Matthew 4:1-14a

“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit . . .” (v. 1). Jesus, God manifest in the flesh, received the Spirit from God the Father when He emerged from the water of baptism. That which follows in the text before us is a picture of the Spirit’s dominion over the flesh.

Jesus was driven into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. The wilderness, a solitary place, would serve as the arena…