THINK TOGETHER.
Are you ever tempted to do something that you know is wrong?
READ TOGETHER.
Matthew 4:1-11. 1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” 7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” 11Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
Jesus had to go through everything we go through. He had to be born like us. He had to grow up like us. He probably got picked on sometimes like us. He got sick like us. He got sad like us. Jesus was like us. Remember, that’s why he got baptized, to show that he is one of us. A person.
Jesus also had to be tempted just like us. Matthew 4 records the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness (the desert). How many times did the devil try to tempt Jesus? What kinds of things did the devil tempt Jesus to do? What kinds of things does the devil tempt you to do?
The devil wanted Jesus to doubt the love of his Heavenly Father. He said to Jesus, If you are the Son of God. In other words, if your Heavenly Father really loves you, he won’t make you go hungry. If your Heavenly Father really loves you, he will catch you if you jump off this building. If your Heavenly Father really loves you, he will give you everything on earth without making you die on the cross first. The devil wanted Jesus to doubt God’s love, and the devil wants you to doubts God’s love too.
There’s one very important way that Jesus is NOT like us? Do you know what it is? That’s right, Jesus never once listened to the devil or gave in to his temptations. Jesus never sinned. Why is that so important? Because Jesus had to be sinless in order for him to die for our sins. He had to be the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Jesus never doubted God’s love for him, even when things got really hard. We never have to doubt God’s love or us either, even when things get really hard. We know God loves us no matter what. How do we know? Because Jesus went through the hardest temptations ever, in the wilderness and on the cross, for us.
Because of Jesus and his sinlessness, we can be forgiven.
With Jesus we can know God loves us and we can tell the devil to BE GONE!
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Talk about how Jesus overcame temptation. He quoted scripture. What Bible verse can you memorize to use whenever you feel tempted? (Suggestion: Hebrews 2:18)
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus, you went through the hardest temptations but never sinned because you knew God loved you and because you love me. Help me when I am tempted to always trust your love too. Amen.
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