Temptation in the wilderness

Satan's mounts his subtle attack. He attempts to bring Jesus down with three temptations. Each one is designed to lure Him away from the Father and His mission. Here is the test. Jesus has to settle how to apply His Messianic powers in relation to His mission. Temptation is not sin, yielding to temptation is sin. Here Jesus is sorely tempted.

First temptation - the appeal to appetite.

Jesus is hungry. He has not eaten for forty days, that's pretty long time for anyone to go without food. We feel hungry when we have to miss one meal or even when we walk past a Food Court or Hawkers' Centre. So the first attack is along the line of natural appetite. God gives us appetite for our survival. It is not wrong to need food. Jesus looks around him and sees the little round pieces of limestone rock, they look loaves of bread. So turn the stones into bread. It is a very reasonable suggestion. What's wrong with that?

Satan’s argument goes something like this. ‘You are hungry. The people around you are hungry. You are the Messiah aren’t you? Remember the voice of God, the descent of the Spirit on you? You have the power to do something about your hunger and the peoples’ hunger. It is legitimate isn’t it to take those stones, turn them into bread and feed the people. They will all come and follow you and you can call it mission accomplish.’

The temptation to turn stones into bread is to do the right thing in the wrong way. Jesus repulses the suggestion with words from the Scriptures “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” With that statement Jesus declares His submission to the will of God. The spiritual power is not for Himself. Spiritual strength does not lie in the assertion of our rights, but in submission to the will of God. The temptation to turn stones into bread is an appeal to misuse the creative power for personal purposes.

Second temptation - the appeal to possession.

Satan is a subtle opportunist and very persistent too. He does not give up easily. He keeps on at us. The first assault is defeated, so he tries again and draws fresh material for a new attack. There is subtlety in the choice of setting for this temptation. The Holy City and the Temple means much to Jews and certainly to Jesus. The Temple is a place of revelation and of glory. As for the pinnacle it is the most awe-inspiring point from which to gain an impression of the splendour of the city. Satan has chosen a religious setting

The pinnacle is a place of privilege as well as peril. Listen to the cunning suggestion of the devil. “Cast yourself down. Surely God will not let you die. He will send His angels to protect you. Demonstrate to the people your faith in God. This is a quick way to success. People love the sensational. They will be awed and they will all come flocking to you because of this miracle. Easy way to fulfil your mission.”

Jesus responds, “It is written. You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Yes, Jesus wants to fulfil His mission. In doing so, He cannot avoid the suffering of the cross. No short cuts. The faith that depends on miracles alone will be short lived.

Third Temptation - the appeal to prestige

The battle with temptation rages on. Satan does not give up easily. Satan is the prince of this world and will not bargain,- he goes straight to the point. He shows a vision of the kingdoms of the world. Wow, the world under the sway of evil. Everywhere unholy men rule, wickedness prevail. He goes again, “See what succeeds. By their methods you can win the world too. You want to win the world don’t you? Easy. Just accept me as your lord. I will not put any obstacle in your way to spread your kingdom. You can fulfil your mission. I know the way to win the whole world. Reject me and few will follow you in fact they will reject you and in the end crucify you. Yes, just bow down to me, worship my way of doing things and the whole world will be yours.”

Satan does not want Calvary. It would mean exposure of sin and the disclosure of God’s love. It would be the beginning of the end of Satan’s rule. Jesus knows he has to suffer death for the sake of the people he has come to serve. There is no short cut to fulfil his mission.  He recognizes man is a spiritual being.

His response is clear. He repulses the devil with language that speaks of his authority “Away from me Satan. For it is written ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Yes, Jesus will obtain his kingdom, not by paying homage to Satan.

Satan leaves him for the time being. Suddenly angels appear to minister to him. Had Jesus failed, the angels would have had no affinity with him.

Temptation is a universal experience of human life. 'No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.' 1 Cor. 10: 13) Jesus came to earth and took on our human nature and it is to be expected that this would form part of His experience. He was divine yet human. The wonderful thing is, He was tempted, but he emerged from the ordeal of temptation unscathed and untainted.

These three temptations covered the whole range of human desire - appetite, avarice and ambition. We see the parallel in the Garden of Eden when Satan appeared in the form of a serpent to tempt our first parents. We read in Genesis 3 of the same essential elements

The lust of the flesh - appetite 'fruit good for food.'

The lust of the eyes  - avarice  'delight to the eyes'

The pride of life - ambition 'desirable to make one wise'

In the wilderness we read of

The lust of the flesh - appetite 'turn the stones into bread.' Satisfy your hunger.

The lust of the eyes - avarice  'all the kingdoms of the world'. Simply submit to Satan.

The pride of life - ambition 'cast  yourself down.' Simply impress the crowd.

The Method of victory. In this incident, Satan tempted Jesus three times and each time, Jesus unsheathed the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Jesus held a high view of Scriptures. God's word is always authoritative and powerful.

Holiness is not freedom from temptation. Jesus was perfectly holy, yet he was tempted. Being tempted is not sin, but yielding to temptation is sin. We thank God, He understands us perfectly. "It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That's why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as High Priest to get rid of the people's sins, he would have already experienced it himself - all the pain, all the testing - and would be able to help where help was needed." Heb 2:17-18. (The Message)  "Now that we know what we have - Jesus, this great high priest with ready access to God - let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a high priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all - all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is ready to give. Take the mercy and accept the help (Heb 4: 15 - 16 The Message)

Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin;
Each victory will help you some other to win;
Fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue,
Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.

Refrain:

Ask the Savior to help you,
Comfort, strengthen and keep you;
He is willing to aid you,
He will carry you through.

Shun evil companions, bad language disdain,
God’s Name hold in reverence, nor take it in vain;
Be thoughtful and earnest, kindhearted and true,
Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.

To him that o’ercometh, God giveth a crown;
Through faith we shall conquer, though often cast down;
He Who is our Savior our strength will renew;
Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through  (Horatio R Palmer)