https://www.youtube.com/embed/6sTHnpzxsPc?si=GcQXKqDcsquqzCro
Review: Last week we concluded Deuteronomy with God’s promised blessings and kind warnings to his people as they approached the Promised Land. Praise God we have a better Moses, our Lord Jesus, who can take us all the way through into the promised Land of victory and safely home to Heaven.
Title: Affirmation {and we will look at some introductory information, as well to start the book of Matthew.]
Text: Matthew 3:13-4:11
Key Verse: Matthew 3:17, “and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”
Introduction: In this week’s lesson we see that [Theme:] Jesus came to fulfill the Father’s plan of salvation.
Introduction: Whenever we embark on a new endeavor, there can be caution, trepidation, concern, and excitement, sometimes all at once. Words of affirmation mean a lot in times like these. Maybe you can recall a time when you were called to embark on a new season, and someone affirmed and encouraged you. In our story Jesus was affirmed as His Son and Messiah fit for his Messianic mission by God the Father, and isn’t it a blessing to know that by grace when God sees us He sees the perfection of His Son, and through Jesus we can sense His affirmation, too.
Before we go into the main points here are some key introductory points for understanding the book:
- It’s written by Matthew, the former tax collector. He went from being a money-focused oppressor of the people to pointing people to what Matthew’s name means, “the gift of Yahweh.”
- He had a second name, Levi. Being a son of Alphaeus (3:18), he may have been related to James, also called a son of Alphaeus (Mk. 2:14). A third set of siblings in the disciples of Jesus.
- As an “outsider,” he had a heart for the outsiders a demonstrated in his evangelistic outreach in Matt. 9:10-11.
- His gospel is one of the synoptics, which means “to come alongside” sharing some of the same text accounts as Mark and Luke, the gospel/”good news” of Matthew written around AD 60-70.
- Starting with Jesus’ Jewish heritage, specifically including the patriarchs and David signifying His Messianic right to David’s throne (Matt. 1:1-2); written to a Jewish audience. Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14 to emphasize the virgin birth.
- The emphasis of the book is Jesus as King. We will be challenged this winter to evaluate and examine our lives to make sure our profession of faith demonstrates that He is King and in control of our lives in how we live and obey Him asking ourselves, “How are you showing, demonstrating, expressing that Jesus is King in your life?”
- Matthew 5-7 will give incredible instructions for how we live out our love for Him toward others before God.
- He refers to the kingdom-the “already but not yet”- of heaven, and connects it with the gospel (Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 24:14).
- We’ll see his personal life and public ministry throughout.
- He was loved, hated, accepted, followed, and rejected; there were varying responses. Every knee will bow to Him, yield to Him someday, better to begin now, and have an answer for the question, “Is He my Savior?”
- Obeying God (Matt. 3:13-17)
“13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ 15 But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness’” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him,[a] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son,[b] with whom I am well pleased.’”
- John the Baptist is hesitant and resistant to baptize Jesus due to His majestic role, but is reassured it’s God’s plan.
- Jesus is all-holy and does not need to exercise repentance or cleansing, but it was important to Jesus to be baptized in order to identify with the sinful people-us-He came to save. Gospel: 2 Cor. 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
- Jesus is brought up out of the water and the Holy Spirit descends and God affirms Jesus as His Son, the Messiah, and with it his mission.
- The three persons of the Trinity are significantly displayed here.
- Hearing God (Matthew 4:1-4)
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ 4 But he answered, ‘It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
- The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for the purpose of being tempted, and Jesus followed. How did Jesus prepare? He fasted.
- After 40 days of fasting, Satan tempted Jesus where in His humanity he would have been most vulnerable, his stomach.
- In an article on “The Temptations of Christ” by John McKinley says, “Though sinless, Jesus experienced the moral struggle between the desire to do right and the desire to sin. This internal temptation is a basic experience all people encounter. For his mission of salvation, Jesus stood in the place of sinful people, suffered the onslaught of temptation, and triumphed by never giving into sin. . . . His empathy and willingness to help those undergoing temptation originate in his personal experience of enduring the struggle between desires for right and wrong. Hebrews 4:16 urges Christians to seek Jesus’ help as one who both understands and possesses the ability to provide aid to surmount temptation.”[1]
- Deuteronomy 8:3 is quoted by Jesus to ward off the temptations, showing that loyal obedience to God is greater than physical satisfactions.
- Trusting God (Matthew 4:5-7)
“5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him 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 command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
- Satan tempts Jesus using a twisted version of Psalm 91:11-12 to have Jesus throw Himself off the temple and be caught up by the angels. Jesus uses Scripture‘s actual use to fight it’s twisting by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, saying it’s dangerous to try and test God.
- Worshiping God (Matthew 4:8-11)
“8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.”
- Satan offers all kingdoms of the world if Jesus would worship him.
- Jesus responds with the simplicity of the Word of God in Deuteronomy 6:13 that shows God alone is the One worthy of worship. Satan leaves Him, and the angels come and minister to Him.
- It’s important that when we encounter Scripture twisters and temptations that we respond with the simplicity of God’s written Word.
Doctrine: Our key doctrine for this week is baptism.
Lifeway Explore says, “Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.”
Acts 2:41-42, “41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Romans 6:3-5, “3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
Gospel: We will encounter individuals who have no concept of letting Jesus truly be their Savior and Lord, and who need to surrender their out-of-control lives to His control once for all. We can use this Gospel Conversation Transition Statement: “I haven’t dealt with that exact out-of-control circumstance, but I have experienced life out of control. May I share with you the hope I have found in surrendering control to Jesus?”
Big Takeaway(s):
- Jesus came to fulfill the Father’s plan of salvation.
- Believers are called to demonstrate obedience through baptism by immersion.
- We can rely on Scripture to find strength and resist temptation.
- We can trust God’s faithfulness without demanding miracles.
- We must acknowledge God alone as worthy of our worship.
Discussion Questions:
- What is the reason for baptism in the believer’s life?
- What does Jesus’ hunger tell you about Him? Why is this important?
- How do people in our culture try to put God to the test?
- How can we intentionally engage the lost around us with the gospel?
- What is one person you will be intentional to share the gospel with and invest in and invite to church this week?
- How can we in Connect group encourage each other to stay the course when we face temptations?
- What is one of your big takeaways from God’s Word here?
Please share your takeaway within your group and add your takeaway it in the comments.
Caleb Walker 
Leave a comment