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Jesus faces the devil on a very high mountain while distant abstract views suggest the kingdoms of the world and their glory; Jesus refuses the offered power and commands the devil to go.

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Jesus Worships God Alone

Matthew 4:1-11

The Big Idea

Jesus shows us that God alone is worthy of worship. We can trust God and follow Scripture when we face temptation.

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The Bible Story

Jesus Is Tempted in the Wilderness

Matthew 4:8-10 describes the third temptation after Jesus has fasted for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. The devil takes Jesus to a very high mountain and shows him the kingdoms of the world and their glory. He offers them to Jesus if Jesus will bow down and worship him. Jesus refuses. He commands the devil to go and answers from Scripture that the Lord God alone is to be worshiped and served. This passage presents Jesus resisting temptation through obedience to Scripture and wholehearted worship of God. The account does not name the mountain or identify particular kingdoms. Jesus does not accept, rule, or visit them. This scene belongs to Matthew’s account of Jesus’ testing in the wilderness, where each temptation is met with a Scripture-based answer.

Themes

Obedience to ScriptureResisting temptationTrusting GodWorshiping God alone

Bible moment

The Bible moment

Matthew 4:8-10 describes the third temptation after Jesus has fasted for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. The devil takes Jesus to a very high mountain and shows him the kingdoms of the world and their glory. He offers them to Jesus if Jesus will bow down and worship him. Jesus refuses. He commands the devil to go and answers from Scripture that the Lord God alone is to be worshiped and served. This passage presents Jesus resisting temptation through obedience to Scripture and wholehearted worship of God. The account does not name the mountain or identify particular kingdoms. Jesus does not accept, rule, or visit them. This scene belongs to Matthew’s account of Jesus’ testing in the wilderness, where each temptation is met with a Scripture-based answer.

Look closely

What children can notice

On a very high mountain, Jesus faces the devil while distant, abstract views suggest the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Jesus stands apart from the offered power and commands the devil to go, answering that the Lord God alone is to be worshiped and served.

Talk together

Talk about it

  • What did Jesus choose instead of the kingdoms’ power and glory?
  • How can Scripture help us choose to worship God alone?

For families, church, and class

Use this page

Use this page with older children in Sunday school, church, classroom, or homeschool settings. Keep the discussion calm and reassuring rather than frightening. Invite children to notice Jesus’ refusal to bow, his command for the devil to go, and his Scripture-based answer. Emphasize trusting God, resisting temptation, and worshiping God alone without adding details beyond Matthew’s account.

Source note

From this passage

Matthew 4:8-10 · The Temptation of Jesus

On a very high mountain, Jesus faces the devil while distant, abstract views suggest the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Jesus stands apart from the offered power and commands the devil to go, answering that the Lord God alone is to be worshiped and served.

Continue the Story

Jesus Is Tempted in the Wilderness

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