I have often heard many preachers preach on this event:
Mark's gospel says in chapter 1: 9And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
10And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
11And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
12And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
13And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
As i read again and again, i see that no sooner God had affirmed that Jesus IS THE beloved Son...than satan tried to tempt him saying, prove it...'if' you are the son of God, do this...and i love the way Jesus so amazingly answers.
1st of all, as someone has said, the minute we have high spiritual experiences, satan tries to tempt us and God allows us to be tempted so we can be ready for higher challenges. We do not need to give in to temptation. We can depend on God's word.
Mathew records and so does Luke of the deals that satan was trying to strike with Jesus.
Matthew 4: 1Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered.
3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
you see, how after God had affirmed that Jesus was the beloved Son, satan is trying to cause Jesus to doubt that...just the same trick he played with Eve in the garden of Eden that "Did God really say..." and sadly Eve got into a wrong argument with satan. Jesus did not even bother go into the game," 'yes, i am', no you are not, yes, i am...type.."
I see satan trying to meet the human legitimate need of hunger that Jesus had and yet, Jesus not only chose to not get into the 'son-ship argument but Jesus even eradicated the legitimate hunger need - 40 days of fasting was a legitimate need.
But Jesus answer shows that satan is not really only for the argument, he is there to make us disobey God. as the scripture says, 4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Jesus who fasted for 40 days made it clear that even then, we dont live by bread alone, but by God's word that is sufficient for us. Jesus' ego is not even touched, he saw what devil was trying to incite him to do! if only we can also be that vigilant!!!!
now wait a minute, devil is not yet done. read it:
5Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
again, he is using the same card, 'if'...if you are the Son of God....lets have fun...let us put on a show...but Jesus is not buying into that game that would cause him to disobey or test God!
7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
you would think devil now would give up. but no!
8Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
boy! he has the nerve to ask the Maker of the heaven and earth, the one in whom all things hold together to worship him???
like someone has said, devil did not own anything to give to Jesus, but also, he is the god of this world, and God in His Sovereignty has given satan the things for a time. Jesus didn't want to listen to satan and Jesus didn't go satan's way either...
ultimately devil wanted Jesus to avoid CROSS!!!!! yes, he did not seem to want Jesus to be our sacrificial lamb, because we would be saved..so, now he tries to stop people from becoming believers in Christ. Remember, satan's motive is to make us doubt God and eventually disobey God so he can have an upper hand in our lives...
10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. (by the way, Luke puts it that satan left him for a more opportune time) that means, satan the defeated foe does not leave us alone, he is like a roaring lion, seeking to whom he may devour as 1peter 5 says...8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Dr. Erwin Lutzer says that, "Satan may be a roaring lion but remember that he has been declawed"
Let us stand firm in our faith, in our good God's good plans for our lives, and let us not give into temptations. We can use the scriptures that we have been given.
Be strong and be encouraged,
Kalpana Christian Sharma,
The scriptures are taken from KJV.
Copyrights reserved @ Kalpana Christian Sharma (Mrs.)
