Lent: From Death to Life - Week 2

Written By Hayley Lotter

Opening Prayer:

Lord God,

Yours is the voice that called creation into being and set the stars upon their paths.
Yours is the voice that calls us and tells us who we are and who You are.
Yours is the voice above all others that we are to train ourselves to hear and obey.
Give us the courage to follow only Your voice.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Key Scripture:

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

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

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

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

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon Summary

In this Bible passage we hear about when Jesus spent time in the wilderness just after He was baptised. There are two main characters in this story; a teller of truth, and a teller of lies. The teller of lies is the enemy, Satan. He represents all that is against God. The Bible literally calls him ‘the father of lies’ (John 8). The teller of truth is Jesus. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the truth (John 14). In this story, Jesus calls for death to the lies that the enemy tells us. Jesus reminds us to listen to Him, the teller of truth. His truth brings life!

The First Lie

Matthew 4:1-4

Jesus was hungry. And Satan told Him to make Himself some food, to turn stones into bread and feed Himself. That might seem like a reasonable thing to suggest, maybe even a nice thing to suggest. But this wasn’t really about bread. Satan was trying to convince Jesus of something deeper. The lie Satan was trying to get Jesus to believe was “I don’t need God the Father. I can look after myself.”

Satan was telling Jesus that He could take control. Provide for Himself. Meet His own needs. But the truth is that we do need God, and we can trust in God. Jesus later teaches, “Don’t worry about what you will eat or wear… is not life more than food?” (Matthew 6). Not because food doesn’t matter, but because God knows what we need. And Jesus knew this! He said back to Satan “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

We are not just physical people. We are spiritual people. Bread meets a physical need, but it is God who truly sustains us. The first lie says “I can look after myself.” Maybe for you the lie sounds more like “I need more money”, “I need more control”, “I need to fix this myself.” But Jesus reminds us of the truth — you don’t have to carry this alone. We do not live by bread alone. We live by trusting God.

The Second Lie

Matthew 4:5-8

This lie is where Satan preys on our zeal to serve God, when he questions us over “what is enough for us?” Satan was tempting Jesus to ask Himself, “Is it enough that God says you are the Son of God or do you need to prove.” Sometimes in our lives our drive to please God and serve Him originates from within us and comes from our own desires and our own need to prove ourselves, rather than from God and what He says about us as our Lord and our Creator. We think in terms of “If (I do this…) then (God will do that…) and think if we are more holy, if we read the Bible more, if we pray more, then God will love us, God will bless us etc.

We need to learn to recognise the voice of shame and condemnation just as Jesus did. Jesus realized Satan wasn’t just trying to get Jesus to prove Himself, Satan was also trying to get Him to question His identity as the Son of God. But Jesus knew that He was loved by God. Just prior to this, at His baptism, the voice of God from heaven had said “this is my Son, whom I love.” This heavenly affirmation of who He was and that He was loved by God was enough for Jesus. He knew He didn’t have to do anything to prove who He was. He didn’t need to do anything to make God love Him. Jesus didn’t need to have the whole world bow down before Him to know that He was loved and that He was God’s Son. The truth was the word of God was enough for Jesus.

The Third Lie

Matthew 4:8-11

The enemy, Satan, the adversary, tries to offer Jesus a shortcut so Jesus can avoid suffering. Satan offers Jesus all earthly kingdoms and authority in exchange for worship. Jesus rejects this offered shortcut of avoiding suffering and says no to Satan. Only God is to be worshipped and served. Jesus turns to scripture, to Deuteronomy 6:13, which says “Fear the Lord your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name.” Satan tempts Jesus to avoid the suffering and sacrifice of the cross. Satan wants and demands to be worshipped and tries to get Jesus to worship him by offering something that is ultimately not his to offer.

Jesus rejects the offer. Jesus responds by countering the temptation with a quotation from scripture. Jesus shows us that the word of God is the way to face and defend against temptation. Jesus teaches us ‘don't compromise with evil’. We are to be faithfully obedient to God and God only. We need to follow, obey, and serve God rather than seek immediate ungodly gratification. We are to turn to God and look up and worship. Jesus answered Satan, “the scripture says worship the Lord your God and serve only Him”. Let's turn to God and look up to Him and worship and serve only Him. Live by God's means, live in response to His love, and live who Jesus says we are.

Discussion Guide:

This community guide is designed to help navigate the "wilderness" by identifying the lies of the enemy and replacing them with the life-giving truth of Jesus. We explore three specific lies Satan uses to try and distract Jesus from His mission and how we can use Scripture to defend ourselves against them today.

Lie 1: "I can look after myself"

Scripture: Matthew 4:1-4

  • The Trap: Satan tempted a hungry Jesus to turn stones into bread, suggesting He should take control and provide for His own needs rather than relying on the Father.

  • The Truth: We are not just physical beings; we are spiritual people sustained by every word that comes from God.

  • Discussion:

    • Where do you feel the pressure to "fix things" yourself or gain more control over your circumstances?

    • How does the lie of self-sufficiency keep us from experiencing God’s provision?

Lie 2: "You’re not who God says you are"

Scripture: Matthew 4:5-8

  • The Trap: Satan challenged Jesus to "prove" His identity. This lie preys on our desire to perform and “do the right things” or be "good enough" to earn God’s love.

  • The Truth: Jesus’ identity was already settled at His baptism when God said, "This is my Son, whom I love". He didn't need to prove anything.

  • Discussion:

    • Do you ever feel like you need to be "more holy" or "pray more" for God to truly bless or love you? How do you guard against these thoughts? What do you do to counteract them?

    • How can we better recognise the "voice of shame" compared to the voice of God’s affirmation?

Lie 3: "You can shortcut your way to the good life"

Scripture: Matthew 4:8-11

  • The Trap: Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if He would skip the suffering of the cross and worship him instead.

  • The Truth: Only God is worthy of worship. True life comes through faithful obedience to Him, even when it involves sacrifice.

  • Discussion:

    • What "shortcuts" (quick fixes, ungodly gratifications) are tempting you to bypass God's timing or will?

Practices:

Individual Practices:

  • Identify one area of "worry" that you currently have (finances, health, career). This week, pray: "God, I recognize You know what I need. I choose to trust Your provision ahead of my control".

  • Memorise a scripture about your identity in Christ (e.g., “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! - 1 John 3:1a) to use when you feel the need to prove your worth.

  • Identify one area where you are tempted to compromise your values for a "quick win." Commit to a "slow way" that honours God this week.

Community Practices:

  • Share a current need with the group. Practice "carrying it together" by praying for one another, reminding each other that no one has to carry their burdens alone.

  • Spend time going around the group affirming each other. Have each person share one way they see God’s character reflected in the person sitting to their right.

  • End your session with a time of focused worship—not asking for anything, but simply declaring who God is and choosing to serve Him only.

Additional Resources:

Further Study Resources:


For a printable version of this guide click here

Hayley Lotter
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