The Temptation of Jesus
When we look at the temptation of Jesus we sometimes say some very silly things. It is like we are so uncomfortable with the fact that Jesus resisted sin that we have to reason away His humanity to explain how He did it. Certainly if Jesus really was fully human He wouldn’t have been able to resist sin so we blame His ability to stand in the face of temptation on His being God. Hebrews 2 tells us that Jesus was made like us in every way and that He was tempted. Luke 4:13 tells us when the devil had tempted Jesus in EVERY way he left. Jesus experienced every temptation that we do and He did so as a man and without sinning.
Some people say because Jesus never really sinned that He doesn’t know how enticing it is, He doesn’t fully understand temptation because He never gave in to it. Let me ask you this: if two people were running a marathon which one of them appreciates how far a 26 mile run is, the one who makes it half way and quits or the one who finishes the race? It is the one who can complete the run that truly appreciates how far it is. That is Jesus, He finished the race without giving in to temptation and so He understands temptation better than we do. Because the longer you go without giving in the stronger temptation gets. How can we learn to resist the temptation of the enemy?
If you look back a Genesis 3:1 where we see the fall of man we see there are some similar themes between the temptation of Adam and the temptation of Jesus. Adam brought sin into the world and Jesus comes and shows us how to get sin out.
Ge 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Ge 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, Ge 3:3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” Ge 3:4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. Ge 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Ge 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
He starts off with a question: did God really say? Now look at what he says to Jesus: “if you really are the Son of God…” He starts off by challenging you where you are. He tries to shake the foundation of who we are and what we believe so that he can lead us astray. He will question your identity as a child of God to try to get you to do things that are not Godly.
He will say things like: “Are you sure? If you really were a child of God, if you really belonged to Him, then shouldn’t this life be easier?” Satan challenges your identity so he can destroy your life. Satan starts with baiting us with a challenge. If he can get you to believe it, to fall into his trap then he can destroy you.
Adam and Eve had lived according to what God said. Satan came along and questioned that lifestyle. He starts off with his deceit “you will not surely die” he sets the trap and they fall into it. There are three ways in which Satan tempted Adam and Eve: with the lust of the eyes: Eve saw the fruit was pleasing to the eye, the lust of the flesh the fruit was good for food, and the boastful pride of life, the fruit was desirable for gaining wisdom. These are the same three tools he uses against Jesus in Luke 4.
Could Jesus have done the things the devil asked Him to do? Yes. The devil tempts Jesus with the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the boastful bride of life to misuse His divine power. Jesus never used His divinity for His own personal benefit. He used miracles to help others not Himself. Satan offers Jesus an easy way out. Jesus knows the road ahead will be long and full of suffering. He knows the hardships and trials will come and ultimately the pain of the cross and separation from God. Satan offers Jesus an alternative, a way of becoming Messiah without having to suffer. If Jesus will compromise here, if He will use His using divine power for His own personal comfort then how will He resist using His divine power to stop the pain of the cross?
The temptation of Christ is not to do sinful things it is to take a shortcut that would require Him to deviate from the plan of God. You might say, well if it is not temptation to sin then how does Jesus understand temptation? What do you think is more difficult: to resist something you know is wrong, or to resist something that seems innocent?
Sometimes we do things that are not evil but we let them prevent us from doing good. We watch hours of television but cant find a few minutes for the Word of God. We have plenty of time to go to the bar with our friends or to spend on hobbies but no time to spend in the presence of God. We focus so much on comfort, entertainment, and pleasure that we neglect to prepare for the battle that will come in our Spiritual lives.
You might say: well I am not doing anything wrong, that may be true. But that doesn’t make it right. There is nothing wrong with playing golf, or going out to the lake to relax it is when the comforts of this life interfere with the work that God asks us to do that we have problem. God did not send His Son to die so you could be comfortable and entertained. He sent Jesus into the world so you could have life and so you could offer it to others. Perhaps the greatest temptation for a Christian is not to do evil things but to neglect good ones.
Now look at when the devil comes. Jesus has been fasting for forty days and forty nights. His senses are weakened and His reasoning diminished. The devil strikes when Jesus is hungry, tired, and alone. He doesn’t come after us when we are strong he attacks us when we are at our weakest. The great thing is: Jesus shows us how to overcome temptation. When the devil tempts Him, Jesus resists. When the devil uses Scripture against Him, Jesus counters. Jesus can resist temptation because Jesus is prepared for battle.
Satan is clever, articulate, manipulative, and Biblical literate. There are two ways to protect yourself from temptation. One is to know the Word. When Satan attacks you better know your Bible. Jesus is the Son of God, He is divine, Satan is under His authority. Yet when He is tempted He does not rely on His own power to resist the devil. Each temptation Jesus responds with: “it is written”. He recites these texts from memory. Jesus doesn’t say: “I read in the Bible one time…something about…like…not challenging or quizzing God…or something like that and its in the old testament… so no I wont do that.” Guess what guys: if you do not know the word of God you are not ready for battle. If you do not have important passages of Scripture memorized then you have no authority with which to resist the devil.
You want to know why Jesus was able to resist temptation when so often we are not? He knew the Word of God. Jesus had access to the tools with which He could resist the devil. Scripture is your only hope for resisting temptation. If you struggle with a sin in your life the answer comes from memorizing Scripture. The truth is you will never have enough self control to conquer sin, it is the Word of God that will give you strength. If you do not know it, if you cannot quote it from memory, you are going into battle unarmed and you will fall to temptation.
We need to start preparing for battle by reading the Bible and getting to know the Word of God. Temptation will strike whether you are prepared or not. Satan even uses Scripture to tempt Jesus. Satan knows the Bible. If you do not know it yourself he will use it against you and you will fall. What better way to tempt Christians then with using the Word of God?
The second way in which you can prepare yourself to resist temptation is invest and commit yourself to the community of the church. You know when temptation is the strongest? When you are all alone. If you want to avoid temptation then you need to be surrounded by Christian people who can keep you accountable. You need to build real, deep, relationship with other Christians. You see the devil likes to strike when you are tired and alone. The stronger and deeper the community you are a part of the less opportunity he has to get to you.
If you are being tempted right now you need to be in the word of God and you need to be in the community of the church. If you are not being tempted right now then Satan is not gone for good, he is waiting for an opportune time. You need to be preparing. Stop investing yourself in the pointless pleasures and comforts of this life, you need to devote yourself to God and to the church so that you can find the strength to resist temptation. Jesus resisted the devil as a man by the power of the Word of God. If you have sin in your life, the Word is where you need to go to start getting it out. If you want to resist Satan, if you want to get sin out of your life then you need to devote yourself to the Word of God and to the community of the church. Otherwise you will fall victim to the traps of the devil. He wants to make you a slave. Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” If you need prayer and community to resist sin, come at this time.
