Question: "What was the meaning and purpose of
Jesus' temptations?"
Answer: The three temptations by Satan in the
wilderness were not the only temptations our
Lord ever suffered on Earth. We read in Luke 4:2
that He was tempted by the devil for forty days,
but He was undoubtedly tempted at other times
( Luke 4:13 ; Matthew 16:21–23 ; Luke 22:42 ), and
yet in all this He was without sin or compromise.
Although some have suggested that the Lord’s
period of fasting compares with that of both
Moses ( Exodus 34:28 ) and Elijah ( 1 Kings 19:8 ),
the main point is how the Lord deals with
temptation in the light of His humanity.
It is because He is human, and made like us in
every way, that He could do three vital things: 1)
destroy the devil’s power and free those who
were held in slavery by their fear of death
( Hebrews 2:15 ); 2) become a merciful and faithful
High Priest in service to God and atone for our
sins ( Hebrews 2:17 ); and 3) be the One who is
able to sympathize with us in all our weaknesses
and infirmities ( Hebrews 4:15 ). Our Lord’s human
nature enables Him to sympathize with our own
weaknesses, because He was subjected to
weakness, too. More importantly, we have a High
Priest who is able to intercede on our behalf and
provide the grace of forgiveness.
Temptation is never as great as when one has
made a public declaration of faith as did our Lord
when He was baptized in the Jordan ( Matthew
3:13–17 ). However, we also note that, during this
time of exhaustive testing, our Lord was also
ministered to by angels, a mystery indeed that
the omnipotent One should condescend to receive
such help from lesser beings! Here is a beautiful
description of the ministry that His people also
benefit from. During times of testing and trial, we
too are aided by angels who are ministering
spirits sent to those who will inherit salvation
( Hebrews 1:14 ).
Jesus’ temptations follow three patterns that are
common to all men. The first temptation concerns
the lust of the flesh ( Matthew 4:3–4 ). Our Lord is
hungry, and the devil tempts Him to convert
stones into bread, but He replies with Scripture,
quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 . The second temptation
concerns the pride of life ( Matthew 4:5–7 ), and
here the devil uses a verse of Scripture ( Psalm
91:11–12 ), but the Lord replies again with
Scripture to the contrary ( Deuteronomy 6:16 ),
stating that it is wrong for Him to abuse His own
powers. The third temptation concerns the lust of
the eyes ( Matthew 4:8–10 ), and if any quick route
to the Messiahship could be attained, bypassing
the passion and crucifixion for which He had
originally come, this was the way. The devil
already had control over the kingdoms of the
world ( Ephesians 2:2 ) but was now ready to give
everything to Christ in return for His allegiance.
But the mere thought almost causes the Lord’s
divine nature to shudder at such a concept and
He replies sharply, “You shall worship the Lord
your God and serve Him only” ( Deuteronomy
6:13 ).
There are many temptations that we sadly fall
into because our flesh is naturally weak, but we
have a God who will not let us be tempted
beyond what we can bear; He will provide a way
out ( 1 Corinthians 10:13 ). We can therefore be
victorious and then will thank the Lord for
deliverance from temptation. Jesus’ experience in
the desert helps us to see these common
temptations that keep us from serving God
effectively. Furthermore, we learn from Jesus’
response to the temptations exactly how we are
to respond—with Scripture. The forces of evil
come to us with a myriad of temptations, but all
have the same three things at their core: lust of
the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.
We can only recognize and combat these
temptations by saturating our hearts and minds
with the Truth. The armor of a Christian solider in
the spiritual battle of life includes only one
offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit which is
the Word of God ( Ephesians 6:17 ). Knowing the
Bible intimately will put the Sword in our hands
and enable us to be victorious over temptations.


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Teach men how to overcome temptation

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