Learning the Way of Jesus: Fasting & Scripture | Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon Guide for January 11, 2026

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How to Use This Guide:

These guides are designed to help you engage more deeply with my weekly sermon. Use this guide to prepare your heart to receive God's Word before worship, or to reflect on God's Word the week following worship.

Parents, use the information in this guide (especially in the "Family Practice" section) to have meaningful conversations with your kids that nurture their faith and help them grow in God’s love.

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Big Idea

Jesus resists temptation and maintains clear discernment by relying on fasting and Scripture, showing us not only who saves us, but how to live faithfully in a world full of subtle deception.

Why This Matters

One of the most dangerous strategies of temptation is not offering something obviously sinful, but offering a good end through unfaithful means.

We want:

• Provision, but through chronic overworking

• Peace, but through food, substances, or distraction

• Intimacy, but outside God’s design

• Security, but through control rather than trust

In Matthew 4, Satan offers Jesus the crown without the cross. Jesus resists—not through willpower alone—but through a deeply formed life rooted in fasting and God’s Word.

The Story We’re Stepping Into (Matthew 4:1–11)

Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is not random—it mirrors Israel’s story.

Israel’s Story

• God’s “son” (Exod. 4:22)

• Passed through the waters (Red Sea)

• Tested in the wilderness for 40 years

• Failed the tests:

  • grumbled for bread

  • tested the Lord

  • turned to false gods for security

Jesus’ Story

• God’s Son

• Baptized before the wilderness

• Tested for 40 days

• Remains faithful:

  • trusts God over bread

  • refuses to test the Father

  • worships God alone

Why This Is Good News

• Our hope rests on Jesus’ faithfulness, not ours

• Jesus also shows us how to navigate temptation as his followers

Learning the Way of Jesus: Fasting

What Is Fasting?

Fasting is the intentional abstaining from food (or something essential) for a time in order to seek God with greater attentiveness.

Though unfamiliar to many of us, fasting is assumed in the Christian life:

“When you fast…” (Matthew 6:16)

Early Christians fasted regularly, seeing it as a normal rhythm of discipleship.

What Fasting Does

1. Fasting Reveals What Controls Us

When food is removed, deeper things often surface:

• irritability

• anger

• impatience

• lack of self-control

For Jesus, hunger revealed trust and righteousness, not sin or self-sufficiency. For us, fasting exposes what we often use for comfort, control, or escape.

2. Fasting Reminds Us What Truly Sustains Us

Jesus declares:

“Man must not live on bread alone.”

Fasting becomes a way of proclaiming:

• food is good

• creation is good

• but God is our true sustenance

In this sense, fasting is feasting—training our hearts to depend on God.

3. Fasting Focuses Us

Rather than weakening Jesus, fasting sharpens his discernment.

For us, fasting:

• creates more space for prayer

• uses hunger as a reminder to turn to God

• helps refocus our lives during decisions or seasons of drift

Important Caveats

• Not everyone can fast from food safely (medical conditions, pregnancy, etc.)

• Fasting is not only about food—media or phone fasting can be powerful

• Fasting is not a way to earn God’s favor, but a way to deepen relationship with him

Learning the Way of Jesus: Scripture

Scripture Shapes Discernment

Jesus responds to every temptation with:

“It is written…”

He knows Scripture deeply enough to:

• recognize when it’s being misused

• respond instinctively rather than react emotionally

The goal isn’t Bible knowledge alone—it’s internalization.

Scripture Uses a Surprising Metaphor: Eating

God’s Word is described as something to be consumed:

• “I ate your words” (Jer. 15)

• “Eat this scroll” (Ezek. 3; Rev. 10)

Scripture isn’t just studied—it’s assimilated into our lives.

A Simple Way to “Eat” the Bible

• Read slowly

• Read repeatedly

• Pray through the text

• Sit with words or phrases that stir you

• Decide on one concrete act of obedience

A Practical Challenge: Read More Days Than You Don’t

Research consistently shows that reading Scripture four or more days a week leads to measurable spiritual transformation.

The change isn’t subtle—it’s observable in habits, relationships, and faithfulness.

Living This Out This Week

Personal Practice

• Consider a short fast (food, media, or another comfort)

• Pair it with intentional Scripture reading

• Use hunger or longing as a cue to pray

Family Practice

• Talk about “good things that can become idols”

• Read Matthew 4 together and discuss Jesus’ responses

A Final Gospel Reminder

Before we ever fast well or internalize Scripture deeply:

• Jesus has already been faithful

• Jesus has already secured our salvation

And now, through his Spirit, we are invited to learn his way of life—not to earn grace, but to live from it.