Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Matthew 4:1. Then Jesus was led. There were two reasons why Christ withdrew into the wilderness. The first was, that, after a fast of forty days, he might come forth as a new man, or rather a heavenly man, to the discharge of his office. The next was, that he might be tried by temptation and undergo an apprenticeship, before he undertook an office so arduous, and so elevated.
This is the duel between the Seed of the woman and the serpent himself. Note: great privileges and honor will not shield you from temptation; in fact, God usually humbles us after lifting us up. After we are admitted into communion with God, Satan sets upon us hardest. The assurance of sonship is the best armor against the suggestions of the evil spirit.
AI summary
Commenting on Matthew 4:1-11
MATTHEW CHAPTER 4 Verse 1. The wilderness. . The Spirit. Luke says, (,) that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. It was by his influence, therefore, that Christ went into the desert. To be tempted. The word to tempt, in the original, means to try, to endeavour, to attempt to do a thing; then, to try the nature of a thing, as metals by...