Jesus is perfect! Thank you Lord!!
Within the first 13 verses of chapter 4 we see that satan tempts Jesus. When I read through these verses I notice that I would have failed terribly within the first few seconds of the temptation. He first tempts Jesus with turning the stone into bread because Jesus – who had just fasted for 40 days without food – would have been very hungry!
I know what I am like when I get hungry…and this is why Jesus is perfect and I am not!
The great thing about Jesus is that He defends himself by using the Word of God. “It is written, ‘ Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'” God’s word sustains us and our every need and I am so thankful for this!
Satan proceeds to tempt Jesus by taking Him up on a high mountain and showing Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. Satan says that he will give Jesus this authority and their glory because this had all been given to him and he can give it to who he wishes, but Jesus must worship before him.
Thankfully the Lord, again, uses His Word to combat Satan! How great is His Word and amazing that we can use it to defend! So Jesus says, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve'”
And satan again attempts to tempt Jesus by bringing Him into Jerusalem and putting Him on the pinnacle of the temple and says “if You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'”
Satan decides that well, I better pull out the scriptures and see what I can do with it to try to manipulate the Word and tweak it to my benefit. And THANKFULLY our Jesus puts a stop to that. He responds “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'”
We can learn so much from this interaction between Jesus and satan. We learn that we are sinful and that we are not perfect. We learn that Jesus is PERFECT and did not sin throughout these temptations. We learn that the devil only has these temptations to use towards Jesus and people. Verse 13 says, “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.” So, we also learn, that the devil continues to tempt – he specifically says “until an opportune time”. So he waits and when the timing is just right he pounces.
So, what does all this mean for us? Well, let’s put on the whole armor of God so that we are ready and prepared to defend our faith. I pray this was encouraging to you all. I know I really enjoyed this chapter. I am looking forward to continuing through Luke!
