The 19th century author and humorist Mark Twain has two famous quotes on the topic of temptation. The first is: “I never struggle with temptation; I just yield to it.” And the second is: “There are several good protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice. These two statements highlight the attitudes that many people have about temptation. On one hand, you could just have a flippant attitude toward sin and just give in to temptation, or on the other hand, you could hide from anything that even looks like sin and live your life in a box. As Christians, we know that neither one of these extremes is a viable option for dealing with temptation.

There are many places in the New Testament where we could go to learn about the best way to deal with temptation. James 1 is pretty good: “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” I Corinthians 10 is also helpful when Paul says: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

Or you could also glean insights from the Old Testament stories of Samson and Delilah, David and Bathsheba, and King Solomon and his 300 wives; where all of their lives were ruined by giving into temptation. And certainly, we must remember the very first temptation story where Adam and Eve yielded to the temptation of eating the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This is what got us into this whole mess of sin in the first place.

But among all of the places in the Bible that teach us about temptation, there is one that stands out from all of the rest. The story of the temptation of Jesus Christ not only provides us with incredible look into the way the devil uses temptation to destroy people, but it also provides us with a model for how we can overcome the temptations that we face as we go through life. Let’s take a look at how our Lord tackled temptation!

 

The Context of Temptation (1-3)

Matthew tells us that after Jesus was baptized by his cousin John in the Jordan River and received divine approval from his Father, he retreated to the wilderness to complete his preparation for his public ministry. The Holy Spirit personally led him up to the wilderness to fast and to be tempted by the devil. If Jesus could not rule over his own body and soul, how could he lead anybody else? This significant event took place to prove that Jesus was ready to begin his earthly ministry and fulfill his divine destiny.

In a rather ironic understatement, Matthew tells us that after fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus was hungry. It makes me want to say to Matthew, “No, really?” It is certainly possible to go 40 days without food, but it is extremely difficult. For most of us, 40 hours without food would be difficult. Let’s be really honest—most of us start getting a little grumpy after about 4 hours without food. The longest I have ever fasted has been three days, and I felt like I was going to die. I cannot imagine going without food for 40 days.

Notice how Satan shows up at during Jesus’ 40 day fast, when he was tired, hungry, alone, and weak. There was no food, no shelter from the desert sun, and no other human beings around to hold him accountable to his mission. Satan attacked Jesus at the time when and place where he was most vulnerable.

Have you ever noticed that Satan employs the same tactic with us? He is clever and crafty. He doesn’t tempt us in times or areas where we are strong; he waits to attack us at the times and in the places where we are most vulnerable. He knows our individual weaknesses and waits for opportune times to capitalize on them.

A number of years ago now, Satan tempted a good friend of mine when and where he was most vulnerable. My friend loved his wife deeply and he was always faithful to her, but one day she confessed to him that she had been cheating on him with another man and now she wanted a divorce so that she could be with him. He was devastated! She moved out and he started going to bars to drink away the pain. One night when he was sitting at the bar, feeling particularly weak and vulnerable, a woman approached and propositioned him. Even though he knew that this woman had a promiscuous reputation, in a moment of weakness he succumbed to temptation and hooked up with her for the night. He justified his actions as a way of getting back at his wife.

A few weeks later when he began to notice some changes in his body, he knew that he had contracted a sexually transmitted disease. He was too embarrassed and stubborn to see a doctor and get treated. He kept his secret hidden for the next eight years until one morning when he simply hunched over and dropped dead at work. He was only 47 years old.

Do you have certain times and places when you are most vulnerable? Do you know your weaknesses? That is where Satan is most likely to attack us! We need to be prepared for Satan’s temptations in the times and areas where we are most vulnerable!

 

The First Temptation- Relying on God’s Provision (3-4)

Satan knew that Jesus was the true Son of God, but in this first temptation he tries to derail him from doing God’s will by tempting him to rely on his own self-sufficiency rather than on the provisions of God. To do this, he challenged Jesus to turn the desert stones into loaves of bread, which is something that I am sure would have delighted Jesus in that moment. There was nothing inherently wrong or sinful about turning stones into bread to satisfy a hungry stomach, but this would have been a departure from God’s will. If Jesus had done this, he would have misused his power and have exercised improper independence from God.

This is really the same trick that Satan used with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It worked with the first Adam but not the second Adam. Jesus outwitted him by quoting scripture, a verse from Deuteronomy 8:3 which asserts that man should not live by bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God. God had fed the Israelites with manna from heaven when they were wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. Their hunger had been intended to show them that hearing and obeying God’s word was the most important thing in life. Jesus had already learned this lesson. He knew the importance of relying on God rather than relying on his own power and abilities.

How many of us face the temptation to rely on ourselves rather than God? Sometimes it appears so much easier to do things ourselves, rather than to wait for God. But that is exactly what Satan wants us to do! He wants us to act independently from God.

It is just like little kids who want to do everything by themselves, rather than waiting for their parent’s instructions. Little Miss Independent thinks she can figure it out all by herself. Little Mr. Independent thinks he knows what he is doing. Grown-ups do the same thing with God all the time!

Do you rely on your strength, abilities, intelligence, and experience, or do you rely on God? Are you ever been tempted to misuse your power to get what you want? Think about all of the people in our world who abuse their power to wrongly satisfy their desires! Do you really believe that hearing and obeying God’s Word is the most important thing in life? When you do, then you will be able to resist temptation!

 

The Second Temptation- Trusting God’s Protection (5-7)

In the second temptation, Satan tries to trick Jesus by twisting God’s word. The devil takes Jesus to the top of the holy temple in Jerusalem which was about 450 feet high and challenges him to jump off so that God would send his loving angels to rescue him. Like the first temptation, Satan approaches Jesus with the words, “If you are the Son of God,” but this time he uses (or rather misuses) Psalm 91:11-12, where the Psalmist asserts God’s protection for the faithful in Israel. Satan twists this passage to trick Jesus into forcing God into a supernatural demonstration of his protection.

Jesus’ hesitation came, not from wondering whether his Father could or would rescue him if he jumped, but because Scripture forbids putting God to the test (Deuteronomy 6:16). For both Israel and Jesus, demanding miraculous proof of God’s protection is wrong; the appropriate attitude is trust and obedience.

Does Satan ever tempt you to put God to the test? Do you ever hear a little voice in your head saying, “If God really loved me, he would—if God really cared about me, he would—if God was really there, he would…” Do you ever demand miraculous signs and wonders? Do you ever try to bribe or manipulate God into doing what you want him to do? Again, this is exactly what Satan wants us to do! God simply wants us to trust him!

 

The Third Temptation- Following God’s Plan (8-10)

The third temptation may have been the most appealing of the three, not because of the anticipation of the glory of ruling all the kingdoms of the earth—that was already part of God’s plan—but because Satan’s offer would allow Jesus to rule the earth without enduring the suffering and shame of the cross. God the Father already had a plan for Jesus to be the king of the world, but now Satan offers Jesus an even more appealing plan—a kingdom and all of its glory, minus the suffering. Satan promises Jesus that he can offer a better plan and way than God could. Had Jesus taken the easy way instead of the right way, he would not have gone to the cross and we would have no hope of salvation today.

Again, Jesus reaches into Scripture, interprets it accurately, and sends Satan on his way. Jesus goes back to Deuteronomy 6 and preaches a sermon to Satan about worshipping and serving God alone. Those words in particular must have stung Satan because this is exactly what Satan did not do when he rebelled against God. Satan must not have liked Jesus’ sermon because he immediately got up and left.

Satan does this same thing to us all the time. He offers an easy way as an alternative to God’s way. There is no doubt about it—God’s way is hard! God’s way is always marked with suffering and sacrifice! Satan offers us a bunch of empty shortcuts to glory and happiness, but they are all lies in the end. He tells us “go ahead and cheat on your income taxes; you deserve that money.” He says “if you divorce your spouse you will be much happier.” He says “it doesn’t matter who you hurt; all that matters is that you are number one.” He promises more money, power, popularity, success, and happiness if we take his easy way. But the only way to true happiness is through worshiping and serving the Lord!
And if there was any doubt about God’s love or compassion, look at how the story ends! Angels came and ministered to him. God was completely sufficient! He provided everything that Jesus needed! And he does the same for us today.

Like Jesus, if we if we rely on God’s provision…trust in God’s protection…if follow God’s plan…we will be able to resist the devil’s temptations too!