2/26/2023 (Sunday) Today’s gospel reading: Matthew 4:1-11

1 At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
2 He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.
3 The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.”
4 He said in reply, “It is written:
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,
6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you
and with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
7 Jesus answered him, “Again it is written,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
8 Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
9 and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”
10 At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written:
The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.”
11 Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

2/26/2023 (Sunday) Today’s gospel reading: Matthew 4:1-11

Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. All that the Father has He shared it with Him. Therefore Jesus can do everything He wants including turning stones into bread, or jumping from a tall structure to the ground without endangering His physical body. Yet He is not foolish to do it in order to please Satan.

It is the devil’s intention to sow doubt in Jesus and it is his design to sow doubt in us. Yet the gospel reading above teaches us never to doubt God’s provision, His divine protection and His promises. When we are hungry, let us trust that God will provide our food as He had given manna to the Israelites in the dessert and as Jesus had fed the 5,000. When we are in danger, we can pray to God to send His angels to guard and protect us (Psalm 91:). When we are anxious about the future, let us remember that Jesus has prepared a mansion for each one of His children (John 14:2) because we are the heirs of His kingdom (Romans 8:17).

Jesus is calling us to live a life that is Spirit-led. When we are tempted or in a difficult situation, let us always allow God’s word to guide and strengthen us. The gospel reading above shows us how Jesus responded to each temptation with a quotation from the Old Testament book of Psalm 91:12 and Deuteronomy.

Moreover, Jesus is telling us to have self-discipline. The devil can use other people, sometimes the people who are closest to us, to tempt us. Let us learn to say no to any person being used by the enemy.

Finally, Jesus is giving us the inspiration to continue to walk in His path. Though we are tempted again and again, let us not grow weary and give up. He, Himself, has been tempted. He overcame the enemy. Definitely, He will help us to also overcome our own temptations because He understands our weaknesses. Many times we fall into the trap set up by the enemy. Yet by clinging to Jesus, we will rise again to continue the mission of serving Him, and not the enemy.

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