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How Jesus Overcame Temptation
by Mike Johnson
Christians often face temptations, and new Christians are especially vulnerable to the “schemes” of the devil (Ephesians 6:11). The Bible describes Satan in John 8:44, saying, “…He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him…he is a liar and the father of it.” He is called the “tempter” (1Thessalonians 3:5; Matthew 4:3), and he “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is a formidable foe, intent on our eternal ruin.
Satan also tempted Jesus to sin. Shortly after His baptism, the Spirit led Him to the wilderness to face this adversary. First, Christ fasted for forty days and forty nights. After this, Satan, using three attempts, tried to entice Him. We will look primarily at the account of this event in Matthew 4:1-11 and, along with other lessons, will see how Jesus successfully faced these temptations (Accounts in Mark 1:12-13 and Luke 4:1-13 provide additional information).
First, Satan told a hungry Jesus that He could prove Himself to be God’s Son by turning stones into bread (Matthew 4:3). What would be wrong with Jesus doing this? It would satisfy His hunger and show Him to be the Son of God. Also, Jesus had the power to change one substance into another (John 2:1-12), and He did use His power to provide food (Matthew 14:13-21, 15:32-39; John 21:1-14). Jesus responded by quoting from cf Deuteronomy 8:1-3. His reply, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4). This section speaks of God sending manna and His care for those in the wilderness. Moses was trying to teach the Israelites that spiritual things are more important than physical. The Israelites needed to learn how they must obey every word from God’s mouth, which was even more important than food.
Jesus’ true bread was to do the will of His Father. If Jesus had used His miraculous power to relieve His physical suffering, He would have given up His claim of suffering in the flesh like us (Hebrews 4:15). For example, He did not wish a headache away, nor did He instantly produce water when thirsty. Often, we are most vulnerable when undergoing physical suffering, and if Jesus instantly removed this from His life, His victory would have been hollow. Further, if Christ did what Satan said, He would have been obeying the devil, and He would have shown a lack of trust in God who led Him into this situation.
Next, the devil took Jesus up to the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem and told Him to throw Himself down, and then Satan quoted cf Psalm 91:11-12, “For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone’” (Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:10-11). Now we have Satan quoting Scripture! Again, Jesus responds by quoting from the Word of God, citing cf Deuteronomy 6:16, which says, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God’” (Matthew 4:7). In this passage, Moses reminded the people of when they had tried God (Exodus 17:7). In the wilderness, the Israelites had seen much evidence, yet they wanted God to prove Himself continually. Their attitude was one of perpetual doubt.
Why not do what Satan asked? Jesus could float down if He wanted to. The devil is addressing this appeal to a Man of faith, urging Him to prove His faith by putting God to the test. Asking Jesus to “try God out,” Satan was endeavoring to get Jesus to feel doubt. Any lack of faith on Jesus’ part would have destroyed the grounds of our faith. While on earth, Jesus, in a sense, cut Himself off from His Father. Once here, He had to communicate with God like us, by prayer. He had to go to the cross only with assurances from God that He would be raised from the dead, as we do. Satan was trying to get Him to compromise that life of faith.
The last temptation involved Satan taking Christ to a very high mountain and, while showing Him all the kingdoms of the world, he made an offer. He said, “. . . All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9). There was some sense in which Satan could deliver on his enticement. If he could not, Jesus would have been aware of it so where was the temptation? (Note also Luke 4:5-6.)
Imagine Satan asking Jesus to fall down and worship him. The idea of the supreme being worshipping the devil is astonishing. The devil wanted Jesus to transfer His allegiance from God to him; it seems he wanted Christ to rule with him in his domain, making Jesus a subordinate.
Jesus did come to the earth to establish a universal kingdom. Satan wanted Him to take a shortcut to achieve his objective by establishing a different kind of kingdom. All Jesus had to do was fall down and worship him. Satan’s kingdom, however, would leave the world in the same lost condition.
How did Jesus respond? He told Satan to “get away,” and then appealed to the Scriptures (cf Deuteronomy 6:13) saying, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve” (Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8). By responding with the Word of God, Jesus continues with the pattern. He did not respond by using His miraculous power; He had to resist in the same way we do — by relying on the Scriptures.
In thwarting Satan today, God’s Word is a valuable tool. Hebrews 4:12 describes it as “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…” Listing the “whole armor of God,” Ephesians 6:17 tells us the sword of the Spirit is the “Word of God.” Facing temptation without the Word of God would be like an unarmed soldier trying to defeat a powerful, well-armed enemy. In the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13), the seed which fell by the wayside was quickly snatched from the heart by the “wicked one.” The seed, according to Luke’s account (8:11), is the Word of God. Satan does not want the Scriptures to be in our hearts as it hinders his efforts to entice us.
Consider now a few other lessons from Jesus’ temptations.
Jesus knew what righteousness was. He was not ignorant of God’s Word. How can we use the Scriptures to counter temptation if we do not know what the Scriptures say? We must study God’s Word so when tempted, a biblical passage or concept quickly comes to our minds enabling us to resist.
Jesus practiced what He knew. Many know what is right based on scriptural teaching, but they do not practice what they know. We must have the knowledge, but we must also do what we know to be correct based on God’s Word.
Satan also quoted Scriptures. Like the devil, many quote Scripture but, like him, they misapply it. Today a person may pervert God’s Word (2 Peter 3:16). We must examine what someone teaches (1 John 4:1) and not be deceived into believing or practicing something sinful.
Temptation is not a sin. We may contemplate a wrong action and then dismiss it. We have not sinned (James 1:14-15), but we must quickly put temptation away to get out of danger.
We can not blame our sins on being human. Jesus had a human body, and He did not sin (Hebrews 4:15-16).
Temptation will continue. Simply because Christ successfully met these temptations did not mean Satan was finished with Him. Luke 4:13 points out that Satan “only departed from Him until an opportune time.” Today, after successfully resisting his pull, we cannot let our guard down — he will return!
Facing such a foe as Satan may cause apprehension. Rest assured, God is with us. He will not allow temptation above our ability to resist, and He will always make a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). James 4:7 tells us we are to submit to God, and then there is this assurance, “…Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Using the right weapon, we can defeat him!
Temptations of Jesus
by Mike Johnson
There are three accounts in the Bible of the temptations of Jesus. These are in Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, and Luke 4:1-13. Matthew and Luke give a more detailed account.
The accounts tell us that Satan tempted Jesus three times after He had fasted in the wilderness for 40 days. First, he directed Christ to turn stones to bread Then he told Jesus that if He was the Son of God, He should cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple to prove His claim. Third, he took Jesus to a high mountain and told Him he would give Him all of the kingdoms of the world if He would fall down and worship him. Each time Jesus resisted the temptation of Satan.
Consider some valuable lessons we can learn from the temptations of Jesus.
Jesus met temptations by using God’s Word. Jesus quoted Scripture to Satan each time. He did not rely on miraculous power to resist temptation, nor did he hear a “still, small voice.” He had to resist enticements to sin just like we do—He employed God’s Word. Today, when confronted with sin, we need to rely on the Scriptures. We need to ask ourselves, “What do the Scriptures say?”
Jesus knew what righteousness was. Jesus was not ignorant of the Scriptures. Today, we must understand what the Bible says so we can resist temptation. How do we avoid sin if we do not know what sin is? We must learn God’s Word (2 Timothy 2:15).
Jesus practiced what He knew. It does little good to know what is right and then not practice it. Most Christians can do a lot better resisting temptation if they will only practice what they already know. Christians often realize they are doing wrong at the time they sin. It is usually a matter of practicing what is previously known. We must be doers of God’s Word and not just hearers (James 1:22).
Satan also quoted Scriptures. Satan quoted Scripture to Jesus at one point in the temptations. Satan misused the Word of God to try and get Jesus to do wrong. Someone can abuse God’s Word today. Second Peter 3:16 speaks of some who had twisted the Scriptures to their destruction. A person can misuse God’s Word to try and prove “wrong” is “right.” We must examine God’s Word to know if what other people teach is correct (Acts 17:11).
Temptation is not sin. Although tempted, Jesus did not sin (Hebrews 4:15-16). A person may contemplate a wrong action and then dismiss it. That is temptation, but it is not sinning. We must, however, quickly resist and put aside all temptations.
We cannot blame our sins on our human bodies. Sometimes when people sin, they try and justify themselves by saying, “I’m only human.” We cannot excuse our sins by saying we live in a human body. Jesus had a human body, yet He did not sin. Even though we are all “only human,” we must still avoid sin, and when we do wrong, we must accept responsibility.
There is no temptation too great. Jesus had to face some difficult temptations, and yet He resisted. Today, a temptation may be very challenging. However, no enticement is beyond our capacity to defeat. First Corinthians 10:13 says, “ …God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able,…” James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Temptation will continue. After Jesus’ experience in the wilderness, He had to face more temptation as Satan did not give up on trying to get Him to sin after his initial failure. Luke 4:13says, “ . . .he departed from Him until an opportune time.” The same principle is true today. A person may successfully resist temptation during a given time, but this does not mean he will never be faced with temptation again. First Peter 5:8says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” We can never let our guard down.