Son of God/Son of Man

Jesus was God in the flesh, both Son of God and Son of Man. And the temptations he faced, as recorded in Matthew chapter 4, demonstrate this dual nature of Jesus.

Matthew 4:1-3 says…

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Now, Satan has different names, too. He’s called the devil, Beelzebub, the prince of darkness, the god of this age, the accuser, and the adversary. Here he’s called the tempter. And it seems that this temptation is very personal. He tempts Jesus to satisfy his physical appetite apart from God’s will. Satan comes to Jesus at his most vulnerable point and says: Look, you’re really hungry. There’s no food in sight. You’re gonna starve to death waiting for your Heavenly Father to feed you. Use your supernatural powers to feed yourself. Look out for number one.

And the tempter uses those same tactics with us today. He whispers to us: Look, you’re single, and you’ve got a strong, sexual appetite. You’re gonna starve to death waiting on God’s timing. There’s not a prospect of marriage in sight. Satisfy your hunger outside God’s will.

Or he might say to somebody who’s under severe stress or going through something traumatic: Look, you’re really hungry for some peace. If you take God’s route of reading the Bible and prayer, that’s gonna take a long time. But you can have it instantly. All you’ve got to do is take these pills. Take another drink. Use this needle, and you can be at peace in seconds.

We know how Satan works. And he’s constantly trying to get us to satisfy our physical appetites outside God’s will.

Matthew 4:4…

4 [Jesus] answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

It’s as if Jesus is saying: There’s something way more important than physical bread. As hungry as I am, I crave a spiritual relationship with my Heavenly Father more than I crave food. I want that more than I want this.

So, the Son of Man was tempted to satisfy his physical appetite. But the Son of God resisted the enticement and said, “I’ll wait for God’s timing.”

Matthew 4:5 says…

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will give his angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

It’s interesting that the devil quotes Scripture, isn’t it? 2 Corinthians 11:14 says that he’s an angel of light. He might appear in ways that seem harmless. And so, we’ve got to be careful not to get too quickly enamored with someone just because he or she quotes Scripture. People might say: Look, God wants you to be healthy all the time because the Bible says, “By his stripes we are healed.” So, if you’re not healthy, you must not have enough faith. Others might say: God wants you to be wealthy because the Bible says, “Whoever trusts in the Lord will prosper.” Or: The Bible says you’re not supposed to judge anybody. So, don’t make any moral judgments about what’s going on in the world.

Well, the Scriptures tell us that we’re to study the Word of God so that we can rightly handle the word of truth. We study the Scriptures so that we don’t become outwitted by Satan’s schemes.

Here, Satan quotes Psalm 91:12. “The angels will catch you, Jesus.” To me, this is a temptation for Jesus to achieve status through superficial and spectacular means. He’s saying: Jesus, if you take the route you’re planning by teaching and asking people to deny themselves and follow you, you’re not gonna get too many followers. But, man, if you jump off the highest point of the temple and the angels catch you, imagine how many people would come out to see you. People love the spectacular. You do this act once a day for the next week, and you’ll have thousands of people falling at your feet.

And Satan tempts us the same way, doesn’t he? Take a shortcut to significance by performing the dramatic.

Maybe he whispers to college students: If you live the straight life here at school and be a dedicated student, you’re gonna be alone. You’ve got to do something spectacular to get noticed. Be the biggest drunk at the party. Wear the most risqué clothing, and people will notice. You’ll have friends. It might be a little dangerous right now, but the angels will catch you. You can come back to God later.

Maybe he whispers to ministers: If you just preach the Bible, you’re gonna bore people. You need to do something spectacular. Ride onto the platform on a Harley. Drink a beer while you’re preaching. Drop some curse words from the stage. And then you’ll get a reputation, and you’ll get noticed. After all, it is written, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Matthew 4:7 says…

7 Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”

Faith sometimes involves risk, like Jesus saying to Peter, “Get out of the boat and walk on the water.” But there’s a fine line between faith and presumption. There’s a big difference between taking a step of faith to obey God and taking a leap of faith to try to impress people.

The Son of Man was tempted to dazzle people with his supernatural powers. But the Son of God chose the way that led to the cross.

Matthew 4:8-9 says…

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.”

It looks like Satan is tempting Jesus to gain wealth by compromising his moral convictions. It’s as if he’s saying: Look, Jesus, you’re embarrassingly poor for the Son of God. You don’t have a house. You don’t have any transportation. You don’t have any money. You don’t even have a place to lay your head. The Son of God deserves so much better. Just bow down and worship me for a moment, and I’ll give you the kind of luxury you deserve.

And Satan comes to us and says: I’ll give you the world if you’ll just make some compromises in your convictions. Don’t worry about the source of the money. Don’t worry that you’ve got to get involved with some seedy people. Don’t worry that you’re gonna have to exploit the poor. Don’t worry that you’re gonna miss a lot of church. Don’t worry that it’s gonna separate you from your family for a while. It’s just temporary. If you bow down and worship me, I’ll give you all these kingdoms and their splendor.

Matthew 4:10-11 says…

10 Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and began to serve him.

The Son of Man was tempted with prestige and wealth. But the Son of God chose to center his life around the Father.