Lent Week 5 - Who's the Boss?

Christ Church Elders
6 hours ago
3 min read

Scripture Reading

Matthew 4:1-2, 8-11

Big Idea (For Parents)

Following the pattern introduced in the “Big Idea” section of last week’s Lent Family Worship Guide, Satan’s final temptation of Jesus here completes a sequence of temptations patterned after Israel’s wilderness temptations during its exodus from Egypt. Israel failed first by rebelliously grumbling about their lack of bread, then by testing God for a miraculous provision of water in in their own way and time, and finally by worshiping the satanically-motivated golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinani when it seemed to them that the true God and his true prophet, Moses, were not going to give them what they wanted (Exodus 32). In the same way, now Satan tempts Jesus to act based only on only what his physical eyes can see—only on what his circumstances seem to imply—that undivided service to the true God simply won’t bring him into the kingdom for which he knows he has come. Satan himself, however, promises to bring Jesus immediately into that fulfillment. Satan presents himself as the truly powerful, well-intentioned Master who can fully satisfy one’s deepest longings and can do it right now. Jesus again defeats temptation, quoting from Deuteronomy 6:13 in a context which may well allude to the golden calf incident. Jesus trusts that even though fulfillment of his glorious purpose involves God-appointed sufferings along the way, his Father loves him and will work all those things for his good. God’s goodness and care is highlighted as, immediately upon Jesus’ rejection of the temptation, the Father sends angels to care for his beloved Son.

Family Reflection

(Read aloud or summarize)

Jesus is still in the “wilderness” here as he is still experiencing the lack of one or more of God’s good gifts—specifically for Jesus because he is fasting from food. Jesus would have prayed to God the Father about his needs, including his extreme hunger. For 40 longs days, it seemed like God was just responding with, “No.” When we hear “no” from someone in authority, like a parent, sometimes we’re tempted to think a different authority would treat us better. Jesus knows he should submit to the Father’s authority, but Satan tempts Jesus by promising that Satan—not God—is the powerful, good authority who will immediately give Jesus what he most wants. All Jesus has to do, Satan says, is disobey God’s laws and start to follow Satan’s.

Jesus is able to accept God’s “no” here because Jesus trusts that God is good and even though Jesus must accept a difficult “no” for now, God will in the end bring Jesus the greatest possible good. Jesus will receive the kingdom, but it will happen in God’s way and time. At the end of the story, we see God’s goodness as, in the right time, he sends angels to care for his beloved Son.

Discussion Questions

(Choose 1–2, adjust for age)

1- What is a situation in which you have been told “no” by an authority God placed in your life?

2- What is a situation in which you have been told “no” (or “not yet”) by God in response to prayer?

3- What is a time in which, later on, you were able to see how God’s (temporary) “no” was ultimately for your good?

Practice—Praying for the Best "Yes"

(Simple, embodied action for the week)

-Identify one area where you have been told “no” (or “not yet’) by God or an authority God placed in your life.

-Pray as a family and recommit yourselves to trust and serve God alone and ask him to increase your faith in his goodness as you patiently trust him to give you his best “yes” in his way and time.