Lessons from the Tempting of Jesus

Mike Johnson

There are three accounts in the Bible of the temptation 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 temptation of Jesus.

  1. 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?”
  2. 2. 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 (II Tim. 2:15).
  3. 3. 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 (Jas. 1:22)
  4. 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.  II 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).
  5. Temptation is not sin. Although tempted, Jesus did not sin (Heb. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.  I 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.”
  8. 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 4:13 says, “ . . . 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.  I Peter 5:8 says, “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.