Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 4:1

"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." — Matthew 4:1 (ASV)

Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

He had just been baptized, the Spirit of God had descended upon him, and the Father had borne witness to him, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Yet, immediately after all that, he was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. So, after your times of sweetest fellowship with God, after the happiest enjoyment of gospel ordinances, after the sealing of the Spirit within your hearts, you must expect to be tempted by the devil.

You must not suppose that, in your Christian life, all will be sweetness—that all will be spiritual witness-bearing. You have to fight the good fight of faith, and your great adversary will not be slow to begin the encounter. You are a pilgrim in a strange land, so you must expect to find rough places on the road to heaven. Yet, since you are so much weaker than your Master was, you will do well to pray the prayer that he taught to his disciples, Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

What a change it seems from the descent of the Holy Spirit to being led up into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil! Dear friends, be especially watchful after a great spiritual joy, for it is precisely then that you may face some terrible temptation. Perhaps the voice from heaven is to prepare you to do battle with the enemy.

I have noticed that the Lord has two special seasons of blessing his people—sometimes, before a great trial, to prepare them for it; and, at other times, after a great affliction, to remove the weakness caused by it. Do not think that you can come up out of the waters of baptism, and then live without watchfulness.

Do not imagine, because the Spirit has sealed you, and has borne witness with your spirit that you are the Lord's child, that therefore you are beyond the enemy's reach. Oh, no! At that very time, he will be preparing his most subtle temptations for you, just as Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil immediately after his baptism and his Father's testimony: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

No sooner anointed than assailed. He did not seek temptation, but was led up of the Spirit. The time selected was immediately after His Sonship had been attested, when we might have thought that He was least likely to be attacked upon that point.

Times of hallowed enjoyment verge on periods of temptation. Our Lord was led into the wilderness. The place was one of great solitude, where He would be alone in the conflict. The devil himself came to the spot and plied his diabolical arts upon the man ordained to be his Destroyer.

Let me be ever on my watchtower and particularly during seasons of great enjoyment, for then is Satan most likely to assail me. Lord Jesus, be You with me in the hour of my testing, for You know how to help the tempted.