The Temptations of Jesus

And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 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. 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. 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. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. Luke 4:3-13

Steps: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

When God called Jesus into the wilderness it was to give opportunity for Jesus to prepare for His ministry. God allowed Jesus to go into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan on the issues that mankind usually fell on. Satan was allowed to tempt Jesus on appetite/craving, presumption, and an easier softer way. In each case Jesus depended upon what the Word of God said, rather than what He wanted to do as a man. Jesus was clearly hungry and wanted to eat, after 40 days of fasting. Jesus also wanted to prove to Satan that He could do things on His own, and that if at all possible He would like to have the world without suffering and dying. But in all of these cases when He asked Himself would He work with His Father’s plan, He chose the way of God rather than the ways of the flesh. He passed the tests and won the moral victory over His flesh. He was now ready to go into service for His people.

Prayer for Today: God, we have so little understanding of what it means to have victory over ourselves that when we read this story of Jesus it hardly registers on our minds. The fact that Jesus did not give into His own desires is almost impossible for us to grasp. Help us to see what kind of victories He won and help us to understand how these apply to us. Help us to grasp that when Jesus could do by faith in You so can we. Help us with these ideas and help us to know what recovery from sin really looks like and acts like. Thank You for this inventory.