And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
Cf. Matthew 4:4 – “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
As Jesus went through His temptation in the wilderness, He was able to empathize because of his true humanity. Although He was unable to sin, He faced temptation as a true man and understands fully what all mankind deals with regarding temptation.
Three parts for today’s message:
- Who is the tempter, Satan?
- What is the nature of temptation?
- How did Jesus overcome temptation?
Who is Satan?
Satan describes his malignant and brutal character (Jn. 8:44). He was an angel (i.e. cherubim) but fell as he sinned against God wanting to be above God. Currently, he still seeks to make his throne above God. Satan has many other names but is also famously known as the devil, which means “slanderer”.
What are the Satan’s goals? Submission and worship of him. In verse 8, this is the moment of truth for Jesus, but He chooses to worship and obey the Father rather than Satan. Satan also desires as many sinners to be die and be forever separated from God. And he will not cease to accomplish this goal until God puts an end (1 Pet. 5:8). The reality is that everyone of us either belongs to God’s kingdom or of Satan’s.
Even though God is allowing at this time for Satan to tempt mankind to be separated from God, his ultimate end is already laid out as written in Scripture to be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).
What is the nature of temptation?
Satan’s goal of tempting Jesus was to alter the path Jesus came down from heaven to do; to convince Him there is an easier path to achieve the Father’s goal, which was a lie. Satan has always lied and is the father of lies (Jn. 8:4) and it’s no different in this first temptation we read. A major example of this lie we see today is the lie about abortion; that is, it is not a big deal getting rid of the “fetus” inside the womb because it is not a human yet. Another reason would be to delay having a child out of selfish motives to live a comfortable life.
How did Jesus overcome temptation?
In Jesus’ response, we witness his humanity fully trusting in God’s Word above anything. Jesus refused what Satan was tempting Him with, put His trust in the Father and His word, and protected His mind from outside influence. In the same manner, if we trust in the word of God as Jesus did, God’s truth has the power to save and sustain our faith. Therefore, as Jesus had confidence in the word, we too, must have confidence in it to grow in sanctification and proclaiming the gospel to others.
It is important to note that outside influence, apart from God’s word, must be limited and done away with as much as possible. Protecting our mind to live in obedience to God is to fill it with His word. Put simply, Jesus feared the Father and worshipped Him. Do we fear God? What is the condition of our heart when we worship God (i.e. heart attitude)?
Moreover, God-fearing Christians are able to resist the onslaught of temptations from Satan, the flesh, and the world as a living sacrifice unto the Lord. There is nothing else Christians love more than the way of the cross. Thus, there is no temptation we cannot endure, and we are able to be faithful as He is faithful.
BIBLE COMMUNITY CHURCH 
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