The season of Lent begins each year with the same passage–Jesus being tempted in the wilderness by the devil. There are a couple reasons for this; first, it is a good reminder that there is nobody who is beyond temptation by the devil, and, secondly, the forty days in the wilderness is why our period of Lent is forty days, not counting Sundays.
The temptations which our Lord faces take three forms. And it is important to note that virtually all temptations which come to us fit into one of these three categories. We can be tempted for physical desires, for emotional desires, or for spiritual desires. Regardless of which form it takes, temptation will come to everyone.
Temptations come because we are weak. Temptations come because the devil hates the fact that we belong to God and wants to take us away. He wants to bring us down with him. As such, he will always attack us wherever we are weakest. The final sentence has already been passed on the devil and his evil ways. That was completed at the Cross. This doesn’t mean that he’s given up on trying to trip up and ensnare God’s people. If anything, he’s working harder, to try to destroy the faith of those God has, by getting them to remove themselves from God’s kingdom.
So come, dear friends, you who are the goal of the devil’s evil schemes and dealings. Come and let us see Jesus, our Lord, and how He deals with temptation. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV)
The first temptation went as follows: “After fasting forty days and forty nights, [Jesus] was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’” (Matthew 4:2-4 ESV)
Hunger. Physical need. Jesus had been fasting, for forty days. Of course He’d be hungry. And Jesus alone of all men on earth, as the Son of God, had the power to be able to turn a stone into bread. There was nobody else around. Nobody would see Him do it. He’d be nourished and able to keep going a little easier. What could be wrong about using His divine power to serve Himself, just this once?
Yet that was the exact problem. Jesus had not come to this earth to serve Himself with the power that His Father had given Him, but to serve others. The purpose behind this fasting was to rely on God the Father.
In the same way, the devil tempts us. However, our tempting is not to turn stones into bread. The devil knows that you and I don’t have the power to do that sort of thing. However, we do have the power to use the physical gifts God has given us to serve our neighbours, or to serve ourselves. God gives us money, through our employment; how do we use this money, for ourselves or for service to others? God gives us sexuality; how do we use this, to please ourselves or in a way which pleases God and our spouse? God gives us food; do we thankfully receive what we are given or do we constantly search for better and fancier experiences?
Look where our Lord Jesus Christ points us when tempted to trust our bellies or our physical desires more than God our Father. He reminds us of God’s own word: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Our physical needs are important, and our Father in Heaven has promised to provide us with all that we need to support this body and life. But more important again is to cling to the Word of God, that life-giving Word which is valuable not just for now but forever. Jesus uses God’s own Word in order to show us how to cling to that Word.
This means that you and I should be fervent and active in our hearing and learning of God’s Word. In order to brave the devil’s attacks and overcome them, we need to know God’s Word and know it well. The Word, after all, is the very power of God. We have a God who works through His Word; to know His Word, to speak His Word faithfully, is to use His power.
Hear now the second temptation which our Lord endured: “Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you,” and “On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.”’ Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”’” (Matthew 4:5-7 ESV)
Here the temptation is one of emotional desire. Jesus knew He was the Messiah, the one appointed by God. The devil’s repeated refrain, “If you are the Son of God” is the use of the word “if” in the sense of “since.” The structure of the sentence in the Greek indicates that this is the way the word for if is used. The devil knows very well who Jesus is. He has no doubts on this matter, either. This is a temptation to fulfil a great desire, the desire to be recognized. Again, this involves Jesus using His power to serve Himself.
What better place for Jesus to pull such a stunt? Where the bread temptation was private, this was about as public as possible. The temple was the centre of the religious activity of God’s people. If you wanted to get noticed, the best place to do something was at the temple. So the devil tempts Jesus to throw Himself down from the temple–and the devil even quotes Scripture at Jesus.
Could Jesus have thrown Himself from the temple and walked away, unscathed? Certainly. Jesus would on another occasion escape crowds who sought to stone Him. But again, this would have been a miracle performed in order to serve Himself. And that was not Jesus’ calling, that was not Jesus’ desire. He did not come to be a King of glory, a King who would rule by great shows of power and might. Jesus would be tempted this way again, after He had fed the 5000, when the crowd wanted to make Him king by force.
But Jesus knew that He was to be king by dying on the cross. Jesus knew that His role in this world was to die for it. Jesus performed His miracles in order to demonstrate that His Word was from God. He didn’t do miracles for their own sake, or in order to make Himself look better in the eyes of men. To do a miracle for a miracle’s sake would be to test God, to misuse God’s power. And Jesus knew that God’s Word forbade such testing.
Similarly, the devil tempts us to seek our own glory and fame rather than living lives which point to God the Father and His grace given to us. How tempting it is to desire to earn a name for ourselves! How very tempting to be the centre of everyone else’s attentions and affections! And yet we are not called by God to seek fame and glory for ourselves, but instead to do everything to the best of our abilities for the glory of God. We are called to put God first in everything, even if that means we do not receive the personal awards or accolades. We are called to trust God, not to test Him.
This brings us to the third and final temptation. “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”’” (Matthew 4:8-10 ESV)
This is the temptation of spiritual power. Jesus had come to this earth, after all, to redeem the world. Jesus had come to claim the world as His own. And this plan involved hardship and suffering and death. How much simpler the devil’s plan sounds! One moment of worship to the devil and he promises to back off and give you everything you’ve ever wanted.
Indeed. One moment of worship to the devil and everything would have been lost forever. One moment of Jesus losing His Father’s plan and you and I would be lost to the devil’s clutches. But Jesus resisted this temptation, knowing that only God deserves worship.
Maybe we aren’t tempted to spiritual power, but we certainly are tempted to follow things other than God. Whether it’s hockey or family or friends or sex or whatever, there are always things which the devil uses to keep us from serving the Lord only, from giving only the Lord all honour and worship.
So again I would like to point out what the writer to the Hebrews reminds us: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV)
Temptation is not the end of the story. In the same way as the angels ministered to Jesus and comforted Him after He was tempted, so our Saviour ministers to us when we are tempted. He takes care of us in our needs. He comforts us with His Word of promise–“I will never leave you or forsake you.” He strengthens us with heavenly food and drink–His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. He calls us to come to Him in prayer with all our needs. For we will receive grace and mercy in time of need, for when we are tempted.
God grant His strength and courage to hold onto His Word and rely on His strength in our times of temptation. For although these times will come, Jesus bids us come to Him and receive His grace and mercy. In Him. Amen.
Last updated February 2008 by the webmaster.