It Begins

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

After His baptism, which identified Jesus with His mission on Earth, the atonement for our sins, He was ready to meet the challenge which awaited Him from the god of this world. This was no accidental meeting, on the part of either participant. The Holy Spirit led, or compelled Jesus into this confrontation. It was a divine appointment. The 40 days' fasting was apparently part of His personal preparation for His ministry. The structure of v.3 indicates continuous action; that the tempter (devil) had been coming daily to propose a solution to Jesus' hunger. "If" you are the Son of God...(1st class condition: and you are), no need to go hungry. You are capable of creating bread by your own power. The first temptation is physical (lust of the flesh, as mentioned in I John 2:16). "You don't have to do this...EAT!" Why not? That's not the plan. To remain sinless, Jesus must rely on the Father and Holy Spirit, not his own production, and certainly not in response to the devil's taunts. What Jesus did this time and every time was to use existing, written scripture to resist Satan. "IT STANDS WRITTEN." Deuteronomy 8:3 God's Word is more important than our necessary food.

Second temptation: power. "I own all the kingdoms of the earth. Just look how grand and glorious they are!" Worship me (Satan), and they will all be yours." Wow. This, to the Sovereign of the universe. That is real arrogance. The fact is, Satan does hold that position, since the first Adam wimped out on his responsibility as head of the human race. The fact also is that in order to regain the rulership of the world, the sinless last Adam must first go sinless to the cross, to bear the sins of Adam, Eve, Moses, Abraham, Hitler, Saddam, you, me and all future humanity. The cross must come before the crown. Satan knew that. Jesus knew Satan knew that. Again, there can be only one response: The only One to be worshipped is God, Deuteronomy 6:13. God's purpose is greater than Satan's power and is worth waiting and dying for.

Third temptation: pride. "Show me how indestructible you are. God has promised not to let you fall." This is a challenge to demonstrate one's faith by a heroic act (parlor trick). Quoting part of Psalm 91:11-12, but omitting the part that didn't suit his purpose, Satan showed how unbelievers can use scripture to try to ensnare the weak and gullible. Hey, it worked on Eve, didn't it? It works on a lot of spiritual weaklings every day. It pays to know the Bible, folks. There are flim-flam artists out there, and they want to destroy you. They are accompanied by demons. Jesus correctly quoted Deuteronomy 6:16. God doesn't honor stupidity. We have nothing to prove to unbelievers. The Word of God is always our stability.

This was Jesus' inauguration into His earthly ministry. It was a tough, gruelling experience. He chose to suffer as a man, foregoing His divine attributes. That is the requirement for the only human who will atone for the sin of the world, die and be resurrected as the firstfruits from among the dead. He came prepared to face it, and face it He did. And he prevailed. Satan intended that confrontation to sabotage the Plan. He wanted to keep Jesus from the cross. Praise God, he failed. And we are free. What a Savior!