“Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him” ( Matthew 4:11 11 Then the devil leaveth him; and behold, angels came and ministered unto him. ).

After Jesus’ greatest foe left, “angels came and began to minister to Him.” It is quite fitting that holy angels should come to care for and comfort Him after the prince of the fallen angels had harassed Him with three major temptations. To provide the benefits of angelic ministry was just another way for the Father to register His approval of the Son and signify the Son’s worthiness.

At the first sign of confrontation with Satan, Christ could easily have summoned help from “more than twelve legions of angels” (Matt. 26:53). But He obediently waited for the Father to send assistance according to the divine schedule. We are not told what kind of ministry the angels performed, but they undoubtedly brought Jesus food to relieve His hunger. And spiritually they would have worshiped the Son and delivered to Him many words of assurance and comfort from His Father.

The devil’s temptations of Jesus failed, whereas God’s testings of His Son succeeded. Time after time, Jesus had answered with the ideal response to each test. The Lord also provides His saints with the power to resist the adversary’s schemes ( James 4:7 7 Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ), knowing that Satan will certainly persist in challenging believers, just as he challenged Jesus. But for every new or repeated temptation, God always gives us a way of escape (1 Cor. 10:13).

Ask Yourself

Perhaps you’re the giving, ministry type. You freely give and share and do and give comfort. But how well do you receive God’s comfort and His ministry to you? How welcome are you to the caring compassions of others? To meet needs is noble, but to admit our own is still necessary.

From Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Vol. 1, John MacArthur. Copyright © 2008. Used by permission of Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL 60610, www.moodypublishers.com.

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