DAY FIFTY-FIVE:
The Temptation of Jesus
"Temptation of Christ", by Erik Armusik
Looks pretty barren, doesn't it? There's very little water and vegetation but lots and lots of rocks, venomous snakes and a few wolves and other predators. If Jesus were there in the summer, the temperatures could reach 120 degrees and those rocks absorb and radiate that heat. It can drop well below freezing in the winter. Not a place you'd want to go on vacation!
He went there to be tempted by the devil. The word devil comes from the Greek word diabolos. It means literally to throw something at someone. It was used of someone who accused another of a crime, and also of the prosecutor in a criminal trial. The devil, of course, is Satan. We took a look at Him when we studied Job. The Bible doesn't lay out the story of how Satan and his demons came to be as clearly as we might like. But from what we know Satan rebelled against God and he and his followers were ejected from heaven. (Revelation 12:7-12) Satan means accuser in Hebrew, and that's exactly what he did with Job. "This man is not as righteous as You think he is. Take away all of the blessings You gave him and he'll curse You!" This is what Satan does to us. He delights in tormenting us over our sins to the point that we forget what God tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21- "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
Why did Jesus have to submit to Satan's temptations? To put it simply, the devil is a crybaby! He yells "no fair!" when God's people triumph over him. He pointed out that God surrounded Job with a hedge and he couldn't get at him. And if Satan didn't have this chance to tempt Jesus, he would forever argue that the deck was stacked against him. Instead God is going to let him take his best shot. While Jesus is God, He also is a man. His human nature was not fallen as ours is due to Adam's sin. So Jesus had the same choice that Adam and Eve did, and the devil had a shot at tempting Him to sin.
It's as if Jesus is tying one hand behind His back. He fasted, went without food, for forty days and nights. That is at the edge of human endurance. Jesus was not only weak, He would have been near death. Matthew says that He was hungry, an understatement if there ever was one. Satan said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." That word "if." It indicated doubt or condition. Are You REALLY the Son of God, Jesus? Then prove it! And Jesus could have done just that. He could have turned the whole hillside into bread. Instead He replied, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" This is from Deuteronomy 8:3. The whole verse helps us to understand what Jesus is saying: "And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." God fed His people in the wilderness, a barren place like where Jesus found Himself. Jesus doesn't have to prove that He's the Son of God. He knows that His Father will take care of Him just like He fed Israel. Strike one!
Then the devil transported Jesus to the Temple and stood Him on its highest rampart, some 65 feet above the ground. "If You're God's Son, throw Yourself off, because that Bible You're so fond of quoting says that He'll send His angels to catch You." (Psalm 91:11-12) Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test" God promises to protect His people, but He doesn't promise that He'll honor our prideful presumption. It would have impressed everyone in Jerusalem if Jesus had made a soft landing, assisted by angels. It would have been a shortcut to speed along His mission. But He does not need to prove that He is the Son of God. Strike two!
The devil has one last swing at Jesus. He took Him to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Luke's account adds these words: "...for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will." What an offer! All the kingdoms of the world, with all their wealth, splendor and power! Jesus could begin His reign immediately and enact God's Law around the planet. No need for suffering, no need for the cross. But again, Jesus said no. "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" (Deuteronomy 6:13-14) Jesus knew that the devil was lying when he said that he owned the kingdoms of the world. Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein." The devil is a squatter, a claim jumper. Jesus will indeed receive all the kingdoms of this world in due time. He will first gain our forgiveness and freedom and then will rule. Revelation 11:15 says, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." (This verse and the surrounding verses are the basis for Handel's Hallelujah Chorus). Strike three! The devil is done (for now). He will spend the next three years running from Jesus. Jesus will cast the demons out and give His disciples the authority to do the same. But the devil is not done yet. He'll get one more shot at Jesus.
We read that after Satan left angels came and ministered to Jesus. He was so weak that He could not have made it out of the wilderness without help. The angels fed and strengthened Him, and then He set about the work for which He came. He returned to His home region of Galilee and began to preach. His message was the same as John's: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Next week we'll take a closer look at the teachings of Jesus.
Mae West famously said, "I can resist anything but temptation." Oscar Wilde said, "The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it. That's what this world says, but that's not what God says. Satan will tempt us, and he has some leverage with us that he didn't have with Jesus. Our fallen human nature is inclined to sin. In our natural state we have no choice but to be sinners. No one has to teach us how to sin- we come by it naturally. If that's the case, how can we expect to resist temptation? We can resist temptation only with God's help. When we trust in Him as Savior and Lord, He makes us new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17). That old sinful nature is still there, but in addition to it we have a changed and renews spirit that loves God and wants to obey Him. This means that Christians have a choice of whether or not to sin. That's not to say it's easy for Christians to resist temptation- far from it! But it is possible, and God always there to help. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."
We fight temptation the same way that Jesus did. First, we must know the Bible, because the devil certainly does! Jesus countered each of Satan's temptations with a verse from God's Word, and He was able to deflect Satan's faulty interpretation of the Bible in the same way. Immerse yourself in Scripture! Start by resolving to read the Bible systematically (the Bible Gateway website has all kinds of reading plans that will help you to do this). And it's always profitable to commit the Bible to memory. Satan won't stand around waiting while you go and look for a Bible and then fumble to find the right verse.
Next we must resist the devil. He will make us think that we can peacefully coexist with him, but that's just like sleeping with a rattlesnake every night. Sooner or later you're going to get bit! 1 Peter 5:8-9 says, "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world." A little background on this verse: lions hunt in groups, and the old, toothless lions will sit by the road and wait for the prey to come by. Then they will roar at the top of their lungs (if you've ever heard a lion roar in a zoo, you know they're loud!). The poor little deer then panics and runs right into the young, strong lions who are lying in wait. The safest thing to do is stand your ground, or even run TOWARD the roar. The devil is a roaring lion, which mean's he's toothless and clawless. Jesus de-fanged him at the cross!
And third, if (I should say when) you do fall for the temptation, don't beat yourself up, and don't let Satan beat you up. Come to the Lord and confess your sin. Ask for His forgiveness and help in resisting that temptation. 1 John 1:8-9 says, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I like what the Christian singer Carman says: "When the devil tries to remind you of your past, remind him of his future!"
Most of all, remember that Jesus cares about you! Here's the late Doug Oldham, with the Gaither Homecoming artists, singing a great old hymn that reminds us of this:
No comments:
Post a Comment