“Tested in the Wilderness” Matthew 4:1-11 | Episode 246

This week's lesson finds Jesus tempted in the wilderness. Peter Walsh, Elizabeth Garnsey, and John Kennedy discuss what things in the world tempt us to veer off the path Jesus laid out, what idols we're tempted by, and why we should unlearn what we've traditionally thought about the Devil.

Questions for Further Discussion:

Themes and Application

1. What does “one does not live by bread alone” reveal about spiritual hunger in a culture that appears materially full?
2. What does it mean to say there is a force opposed to God’s purposes in the world? How do we understand evil without excusing human responsibility?
3. How does this story prepare us for Lent as a season of testing, clarity, and spiritual realignment?

Personal Reflection

1. Where in your life do you hear the whisper, “If you are…”? What identity questions are you wrestling with?
2. Have you experienced a wilderness season—illness, recovery, grief, loneliness, pilgrimage, transition? What did it reveal about you?
3. What distracts you most easily? Where do small deviations slowly move you off course?

Broader Spiritual Considerations

1. How might Lent be an invitation to reclaim attention in an age of technological distraction?
2. How does the baptismal renunciation of “Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness” frame the Christian life as ongoing resistance?
3. If evil is often seductive rather than grotesque, how do we cultivate discernment?

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