The Temptation Of Jesus
We're going to take a look at an event which occurred in the life of Jesus which has significant implications for all of us. Its application, as well as its admonitions, are deep and meaningful, beyond their mere face value. Immediately following His baptism, Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. What transpired was both inspiring and significant as it serves to give us not only a look into the mind of Jesus, but also the far-reaching power and influence of the devil. We will be reading from Matthew 4:1-11..."Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him,
It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."
We will begin with verse 11, and take each verse, looking in detail at each one in order to draw out hidden truths which might otherwise go unnoticed. So, verse 11 begins..."Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." This event occurred immediately after the baptism of Jesus, and is also recorded in the books of Mark and Luke as well as Matthew. However, in their respective accounts, they both use the word "immediately" to express the fact that is was directly following His baptism. Note that, as long as Jesus lived privately, He was in relative obscurity. However, when He was baptized, and was declared to be the Son of God, His temptation was immediate. Such is the case with us. While we are in the world, living for ourselves, we will not be bothered by Satan, but when we step out for God, and stand up for His cause, we will immediately face temptations. Matthew Henry once said, "The enriched soul must double its guard." It is when one first sets out to do good, to do the will of God, that Satan will do all within his power to derail their progress.
Verse 2 tells us..."And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered." It is implied here that the sensation of hunger was suppressed during the extent of the forty days, just as with Moses in Exodus 34:28..."And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments." However, it seems as though the temptation, though not specifically detailed, was constant throughout the forty days, as we read in Luke 4:1-2..."And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered." While we are not told what the temptations entailed during the first phase, we know that they were not successful, or else there would be no need for the second phase of temptation. Whatever these temptations may have been, we know for a certainty that they must have included Satan's attempts to place doubt as to the validity of the Sonship of Jesus as well as his Sovereign Authority, because this is precisely where they pick up when the forty days come to an end.
With verse 3, Satan embarks upon the specific temptations..."And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." Continuing in his attempts to cast doubt into the mind of Jesus as to the legitimacy of His being the Son of God, the devil tempts Jesus to exercise His power to ease His own suffering, His hunger. On the surface, this would not seem to be a grievous sin, but to yield to it would be to sin against God, as it would not only signify submission to Satan, but also uncertainty as to the provision of God. Subtle as the enticements of the devil may be, we must be ever vigilant in order to avoid his fiery darts. Another interesting aspect of this particular temptation is the fact that Satan did not tempt Jesus to pray to the Father that the stones be made bread, but rather, to use His own divine power to make it so. It was as if Satan were saying, "After all, the Father has abandoned you, has He not? Else, would you be here, in the wilderness, at the point of starvation? Why not use your power to supply your own needs?" The devil is never stronger than when he convinces us that we have been abandoned by God. However, our Savior could see beyond this ruse, and avoided the temptation, as we read in verse 4...
"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Jesus answered the temptation with a scripture which Moses spoke to the children of Israel at the end of their forty years' wanderings in the desert, which we read in Deuteronomy 8:3..."And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." Now, in this, Jesus acknowledges the fact that, if the children of Israel were made to wander for forty years, and never suffered starvation, and God provided all their needs, how much more would He provide for His only begotten Son? As is, at times, man's lot to suffer, He would await Divine supply, knowing that it would arrive in due season.
Verses 5-6 bring Satan's next temptation..."Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down; for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." Let us take note here of the cunning subtleties of the devil's tactics. Seeing that Jesus relies upon the word of God for His defense, Satan turns the tables, and attempts to use Scripture to tempt Jesus into a display of power. It is as if he were saying, "If you are indeed the Son of God, prove it here, before all of Jerusalem. Leap from the pinnacle of this temple, and let the angels come to your rescue!" However, the wisdom of Jesus sees right through this deceitful provocation, and His amazing humility would never allow for such a blatant misuse of God's protections. An interesting side note here, it is worth noticing that the devil compels Jesus to cast Himself down, he does not make any attempt to cast Jesus down himself, as he does not have physical power over our own will. We read in James 1:14..."...every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." Satan can only persuade, he cannot dictate. He can entice, but he cannot override our will. Again, in this instance, Jesus rebukes the devil with God's word once more, in verse 7...
"Jesus said unto him, It is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Jesus acknowledges the devil's use of Scripture, misquoted as it was, and further uses the word to nullify Satan's argument. Notice that Jesus is not telling Satan here, "Therefore you shall not tempt me"; but rather, "I must not tempt my Father." For Jesus to cast Himself down from the temple would be to purposely create a situation which would require further proof from the Father as to His provision and protection, thereby tempting God.
With verses 8-9, Satan unleashes his final temptation..."Again the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." The devil abandons his feeble attempts to quote Scripture, as Jesus sees beyond his flawed logic. Of course, there would be no Scripture for Satan to quote which would back up this blasphemous deception. This is a blatant attempt to coerce the human side of Jesus to lust for power. Luke 4:5-7 explains it in a little greater detail..."And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine." Here, the devil throws off all pretention and shows his true colors. This is interesting, as it shows us that Satan used some type of supernatural power to display before Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, in the present as well as the future, along with all of their glory, in a moment of time. Further, it shows us that the glory and power of this world have been delivered to Satan, and that he has the capability to use it in any way that he chooses. He has the means to provide wealth and power to anyone who is willing to trade their soul for it. Jesus referred to Satan multiple times as "the prince of this world", because He fully understands not only our frailties, but also the power and influence which the devil has over mankind.
In verses 10-11, as Jesus answers Satan's final enticement, He provides us with a stirring example of boldness in the face of temptation..."Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him." The devil's final temptation is met with righteous indignation, as the very thought of giving Satan the worship that is due only to God was an abomination to Jesus. Likewise, we must be bold in our defiance to the seductions of the devil; and we know that, since Satan cannot control us physically, our resistance is all that is required, and God will take care of the rest. We read in James 4:7-8..."Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." When we submit ourselves, our will, and our desires, to God, we draw nigh to Him. He will, in turn, draw nigh to us, and purify and cleanse us. The devil does not want to fight us, for he knows that he cannot defeat an unwavering and steadfast Christian. He will tempt us, but when we boldly resist, he will flee. He has plenty of other easy targets to prey upon; he does not want to waste his time on a resolved and single-minded follower of Jesus; and when we resist, he will leave us, and our strength and resolve will be renewed by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus faced these temptations, and undoubtedly many more that are not revealed to us. He defeated Satan face to face during His life on earth, and He will defeat Him once and for all at the end of time. Jesus is our Victory, He is our Intercessor, and our ever present help in time of trouble. Finally, Hebrews 4:14-16 tells us..."Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
We will begin with verse 11, and take each verse, looking in detail at each one in order to draw out hidden truths which might otherwise go unnoticed. So, verse 11 begins..."Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." This event occurred immediately after the baptism of Jesus, and is also recorded in the books of Mark and Luke as well as Matthew. However, in their respective accounts, they both use the word "immediately" to express the fact that is was directly following His baptism. Note that, as long as Jesus lived privately, He was in relative obscurity. However, when He was baptized, and was declared to be the Son of God, His temptation was immediate. Such is the case with us. While we are in the world, living for ourselves, we will not be bothered by Satan, but when we step out for God, and stand up for His cause, we will immediately face temptations. Matthew Henry once said, "The enriched soul must double its guard." It is when one first sets out to do good, to do the will of God, that Satan will do all within his power to derail their progress.
Verse 2 tells us..."And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered." It is implied here that the sensation of hunger was suppressed during the extent of the forty days, just as with Moses in Exodus 34:28..."And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments." However, it seems as though the temptation, though not specifically detailed, was constant throughout the forty days, as we read in Luke 4:1-2..."And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered." While we are not told what the temptations entailed during the first phase, we know that they were not successful, or else there would be no need for the second phase of temptation. Whatever these temptations may have been, we know for a certainty that they must have included Satan's attempts to place doubt as to the validity of the Sonship of Jesus as well as his Sovereign Authority, because this is precisely where they pick up when the forty days come to an end.
With verse 3, Satan embarks upon the specific temptations..."And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." Continuing in his attempts to cast doubt into the mind of Jesus as to the legitimacy of His being the Son of God, the devil tempts Jesus to exercise His power to ease His own suffering, His hunger. On the surface, this would not seem to be a grievous sin, but to yield to it would be to sin against God, as it would not only signify submission to Satan, but also uncertainty as to the provision of God. Subtle as the enticements of the devil may be, we must be ever vigilant in order to avoid his fiery darts. Another interesting aspect of this particular temptation is the fact that Satan did not tempt Jesus to pray to the Father that the stones be made bread, but rather, to use His own divine power to make it so. It was as if Satan were saying, "After all, the Father has abandoned you, has He not? Else, would you be here, in the wilderness, at the point of starvation? Why not use your power to supply your own needs?" The devil is never stronger than when he convinces us that we have been abandoned by God. However, our Savior could see beyond this ruse, and avoided the temptation, as we read in verse 4...
"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Jesus answered the temptation with a scripture which Moses spoke to the children of Israel at the end of their forty years' wanderings in the desert, which we read in Deuteronomy 8:3..."And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." Now, in this, Jesus acknowledges the fact that, if the children of Israel were made to wander for forty years, and never suffered starvation, and God provided all their needs, how much more would He provide for His only begotten Son? As is, at times, man's lot to suffer, He would await Divine supply, knowing that it would arrive in due season.
Verses 5-6 bring Satan's next temptation..."Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down; for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." Let us take note here of the cunning subtleties of the devil's tactics. Seeing that Jesus relies upon the word of God for His defense, Satan turns the tables, and attempts to use Scripture to tempt Jesus into a display of power. It is as if he were saying, "If you are indeed the Son of God, prove it here, before all of Jerusalem. Leap from the pinnacle of this temple, and let the angels come to your rescue!" However, the wisdom of Jesus sees right through this deceitful provocation, and His amazing humility would never allow for such a blatant misuse of God's protections. An interesting side note here, it is worth noticing that the devil compels Jesus to cast Himself down, he does not make any attempt to cast Jesus down himself, as he does not have physical power over our own will. We read in James 1:14..."...every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." Satan can only persuade, he cannot dictate. He can entice, but he cannot override our will. Again, in this instance, Jesus rebukes the devil with God's word once more, in verse 7...
"Jesus said unto him, It is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Jesus acknowledges the devil's use of Scripture, misquoted as it was, and further uses the word to nullify Satan's argument. Notice that Jesus is not telling Satan here, "Therefore you shall not tempt me"; but rather, "I must not tempt my Father." For Jesus to cast Himself down from the temple would be to purposely create a situation which would require further proof from the Father as to His provision and protection, thereby tempting God.
With verses 8-9, Satan unleashes his final temptation..."Again the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." The devil abandons his feeble attempts to quote Scripture, as Jesus sees beyond his flawed logic. Of course, there would be no Scripture for Satan to quote which would back up this blasphemous deception. This is a blatant attempt to coerce the human side of Jesus to lust for power. Luke 4:5-7 explains it in a little greater detail..."And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine." Here, the devil throws off all pretention and shows his true colors. This is interesting, as it shows us that Satan used some type of supernatural power to display before Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, in the present as well as the future, along with all of their glory, in a moment of time. Further, it shows us that the glory and power of this world have been delivered to Satan, and that he has the capability to use it in any way that he chooses. He has the means to provide wealth and power to anyone who is willing to trade their soul for it. Jesus referred to Satan multiple times as "the prince of this world", because He fully understands not only our frailties, but also the power and influence which the devil has over mankind.
In verses 10-11, as Jesus answers Satan's final enticement, He provides us with a stirring example of boldness in the face of temptation..."Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him." The devil's final temptation is met with righteous indignation, as the very thought of giving Satan the worship that is due only to God was an abomination to Jesus. Likewise, we must be bold in our defiance to the seductions of the devil; and we know that, since Satan cannot control us physically, our resistance is all that is required, and God will take care of the rest. We read in James 4:7-8..."Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." When we submit ourselves, our will, and our desires, to God, we draw nigh to Him. He will, in turn, draw nigh to us, and purify and cleanse us. The devil does not want to fight us, for he knows that he cannot defeat an unwavering and steadfast Christian. He will tempt us, but when we boldly resist, he will flee. He has plenty of other easy targets to prey upon; he does not want to waste his time on a resolved and single-minded follower of Jesus; and when we resist, he will leave us, and our strength and resolve will be renewed by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus faced these temptations, and undoubtedly many more that are not revealed to us. He defeated Satan face to face during His life on earth, and He will defeat Him once and for all at the end of time. Jesus is our Victory, He is our Intercessor, and our ever present help in time of trouble. Finally, Hebrews 4:14-16 tells us..."Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
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