The temptations of Jesus

The apostle John wrote, “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” (1 John 2:16). The temptations of Jesus illustrate each one of these categories (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13), and it will be helpful to explore them so that you can avoid them.

The first temptation the devil presented Him with was turning stones to bread. This was the lust of the eyes. Jesus had been fasting for 40 days and would have felt desperately hungry. This temptation would have appealed to that strong desire for nourishment.

The second temptation was casting Himself down and letting the angels bear Him up. This was the lust of the flesh. The strongest fear that any human has is the fear of death. One can imagine that Jesus would have felt this fear, being part of humanity Himself.

The third temptation the devil tried was giving Him all of the kingdoms of the world if He would fall down and worship the devil. This was the pride of life. Fame and fortune appeals to all, and Satan tried to use this deception to trick Jesus to his ultimate goal: devil worship.

Could Jesus have rationalized and gave in to the devil? I suppose He could. But if He had, He could not have been our perfect sacrifice. Hebrews 2:17-18 says, “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.” Jesus was able to overcome them with the power of God’s word. Christ is our example, so let us look to Him and God’s inspired teachings to overcome the devil and His temptations.

Kyle Campbell