Latest / Reformed Thinking / Do Not Test the LORD: Sonship, Promise, and the Second Temptation (Matthew 4:5–7)

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Do Not Test the LORD: Sonship, Promise, and the Second Temptation (Matthew 4:5–7) · Reformed Thinking

• 0:00
  Welcome to reformed thinking. We're glad you could join us.
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  Today we're doing a deep dive, really focusing in on just one
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  single powerful exchange in Matthew's Gospel.
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  That's right, the second temptation of Jesus Christ.
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  We've got a stack of sources here, all centered on Matthew 4
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  verses 5 through 7. This is where the adversary
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  dares Jesus, the Son of God, to well to leap from the temple
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  pinnacle. And it's so much more than just,
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  you know, a simple story about saying no to bad things.
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  Right, it feels like a master class in how to read scripture,
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  how to understand trust. Yeah, setting genuine trust
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  apart from, well, spiritual recklessness.
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  So our mission today, what is it we're trying to get out of this?
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  Right. The goal is really perspective
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  on what genuine faith actually looks like in practice.
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  We need to unpack how the devil tries to basically weaponized
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  scripture. He uses Psalm 91 here.
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  Uses it against Jesus. Yes, by quoting it selectively.
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  It's a classic tactic. OK, then we need to see how
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  Jesus responds. He sets up what some call a
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  canonical fence. A fence?
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  Explain that a bit. He uses another scripture,
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  Deuteronomy 6.16, to put boundaries around the Psalm 91
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  promise. OK, so scripture interpreting
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  scripture. Precisely.
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  And the goal for us, for you listening, is clarity,
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  understanding the difference between resting in God's
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  promises. Which we're called to do.
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  Absolutely. And on the other hand, making
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  demands on God, testing him, putting him on the spot for
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  intervention and. What we're going to find, I
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  think, is that Matthew's structure here is just
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  incredibly deliberate. Oh, definite.
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  Jesus's refusal, you know, to take that dramatic leap.
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  It connects directly to something else.
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  To the crops. The adversary's taunt is almost
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  identical later on. If you are the Son of God, we
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  hear it again at Calvary. So this deep dive, it's going to
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  show us why obedience, you know, quiet faithfulness, not
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  spectacle, is the real measure of sonship.
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  It really cuts to the heart of Christ's work.
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  Let's let's get into the details of the text itself.
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  OK, All right, let's start with the setup.
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  The first temptation, it was immediate, right?
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  Personal. Very much so.
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  Jesus was hungry. 40 days fasting.
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  So the devil attacks that private physical need turned
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  stones to bread out in the middle of nowhere.
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  In the desolate wilderness, yeah.
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  But now everything changes. The scene shifts big time.
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  The adversary changes both the location, the physical place,
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  and the whole strategy of the trial.
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  OK, location first. Where does he take him?
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  We move from that wilderness barrenness, that solitude,
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  straight into the holy city, and Matthew uses that specific
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  phrase, Astanega, Wesleyan, Jerusalem.
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  The holy city. That phrase feels loaded,
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  doesn't it? Especially in Matthew.
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  It really is. It carries a lot of theological
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  weight for Matthew. It kind of sets the stage, like
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  this isn't just a personal struggle anymore, it's bigger.
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  Absolutely. It has national covenantal
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  implications, right? Matthew uses that phrase here
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  right at the start of Jesus trials, and then he only uses it
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  one other time in the whole Gospel.
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  When's that? It's after the resurrection when
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  the Saints rise from their graves and enter.
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  The Holy City Matthew 27.53. Wow.
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  Yeah, so, Matthew, subtly framing Jesus's entire ministry,
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  it's the definitive, ultimate fulfillment of Israel's calling
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  happening right there in that consecrated place.
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  The trial of the true Israelite, beginning where Israel's
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  identity is centered. Exactly.
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  And the specific spot within that city is just as critical.
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  The pinnacle of the temple. Tet Torchnium.
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  A. What does that actually mean?
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  Is it just the roof? Not quite.
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  Our sources suggest it's not just a flat roof.
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  It means a projecting point, a ledge, probably the southeastern
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  corner of the temple complex. The corner overlooking the
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  Kidron Valley. That's the most likely spot,
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  yeah. And that location is key to
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  understanding the temptation. Why that spot?
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  Because that corner was incredibly high, hundreds of
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  feet above the valley floor, Some historians estimate, what,
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  maybe 450 feet? A.
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  Sheer drop. Dramatic.
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  Utterly dramatic and utterly public.
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  Any acts from that ledge would be seen by people below, by
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  priests, by worshippers in the temple courts.
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  It's the highest possible platform for a spectacle.
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  So the Devil is deliberately moving the performance onto a
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  massive stage. Precisely, yeah.
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  Which brings us to the strategic shift.
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  It moves from that private survival question, can you feed
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  yourself? To a question of public
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  validation messianic display, can you prove yourself?
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  That's the absolute key distinction here.
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  The temple is the center worship identity for Israel, right?
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  By putting Jesus there, the devil is tempting him with a
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  shortcut. A shortcut to what?
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  Messianic Affirmation. Exactly.
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  A public, miraculous display that would get instant applause.
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  It would bypass the whole path of humiliation and suffering
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  that was actually necessary. So he's tempting Jesus to
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  basically seize control of his own story, force public
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  acceptance. Yes, it's a temptation to
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  redirect what sonship means away from obedience.
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  And Matthew places this right after the baptism.
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  Immediately after, the Father's voice declares, This is my
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  beloved son. And the devil jumps in, trying
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  to substitute that quiet divine authentication.
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  With a loud affirmation of a crowd won by a stunt.
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  It also highlights Jesus as the true Israel, doesn't it?
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  Oh absolutely. This whole sequence of
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  temptations, the hunger, the spectacle, the later one about
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  idolatry, it's all structured to show Jesus upholding the
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  covenant perfectly. Where ancient?
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  Israel failed. Repeatedly stumbled, Yes.
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  Yeah. And notice all three replies
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  Jesus gives. They're from Deuteronomy.
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  The book of instruction for Israel entering the land Jesus
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  is showing that true ministry starts with character proved
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  through trust under trial. Just like the Spirit led him
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  into this trial right after the Father's affirmation.
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  The timing is not accidental and Matthew uses these historical
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  present verbs in the Greek Parlamini takes of the steps.
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  It emphasizes the speed, the immediacy of it all.
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  Solitude to spotlight, private need to public spectacle the
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  adversaries. Quick, deliberate and switching
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  tactics. Which sets up the next big
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  problem, using scripture itself to justify something wrong.
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  Yes, the temptation isn't just do a bad thing, it's twisting a
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  good thing. God's word to make a reckless
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  act seem faithful. That's the real danger here.
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  OK, this second challenge, this feels like maybe the most, I
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  don't know, insidious part of the whole thing.
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  It's certainly sophisticated. The devil tries using the word
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  of God itself to justify, well, a destructive rash act, a leap
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  off the temple. We really need to dissect the
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  mechanism here. How does this misuse of
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  scripture actually work? It's something we see happening
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  all the time, sadly, right? So what's the initial challenge?
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  The tempter says if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.
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  There's that if clause again. You bees on toy.
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  And it's such a powerful rhetorical move.
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  He's not really questioning Jesus's identity.
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  It's more like he's accepting the premise.
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  OK, since you are the Son of God.
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  Exactly. Then this is what you should do.
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  He's pressing Sonship towards a specific, prideful action.
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  He's suggesting Sonship demands this kind of public display,
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  proof of protected status. It's not really a doubt, it's
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  more like a demand for application.
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  If you are that, prove it by doing this.
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  And the command itself leaves a sign Scarrow.
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  That's an A rest imperative, right?
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  Yes, it signals a single decisive act, a self initiated
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  plunge. The source calls it a self-made
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  hazard. You create the danger yourself.
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  And then immediately the devil offers the theological
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  justification for this recklessness.
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  By quoting scripture. By quoting Psalm 91, verses 11
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  and 12, a text that's, you know, beloved by believers, it
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  promises angelic help. He quotes it pretty accurately,
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  doesn't he? For he will command his angels
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  concerning you, to guard you. And on their hands they will
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  bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
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  Yes, the words themselves are mostly accurate from the
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  Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament.
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  So if he quoted it right, where's the deception?
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  That's the question someone might ask.
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  The deception is all about context, or rather, the lack of
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  context. It's deliberate.
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  How so? The mechanism is selective
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  quotation. He isolates the promise of
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  protection. He takes it out of its frame.
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  By leaving something out. Yes, by omitting one single
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  absolutely crucial qualifying phrase from the Psalm itself.
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  Which phrases that he leaves out to guard you in all your ways in
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  besides Sotosu? In all your ways, that's the
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  missing guardrail you called it earlier.
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  That's exactly what it is. How much does leaving that out
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  change the meaning? Oh, it changes everything.
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  The full Psalm 91 promises protection for the person who
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  verse one says dwells in the shelter of the Most High and who
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  walks the path of daily faithfulness, the path of
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  obedience God lays out. That's what in all your ways
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  means. So the promise is for God's
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  steady care along the road. He's already marked out for you
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  the path of duty. Yes, but by snipping out that
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  context, the tempter twists it. He makes the promise sound
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  absolute, unconditional, a guarantee of rescue even from a
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  danger you created yourself. So the devil's hermeneutic, his
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  way of reading it completely inverts the logic.
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  Totally. The Promise was meant to give
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  refuge and inspire trust while you're on the Covenant path, but
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  he turns it into a license for presumption if you're jumping
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  off the path and basically daring God to catch you.
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  Precisely. The whole point of the leap is
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  that it's a self-made peril. It's engineered specifically so
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  that God must rescue you. In a big theatrical attention
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  grabbing way. Yes, the promise that was meant
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  to comfort believers enduring hardship within God's will.
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  Gets turned into what did the source call it?
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  A coupon for stunts. That's a great way to put it.
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  The adversary wants Jesus to seize the extraordinary divine
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  intervention for a self-made crisis and demand it as the
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  normal expression of sonship. Wow, that is quite a
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  realization. The goal isn't just sin, it's
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  sinning using scripture as cover.
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  It's the most sophisticated kind of spiritual misdirection.
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  You make disobedience look like faith.
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  Which is why Jesus's response has to be just as rooted in
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  Scripture. But using a better a correct
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  hermeneutical principle, he can't just say no, angels won't
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  help. Because they might.
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  Right. He has to deny the warrant for
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  demanding that help based on a situation you cooked up
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  yourself, a situation that violates God's clear commands.
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  He has to draw the line, define the boundaries of faith.
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  OK, so Jesus refuses to play the devil's game of proof texting of
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  isolating verses. Right.
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  He doesn't get bogged down arguing about Psalm 91 and
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  angels. Instead, he pulls in a
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  completely different text, a command to put up that canonical
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  fence, as you call it, around the promise.
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  What's the text he uses? He answers with this really
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  authoritative declaration. Again, it is written.
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  That phrase itself is important. Very plenigreshitty.
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  Again, it stands written. It carries the weight of
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  settled, ongoing divine authority.
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  Not just history, but binding law, even for the Son of God.
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  Yes, and the quote is you shall not put the Lord your God to the
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  test. Deuteronomy 6.1's team the.
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  Brilliance of this is using scripture to interpret scripture
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  correctly. Exactly.
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  He uses a clear command to set the boundary for how you apply a
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  more elastic promise like the one in the Psalm.
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  And by quoting this specific prohibition, Jesus defines the
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  sin. What is the sin in the devil's
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  proposal? The sin is testing God.
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  The Greek word a creozo is an intensive form.
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  It means to test thoroughly or to try out.
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  Like you're putting God through hooves, Yeah.
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  It means trying God by setting the conditions for His care,
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  demanding proofs on your schedule, manufacturing a
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  crisis, a self-made drama. Force a miracle.
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  Compel God to act when and how you want.
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  That's the essence of it. It's aggressive presumption,
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  but. Why Deuteronomy 6.16
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  specifically? Why that verse?
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  Because that verse immediately brings to mind the most infamous
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  example of Israel failing in the wilderness.
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  The Senate Massa Exodus 17. Exactly.
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  We should probably detail that context, shouldn't we?
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  It gives the command it's real teeth.
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  Please do what happened at MASA. OK, so Israel's in the desert.
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  They're thirsty. Understandable problem.
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  But instead of trusting God, who had already rescued them
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  miraculously from Egypt, they quarreled with Moses.
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  They grumbled, and crucially, they demanded a sign.
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  Water. Not just asking, but demanding.
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  Demanding it is proof to settle the question, Exodus 17.7 says,
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  Is the Lord among us or not? Wow, they're putting God on
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  trial. Precisely.
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  The place was even named Massa, which literally means testing
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  their sin wasn't just thirst, it was a lack of trust that
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  provoked God, demanding proof of His presence and His commitment
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  on their terms. OK, so Jesus citing Deuteronomy
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  6 point some 6 connects the leap from the temple directly back to
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  that. He frames the proposed leap as
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  the ultimate renewal of Mass's sin.
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  It's baiting God again, baiting him for proof of sonship through
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  a contrived public emergency. The provocation is essentially
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  prove you're the son by forcing the father's hand.
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  Make him do a magic trick for the crowds.
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  And Jesus refuses the bait because he's the true Israelite.
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  Exactly where ancient Israel tested God out of unbelief,
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  maybe self pity. The Son refuses to test God out
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  of perfect faithfulness, perfect obedience.
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  Which brings us back to this hermeneutic rule, the canonical
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  fence. How does Deuteronomy 6.16
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  function as that fence? Right, How does it work
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  practically? It establishes A governing
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  principle for reading Scripture. Promise sits under command.
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  OK, unpack that Promise sits under command.
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  It means this isn't just, you know, one verse against another
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  verse. It's like they cancel each other
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  out. It's not a contradiction.
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  No, it's text With text. The command acts as the
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  authoritative boundary, the guardrail for how you are
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  allowed to apply the promise. So you can't take that beautiful
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  poetic assurance of God's protection in Psalm 91 and apply
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  it in a way that makes you break a clear command from God's law.
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  That's exactly it. The clearer legal material like
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  the command forbidding testing God, and the historical
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  narratives like the story of NASA, they set the parameters.
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  They define the safe zone for applying promises, yes.
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  They tell you how an elastic poetic line, like the promise of
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  angelic help can be rightly applied.
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  Jesus uses the prohibition to constrain the promise.
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  Making it crystal clear that faith doesn't mean engaging in
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  theatrics or staging hazards to force a miracle.
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  Right. This really helps solve a common
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  problem, I think, for Christians reading the Bible, which is how
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  do we know when a promise is, you know, conditional or
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  absolute? How far can we take it?
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  The canonical fence gives us the answer.
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  It does if applying a promise means you have to violate a
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  clear command. The application is wrong.
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  If it means testing God, presuming on His Providence,
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  abandoning basic wisdom and prudence.
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  Then you've stepped outside the ways God promises to guard you
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  in yes. Jesus models this perfect
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  coherence of Scripture. God doesn't contradict himself.
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  An assurance text never justifies an act of disobedience
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  or presumption. OK, so we've established the
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  negative. Jesus refuses the theatrics, the
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  self-made crisis. Now we need to pivot to the
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  positive. If we're following Jesus, how do
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  we actually model genuine reliance, real trust in God's
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  promises? Without crossing that line into
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  presumption, right? What's the practical difference
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  between faithful reliance and testing God?
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  Fundamentally, I think the distinction comes down to
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  submission. Submission of God's appointed
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  path. OK, genuine trust walks the
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  road. God appoints that path of
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  obedience of, you know, steady duty.
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  And it leaves the timing of things to him.
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  Rescue help. Vindication.
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  Entirely to him, it rests in God's care while walking the way
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  he directs, not demanding detours or shortcuts.
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  So what's the opposite of that testing impulse if testing is
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  demanding proof? Then the opposite is what the
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  sources call steady piety, or maybe faithful prudence.
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  Daddy piety, I like that. It's a faith that refuses to
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  script a miracle, refuses to invent a crisis just to see if
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  God will show up. Testing God demands proof.
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  Genuine trust rests on the proof already given.
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  In his word, in his character, Yeah, even when circumstances
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  look bleak or dangerous. This brings us right into how
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  God usually runs the world, doesn't it?
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  Yeah, Providence and means. Absolutely.
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  When the devil tells Jesus to leap, he's demanding an
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  extraordinary act of Providence. Angels catching him midair,
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  right? Summoned outside the normal
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  course of necessity or obedience, and our confessional
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  standards are really helpful here.
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  The Westminster Confession. Yeah, Chapter 5 on Providence,
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  it reminds us that God ordered ordinarily works through
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  secondary means. Ordinary means like.
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  Like wisdom planning, prayer, doctors working hard, taking
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  reasonable precautions, you know, normal life lived
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  faithfully. And the temptation tries to
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  basically hijack that, seize the extraordinary and make it the
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  norm. That's a great way to put it.
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  God's keeping his protection ordinarily runs through ordinary
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  duty. Not by staging risks and then
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  baptizing them with a Bible verse.
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  Exactly. The leap rejects all that
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  wisdom. The devil wants Jesus to treat
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  angelic aid like a parachute for theatrics, as one source said.
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  Demanding God act without me, without wisdom.
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  And Jesus refuses. He refuses to stage a hazard
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  just to compel a visible public miracle.
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  He won't force a rescue on cue. Let's tie this back to the
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  confession more directly. How does it codify Jesus's
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  method here? You mentioned WCF 1.9 and 1.6.
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  Right, so Jesus's method reading the promise of Psalm 91 within
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  the boundary of the command in Deuteronomy 6.16.
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  It perfectly illustrated the principle in WCF 1.9.
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  Which says. The infallible rule of
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  interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself.
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  OK, Scripture interprets Scripture.
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  And therefore, when there is a question about the true and full
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  sense of any scripture, it must be searched and known by other
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  places that speak more clearly. And Deuteronomy 6.16 the command
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  speaks more clearly about human responsibility.
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  Then Psalm 91, the poetic promise, speaks about the
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  conditions for divine intervention.
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  Yes, the command is the clearer lens for understanding how to
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  apply the promise. Absolutely, and WCF 1.6
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  reinforces this. It says the whole council of God
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  is in Scripture and we draw from it warranted consequence.
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  Jesus draws the warranted consequence.
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  It does, which is promises apply only within the path God names,
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  never outside the bounds of prudence, wisdom, or obedience.
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  And the Larger Catechism actually names the sin the
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  devil's proposing, yes. WLC one O 5 classifieds tempting
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  God explicitly as a sin against the 1st.
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  The commandment to have no other gods before him.
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  How does testing God break that? Because it fundamentally
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  distrusts God as He has revealed Himself, it presumes upon His
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  character by demanding He prove Himself again on our terms.
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  It's demanding visible assurance instead of resting in the
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  assurance of His word. Exactly.
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  It's a profound form of unbelief disguised sometimes as bold
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  faith. So genuine faith has to hold
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  both things together, the comfort of the promise and the
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  constraint of the command. That dual function is vital.
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  You see it laid out clearly in WCF 14.2 defining saving faith.
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  What does it say? Saving faith believes to be true
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  whatsoever is revealed in the Word.
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  It acts differently upon that which each particular passage
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  thereof contains. OK, different parts of scripture
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  do different things. Yielding obedience to the
• 19:56
  commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the
• 20:00
  promises of God for this life and that which is to come.
• 20:02
  Embracing promises, obeying commands.
• 20:05
  Jesus models that perfect blend. He accepts the truth of the
• 20:08
  promise. Angels can help, but he adheres
• 20:11
  perfectly to the command that rules out self-made peril.
• 20:14
  His refusal to leap is refusing to twist a promise meant to
• 20:17
  guard faith. Tend to a catalyst for
• 20:19
  presumption. Self-destructive.
• 20:21
  Cried. Really.
• 20:21
  So this gives us, you know, a practical line in the sand if
• 20:24
  doing something requires me to violate a clear command, or if
• 20:28
  my motive is basically to manipulate God into proving
• 20:31
  himself. Then it's moved from what might
• 20:33
  feel like audacious faith into the sin of testing.
• 20:37
  God, we're called to faith, not not fanaticism.
• 20:41
  That's it. Faith operates within the
• 20:43
  boundaries of wisdom and God's revealed will.
• 20:46
  This temptation scene forces us to see that even a desire for
• 20:49
  spiritual assurance can go wrong.
• 20:52
  If we seek it by trying to force God's hand instead of resting in
• 20:55
  who he is and what he's already said.
• 20:56
  Exactly right. OK, now let's zoom out a bit.
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  Matthew's literary design, the sources argue This whole
• 21:02
  episode, this temptation isn't isolated.
• 21:05
  Not all Matthew deliberately links this early rejection of
• 21:08
  spectacle. Directly to the climax of
• 21:11
  Jesus's ministry to the cross. How does he do that?
• 21:14
  The framing is incredibly powerful.
• 21:16
  It reviews the consistency of the enemy's attack and, more
• 21:19
  importantly, the consistency of Christ's obedience.
• 21:22
  The. Challenge is the same.
• 21:23
  It's symmetrical, always demanding proof of sonship
• 21:25
  through a public immediate self rescue.
• 21:28
  OK, layout that parallel for us. Repetition of the taunt.
• 21:30
  All right, here at the temple, the devil says if you are the
• 21:33
  Son of God, throw yourself down. Matthew 4.6.
• 21:37
  Fast forward years later, Golgotha, the mockers around the
• 21:42
  cross, including their religious leaders.
• 21:44
  Matthew notes they sneer using the identical premise.
• 21:47
  If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.
• 21:50
  Matthew 27.4. Wow.
• 21:53
  The exact same challenge if then prove it by spectacle.
• 21:56
  The temptation to leap and the temptation to descend are
• 21:59
  functionally identical, so in both cases the adversary,
• 22:02
  whether directly or through human agents, is pressing Jesus
• 22:06
  to get public acknowledgement through a show.
• 22:08
  A show that would completely bypass the father's actual will.
• 22:11
  Yes, and avoid the path of suffering that scripture
• 22:14
  required for redemption. If Sonship has to be proven by a
• 22:18
  dramatic rescue, a spectacular. Descent and the cross is
• 22:21
  fundamentally illegitimate. From the start.
• 22:24
  Jesus knew that his whole life was set on the path of obedience
• 22:27
  leading to the cross, not finding a way around it.
• 22:30
  So that command Jesus quoted back in the wilderness, you
• 22:33
  shall not put the Lord your God to the test it.
• 22:35
  Actually governs Calvary too, quietly but decisively.
• 22:39
  The cross becomes the ultimate act of trust, not testing God.
• 22:43
  Think about that if Jesus had come down from the cross.
• 22:47
  He would have been doing exactly what the devil wanted him to do
• 22:49
  at the temple. He would have been testing God
• 22:52
  just like Israel at NASA. He would have prioritized public
• 22:55
  approval, immediate relief over the Father's predetermined plan.
• 22:59
  The demand that Golgotha is the same sin is the Lord among us or
• 23:02
  not. Prove it.
• 23:04
  They wanted a sign, a spectacle to prove God was with him.
• 23:08
  Instead, Jesus gave them his obedience unto death, followed
• 23:12
  by the ultimate sign of the resurrection.
• 23:14
  This also sheds light on the whole Angel thing, doesn't it?
• 23:17
  The promise the devil misused. It really does.
• 23:19
  Matthew brings us full circle later on in Gethsemane when
• 23:23
  Jesus is arrested, right? Peter draws his sword.
• 23:25
  Yes, and Jesus tells him to put it away.
• 23:28
  But then he says something remarkable.
• 23:29
  He says he could appeal to his Father and be instantly given.
• 23:33
  More than 12 lesions of Angels Matthew Tom, 6.53.
• 23:38
  An overwhelming force, but he explicitly refuses, and he gives
• 23:42
  the reason why. But how then should the
• 23:44
  scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?
• 23:47
  That that's the ultimate confirmation of his response
• 23:49
  back in Matthew 4. Angelic help is real.
• 23:53
  The protection in Psalm 91 is real.
• 23:56
  But that aid is conditional on fulfilling Scriptures plan God's
• 24:00
  decreed path. It's not a blank check for
• 24:03
  recklessness. It's not a pretext to face a
• 24:05
  rescue on your own terms, avoiding the necessary
• 24:09
  suffering. This connects directly to the
• 24:11
  core of Reformed theology, doesn't it Christ work?
• 24:14
  Absolutely. WCF chapters 8 on Christ the
• 24:17
  Mediator and 11 on Justification.
• 24:19
  The Son's refusal, both in the wilderness and on the cross, is
• 24:22
  a crucial part of his act of obedience.
• 24:24
  OK, pause there. Active obedience.
• 24:26
  How does refusing to do something refusing A stunt count
• 24:29
  as active obedience? Because act of obedience isn't
• 24:32
  just doing good things, it's Christ's perfect fulfillment of
• 24:35
  all the laws requirements throughout his entire life.
• 24:38
  Both the positive commands you shall love the Lord your God and
• 24:41
  the negative ones. Like you shall not put the Lord
• 24:43
  your God to the test. Exactly.
• 24:45
  By refusing the leap, by refusing to come down from the
• 24:47
  cross, Jesus perfectly obeys that command precisely where
• 24:51
  Israel failed at Masa, He fulfills all righteousness.
• 24:55
  Providing the perfect record of obedience that's needed for.
• 24:57
  For imputation for being credited to believers.
• 25:00
  So if Jesus had left or had come down.
• 25:03
  He would have failed in his act of obedience.
• 25:05
  He would have broken the laws requirement to trust the Father
• 25:08
  completely even through suffering.
• 25:10
  He would have tested God. The cross isn't a sign Jesus
• 25:13
  failed to avoid. It's the ultimate proof of his
• 25:16
  obedient trust. Yes, he confirmed that true
• 25:19
  sonship is anchored in perfect, humble obedience, trusting the
• 25:24
  Father's ways even when they lead through the cross, not in
• 25:27
  theatrics or self promotion designed to bypass that path.
• 25:30
  Which means any model of discipleship that focuses on
• 25:32
  seeking dramatic signs or spectacular spiritual feats.
• 25:35
  Runs completely counter to Christ's own example of active
• 25:39
  obedience right here. He refused validation by
• 25:41
  spectacle. He was validated by obedience.
• 25:43
  His integrity wasn't in the leap, but in the refusal to
• 25:46
  leap. Knowing the Father's plan
• 25:48
  required the long hard Rd. And that choice, that obedient.
• 25:52
  Is what secures righteousness for his people.
• 25:54
  He didn't test God. He trusted God all the way.
• 25:57
  He walked the path for us. Hashtag, tag, outro.
• 26:00
  So when we boil it all down, the great lesson from this second
• 26:03
  temptation is really about that fundamental difference, trusting
• 26:07
  God versus testing God. Yeah, the adversary wanted Jesus
• 26:11
  to trade the the humility of obedient trust for the cheap
• 26:16
  thrill of a spectacle, a shortcut.
• 26:18
  But the Sun's steadfast obedience right where Israel
• 26:20
  failed at NASA, that's what secures righteousness for us,
• 26:24
  his people. We see that the struggle in the
• 26:26
  wilderness, it was the first decisive rejection of the lie,
• 26:30
  the lie that the Messiah had to prove himself through a power
• 26:33
  display cooked up on human terms.
• 26:35
  And that gives us, I think a really clear practical rule for
• 26:39
  reading our Bibles for living by faith today, which is we always
• 26:42
  have to handle God's promises with those covenant guardrails
• 26:44
  up the commands, the canonical fence.
• 26:47
  We have to look for the God directed course.
• 26:50
  You know the path of ordinary duty, wisdom, prudence.
• 26:53
  And refused to twist a promise of protection into a
• 26:56
  justification for some contrived peril, some self-made test.
• 27:01
  When we look at scripture, we have to ask what path does God
• 27:04
  actually name for these words? What commands shape this
• 27:08
  specific situation I'm? That's the responsible way to
• 27:11
  read. That taunt, if you were the Son
• 27:13
  of God, it was aimed at making Jesus doubt his Father, doubt
• 27:18
  the plan, pressing him to demand proof.
• 27:20
  Right? So for you listening, the
• 27:22
  application is pretty direct, isn't it?
• 27:23
  I think so. How often does that desire,
• 27:26
  maybe even a hidden desire for some dramatic token of God's
• 27:29
  favor? Instead of just resting and
• 27:31
  steady piety, wisdom, the ordinary means of grace.
• 27:34
  How often does that reflect the same urge, that urge to test God
• 27:38
  by trying to script your own rescue on cue?
• 27:40
  True faith means trusting God, not just when he does the
• 27:43
  extraordinary, but maybe even more when he simply sustains you
• 27:46
  through the ordinary, through the day-to-day.
• 27:48
  The son refused to force a sign. And we're called to imitate that
• 27:52
  patient, sustained, obedient faith.
• 27:54
  That's definitely something to Mull over as you walk whatever
• 27:57
  path the Father has set before you.
• 27:59
  Well said. Thank you for joining us for
• 28:01
  this deep dive into Matthew 4 and the necessity of that
• 28:04
  canonical fence. It was good to unpack it.
• 28:07
  We appreciate you tuning in. We'll see you next time on
• 28:09
  reformed thinking.