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At the Jordan River, Jesus identified with us through His baptism; in the Judaean wilderness, He identified with us through His temptation.(1) Do not miss this – the Father ordered His steps into the wilderness, just as He had ordered His steps into the Jordan, so that He might there be tempted, tested and proven. Not proven to the Father; the Father knew that He could not fail. Jesus was led into the wilderness to prove to us that He could not fail.
Another important distinction we must understand before we look at the events that unfolded in the wilderness is that Jesus was not tempted as the Son of God; He did not use His divine power to overcome the temptation. If He had, there would be nothing for us to learn. Remember, He came to teach us how to live, to enable us to live, and to empower us to live. You and I will never have divine power; we’re not God! We have access to divine power, but we do not ourselves possess it. Therefore, if Jesus had responded to Satan as the Son of God, He would not have taught us how to respond to temptation. Rather, He responded – and was proven – as the Son of Man using the same spiritual resources that are available to us in our journey today – the power of the Holy Spirit(2) and the authority of the Word of God.
A preacher by the name of J. Vernon McGee once told a story that beautifully illustrates this idea of His being “proven”:
“The Santa Fe Railroad crossed the left fork of the Brazos River near our town in West Texas. One winter we really had a flood, and it washed out the rail bridge over the Brazos River. One day, after they completed building the new bridge, they brought in two engines and stopped them in the middle of the bridge, and tied down their whistles. When we ran to the bridge to see what all the noise was about, one brave citizen asked the engineer in charge, ‘What are you doing?’ The engineer answered, ‘Testing the bridge.’ The brave citizen countered, ‘Are you trying to break it down?’ ‘Of course not’, the engineer sneered. ‘We’re testing it to provethat it can’t be broken down.’”
That is exactly what the Father was doing; He was proving that Jesus couldn’t be broken down – He could not (and cannot) fail! And the Father permitted Him to be tested in ways greater than any limit we could bear.
The Father also ordered Jesus’s journey into the wilderness so that the devil’s tactics might be exposed. Satan is a predictable foe. His pattern has remained unchanged since the days in the Garden of Eden. His temptations will come on three fronts.
First, he will tempt us according to our physical needs. He will call into question the Father’s care and concern for our physical well-being. He will tempt and test us through the senses. He appealed to Eve through the physical appearance of the fruit on the tree (the fruit looked fresh and delicious). He appealed to Jesus’ physical hunger after forty days of fasting. In both instances, Satan’s implication was that God’s provision was inadequate and unreliable.
Second, he will tempt us according to our “soulish” desires. He will tempt and test us to exercise our own will and desires, instead of those of the Father. He will test us to presume upon the Father’s power and protection in order for us to do things our way. When we attempt to do God’s work man’s way, we are succumbing to this temptation. When we fail to seek the Lord and instead make our own plans and then ask God to bless them, we are succumbing to this temptation.
When we are driven by selfish ambition based upon “what’s-in-it-for-me”, we are succumbing to this temptation. He tempted Eve, that disobeying God and eating the fruit would make her wise; and he tempted Jesus with the idea that He could redeem Himself and the world without having to suffer the cross. In both instances, Satan’s implication was that God’s will was fallible and His character was undependable.
Third, he will tempt us to deify ourselves. The second temptation is disregarding the Father’s will; the third temptation is to elevate our will over the Father’s. He will tempt us to supplant the Father’s honor and homage in a feeble attempt to gain glory for ourselves. Years ago when I was ordained into the Gospel ministry a wise man told me that if I was faithful to pass on all the glory to God, I could just as confidently pass on all the criticism and suffering to Him as well.
You see, if we would share in the honor, we must share in the suffering. Satan tempted Eve with the idea that by disobeying God she would become like God. He tempted Jesus with the idea that by worshipping Satan He would be the God of this world. However, that honor is not Satan’s to give; it is God’s, and His alone! Satan’s implication was that God’s glory was undue Him.
Yes, the Father led Jesus into the wilderness so that Jesus might be proven, Satan might be exposed, and to reveal that Satan is a defeated foe. The answer to temptation is ALWAYS in the Word. We don’t have to depend upon what we think; rather, we can trust and stand confidently on what God has already said. And apparently that was good enough for the devil, because after Jesus responded with the Word of the Father … Satan ran away. He left with his tail between his legs as a defeated foe. No, he didn’t leave for good – that hasn’t happened yet – he would return to tempt Jesus another day. But each time he did go away, he did so as one who is defeated; one that can never be victorious. And he will return to tempt us . . . time and again. But remember – the answer . . . and victory . . . is ALWAYS in God’s Word!
The Father led the Master into the wilderness to be tempted, and as we walk with the Master, the Father will permit us to be tempted that we might be proven, and Satan might be exposed and revealed to be a defeated foe. Paul wrote, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”(3)
Jesus told His disciples, “Here on earth you will have many trials… but take heart, because I have overcome the world.”(4) No one has the right to call others to obey until he has obeyed himself. When the Father led the Son of Man into the wilderness, the Master obeyed.
Yes, the devil came… but then he left as a defeated foe. Our Master has called us into our wilderness. It is our turn to obey. He has shown us how, He has enabled us, and through God’s Spirit and God’s Word He has empowered us . . . to overcome whatever temptation the devil puts before us.
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You can read about the temptation of Jesus in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.
This post is taken from chapter 2 of my book, Walking With The Master. For more information about the book, click here.
(1) Matthew 4:1-3 (NLT)
Then Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by the Devil. For forty days and forty nights He ate nothing and became very hungry. Then the Devil came….
(2) Matthew 4:1
(3) 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJ)
(4) John 16:33 (NLT)
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