Temptations of Christ

Week 16 | Section 25

Immediately after Jesus was baptized he was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit and there he was tempted fiercely by Satan. Just after his baptism having heard God affirm him saying “you are my Son”, Satan jumps on the opportunity to confuse Jesus by trying to undermine his identity, distort God’s Word, and redirect his purpose. Wonderfully, Jesus spiritual foundation, knowledge of Scripture, and integrity protected him being deceived.

Scripture:
[one_third last=”no”]Matt 4:1-11
1 Then Jesus was led]note]Heb 2:18, 4:15[/note] up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.¹ 2 When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”² 4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”³ 5 Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 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, so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory. 9 He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”⁴ 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’ ”

11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]Mark 1:12-13
12 Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals;

and the angels were serving him.[/one_third]

[one_third last=”yes”]Luke 4:1-13
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness 2 for forty days,⁵ being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”⁶ 5 The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 The devil said to him, “I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want.[The Devil indeed had the authority to do so (Rev 11:15), but the temptation was to get the Messiah to forfeit his Eternal purpose for temporal authority. Had he done so we would not have a Savior. Jesus is clear about this point (John 18:36) as were the Apostles 2Cor 4:17; Eph 2:2; 6:12.[/note]¯⁷

7 If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “Get behind me Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’ ”⁸ 9 He led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you;’ 11 and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest perhaps you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”⁹ 12 Jesus answering, said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” 13 When the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until another time.¹⁰[/one_third]

Group Dialog:

Give some thought to the question, How does temptation most often come upon you?
From today’s lesson what can you learn about temptation and overcoming it?
What Scripture passages have given you most resolve and fortitude to resist temptation and fulfill the ministry to which God has called you? (2Tim 1:6; James 4:7)
Which of these temptations is most difficult for you? 1. Fear of scarcity; 2. Worldly possessions and social opinion; 3. Self reliance vs trusting God to lead and guide.

Learning Objectives:

Baptism, Trinity, Deity & Humanity of Christ, sin, humility, acceptance, angels, heavenly ranks, devil, temptation, overcoming temptation

Study Notes:

Peirazo is the Greek word that is used here for tempted. It does not mean that Jesus was filled with a desire to sin, but that he was being “tested” “to give account” of the veracity of who he was.
Similar to the account of when Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden of Eden.
Read: Ex 16:4-35; Dt 8:3, 16; Joshua 5:12; Neh 9:20; Ps 78:24; John 6:48-51; Rev 2:17
In each of the temptations Jesus responds with a passage of Scripture from the book of Deuteronomy, the last Levitical book given the Israelites before they enter the promised land.
Similar to other times of preparation and testing in the Old Testament 1. Moses on Mt. Zion at the giving of the Law (Ex 24:18, 34:28; Dt 9:9,18); 2. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years before entering the Promised Land (Num 14:34); 3. The Israelites who went out in front to see the Promised Land (Num 13:25); 4. forty days in a stand of with the Philistines 1 Sam 17:6
Recall that Luke stresses the lineage of Jesus to Adam (Chpt 3/Section 3). This is largely because he was writing to his friends entrenched in Greek philosophical training, which stressed the perfection of man.
Read about the Israelite’s failure to withstand such temptation in the story of the golden calf (Ex 32:4; Lev 17:7).
Dt 6:13
The Devil inverts the meaning of Ps 91:11-12, and thus distorts the meaning. We too should be careful how we apply the Word of God.
Read Eph 6:10-20

By Greg Troxell