Matthew 4:1-11

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit in the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (v1).  Matthew leaves us no doubt that the Spirit led Jesus into this difficult trial.  Jesus faced the worst of the devil’s tricks for our sakes; he felt pulled toward pride, selfishness and manipulative power in the same way that we do.  But Jesus refused.  Full of the Holy Spirit and love, Jesus chose to continue on His path toward self-sacrifice. 

Because He was victorious, we share in His victory.  We “put on” His righteousness (Colossians 3), and we walk in the power of the His Spirit.