Scripture References: Isaiah 14:7-12; Ezekiel 28:11-15; Matthew 4:1-11; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:10
Summary: After being baptized in the Jordan River, Jesus was driven into the Judean wilderness by the Holy Spirit to face forty days of hunger, thirst, and a supernatural battle with His archenemy and ours, the devil.
The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness of Judea, a barren, dry, and desolate area. It would be a place of severe testing where He would encounter the works and wiles of the devil, a real being whose aim was to try and tempt Jesus to abuse HIs power, lose His faith, or submit to the desires of the world, and in doing so, destroy His credibility and mission of redemption for the sins of the world. The enemy would use three weapons within his arsenal. First, the lust of the eyes; Second, the lust of the flesh; and third, the pride of life (1 John 2:15-17).
The Bible tells us that Jesus endured the rigors of the desert for a period of forty days. He went without a morsel of food, and if He could have found scant sources of water, a few drops in His parched throat would have felt like paradise. This shows the human side of the Lord Jesus, that He was and is One of us (Hebrews 2:14-15).
I have no doubt in my mind that Matthew heard this story directly from the Lord Jesus, and probably heard it several times as a lesson on how to thwart temptation. In each encounter with the devil, Jesus used the weapon of the Word (Hebrews 4:12) to rebuke him. This should be an obvious lesson to anyone who engages in spiritual warfare. If we are armed with the weapons of the Spirit as described in Ephesians 6:10-20, I believe that there would be more biblically literate Christians today who would be able to spot and rebuke not just the wickedness of the world, but also the wolves that lurk behind pulpits ready to tear apart the flock of Christ in these last days (Acts 20:29-31; 2 Timothy 4:3-4).
The first temptation Satan used involved the lust of the eyes or physical satisfaction. This was a challenge to the Lord Jesus to relieve His hunger after forty days and nights of nothing. This is just like the devil. He will wait until we are at a point of either physical, emotional, or mental weakness and weariness to strike a blow and try to get us away from relying on the LORD as our Source (1 Corinthians 8:6).
Satan did not come with an onslaught of wickedness but with a subtle suggestion: “If You are the Son of God, change these stones to become bread” (v.3). This was a direct challenge to the divine nature of Jesus, probably meant to provoke anger and a rash action. It would have meant succumbing to the taunts of a defeated being and putting him in a place of authority over the LORD.
When you read through the Gospels, you will find that any miracle and teaching that Jesus did was never for self-gratification but for the benefit of others (Matthew 20:27-28). His work was to show that He was the Promised One of God and to demonstrate His authority over all things. Jesus never did anything to make His life and mission one of personal comfort and ease. The road to the cross was one of adversity and hardship. He used Scripture as His weapon because any challenge or attack of the enemy cannot be won through physical means (Deuteronomy 8:3).
All the schemes of the devil can be stopped through the power and authority of the Word of God (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21). Also, the issue of physical hunger can often be taken care of at a time of our own choosing. The issue centers on the satisfaction of feeding our souls, which can only come by the Bread of Life, our Lord Jesus Christ.
The second temptation involved the pride of life. Here, the devil would try to have Jesus use His power for self-satisfaction. Jesus was taken to Jerusalem for this challenge. He and Satan were on the roof of the Temple, and Satan told Him to “Throw Yourself down” (vv.5-6), using the 91st Psalm as a “proof text” to have Jesus show a great demonstration of power, coming down slowly from the skies to show the people that He was the Deliverer of Israel.
What Satan did, like all false teachers and preachers have done through history, was to misquote the Scriptures in order to provide a false premise. When you read Psalm 91 in its entirety, it is describing someone who places their trust in the LORD who would protect him against the harms of the world. It was not written as a “show of faith” to do something foolish. Succumbing to this temptation would have been another example of obedience to the devil and the nullification of Jesus’ ministry. It would have also meant His death. It would have been a foolish and feeble attempt to achieve recognition of His role as Messiah without having to go to the cross (Isaiah 53:4-6).
The third temptation centered on the lust of the flesh (vv.8-11). Power and wealth have been the goals of many people throughout history. They have been known to say and do anything in order to achieve this goal, sometimes to their own ruination. The LORD taught about this futile quest (Matthew 16:25-26; Luke 12:13-21).
Satan’s goal was to have the Creator, the Lord Jesus (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-4; Colossians 1:16-17), submit to the created, the devil, in order to receive that which He already possessed (Psalm 24:1). Satan wanted to tempt Jesus into being the ruler of the world and its people without going to the cross and going to the cross and dying for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). It is the soul that is of far more importance than any earthly treasure that, in the end, we cannot take with us into the next life (Matthew 6:19-21).
Jesus would have none of this, and He rebuked Satan, reminding him that only the LORD is worthy of all worship and praise (Deuteronomy 6:13). It will be the devil and all creation who will bow the knee to the Lord Jesus at the end of history when He will serve as the Final Judge (Matthew 25:31-41; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:11-15).
Jesus triumphed over all of the snares laid by the enemy, and after the devil left Him, the Bible says that angels came and ministered to Him. Stop for a moment and consider what this ordeal means in terms of His love for us. He went through temptations, trials, and death for us because He does not want any of us to perish (2 Peter 3:9). He delays His return because there are souls right now who are being tempted and harassed by the devil and his minions to get them to turn away from the love and mercy of the LORD, to chase after the things of the world that will eventually be judged, purged with fire, and cast into hell with the rest of the cosmic trash at the end of history.
We must be about the King’s business, telling as many people as possible about the Good News of redemption and salvation found only in Jesus Christ (John 3:16-17, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:6-11, 6:23, 10:9-10; 1 John 2:1-2).
At the time I am writing this, the US elections are over, and Mr. Trump has been re-elected to another term as President. It is my belief that this was yet another act of undeserved mercy on the part of God and a clear signal to re-dedicate our lives to Jesus, get off our sanctified, chicken-fried backsides, and get busy with the work of the Kingdom, which is eternal.
The temptations of this temporary fallen world are not worth the loss of your soul (Matthew 16:26). Give your life to Jesus today.