“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written: “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”’ (Matthew 4:1-10)
The temptations Jesus faced were three powerful ones. They were powerful because Satan called into question Jesus’ identity and power. It was a temptation for Jesus to prove that He was the Son of God. They were also powerful temptations because they struck at points of need in Jesus’ life. He was hungry – to the point of starvation and turning the stones into bread would have been an easy way to satisfy His hunger, justifiable because He was at the point of danger. Throwing Himself off the temple was a temptation because Jesus wanted the multitudes to follow Him and if He had performed that feat the crowds would have seen and been in awe. And the third temptation was powerful because Jesus did want the world and the path Satan offered was the easier path to that goal -- much easier than the cross.
And Jesus said “no” to each of those temptations. And the way Jesus was able to say “no” was through His knowledge of the Bible and ability to call it to His mind in the face of temptation. David wrote, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11)
Jesus had no special power that enabled Him to turn aside from temptation. He faced temptation with the same tools that are available to us. He did that to conquer sin for us -- and to show us how to overcome temptation in our own lives.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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