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Lesson 4 Matthew 2020
Word / Matthew 4:1-11
Epiphany / Matthew 4:10

Serve Him Only

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

Today, I would like to talk about the temptation that Jesus through the words of the bible. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (verse 1) Let's take note of the words "led by the Spirit" The starting point is the Holy Spirit. The leader is the Holy Spirit, not the devil. The purpose of the devil is to let Him fall, but the Spirit also has a purpose of leading. What is the purpose?

When you take a test, both the person who gave the questions and the person who took the test will know their ability. When you look at Book of Job, the devil tempts Job, but God has allowed it. The devil says. 'It's because he is rich now. Lose it all. He’ll curse God.' God says. Yeah, give it a try, but Job will not curse me." Job did not curse God even though he lost everything. Job showed himself through the test, and he knew who he was. The test is to show your ability, your self. The Holy Spirit wanted to show who Jesus himself was through this test.

After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. (verse 2) Usually you fast when you repent or when you are desperate. However Jesus did not commit any sin nor was necessary to repent. Then why did He fast? This is the time when Jesus has to prepare and start his duty. It takes a lot of thinking and considering about what to do and what to aim for. You have to concentrate with all your mind and thoughts. I think Jesus thought so much that he didn't have time to eat. In verse 3, the tempter begins with the words, "If you are the Son of God ". "If I am son of God!" without thinking this the tempter would not have asked. If I don't think I'm a shepherd, the question with 'if you are a shepherd' is meaningless. When I think of myself as a shepherd and think about what a shepherd is, the question becomes meaningful. So what has Jesus been thinking and considering for 40 days? I think it may be His identity as the son of God. What should He do as the Son of God? He has been sent as an agent of God, how He will lead people to God, how will He reveal God? As the son of God, Jesus recognized Himself and constantly thought over His existence.

First, every word that comes from the mouth of God.
The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”(3) Why did he say to tell these stones to become bread? There is one that Jesus is hungry, but there is another meaning to it. This is the wilderness. In history, God gave water from stones to His hungry people in the desert. He fed them Mannah. They say “He should show that He can feed under any circumstances, then wouldn’t the God's glory will appear? If He is the son of God, shouldn’t He first solve the problem of eating?' Stones are everywhere in the wilderness. If He can make stones into bread, food becomes common and the problem of eating is solved. Beyond filling hunger, 'Bread richly, like stones overflowing in the wilderness! That's what the Son of God should do! Make it rich!'' That's the story.

Jesus says. (verse 4) Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’" People don't live only by bread. There should be something else. Even without bread, people concentrate on other things. There are people who concentrate on their own things even if they are poor or starve. Some people draw pictures even if they are hungry. Some people play games even if they are hungry. People live with not only food, but also with other things.

Then what does Jesus think? Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. It says the word “every”. It's not all in a lump, but all 'each' word. There is the word of God given in each situation of each person and the word of God at that time saves people. "So I will hear the word of God that is given to each man and preach them. It’s beecause that word saves people. I can give them bread if they need it, but I won't try to save them by overflowing bread." Jesus made clear the direction of his duty as the son of God.

Why would Jesus want to give the word of God rather than making bread for those who have nothing to eat? Jesus tries to save people, but that's not the only thing. Bread guarantees survival, but many of the problems in a person's mind remain the same. Hate, low self-esteem, pride, and selfishness remain the same. Jesus wants to give people something better. He wants to lead men to God. He lets each man live before God. At this point, the inner problems of men are solved, and men can live as they are. Therefore, Jesus wants to show God to people and let them know God. "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Second, strike against a rock.
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “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.’(5~6) Why did the devil take Jesus, not just to a high mountaintop, but to the holy city, on the highest point of the temple? Holiness here is a different, distinct thing from the general world. It is an innocence that has never been tainted by sin. It is itself thought only about God. What does it mean by standing at the top of that holiness? He is accepted as "the man at the peak of this holiness."

The devil accepted that way and told to fall down. He says “throw yourself down.” Down there is the opposite of holiness. It's a secular place covered with sin. Throw yourself down means fit yourself there. For example, you say to the person who does politics: “You should throw yourself into politics. You think it will work by doing right and straight by yourself? You need to have some fight in the National Assembly, and when you run for an election, you need to get rid of some other candidates and sling mud at each other. Then people will acknowledge you.' Even laymen have a company culture when they go to work. Although it has changed a lot these days, they say to smile and match the mood of the elders with the drinking gossip. Subcontractors are sometimes asked to overuse their power. 'If you're at work, throw yourself at the company. Then the company will protect you and you won’t get stroke.'

What do you want to see by falling down? You will not strike your foot against a stone. You think of not striking against a stone. If there are many rocks rolling on the street while walking, your feet hit the rocks. It hurts and painful when you bump into sharp and rough stones. It's hard to pass the road. Jesus comes among the sinners and tries to go on His way. As the son of God, He is trying to preach people the kingdom of God and the word of God. He is trying to lead people to God. Does He have no conflicts with people? Jesus encounters people's sins, mistrust, hostility, envy, and anger. The devil speaks. 'You can't just face the people. You think they’ll hear your message? That's going to be tough. How do you get there by facing them? Don't pretend to be holy by yourself and try being one of them."
“Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’(verse. 7). Does it mean not to test because He simply said not to? Does it mean that He believes that “God won’t let me to strike against something’ even though the devil will not tempt. No. Jesus describes God as the “lord,” my master. Jesus came as the Son of God, but he mentions that God is my lord and I am His servant. What is Jesus' thought as a servant? It means He will obey even if He faces the test. 'He will not avoid facing the test.' Jesus came from a high and holy place to a low and sinful place. But he doesn't match the level of people. He faces with holiness and purity. He enters the temple and overturns the tables of the money changers. “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it ‘a den of robbers’.” (Matthew 21:13). Jesus rebukes sin. He rebukes and warns “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!”(Matthew 23) The disciples also face the religious leaders. People crucify Jesus and He gets killed on the cross. Jesus' feet strikes by the stone and gets badly damaged. Strike that was the way Jesus lived and worked as the Son of God.
Why does Jesus not want to go on a path where he will not face humans, but wants to face against humans? To avoid facing against others, people try to be one of them or get along with them. They have to adapt to the way people think, the way people do. But Jesus wants to lead people to God. That is why Jesus does not fit with people but God. God's way, not man, God's way becomes the new standard. For example, one has the idea of ‘God is a legal person who keeps sinners away.’ However, the original image of God that Jesus wants to represent is different from the human thought. The Immanuel God is also with sinners. Trying to interpret the original image of God by humans’ thought may lose His image. So Jesus does not fit that into, but bumps into to reveal the origin of God. It was a way of suffering, but a way of truth, a way of life that truly draws people to God.
“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” (verse 8~9) Here the devil does not mention “If you are the Son of God.” Instead it is written in front “All this,” “All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me.” The Devil forgot for a moment that Jesus was the Son of God and tried to show the all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. However, in order to tempt Jesus, He must really have the want of “the all kingdoms of the world and their splendor.” Because giving something we don't want isn't a test. Then, what does ‘all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor’ have to do with Jesus? In the verses of Matthew, Jesus is said to be the King of the Jews. King, the king of all kingdoms of the world and glory has come. He is the king who will have all the kingdoms of the world and all his glory, but he has not yet. The Devil shows all this and tells Him 'This is all yours’
What is Jesus' answer? “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Satan first mentions “All this”, but Jesus first mentions ‘The Lord your God.”  What does it mean? We have something to achieve. But if we think about what we will get first, we may not think of the person who gives it. When dads buy chicken on his way home from work, the chicken may be only visible in the child's eyes rather than his or her dad. But Jesus sees the father first. The Devil lets us focus on what we want to get, chicken. And we start to not care who gives it. If we bite it, we fall into the devil's trick. What's in the world and its glory? There are people. There are all nations of the world, wealth, land, and authority. If we get attract on those, it doesn't really matter who gives it to us. It is a test if we want to get it by looking at “the all kingdoms of the world and their splendor”. Even though we believe in God, but we want to achieve these things, we can get trapped.

But Jesus says, ' Lord your God.' It means God is the owner. It means 'My owner is God. Everything is God's, and everything that comes to me comes from God.' The devil seems to give everything, but everything comes from God. In addition, there is no word in Jesus's answer about 'all this' or ‘kingdoms of the world and their splendor' He says "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only" He says 'My interest is not kingdoms of the world and their splendor. My interest is God. Even if there is something to gain or not, God is my God. It is my purpose to reveal God and serve God.'

Why does Jesus want to worship "the Lord your God" rather than the kingdoms of the world and its glory? To worship is to lie face down and to acknowledge him and to prioritize him. Everything comes from God, who is the owner, and everything begins from God. My existence came from God. Then the meaning and purpose of existence are in God. If God is lost, Jesus will lose his existence as the son of God. What good would it be if a man were to gain the whole world will lose himself (Matthew 8:36) Jesus says "and serve him only."

In the end, the demon tempted Jesus, but He beat the devil and kept His identity as the son of God. What does the devil want Jesus to give people? The devil says to give them abundance, a safe life, and the glory of the world. However, what does Jesus want to give people? It is the word of God, the holiness of confronting the world, the life of God, who is the owner of everything.

None of us became shepherds for the glory of the world. We try to live according to God's word. We try to live in front of God and be recognized by God. There will be no one who has never taken temptation in his life. Someone had to go through bread problems because they couldn't find a job. Someone faced with the people who live the way of the world at school and at work. And someone expected of others to accept, but was misunderstood and hurt. "What is a shepherd? What is a living as a shepherd? What is my existence in the world?" I wondered. I see Jesus who was with me and our shepherd. At the time of the test, Jesus gave His words to each of us. We hold on to the word and someone became a shepherd. Someone became a missionary. After a long test, someone has become a great warrior of prayer like Gideon, as his name suggests. What is our existence in the world? No one can argue about the value of each person's existence. This is because Jesus is with each person. We praise Jesus for taking and winning the test with us. In any situation, Jesus leads you to God. He makes us know God and live a life of serving God in His way. Jesus says. "and serve Him only."