Inductive Bible Study of Matthew chapter 4 - Enjoy! :)

I've been really trying to spend a lot of time in the Word, since having my surgery last week...I've camped on Matthew chapters 3 and 4, but tonight I'm just going to share some observations of chapter 4....hope you won't mind too much, but I'm going to do it by asking you some questions...so you'll learn too. :)

First, read the text....

Mat 4:1
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Mat 4:2
And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.
Mat 4:3
And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."
Mat 4:4
But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.' "


Here are some questions that lead to pretty awesome interpretation....you know by now, OBSERVATION - 90+% of your time; interpretation-flows out of observation; and then application flows from both----what do I do with this truth I've just learned?

The first question to ask is what happened before "Then" in verse one of chapter 4?

I'll help you out here....Jesus had just been baptised by John the baptist and had the Holy Spirit rest on Him "as a dove" and the LORD GOD speak from Heaven and say, "This is my Son, in Whom I am well pleased."

OK....so the Scripture says that THEN ( directly after a very BIG moment in His life, and after being blessed by God)....THEN

Who led Him?

Where was He led?

Why was He led there?

WOW! Just in verse 1 alone, there is so much to see....

Now, some critical thinking type questions....

WHY would the Holy Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness, to be all alone?

WHY would the Holy Spirit lead Him there to be tempted?

What could God's purpose be in His own Son being tempted by the evil one, the very one He was sent to defeat?

Makes me wonder if Jesus KNEW He was going there to be tempted, and if that's the precise reason why He chose to fast for 40 days and 40 nights?

Do you know that from the book of John, Jesus says that He came only to do the Father's will, and that He never spoke on His own behalf, but that as He heard from God, He spoke?

Knowing this, why is verse 4 important, and does it shed any light for you onto how Jesus was likely spending those 40 days?

If He spent them listening to the Father, and then He combatted the evil one's ploy(s) with Scripture, what can we learn from this that we can apply in our own lives?

If you read Matthew chapter 3, you'll see that John the Baptist had just told the religious leaders of the day, the ones that didn't recognize their need for repentance, that God was able to make even the stones into sons of Abraham....then in chapter 4:3 the evil one comes along and tempts Jesus to use the stones to feed His flesh....to serve His own immediate needs....

Yet, what does Jesus place His importance upon?
His flesh?
or
His relationship with the Father?

How do these few verses inspire you to live in light of the truth that they hold?

That's all I have tonight....I'm still recovering from my surgery, and only get little bursts of energy at a time...now mine is gone.

I hope you'll be encouraged tonight, that even our Lord Jesus was tempted by the evil one, and that God's Word was able to keep Him, as it is you and I!

In Him,
Jes