Before the Lord Jesus began His service for God, Satan tempted Him, trying to get Him to sin as all other men have done. But the Lord Jesus is both perfect God and perfect man. As a man, He had no sin and could do no sin.
Notice how Satan used the word “if” in every temptation to introduce doubt. It is as if he said, “If You are who You say You are, prove it.” Notice how He answered every attempt to get Him to disobey God; each time He said, “It is written.” We need to read our Bible every day and when tempted to say to our own hearts, “It is written.”
From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent.” His service was perfect and a wonderful pattern for all who wish to serve Him. He began in the area where He was raised and lived. If we are not ready to tell the people where we live about Jesus, we are not ready to go somewhere else as a missionary.
He begins to call others to follow Him as His disciples. Being with Him, they learn how to be “fishers of men” — how to go out and present Jesus’ teaching to others and make them disciples. When Jesus was calling men to serve Him, He was not looking for idle people. He called men who were busy working. When Jesus called James and John, “they immediately left” everything to follow Him.
People are always looking for something or someone to meet needs which they cannot meet themselves. People heard about the Man Jesus who was healing all manner of sickness and disease. Soon they were bringing to Him “all sick people.” We all have the sickness of sin that we cannot cure. He is our only hope; He is the only One who can cure us by saving us, giving us a new heart, and fitting us for heaven.
1. What doubt word did Satan include with every temptation? __________ Matthew 4:___
2. In answering every temptation, Jesus said, “ __________.” Matthew 4:___
3. __________ is the first word recorded that Jesus said when He began His public preaching. Matthew 4:___
4. James and John were not slow to respond when Jesus called them; they __________ left. Matthew 4:___
5. What kind of people were brought to Jesus? __________ Matthew 4:___