Twisted Words… Matthew 4:1-11 (NLT)
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”

Look at that, the Devil waited until Jesus was in a very real physical need. Jesus was hungry from fasting for 40 days. This is a warning to all of us to remain vigilant and not become spiritually malnourished (weak in our understanding). We may become tired and hungry, but don’t ever deprive yourself of God, His word, and the fellowship of believers.

This was a very real and physical test! Jesus was hungry. What do we do when we have a physical need? We focus solely on that physical need! We are warned in 1 John 2 not to seek the physical pleasures of the world. So what are you hungry for? Flesh, Success, Power.

4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Bam! Jesus used The Word to correct Satan. He refers to Deuteronomy 8:3.

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you.
 And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”

7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

This is beginning to sound like a bad soap opera. What twisting and manipulation of God’s word! In verse 6 Satan is referring to God’s very word. Sounds rather convincing but lets take it all in to context, Psalms 91:11-12 “11 For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.” Where does it say purposefully hurt yourself or test God? Silly me, I thought we were to abide in Him!

So what does Jesus do? He show His understanding of all God’s word and applies it with Deuteronomy 6:16, You must not test the Lord your God.

Then in verse 7 Jesus makes it clear that there is truth and then there is the total truth. And that truth is the entire bible in context and in harmony with it’s self.

Satan took the words of God and twisted them to meet his needs. Sounds much like religion today and yesterday.

8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”

This may sound funny when you think about it, but us humans are quick to settle for less in the long run to have immediate gain. Like the sayings, “You’d trip over a buck to pick up a dime” or “Cutting off our head in spite of our nose”. Not to mention the fact that we tend to seek power and glory for ourselves. This is what caused the fall of Eve in Gen 3. Lets look at Gen 3 for a moment and see how Satan just as he tried with Jesus twisted and manipulated words to cause Eve to stumble and fall.

Genesis 3
1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

See how he starts in on Eve with this question. “Did God really say”, making her rethink what was said, causing doubt!

2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

In Chapter 2 verse 17, God tells Adam not to eat of the tree. God never said you could not touch it. We like to exaggerate our stories and this is a real problem. When we decide to color our stories we can get in trouble. Eve took the liberty to exaggerate God’s word. NO EAT OR TOUCH!!! Do you see where I am going with this.

4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her.

What happened to Eve when she touched the fruit? Nothing, so now the mind rushes with the twisted words of Satan. If the touch did not kill, maybe I misunderstood or just maybe God doesn’t want me to be like Him. Blinded by our own greed and lust for power! BAM, that easy!

If we say women cannot speak in church, tattoos and piercing are forbidden, and preachers that don’t wear suits show disrespect to God, what are we really saying? Seriously what happens when we do see men and women living for God that look contrary to what we were told was right and proper? Mixed messages, twisted words for what? The glory of God or man! I’m so confused, we better get back to the study in Matthew before this turns into a novel.

Back to Matthew
10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

The most beautiful part of this story is the end. Just imagine, what God will do for those of us that fight the good fight and remain faithful to Him alone.

Now digest this nugget and explore it with your friends and family. See where God takes you.