365 Days in the Gospels and Spirit of Prophecy
January 25
Bible discovery
Matthew 4:1-11 365DGSP 26.1
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 365DGSP 26.2
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 365DGSP 26.3
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 365DGSP 26.4
4 But 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. 365DGSP 26.5
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 365DGSP 26.6
6 And 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. 365DGSP 26.7
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 365DGSP 26.8
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 365DGSP 26.9
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 365DGSP 26.10
10 Then 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. 365DGSP 26.11
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. 365DGSP 26.12
12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. 365DGSP 26.14
13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. 365DGSP 26.15
1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 365DGSP 26.17
2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 365DGSP 26.18
3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 365DGSP 26.19
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 365DGSP 26.20
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 365DGSP 26.21
6 And 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. 365DGSP 26.22
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 365DGSP 26.23
8 And 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. 365DGSP 26.24
9 And 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: 365DGSP 26.25
10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 365DGSP 26.26
11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 365DGSP 26.27
12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 365DGSP 26.28
13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. 365DGSP 26.29
Spirit of Prophecy Reading
The Desire of Ages pp.114-116: 365DGSP 26.30
This chapter is based on Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12, 13; Luke 4:1-13. 365DGSP 26.31
“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.” The words of Mark are still more significant. He says, “Immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts.” “And in those days He did eat nothing.” 365DGSP 26.32
When Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted, He was led by the Spirit of God. He did not invite temptation. He went to the wilderness to be alone, to contemplate His mission and work. By fasting and prayer He was to brace Himself for the bloodstained path He must travel. But Satan knew that the Saviour had gone into the wilderness, and he thought this the best time to approach Him. 365DGSP 26.33
Mighty issues for the world were at stake in the conflict between the Prince of light and the leader of the kingdom of darkness. After tempting man to sin, Satan claimed the earth as his, and styled himself the prince of this world. Having conformed to his own nature the father and mother of our race, he thought to establish here his empire. He declared that men had chosen him as their sovereign. Through his control of men, he held dominion over the world. Christ had come to disprove Satan's claim. As the Son of man, Christ would stand loyal to God. Thus it would be shown that Satan had not gained complete control of the human race, and that his claim to the world was false. All who desired deliverance from his power would be set free. The dominion that Adam had lost through sin would be recovered. 365DGSP 26.34
Not without hindrance was the Commander of heaven to win the souls of men to His kingdom. From the time when He was a babe in Bethlehem, He was continually assailed by the evil one. The image of God was manifest in Christ, and in the councils of Satan it was determined that He should be overcome. No human being had come into the world and escaped the power of the deceiver. The forces of the confederacy of evil were set upon His track to engage in warfare against Him, and if possible to prevail over Him. 365DGSP 26.35
At the Saviour's baptism, Satan was among the witnesses. He saw the Father's glory overshadowing His Son. He heard the voice of Jehovah testifying to the divinity of Jesus. Ever since Adam's sin, the human race had been cut off from direct communion with God; the intercourse between heaven and earth had been through Christ; but now that Jesus had come “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3), the Father Himself spoke. He had before communicated with humanity through Christ; now He communicated with humanity in Christ. Satan had hoped that God's abhorrence of evil would bring an eternal separation between heaven and earth. But now it was manifest that the connection between God and man had been restored. 365DGSP 26.36
Satan saw that he must either conquer or be conquered. The issues of the conflict involved too much to be entrusted to his confederate angels. He must personally conduct the warfare. All the energies of apostasy were rallied against the Son of God. Christ was made the mark of every weapon of hell. 365DGSP 26.37
Many look on this conflict between Christ and Satan as having no special bearing on their own life; and for them it has little interest. But within the domain of every human heart this controversy is repeated. Never does one leave the ranks of evil for the service of God without encountering the assaults of Satan. The enticements which Christ resisted were those that we find it so difficult to withstand. They were urged upon Him in as much greater degree as His character is superior to ours. With the terrible weight of the sins of the world upon Him, Christ withstood the test upon appetite, upon the love of the world, and upon that love of display which leads to presumption. These were the temptations that overcame Adam and Eve, and that so readily overcome us. 365DGSP 26.38