The Secret of Victory Over Temptation (Matthew 4:1-11)

[Stephan Choe]

January 22, 2026

Key Verse 10:  “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

Believers are constantly exposed to temptation. We are vulnerable beings and are tempted again and again. Therefore, we should not rely on ourselves or other people, but on God and his Word.

Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. After his baptism, the Holy Spirit led him into the desert, where he was tempted by the devil. Through this temptation, God wanted to make his Son, Jesus Christ, the true victor over the devil and death, so that he could redeem us from sin and the power of death.

Today, we want to learn the secret of Christ’s victory over the devil’s temptation so that we too may overcome temptation. May God help us to defeat the devil.

1. The Temptation of Hunger (2-4)

Many people worldwide are malnourished. In Africa, for example, almost one in four people is malnourished.

You are probably familiar with the story from Victor Hugo's novel "Les Misérables." Driven by hunger, Jean Valjean stole a piece of bread. For this, he was sentenced to 19 years in prison.

After Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, he was very hungry. The devil tempted him: "If you are the Son of God, then command these stones to become bread."

The devil suggested that Jesus prove his divinity by turning stones into bread,

"Jesus, if you truly are the Son of God, you must prove it by turning these stones into bread and eating your fill. Then you can prove to everyone that you are the Son of God. Through your omnipotence, you can also solve humanity's hunger problem. That's an ingenious solution!"

... We are often tempted by a lack of bread or money. Satan then tells us something like this: “If Jesus is truly the almighty Son of God, then he must use his omnipotence to help you so that you don't suffer from a lack of money or bread. Why do you suffer from the lack of money? Why do Africans go hungry even though about 50 percent of them are Christians? Why are the Japanese rich even though less than one percent of their population are Christians?”

The devil often tempts us with God's word, which he takes out of its biblical context. The temptation of men by the serpent in Paradise is a prime example of this. God had told men, “You may freely eat from every tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” But the serpent asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The devil twisted God's word so that men would doubt God's love.

How does Jesus respond to the temptation of the devil?

Jesus answers, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (4).

Jesus is right. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Jesus does not ignore the need for bread. On the contrary, he has compassion for the hungry. That is why he once gave bread to 5,000 hungry people. Later, however, he says that man absolutely needs every word of God for eternal life (John 6:35).

And we need words from the Bible, every word of God in the context of the entire Bible. The core message of the Bible is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that we can have eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus came into the world to reveal himself as the Christ and Son of God, to die for our sins, and to rise from the dead. He wants us to have eternal life through faith in him.

However, we need words from the Bible, every word of God within the context of the entire Bible. Praise be to God, who gave us Jesus and his Word of Life.

2. The Temptation of Divine Protection (5–7)

When the devil failed to make Jesus the Christ of the Bread, he took him to the Holy City. He placed him on the highest point of the temple and said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down! For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Satan suggested that Jesus prove his divine sonship by performing a spectacular jump.

In this temptation, Satan quoted a Bible passage, namely Psalm 91:11–12: “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

Satan argues something like this, “If you were truly the Son of God, then God would have to protect you from injury and death through his angels if you jumped from the temple tower, and people would then believe in you as the Son of God with great enthusiasm.”

The devil often makes similar whispers: “If Jesus is truly the Son of God, he would have to perform a spectacular miracle for everyone to believe in him as the Son of God. For example, he would have to heal all the sick in the world, raise the dead, or feed everyone.”

In this temptation, Satan takes a word of God out of context. In Psalm 91:11-12, God says that he will accompany and protect his believers on all their paths. However, God does not mean that anyone should deliberately put themselves in danger to test God's protection.

In Mark 16:18a, Christ promises us, “…and if they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all.”

Some drank poison to test God. But they all died.

What answer does Jesus give the tempter?

Jesus answers him, “It is also written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’ (Deuteronomy 6:16).” The sixth chapter of Deuteronomy recounts the following: When the Israelites arrived in Rafidim after their exodus from Egypt, they had no drinking water. They grumbled against God (Exodus 7:2ff.). God said to them, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God…” (Deuteronomy 6:16–17).

We should not put God to the test, but trust him and obey his word.

During His ministry, Jesus was repeatedly tempted to become a Messiah who sows only bread. For example, after Jesus fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish, they wanted to make him their king. But he went up the mountain alone, prayed to God, and received the instruction that he should not become the Messiah of the Bread but rather walk the path of the cross for the redemption of humanity, to free us from sin, death, and hell.

With his answer, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test,” Jesus makes it clear that we should not interpret God’s word arbitrarily or put God himself to the test. Rather, we should understand every word correctly according to his will and follow it.

Jesus recognizes the devil’s intention. Therefore, he does not give in to the devil’s temptation but proclaims the truth: “It is also written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

We, too, should not put God to the test. Rather, we should trust Him firmly and obey His word. That is the path to victory.

3. The Temptation of Worldly Glory (8-11)

The devil takes Jesus to a high mountain and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. He says to Jesus, “All this I will give you if you will kneel before me and worship me.”

He promises Jesus all the glory of the world. Jesus would establish a large, powerful kingdom of Israel and be a great king like David. The condition is quite simple: Jesus would not have to go to the cross but only kneel before the devil once and worship him. This would cost him nothing. A tempting offer.

The devil tries to lure Jesus from the path of suffering to an easy, glorious path. Jesus should neither suffer nor die but become a powerful, worldly king. The devil's proposal seems tempting to Jesus. But without the death of Christ, there is no resurrection of Christ. Without Jesus' death, there is neither our salvation nor our resurrection. The devil's claim is a lie.

This diabolical temptation appeals to the selfish desires of most people. That's why it resonates with us; we want to avoid as few difficulties and hardships as possible while simultaneously enjoying worldly pleasures. The devil tempts us again and again in this way. He says we don't have to walk the Way of the Cross. He suggests we choose a wide and comfortable path instead. He promises us success on this easy, worldly route.

The devil claims that Jesus should worship not only God, but also him, Satan!

Today, the devil tries to seduce us through postmodern thinking. Postmodern people say, "You believe this, and I believe that." In this way, the devil tries to convince us that not only is God God, but Satan is also God. In other words, it is considered acceptable to worship any god, since there are other gods besides God, such as Buddha, the Islamic Allah, or idols. Under this influence, the number of Christians in Germany is rapidly declining.

But there is only one Creator God and one Messiah, namely Jesus Christ, as the Apostle Peter says: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

What does Jesus answer the devil?

Jesus says, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only’” (10).

When Peter tried to turn him away from the path of the cross, Jesus said, “Away with you, Satan! You are a temptation to sin because you are not thinking about what God wants but about what people want” (Matthew 16:22–23).

We must have a firm faith in the one Creator God and his Christ Jesus so that we can be saved and blessed.

The story of temptation teaches us two things:

First, it teaches us that Jesus Christ did not choose the easy way, but the way of the cross to redeem us. In this way, Christ was able to free us from sin and the power of death and give us the Kingdom of Heaven. For this, we should thank God.

Second, this story teaches us that we should not take the path that pleases us or others but the divine way. The devil tempts us to take a human path that pleases us and others. But we should pray to God and follow His will, even when it is difficult for us.

The Apostle John encouraged us in this with the words in 1 John 2:15: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them.”

If we love the world, there is no love for God in our hearts. Therefore, we should remember Jesus’ words: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only” (John 10).