Since Jesus Is Divine, Could He Have Sinned When The Devil Tempted Him In The Wilderness?

"And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'" And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." And Jesus answered him, "It is written, " 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'" And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the Temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, "‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:1-13 ESV – see also Matt 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13)

The Bible tells us that after Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit "drove" (Gk: ekballei = bring forth, to lead forcibly) Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days as Angels ministered to Him (Mark 1:12). The number 40 is mentioned 146 times in the Bible. It generally symbolizes a period of testing, trial, or probation.

- God flooded the earth by having it rain for 40 days and nights (see Gen 7:12).

- Moses lived 40 years in Egypt and forty years in the desert before God selected him to lead his people out of

slavery (see Ex 2:1-15)

- Moses was also on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights, on two separate occasions, receiving God's laws (see

Ex 24:18, 34:1-28).

- Moses sent spies, for 40 days, to investigate the land God promised the Israelites as an inheritance (see Num

13:25, 14:34).

- Jonah, the Prophet, warned the people of Nineveh for 40 days that destruction would come because of their

many sins (see Jonah 3:4).

- The prophet Ezekiel laid on His right side for 40 days to symbolize Judah's sins (see Ez 4:6).

- Elijah went 40 days without food or water at Mount Horeb (see 1 Kings 19:9).

- Jesus appeared to the Disciples and others for 40 days after His resurrection (see Acts 1:3).

- 40 different people wrote down the 66 books of the Bible over 1500 years (see 2 Tim 3:16-17).

The Bible tells us that Jesus did not go to some lush and serene mystical place for divine visions, contemplation, or spiritually cathartic introspection. It was a desert wilderness that could have been the desolate and mountainous region now called 'Quarantania' by the people of Palestine, or the great desert of Arabia that was filled with wild animals/beasts and associated with demonic activity (see Deut 32:10; 8:15; Hos 13:5; Jer 2:6; Matt 4:1-11; Mark 1:1-14; Luke 11:24). The Old Testament presents the wilderness as a place of wild beasts and was the appropriate location for sin (see Lev 16). When a person was in distress in the desert, the angels of God ministered to them (see Deut 29:5; Ps 91:11, 103:20).

THE TEMPTATIONS

At the end of 40 days and nights of fasting in the wilderness, Jesus was hungry, and the temptations began (Matt 4:2). The word 'tempted' (GK: “peirazo”) means to test, scrutinize, entice, discipline.

The evil one tempted Jesus in person and appeared to Him in a visible form. He spoke to Jesus in an audible voice and then physically moved Him via either a vision or by supernatural means (see Matt 4:5; Luke 4:9).

The first temptation was to turn flat stones found in the desert wilderness and looked like the flat round loaves of Middle Eastern bread into bread. Jesus replied with the words, "man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (Deut 8:3 NIV). In response to the challenge to turn stones into bread, Jesus affirms that the Bible, God's Word, is the ultimate, true sustenance.

The second temptation was at the pinnacle (Gk: pterugion = a small winglet of a ledge) of the Temple wall in Jerusalem, where Jesus was challenged to jump off. The devils dare was accompanied by a Bible quotation that God's angels will rescue and bear up God's anointed (see Ps 91:11-12). Replying to the challenge to throw Himself off the wall of the Temple so that the angels could come on a spectacular rescue mission, Jesus cites the commandment not to tempt God (Deut 6:16). In rejecting the offer of all the world's kingdoms in return for allegiance to the evil one, He banishes him with the reminder that God alone merits worship.