The Temptation of Jesus Christ – Part I

Matthew 4:1-4

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. He had fasted forty days and forty nights and afterwards was hungry. Just before this, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and the Spirit of God descended like a dove and lighted upon Him. Matthew 3:16-17 says, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The Lord God declared that Jesus was His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased. The God of Glory declared Jesus as His beloved Son and nobody can take it away! The devil wanted to take that which God declared and see if he can raise a doubt in Jesus Christ. Devil waited for an opportunity to tempt Jesus. He knew very well that Jesus was hungry after His forty days and forty nights of fasting. Remember, the devil does the same to us. He (devil) waits for an opportunity to tempt us; the more we dwell with the Lord Jesus, the more he wants to try and pull us away from the one we so love. Just as he took the words of Lord God about Jesus as the Son of God and used them to tempt Jesus, he will tempt us with the promises that God gave us i.e., His promise to forgive us of our sins, His promise to free us of our guilt, His promise to pardon our iniquities, His promise to blot our transgressions, His promise to heal us, His promise to take away our fears and anxieties and so on and so forth. If we believe and trust in our heart that the promises given by God are for our sakes and that He will keep His promises, the devil out there will try raising a doubt in your hearts saying, “If you are forgiven…, or if you are freed by Jesus…”, or some other such deceptive trick. Be adorned by the Word of God and then you certainly will win the battle against the enemy.

Jesus answered and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. He quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3 which says, “And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” Jesus knew very well that the Lord God can take care of His physical need for food like the way He took care of Israelites when they were in the wilderness. He fed them with manna from above when they were hungry. Our heavenly Father knows how to meet our every need; let us not have an agenda for Him; let us freely fall in His will for our lives. Jesus immediately spoke back to the devil the Word of God. Let us ask the Lord God to help us know His Word that we may be able to win the battle against the enemy through the precious Word and by His Spirit.

This coming year, let us ask the Lord God to help us know Him better. Let us ask Him to teach us His Word and to enlighten us with His Wisdom. The Spirit of God lighted on Jesus like a dove and He (the Spirit of God) is in us His children; He is ready to help us understand His Word. May this be one desire of our hearts and He will help us receive His Word by opening the eyes of our hearts. May God richly adorn you with His precious Word, the Living Word which is the Word for our lives!

Next: The Temptation of Jesus Christ – Part II