After being baptized by John, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. The Lord fasted for forty days and nights. Without His disciples and hungry, Jesus was approached by the tempter himself, Satan. Three times the Enemy tried to entice the Lord into disobedience. And three times Jesus overcame the temptation to sin, sending the devil to slither away.
Like me, for many the story of the temptation of Jesus raises some questions. Like, “How could the Lord be tempted if He was truly God?” Or, “Why did Satan even try to beat the Lord if he knew he would only fail?” And finally, “Why did God allow it to happen in the first place?” So to find the answers, I dug into scripture.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” (John 1:1,14) The Bible teaches that Jesus is both fully man and fully God. And it was the flesh side of the Lord that Satan was targeting. Like us, Jesus felt hunger, loneliness, and hardship. Yet instead of those feelings leading Him to sin, the Lord stood on the Word of God to stop the enemy in His tracks. And when we too stand on God’s Word, we can have that same victory over temptation. For when we resist the devil by turning to God, the devil will run from us. (James 4:7)
So why did the Enemy start a losing battle? I’m reminded of the old saying, “Give the devil his due, but don’t overpay him.” While Satan is many things, the one thing he is not, is God. That means he isn’t omniscient. He doesn’t know the future, nor has he ever. We have the benefit of the Bible, so we know the story from beginning to end. But at the time Satan didn’t. “You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God.” (Is. 14:13-14) Remember, the devil tried to rise a rebellion against God and was thrown to the earth in judgement. Why wouldn’t his ego allow him to think that he could defeat Jesus? His failed efforts show us how rebelling against the will of God only leads to failure and destruction.
Jesus faced many trials when He walked this earth. So why did God put Him through this one? Like with all of the challenges Jesus overcame, the purpose wasn’t for His benefit but for ours. Hebrews 2:17 tells us, “He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and high priest.” Any temptation we face, Jesus knows. Any pain we suffer, Jesus knows. Any trial we experience, Jesus knows. And because He knows there is no one better to intercede for us before God. I love how Dr. Charles Stanley says, “Jesus left heaven and became a man not only to become a sacrifice for our sins but also to experience what we feel and to know exactly what it’s like to be one of us. That’s what makes Him our perfect representative on the throne of grace.” Oh how very thankful I am for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to Him goes the glory forever and ever!
