Advertisers often make self-indulgence a part of their marketing strategies. We’ll be happier if we drive this vehicle, use this particular toothpaste, or join this club. In recent years, instant gratification has become more than just a ploy to appeal to us; it has become a reality. The internet has redefined shopping. Media like books and music can be downloaded and enjoyed immediately. Online purchases can often deliver the next day—and in some areas, you can receive your order the same day. Instant gratification has become far more instant!
Advertisers were not the first to use this strategy. From the beginning, Satan has used instant gratification in his bag of tricks to entice us down a road we do not need to travel. He used it with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), he tried it on Jesus, and he’ll try it on us. As we look at how Satan attempted it with Jesus, we can learn to trust God and what He provides rather than fall for the temptation to rely on ourselves instead of God.
THE PASSAGE
Deuteronomy 8:2-10; Matthew 4:1-4
THE SETTINGS
Matthew 4 is the account of Jesus being led by the Spirit into the wilderness following His baptism. It is there that He was tempted by the devil over the course of forty days. The three temptations all had the following theme: They were provocations for Jesus to do something outside the scope of God’s will. In each account, He responded to the devil with quotations from God’s Word, specifically from the book of Deuteronomy.
THE POINT
God’s provision is always better than what we try to get for ourselves.
None of what was to happen to Jesus in Matthew 4 was accidental. “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil” (Matthew 4:1). This was God’s plan. With this plan, Satan found a way to tempt Jesus. After fasting for so long, we should not be surprised that Jesus was hungry. Satan hoped to use that to his advantage.
