Jesus was baptized by John the the Baptist, see John the Baptist at Messiah's First Coming in The Prophecies of Isaiah. After Jesus had been baptized by John,
he was immediately led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days. And when they ran out, he was hungry. (Mat 4:1–2, Mark 1:12–13a, Luk 4:1–2).
Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to fast for 40 days. This is by far the longest time to go without food. Doing it even longer is very dangerous physiology for the body.
To say that he was hungry is probably a huge understatement.
Then the tempter (devil) came and said to him: "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." (Mat 4:3, Luk 4:3).
Jesus answered: "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Mat 4:4, Luk 4:4, Deu (5 Mos) 8:3).
Then the devil took him to the holy city (Jerusalem) and set him on the height of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"
(Mat 4:5–6, Luk 4:9–11, Psalm 91:11–12).
Jesus said to him: "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" (Mat 4:7, Luk 4:12, Deu (5 Mos) 6:16).
And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment, and said to him: "To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." (Mat 4:8–9, Luk 4:5–7).
Then Jesus said to him: "Be gone, Satan! For it is written:
'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"
(Mat 4:10, Luk 4:8, Deu (5 Mos) 6:13a).
Then the devil left him and angels came and ministered him (Mat 4:11,
Mark 1:13b). He left Jesus until an opportune time (Luk 4:13).
Jesus began his ministry first after he had been baptized by John, which was a baptism of repentance in which he identified himself with us in our sin. He began his ministry by being tempted by the devil in the wilderness.
Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden of Eden. At that time they didn't have a sinful nature, they had been created perfectly, but they were deceived by the devil and fell, see The Fall of Man in The Biblical Creation and the Fall of Man.
Their temptation was to eat from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It contained these categories of temptations (1 John 2:16), see The Book of John:
- Good for food – the lust of the flesh.
- Desire to make one wise – the pride of life.
- A delight for the eyes – the lust of the eyes.
All of Satan's temptations fall into these three categories. After the Fall, all people are born with a sinful nature with the exception of Jesus Christ, see the Virgin Birth.
In the case of Jesus, the temptations can be categorized as follows:
- Turn stones into bread – the lust of the flesh.
- Throwing himself down from the temple – the pride of life.
- Showed him all the kingdoms of the world – the lust of the eyes.
Adam and Eve who were born without a sinful nature, found themselves in the
Garden of Eden and had everything they needed, but still fell and then got a sinful nature. Jesus who was also born without a sinful nature, was in the wilderness and hadn't eaten for 40 days. Yet he conquered the enemy's works. He didn't succumb to the temptations.
Jesus didn't need to be tempted to help him grow. Instead, he endorsed temptations so that he could identify with us so that he could know what we go through when we are tempted. Another reason was to show his own holy and sinless character.
Jesus shows us that he stands and has victory, that he is uniquely qualified to represent us on the cross. As the "last Adam" he was victorious (1 Cor 15:45–49).
It was to teach Jesus how to depend on God the Father (Heb 5:8). He also came to model for us how to submit to God and do his will. He didn't come to do anything that we can't do. He answered all the temptations of the devil by quoting Scripture. We can do the same. By the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in all of us who are in Christ, we can overcome.
The enemy doesn't come to strike us where we are strong, but where we are weak.
He waited 40 days until Jesus was really hungry before he came with his first temptation. Satan will always question things, especially God's promises. He makes us focus on our problems. He plants a proposal on how to solve them. It's always based on solving the matter in our own strength, apart from God and not relying on God's provision.
The statement 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God' means that Jesus refused to see this problem only as the most important issue or concern of his life. He would listen to the word of God and not to Satan, be obedient to God the Father and trust in him. That is, rest in him and wait for the provision of God the Father. Not solving the problem in one's own power apart from God the Father. It's easy to start compromising to ease the pressure.
In the second temptation, Satan quoted Scripture to legitimize his proposition. There was a belief in some parts of Judaism that this was how Messiah would come into the picture; throwing himself down from the temple. It was based on a misinterpretation of "And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple" (Malachi 3:1b).
The temptation was to become instantly popular with the people. Floating down from the temple, gently reaching the ground, would impress them. But that wasn't what God the Father had in mind. God the Father had in mind that Jesus would introduce himself slowly, step by step, quietly. The statement 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test' means that when walking in disobedience it isn't a time to arbitrarily expect that God is simply going to take care of you. It wasn't
God the Father's will to do according to Satan's suggestion.
Satan had the right to make the third temptation, because he had gained power over the world, see The Fall of Man in The Biblical Creation and the Fall of Man. Jesus didn't question that, see time 6:37–9:15 in Bible Q&A With Pastor Paul │April 2024 |. But Satan wanted worship and recognition from God himself.
Jesus answered him that we must worship only God (Psalm 95:6–7).
Focusing on things in this world is also a kind of worship of something that can become our God, see the 1st commandment in The Ten Commandments.
God's way is always the best way in the long term, but maybe not the easiest way,
see The Narrow Gate. It's important not to give the devil a foothold (Eph 4:27 (NIV)). He takes advantage of the opportunities he gets. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7). We must accept that God may test us as Christians, see the first part of The Book of James. We can respond with the word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit (Eph 6:11–18). We aren't tempted beyond our ability, and God gives us a way to escape it
(1 Cor 10:13).
See also Some stories in the gospels at the end of The Four Gospels.
