Jesus needs time to be alone with God also.

The Devil is REAL!

Jesus is vulnerable to temptation just like we are. He understands what it is to be tempted!

Temptation must be confronted and exposed for what it is.

God always provides us a way to deal with temptation before it becomes sin.

Most challenging or dramatic event you have ever experienced? Has there ever been a time that after which you needed some time alone to think about it? Evidently, Jesus’ immersion inaugurated something very big. Jesus now wants some time alone to ponder what lies before Him. How much of His future did He know during His childhood and early adult years and how much was revealed on a “need to know” basis?

Jesus’ baptism was a moving experience. Now, He wants some time with God. Matthew & Luke say the Holy Spirit “led”, Mark says, “drove” (power!) Jesus into the wilderness. God now prepares Jesus for what is ahead! This is time for Jesus to commune with God without interruption. It is very intense. He is so deeply consumed in prayer that He doesn’t even bother to eat. Actually, this is a deliberate fast so He can entreat God to know His complete will and make the commitment to carry it out!

At the end of 40 days, while Jesus is still in the wilderness, Satan seizes the opportunity to try to capitalize on the humanity of Jesus and see if He can be tempted in a time of weakness.

Jesus being tempted presupposes that He could actually say, “Yes” to the temptation. The very definition of the word presupposes vulnerability of the one tempted. Of course, if He had, then He would not have been sinless and we would not be saved. The fact that Jesus said, “No” to the temptation as a human places a greater responsibility on us to likewise say, “No” when we are tempted! We can’t excuse it of as being “human”!

Satan likes to tempt us in private – “no one will know!”

Lets Look at the Three Areas of Temptation Each focuses on a different aspect of our nature.

Make the stones into bread. This is a promotion of situation ethics. It is justified if the situation justifies it regardless of whether it is right or wrong. Satan knows that Jesus is very hungry. They both also know that Jesus better eat soon or He will die of starvation. Jesus lost a lot of weight and probably didn’t have that much to loose!

Bread is still only temporary. We need God’s spiritual nourishment much more than we need more bread! We often use “situation ethics” to justify traffic violations, stealing from our employer, etc. Wrong is still wrong, even if others are doing worse things! Jesus replies to Satan by quoting Scripture and citing God as His authority! Who is going to be your authority? When are you going to repent and stop trying to justify your wrong behavior?

Satan transports Jesus to Jerusalem and challenges Him to take a flying leap off of the pinnacle of the Temple! . Instantly or by foot, we don’t know. If it is the temple building, that is a 60 foot jump. Both of them know that Jesus is God’s Son. Here, Satan is challenging Jesus to display His power by “flying” down off of the Temple. This would prove that He is more than a mere human being. Satan even misquotes Scripture to try to fool Jesus into thinking that He would be justified to jump off and let the angels catch Him. Jesus knows Scripture better than Satan and corrects his out of context comment.

Have you ever altered God’s word to suit your circumstances? Have you ever tried to justify a feeling or belief with Scripture? Always check the context of a Scripture before you quote it!

Worship me and I will give you the whole world! Satan directly challenges Jesus’ relationship to God. Jesus knows that He is supposed to be the King of the Jews and that His Kingdom will include the whole world. Satan offers Him a chance to make it happen now!

“Worship” means “bend the knee” which is an act of giving honor to another person. (Why some of us kneel when we pray!) This offer of “power” would be a temptation to many people. Satan does have the power to give Jesus this earth. However, Jesus knows that if He takes it this way, He will die spiritually and not be able to save us! Take a hike!

What would Satan have to do to get you to choose popularity, fame, glamour, glory or fortune over your relationship with God and Christians?

Temptations come in through the eye, from the world and only show the glitz and glamour, not the degradation, sorrow and death. They focus on this world and hide God’s glory. ALL SIN IS SELFISH!