Matthew 3:17-4:1

Satan’s attacks against your place as a member of God’s family, is not unique. He attacked Jesus in the same way in the wilderness. God had just spoken from heaven, with Jesus standing in the Jordan River, and the Spirit like a dove, descended on Him. The proclamation that God made was the stamp of approval on all of the years that Jesus had lived in quiet, and it was the ammunition that Jesus would need to face the wilderness, the world and the cross. The knowledge that He was the “beloved Son” would guard him against everything.

The enemy went after Jesus’ place as Son immediately, tempting Him to turn the stones to bread, “If thou be the Son of God” (Matthew 4:3). When that didn’t work, he tried it again, telling Jesus to cast himself off of the cliff so that angels would catch him, “If thou be the Son of God” (verse 6). Again, Jesus overcame.

Finally, Satan offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world, if Jesus will bow down and worship him. While Satan makes no overt reference to the son ship of Jesus here, he knows that no Son of the Creator of the universe will bow down to get what is rightfully His, so this is also an attack on the Son. As you know, Jesus does not bow.

While these are important temptations to study, it is even more important to emphasize not only what Satan said, but what he did not say. God said that Jesus was His, “beloved Son”. The word “beloved” shows us that Jesus was not only Son by rights but He was greatly blessed and highly favored of His Father. Satan drops “beloved” because he wants to take no chance in reminding Jesus that He is beloved. It may be left out of the conversation, but it is deep within Jesus’ heart.

There is great power in the believer knowing just how loved that they are. The church culture often chides Christians for not loving the Lord enough, saying “You should love the Lord more”, and they point to doing things to show that love. No one can love the Lord more by simply trying to. Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord with “all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength…” (Mark 12:30). Honestly, do you love God that way? The truth is “No”, we do not love Him like this, at least not every moment of the day, but He DOES LOVE US that way. The Law tells us to do it, but doesn’t show us how. God’s grace shows us how:

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins…We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:10, 19).

Know that you are God’s beloved and you too will overcome the temptations of the enemy. Know that you are God’s beloved, and you will walk in His goodness and kindness. Know that you are God’s beloved my friend, and that He is well pleased, not because of you, but because of Jesus who has delivered you!