blessed, great high priest, now at God’s right hand, understands perfectly all the pathway of the Christian here. He has gone through it Himself. He took up all our sorrows in His life that He might sympathize, and He took up all our sins in His death that He might save. Now on high He can succor and deliver His people absolutely. Hebrews 4:1515For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) alludes to the temptation in the wilderness, and Hebrews 5:77Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; (Hebrews 5:7) gives us the agony in the garden, as He looked at the cup, shrank from it, and then drank it.
With Him, then, it was “prayers and supplications.” Do you know what the Apostle Paul connects with prayer and supplication for us? “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known unto God” (Phil. 4:66Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (Philippians 4:6)). Thank God. Christ’s prayers and supplications were coupled with strong crying’s and tears, ours are to be coupled with thanksgivings, for His death and resurrection have brought us into peace, liberty, and rest before God.
And now, let me again ask, who would not have this blessed One as Saviour, Lord, and Friend? Who would not seek to follow Him? He is the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him, for He has overcome Satan and spoiled his goods. Fellow-Christian, you and I were once servants and slaves of the devil. But what has happened? The Lord has picked us up, saved us and cleansed us, filled our hearts with peace and joy, and given us the privilege of telling other people of Himself.
What a wonderful thing is the grace that picks up the vessels of Satan’s power, delivers and cleanses them, and then deposits in them some spiritual gift by which others may be helped. Christ ascended on high that He might send down the Holy Ghost with the glorious news which, when believed, delivers sinners from Satan’s power, and brings them from darkness to light. And there is the value of preaching. The preacher goes out and tells the simple tidings of the love of Jesus and the value of His blood. Any one that believes and decides for Him, God will give His Spirit to, and very likely make him the means of blessing to somebody else. That is the way the gospel spreads. First of all you receive the gospel yourself, and then constrained by His love you go and tell others what Jesus has done for you. Like the man whose eyes Jesus opened, you can say, “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:2525He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. (John 9:25)). Who wrought this marvel? Jesus. My reader, believe in Jesus, and then go home and tell your friends: “I have found the Lord. I am delivered. I am set free. His blood has washed all my sins away.”
Now, the gospel is not only that Christ has overcome Satan morally when tempted in the wilderness, but that He has gone right down into death, and there destroyed his power. Further, He has risen triumphant, and the devil knows it well. As a consequence there is peace for you. You are to know a risen, triumphant Christ at God’s right hand. The Man who overcame Satan morally in the wilderness—while He was on His way back to God’s right hand―has on the road carved the pathway for me to accompany Him, and has opened the doorway right up to God’s presence through His death and resurrection. As He died He said, “It is finished.” When He rose, He said, “Peace unto you.” The Holy Ghost has now come down to tell us that the Victor is in the glory. And the man that believes in Him shares His victory, and enters into the spoils of His conquest.
If you have never before made up your mind for Christ, surely you will believe Him and confess Him henceforth. Then you can joyfully go through this world and say: “Come, see a Man that has overcome Satan, borne all my sins, saved me forever, and now fills my heart with peace and joy. His name is Jesus.” If this be the case, God will make you the means of blessing to others. May He grant it for His name’s sake.
W. T. P. W.