Jesus, Lessons for Life 2
Dealing with Temptation from Satan
Following baptism, Jesus was confronted by temptation from Satan. At this time we witness another action by Jesus that must be mentioned.
He was fasting.
Fasting seems quite rare among many Christians these days. Perhaps it should not be. If it was important to Jesus, perhaps it is a behavior that is also important for us.
What is fasting? It is the act of giving up food (and possibly other things) in order to dedicate time to God, time without distraction of worldly things. It is a simple act of sacrifice done in devotion to God.
Key Lesson — It is important to separate ourselves from worldly things from time to time in order to focus on God.
We cannot tell if Jesus, as God in the flesh, had the same vulnerability to temptation as we all do. We can see that Satan did, as he does with us all, confront Jesus when he was vulnerable—after the long period of fasting.
Here in the first days of his ministry, Jesus demonstrates resistance to sin. Throughout his life He continued to resist all temptations and remain sinless—our perfect role model for life. As he is confronted by sin and temptations, we can extract important lessons to learn how we can successfully face temptation and make good choices.
Matt 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’’”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’’”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. [1]
Satan tempted Jesus in several ways:
1. To use his power to satisfy his physical hunger—turning stones into bread
Jesus’ focus—we need the word of God much more than bread
2. To use his power to demonstrate his deity, throwing himself down so that the angels would then attend him
Jesus’ focus—don’t put God to the test
3. To worship Satan in order to gain all that the world has to offer
Jesus’ focus—to worship and serve God alone
Perhaps the greatest temptation of all was Satan’s provocation of Jesus to use his deity, his divine power, rather than to standup to the challenges and temptations as a human.
Key Lesson — Jesus countered each provocation by Satan with Holy Scripture.
Here we find a very important lesson—as we are tempted, we can find the answers and guidance we need to avoid the temptation by turning to Scripture. Therein exist the truth and wisdom we need in the face of Satan’s lies.
Blessings,
Larry
[1] Mark 1:12-13 and Luke 4:1-13
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