The Temptation (Based on Matthew 4)

After His baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. He was there forty days and forty nights, alone with the wild beasts. He spent the time in prayer, fasting, and communion with his heavenly Father. When the forty days were ended, Jesus began to be weak and hungry, and at this time Satan came to Him to tempt Him. Why did Jesus let Satan tempt Him?

He allowed it because Jesus, as man, was to suffer all that His people suffer and to be tempted like as they are, “yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Remember that when Adam and Eve had sinned, and God had passed sentence upon them for their sin, He said to Satan, the serpent, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15). This seed of the woman was the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to conquer Satan and to deliver sinners from Satan’s power. Satan was to “bruise the heel” of Christ—to trouble and distress Him a little; but Christ was to “bruise the head” of Satan—to subdue him altogether and take away his power. This prophecy was now beginning to be fulfilled.

How did Satan tempt the Savior? First, he brought stones to Jesus and said to Him, “Command that these stones be made bread.” Satan knew that Jesus was weak and hungry, and he knew that Jesus could make bread by a miracle if He so desired. Jesus knew, however, that it was not the right time for performing such a miracle, so He said to the tempter, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” God can preserve life by any means He pleases, and in all our wants we must trust Him to provide for us in the way He appoints and sees best.

Next, Satan led Jesus to the top of the temple, placed Him on the highest part of the building and said, “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.” Satan now tried to deceive Jesus by speaking some of God’s words. Satan has great knowledge and cunning. He uses his powers to try to lead people into sin. Here he used God’s own words, but he used them in a wrong way. It is true that God has promised to keep those who trust in Him when they obey His commands, but He does not promise to keep those who boldly put themselves into danger without His command. Jesus would not cast Himself down from the temple because it was not God’s will. He said to Satan, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

Then Satan tried a new temptation. He took Jesus up into a very high mountain, and there he showed Him, in a wonderful way which we cannot understand, all the kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them—all the riches, pleasures, and vanities of the world. Then Satan said, “All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Did these things belong to Satan? Was it in his power to give them away? No, “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” The kingdoms of the world and all their riches and glory belong to God, and He can give and take them away as He pleases. Satan often uses these worldly things as if they were his, and he tempts people with them as he tempted Jesus in this illustration. What did Jesus say? He told Satan that it was written in God’s Word, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” Then Satan left Jesus for a time, and holy angels came down from heaven to minister to Him.

This same Satan who tempted Jesus tempts us now every day. “The devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Wherever we go, whatever we do, Satan is near, trying to lead us into sin. We cannot see him with our eyes nor hear his voice speaking to us as Jesus could, but we can feel him in our hearts, filling them with evil ideas, sinful tempers, and wicked thoughts.

Can we conquer this great enemy, Satan? Jesus Christ conquered him by His own power, but we cannot. Our hearts are so sinful that, unless they are renewed by the Holy Spirit, they would rather listen to the temptations of Satan and choose him for their master than to serve God.

We must pray that the Lord will give us new hearts, hearts which love Him and desire to walk in His ways. Then the Lord Jesus will enable us to resist Satan through His power. The Lord Jesus suffered all the afflictions and temptations of His people, and He will deliver them from sin and Satan. “For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).

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