Page 50 - Advanced Life of Christ - Student Textbook

The Temptation
All three Synoptic Gospels affirm that
Jesus was led by the Spirit to face the
question of what kind of Messiah He
would be. The order of the three
temptations is different in Matthew and
Luke. Matthew’s order moves toward a
more logical climax: “turn stones into
bread”; “throw Yourself from the
temple”; “give you all things”. Luke’s
order makes the temple the last
temptation and moves Jesus toward His
destiny in Jerusalem – the cross. Notice
that Jesus responded to each
temptation by quoting Scripture. It was
obvious Jesus had memorized great portions of The Judean Wilderness – Location of the Temptation
Scripture. Jesus was teaching us how to combat
Satan’s ploys: Psalm 119:11 says, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against
you”.

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 four 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).

49