Temptation of Jesus #1 (Matthew 4:1-4, Deuteronomy 8, Exodus 16)

Link to Text:  Matthew 4:1-4, Deuteronomy 8, Exodus 16


Temptation #1: Tell these stones to become bread. In other words…  
- Meet a legitimate need in an illegitimate way.

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

Think About This

• What is your favorite dish? If you ate your favorite dish every day, at what point would you get tired of having the same thing.

Discussion

     Exodus 16

1. What was the prior 400 years like for the Israelites? What was their understanding of God, and their faith? How were they provided for?
2. How long were the Israelites in the desert before they complained about the lack of food? What was God’s response?
3. Why did God want to test them, and how did he craft the “rules” about receiving the manna? How would this serve as a test?
4. What happened when people gathered too much or too little manna? What happened when people tried to save manna to the next day? What happened when people looked for manna on the 7th day?
5. Consider the thought of eating the same meal every day for breakfast (bread) and dinner (quail) for 40 years. How would you feel initially? After a few weeks? After a few months? After a few years?
6. What 2 things did the Israelites learn about the provision of the manna and quail?
   1. physical, about the provision: __________
   2. spiritual, about God: __________
7. Who placed the physical need for food in humans?
8. How would you balance the feelings of thankfulness with feelings of boredom or discontent with the same menu every day?    

     Deuteronomy 8

1. In Deuteronomy 8:2-3, what are all the verbs the Lord does “to” the Israelites?
2. What else went well in the desert regarding the provision from God (v4)?
3. How is Moses comparing the deprivation of the wilderness to the abundance of the impending Promised Land? How is the wilderness described in v15? How is the Promised Land described in 7-9?
4. Why is it important that they obey and follow the Lord in the hard times in the wilderness? How does that translate into the future times when there will be abundance?
5. Physically, man could live by bread alone, couldn’t he?
6. Why did God want to test the Israelites (v16)? What good would that do them?
7. In applying this to our lives, what can we replace the word “bread” with in the statement “Man does not live by ______ alone.” In other words…
1. What is something we desire, want, need, that may become a temptation? Example: Man does not live by “owning my own house” alone. Man does not live by “having fun at Spring Break” alone, etc.
2. How are some ways we are tempted to meet these needs?
3. What are some ways you have experienced God’s provision in an area of temptation? 

     Matthew 4:1-4

1. What happened immediately before Jesus was tempted (Matthew 3)? How is that significant as compared to “when” we are sometimes tempted?
2. What was Jesus’ physical condition when he experienced the first temptation? How does that to compare to the same for us?
3. What would be the long term impacts if Jesus had accepted the temptation? To Jesus? To God? To the world?
4. What are the long term impacts when we are tempted? To us? To our family? To our future? To our faith?

Bottom Line Point(s):

1. The issue is not whether Jesus is hungry and can turn stone into bread, but can he trust God.
2. Giving in to temptation is not just about “the moment”… There are usually long term impacts to future, family, and faith.
3. Others?

How can you apply what you’ve learned here?

1. What’s your bread?

Bibliography

1. Life Application Study Bible, NIV.
2. ESV Study Bible.
3. Andy Stanley, “Pause” series.