That thought comes to our mind again, the one that tells us to do this, to do that, things we know that we shouldn't be doing. It tells us to say a lie or nasty comment. It tells us to take that item that doesn’t belong to us. It tells us to go where we know we shouldn’t, where we will only get into deep trouble. It tells us to go against what God has said in His Word. Like we all do, we frequently give in to that temptation. Mankind has given into the voice of temptation since the days of Adam. However, in our Scripture for today we read of One who was tempted, sorely tempted, but did not give in. Let’s take a look.
As our Scripture passage opens, Jesus has headed into the wilderness to spend time in prayer and fasting before He started His ministry. Jesus remained in the wilderness praying and fasting for forty days, and during that time the enemy of our souls, Satan, came and tempted Him. As Scripture records, Jesus was tempted in all points, just as we are every day, yet He didn’t sin (Hebrews 4:15). By studying our passage we can see and learn how we, too, can successfully fight temptation.
Most temptations that Satan uses against us, and which he used against Jesus at this time, fall into the categories of lust of the flesh (vs. 2-3), lust of the eyes (vs. 8-9), and the pride of life (vs. 5-6). (I John 2:16). Satan’s design was to try to get Jesus to violate the plan of God, and use His divine power, which He had put aside when He lowered Himself to become man.
Following fasting for forty days, Jesus was naturally quite hungry. Satan thought he could take advantage of that, and tempted Jesus to use His divine power to turn the abundant stones of the wilderness into bread (vs. 2-4). Jesus chose not to use His power to satisfy His natural desire for food. Jesus didn’t try to use human reasoning with Satan, but instead quoted Scripture. He quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 here, teaching us to trust in God to provide for us. God’s Word is a more important source of sustenance than food. It feeds our souls in a way that can benefit us for eternity, rather than the temporal, which food can only do. Jesus teaches us here to not try to satisfy a normal desire in the wrong way or at the wrong time.
Satan did not turn away after just one rejection. He next brought Jesus into Jerusalem and to the pinnacle or corner of the Temple (vs. 5-7) . The pinnacle of the Temple was about 700 feet above the ravine below. There He tempted Jesus to jump and get the angels to catch Him. He even used a Bible verse in his temptation. Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12. However, he twisted the Scripture that was intended to teach us to trust God, and instead to justify testing Him. Jesus responded with Scripture again, quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, that it is wrong to tempt or test God, just as when the people of Israel tested God at Massah.
Satan then tried one more time to get Jesus to sin. Satan took Jesus to a high mountain and showed Him the kingdoms of the world, and promised to give them to Him, right then and there, if He would bow down to him (vs. 8-10). Satan has temporary control and free rein over the earth because of humanity's sinfulness. The devil will offer us the world by trying to entice us with materialism and power. Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13-14, that we are to worship only the Lord God, and nobody and nothing else.
Satan tempted Jesus when He was tired, alone, and hungry. He will tempt us when we are vulnerable and under stress. He tempts us in three crucial areas - physical needs and desires, possessions and power, and also with pride, just as he did Jesus. Satan is always trying to get us to live his way or our way, and not God’s way. He tried to get Jesus to declare His kingship prematurely. If Jesus had given in, His mission to earth to die for our sins would have been lost.
The way Jesus succeeded in resisting Satan’s temptations was not with sheer willpower, nor with intellectual arguments. He succeeded in resisting temptation by the Word of God, the Bible. He responded with “It is written!” three times over. God’s Word is a sword for us to use in spiritual combat. In order to effectively use our sword, we need a good working knowledge of God’s Word so that we can fight deception with His truth. Satan will try to get us to doubt God’s Word and His promises, but the more we know the Bible, and the closer we are to Him in prayer, the better able we are to combat the temptations he throws our way.
In closing, when Satan comes our way with temptation, answer him just as Jesus did. “It is written! It is written! It is written!”
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