Satan tempts Jesus three times, and Jesus
isn't in his full
strength at that point. He actually had
just fasted forty days in the
wilderness.
Luke 4 gives an account of Satan's
tempting of Jesus, as does what we
have read in Matthew 4. As we go
further into the Gospels, a lot of
harmony and confirmations of miracles
(through numerous accounts) are
involved.
Luke 4:2 - Being forty days tempted
of the devil. And in those days he
did eat nothing: and when they were ended,
he afterward hungered.
So apparently,
Jesus had been tempted during those days by the
devil as well as at the end. Though tempted,
He did not succumb to the
enticement (ooh, big words!). He didn't
give in at any point.
Giving a sneak peek into Hebrews, we will
find more information about
why Jesus is our Perfect atonement (payment)
for our sins and went
through His life on earth spotless and
without blemish, even though He
was tempted in every way we are.
Hebrews 4:15 - 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.
Interesting how the devil tries to attack
especially when we are
weakest. He can try to grab a hold and
discourage us, but we are
commanded to, well, 1 - Put on the full
armor of God (Ephesians 6), and
2 - Rejoice in everything and take things
to prayer (Philippians 4 and I
Thessalonians 5), and 3 - Don't
let the devil even get a foothold!
Ephesians 4:27 - Neither
give place to the devil.
Reading the Bible,
prayer,
fellowship,
and worship with
Christians are EXTREMELY
good shielding from the darts of the devil.
Ephesians 6:13-18 - "Wherefore take
unto you the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to withstand in the
evil day, and having done all,
to stand. Stand therefore, having your
loins girt about with truth, and
having on the breastplate of righteousness;
And your feet shod with the
preparation of the gospel of peace; Above
all, taking the shield of
faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench
all the fiery darts of the
wicked. And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God: Praying always
with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, and watching
thereunto with all perseverance
and supplication for all saints;"
Jesus was well equipped for the devil's
attacks
Parallel to Genesis 3, where Eve
is tempted by the serpent (Satan),
Matthew 4 talks about Satan tempting
Jesus.
Genesis 3:6 - And when the woman
saw that the tree was good for food,
and that it was pleasant to the eyes,
and a tree to be desired to make
one wise, she took of the fruit thereof,
and did eat, and gave also unto
her husband with her; and he did eat.
Both these
passages follow right along with 1 John 2:16.
1 John 2:16 - For all that
is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life, is not of the Father, but
is of the world.
Lust of the Flesh -
Genesis 3 - Tree was good for food.
Devil tells her to eat from it.
Eve's response: Mmm! Mmm!
Luke 4 - "And the devil said unto
him, If thou be the Son of God,
command this stone that it be made bread."
(4:3)
Jesus' response: "And Jesus answered him,
saying, It is written, That
man shall not live by bread alone, but
by every word of God." (4:4)
The source is more important than the bread!
Jesus quotes Deuteronomy
8:3 in this part of the temptation.
That was a big 'no' to the devil!
Lust of the Eyes -
Genesis 3 - Tree was pleasant to
the eyes.
Eve's response: Maybe I can disobey <chomp!>
Luke 4 - "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." (4:5-7)
Jesus' Response: "And Jesus answered and
said unto him, Get thee behind
me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and
him only shalt thou serve." (4:8)
Satan is sometimes called the 'god of this
world,' and in Job, we find
that he wanders to and fro on the earth,
but a sick part is that he
doesn't realize that he's already been
defeated by the Blood of the
Lamb, Jesus will reign over all, and simply,
the devil himself won't
win!
Jesus busted the devil's request by quoting
Scripture from Deuteronomy
(chapter 6, verse 23) and ended
the request abruptly. There is Power in
the Word of God!
Pride of Life -
Genesis 3 - Eating from the tree
would make Eve wise.
Eve's Response: Disobedience, turning
into her being ashamed and
guilty of sin.
Luke 4 - "And he brought him to
Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of
the temple, and said unto him, If thou
be the Son of God, cast thyself
down from hence: For it is written, He
shall give his angels charge
over thee, to keep thee: And in their
hands they shall bear thee up,
lest at any time thou dash thy foot against
a stone." (4:9-11)
Jesus' Response: "And Jesus answering
said unto him, It is said, Thou
shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." (4:12)
Satan took
his quote from Scripture out of context. Jesus put him
in order right away. Jesus knew the Scriptures,
and even so, He was,
is, and WILL be the Word of God!
John 1:1-4 - "In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. The same was in
the beginning with God. All
things were made by him; and without him
was not any thing made that was
made. In him was life; and the life was
the light of men."
We need to be well equipped in the Word
of God, meaning read the Bible,
know it, and live it! The more you know
Him and about Him, the more
AWESOME life is!
Jesus said that we err (make mistakes)
because the Word is not in us.
The Word was certainly in Him, so let's
follow in His Footsteps there!
Psalm 91:1-3 - "He that dwelleth
in the secret place of the most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD,
He is my refuge and my fortress: my God;
in him will I trust. Surely he
shall deliver thee from the snare of the
fowler, and from the noisome
pestilence."
Notice something about Jesus' Divinity?
Even though He was fully God
while fully man, He never did miracles
to improve His Life. He could
have forced everyone to give Him riches
and things of earth, but He
didn't. Jesus always helped the helpless
and the lowly, as well as
higher authority figures (example: the
centurion in Matthew 8)
Jesus could have been huge in His first
'trip to earth,' but He became
as a lowly servant. He could have blasted
the devil off the map if He
wanted to, and all temptation in the wilderness
would not have even
existed! Jesus even prayed later on for
God the Father's Will to be
done. Jesus could have done a miracle
to get down from the cross, but
He didn't. He was the Son of God who died
for the payment of our sins,
even though He did nothing wrong. He then
rose again, conquering death
and hell (Revelation 1:18) and
proving that He is the Son of God!
He will be back, however, and THIS time,
He will be King over an
everlasting Kingdom. Every knee will bow
and every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory
of God the Father (Philippians
2:10-11). Everyone, willing and
unwilling, will do so. Will you be
joyful and willing, with a life of peace
ahead? Will you have life more
abundantly here on earth?
Jesus came that we would have life, and
life more abundantly (John
10:10), and it's a free gift. If
you haven't accepted Jesus Christ as
your Savior and King, and wish to, pray
this prayer to Him: "Jesus, be
my Savior. Forgive my sins, make my heart
clean and new. You are the
Son of God. Thank You for what You have
done for me, and what You are
doing, and will do, in Jesus' Name, Amen."
God is Good, and that's not just part-time!
Psalm 145:3 - "Great is the
LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his
greatness is unsearchable."
May the Lord bless you this weekend, and
set your hearts on things
above, and trust in Him, because He will
lead you into the best path for
your life!