Flaminghelpers Challenge - THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS CHRIST
I'd like to start this challenge with the verse above to emphasize a point that when the temptations happened, Christ was fully human. Let us all remember that Christ chose to be stripped off of his status, he chose the form of a servant, to be human like us. And as a human being, he was also tempted in every way, just like us, and yet he did not commit any sin. A very powerful lesson for all of us! Christ showed us the ultimate example of being victorious amidst temptations and our human weaknesses.
"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.... And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand 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 give His angels charge concerning you'; and 'On their hands they will bear You up, lest You strike Your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, ... and he said to Him, "All these things will I give You, if You fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Begone Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'" Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him."
-- Matthew 4:1-11
Here are the takeaways for our text today.
JESUS WAS TEMPTED WHILE HE WAS FULLY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Think of it. Jesus has just recently been baptized. It was very clear that God voiced His approval of His Son; He was 'full of the Holy Spirit' as what we can read in Luke 4:1. And yet, he was "led by the Spirit" (Matthew 4:1) or even "impelled by the Sprit" to go out into the wilderness (Mark 1:2). The point of this, it was obviously God's will for Him to undergo a time of testing in order to strengthen His resolve.
James 1:2-4 teaches us not to misinterpret such times of testing in our own lives. Being tempted is not sinful by itself, and they are not a sign of God's displeasure or of our spiritual weakness. Take note that even Christ was tempted, and this happened right after being baptized. Therefore, we all should not feel guilty when we experience temptations in our lives. This is not a sign that something is wrong in our lives, but it is just a way for us to strengthen our resolve, it is a way for God to mold us into becoming the kind of Christians fit for His kingdom.
Satan simply cannot leave righteousness and commitment unchallenged. When your temptations are the greatest, do not give up. You may be on the verge of the greatest spiritual accomplishments of your life, just as Jesus was. Press on, meet thechallenge of temptation, and grow from it!
VICTORY OVER TEMPTATION WAS NOT A ONE-TIME EVENT FOR JESUS
If asked, "How many times was Jesus tempted?", most would probably respond, 'Three.' But the Scriptures only record three specific
temptations. Luke 4:1,2 says that Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil during the entire period. The temptations didn't just happen in three days but all throughout Christ journey in the wilderness. And even when Satan departed, he was still looking for an opportune time. The accounts of the Gospel Books, Matthew up to John show that Jesus was assaulted repeatedly by Satan. And this temptations were no different from the kind of temptations you and I experience daily as Christians.
Temptations will come, probably at extremely crucial time in our lives. And these are extremely dangerous for us spiritually. When we are at our lowest point, we became very vulnerable to temptation and to sin. How many fall away from Christ when they
change jobs, marry, move, have children, divorce, retire, etc.? Too often these occasions become the 'opportune time' for Satan to strike.
But day-to-day temptations also come. We can never consider the task of resisting as being 'finished'. We must be on our guard at all times because Satan will use every occasion to get to us. He may flee for a time, but he will always be back!
JESUS USED SCRIPTURE AS A WEAPON AGAINST TEMPTATION
Each time Satan presented our Lord with a temptation, Christ responded with the scriptures. His answer to every temptation was the the Word of God. The point here is not that the Words of God are "magic". Rather, a man or woman of God who follows the clear principles of the Bible will overcome temptation in many instances if one allows the Scripture to guide them and settle the issue. This is the very essence why studying the Bible is very important. We need to do it daily, not just every Sunday, and especially not just on every special occassions such as Birth, Wedding, and Funerals. If one is a serious Christian, he should be a lifelong learner of the Word. This constant study is very much needed for our survival, so that we can overcome sin and be guided in every aspect of our lives.
Someone might reply, "I just rely on the Spirit to guide me." But the Word of God is the Spirit's "sword". The Holy Spirit cannot work
effectively in your life if you remain willfully ignorant of the Word! If you are not a serious student of Scripture, Satan is probably winning
victories in your life every day and you may not even know it!
At the end of our lives, we can't use ignorance as an excuse. We can't just say "Lord, I haven't read the Scriptures, and thus I didn't know what to do!". Always remember that we were given ample of time to prepare and equip ourselves. That is the main reason, why Christ has been delaying His return for so long, because he wants each of us to come to repentance. I do hope that we will not waste this opportunity that was given to all of us.
JESUS' ULTIMATE WEAPON WAS HIS UNWAVERING TRUST IN GOD
The replies which Jesus made from Scripture to the temptations were all expressions of His trust in God's righteousness and provision. Satan repeatedly attempted to get Jesus to break
faith with God and to rely on Himself instead, to put His own will over God's. This is basically true of our temptations as well. How many of our temptations are associated with getting our livelihood? We are tempted to do wrong or to otherwise neglect God because we are not sure if God will provide if we do what we know is right!
Jesus was sure, so sure that He could unhesitatingly say, "No," to the devil. Once the temptations were ended, "angels came and began to minister to Him" (4:11). God did provide! God will provide for you as well. He will give you the strength and provisions you need to live the abundant life.
HUNGER, POWER, and WORDLY RICHES
Just to reiterate, the temptation of Christ didn't just happen three times. It went on throughout Christ's ministry, especially at the Garden of Gethsemane when he was about to be crucified. But of all the temptations that happened, three were highlighted in Matthew 4. We can categorize each of the temptations as the following: Hunger, Power and Wordly Allure (Riches).
When this three temptations happened, take note that Christ was in the wilderness fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. Christ was not just fasting but also experienced temptations and different trials along the way. And after all this heavy ordeal, it was only natural for Christ to be hungered. And this bodily weakness was taken advantage by Satan. Turn this stones into bread, he said. Christ could have easily done that, He has all the power. But Christ knew that Satan was playing tricks on Him. Christ knew better than to give in to Satan's whims.
Right after, Satan brought Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple trying to test and tempted Jesus to jump. It could've been a way for Christ to display God's power and prove to Satan and the world that He is the Son of God. But then again, Jesus knew better.
And then lastly, Satan offered Christ the whole world if only he will bow down to him. Personally, I would say that this is the weakest temptation that Satan had for Jesus. Christ was never into riches, He could have easily chosen to be born in a palace, but he chose the form of a servant. He lived a humble and simple life. But why was this included here? Because this is a trap that many Christians fall into. This why we can read "money is the root of all evil". But remember, money by itself is not evil. But because of it many have went astray. People will then use their livelihood as an excuse of missing Sunday Services. We can't worship God, because of work and a lot of other things that goes with it.
Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
--Luke 12:15
CONCLUSION
The bottom line is this: To overcome temptations in our lives, we need to put our trust in God. Trust His goodness, His power, and His Words. Temptation will always be a part of life as long as we are here in this world, but with God, we can always remain victorious agains every adversity.
Again, thank you so much to @flaminghelpers for this challenge. It has been fun and refreshing to write something about the Scripture.
For this contest, I'd like to nominate the following persons to take up the challenge:
@inspiredgideon1, @gracehills, @mosun-omotunde, @harmony, @fatelrou.
Cheers,
Kaizen