How Jesus Faced Temptation

Mike Johnson

Christians often face temptations, and new Christians are especially vulnerable to the “schemes” of the devil (Eph. 6:17). 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” (1 Thess. 3:5, Mt. 4:3), and he “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1Pet. 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 (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, He had the power to change one substance into another (Jn. 2:1-12), and He used His power to provide food (Mt. 14:13-21, 15:32-39; Jn. 21:1-14). Jesus responded by quoting from 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.” 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 to 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 (Heb. 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 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.’” Now we have Satan quoting Scripture! Again, Jesus responds by quoting from the Word of God, citing Deuteronomy 6:16, which says, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” In this passage, Moses reminded the people of when they had tried God (Ex. 17:7). The Israelites had seen much evidence in the wilderness, 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 addresses 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 by prayer like us. He had to go to the cross only with assurances from God that He would be raised for 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” (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. But, unfortunately, 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. However, Satan’s kingdom 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 (Deut. 6:13) saying, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” 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 (Mt. 13), the seed that fell by the wayside was quickly snatched from the heart by the “wicked one.” According to Luke’s account (8:11), the seed 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’ temptation.

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 that 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 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 the Scriptures. Like the devil, many quote Scripture, but, like him, they misapply it. Today, a person may pervert God’s Word (2 Pet. 3:16). We must examine what someone teaches (1 Jn. 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 (Jas. 1:14-15), but we must quickly put temptation away to escape danger.
We can not blame our sins on being human. Jesus had a human body, and He did not sin (Heb. 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 can not let our guard down — he will return!

Facing such a foe as Satan may cause apprehension. But rest assured, God is with us. He will now allow temptation above our ability to resist, and He will always make a way of escape (1 Cor. 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!