BEN F. VICK, JR.
The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus, our high priest, was tempted like we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15). After our Lord’s baptism, he was immediately driven into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil (Matt. 4:1-11; Mark 1: 12-13; Luke 4:1-13).
Since Jesus was tempted in all points, as are we, then he could choose whether to thwart the devil’s advances or yield to him. Man has always had free will. He can choose to do right or wrong. Years ago, the comedian, Flip Wilson, had a line, “The devil made me do it.” Of course, neither the devil nor God makes us do anything. This has been true from Adam and Eve to the present time. No man has been or ever will be forced to sin. Jesus could have yielded to the temptations that came his way. He was human.
How did the devil tempt Jesus? John, the Apostle of Love, wrote, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (1 John 2:15-17.) The old Serpent, the devil, tempted Jesus through (1) the lust of the flesh, (2) the lust of the eyes, and (3) the pride of life. All people have been drawn through one or a combination of these ways. Mother Eve was tempted through these avenues as well.
When Jesus was in the wilderness, he fasted for forty days. After those forty days, he was hungry. It does not take us that long to get hungry, for brethren are looking at the clock after a forty-minute sermon. Hunger is a tremendous appetite. The tempter said to Jesus, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” He was the Son of God. It would have been easy for him to have yielded to the strong temptation. This was a desire of the flesh. However, Jesus said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matt.4:4.) Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 in answering the devil.
Next, the devil took Jesus up into the holy city, Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple. The “pinnacle” was “the summit” of the temple. In 1875 J. W. McGarvey commented:
The word translated pinnacle (πτερύγιον) means a little wing. Its force as an architectural term does not enable us to determine what part of the temple is meant. But the context shows that it was a point so high that a fall would be fatal; and with this the south-east corner of the outer wall around the temple best coincides. From this point to the valley of the Kedron below is said by Josephus to have been about 600 feet. This is doubtless an exaggeration, but recent explorations have proved that the descent was once much greater than it now is. The foundations of the wall are nearly ninety feet below the present surface of the ground.
The devil said to Jesus, “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” (Matt. 4:6.) The “if” as in the first temptation connotes “since,” since you are the Son of God. The devil wanted Jesus to throw himself down from this high point. The tempter even quoted Psalm 91:11-12. Some daredevils like to jump from high mountains or tall bridges to show their courage to others. Maybe others would see the feat and marvel that he survived. This would not be a temptation to me, I can assure you. The devil quoted Scripture which would assure Jesus that he would not be hurt. But Jesus said to the devil, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” This was a quotation from Deuteronomy 6:6. Jesus did not perform miracles for his benefit but to prove that he was the Son of God (John 20:30-31). This temptation might be placed under “the pride of life.”
The expression “It is written again…” also shows that the Scriptures do not contradict. The devil misused the Scriptures. The devil’s ministers can also quote the Scriptures. They may not misquote them, but they often twist them (2 Peter 3:16). In studying the Bible, one must take all that the Lord has said on a given subject, not just a portion.
Then the devil took Jesus up into “an exceeding high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them.” Luke’s account says he did this “in a moment of time.” The devil said to Jesus, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” The temptation was both a lust of the eyes and the pride of life. The devil was tempting him to unite with him in holding sway over the whole world. They would have established a universal, material kingdom if they had combined their powers, just what the Jews wanted. But Jesus said, “Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Matt. 4:10.) Here, Jesus answered with Deuteronomy 6:13.
The devil then leaves Jesus, but Luke records only “for a season.” We may, as Jesus did, thwart the onslaughts of the devil once but be assured that he is relentless. He will regroup and come again at each of us. Be always on guard (1 Peter 5:8).
The temptations of Jesus in the wilderness (as well as other occasions) were a critical time in the Lord’s life as also in the destiny of mankind. Our salvation hung in the balances. What would Jesus do? Would he succumb to the devil or succeed in defeating him? If Jesus had given in to the temptations, he would not have been the perfect sacrifice for man. He would have been a blemished lamb. He would not have satisfied the demands of justice. Unlike us, we are thankful that he did not yield to the conniving devil’s temptation. Let us follow in Jesus’ footsteps.