The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert, so that the devil could test him.
After Jesus had gone without eating for forty days and nights, he was very hungry.
Then the devil came to him and said, “If you are God’s Son, tell these stones to turn into bread.”
Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say: ‘No one can live only on food.
People need every word that God has spoken.’ ”
Next, the devil took Jesus to the holy city and had him stand on the highest part of the temple.
The devil said, “If you are God’s Son, jump off.
The Scriptures say: ‘God will give his angels orders about you.
They will catch you in their arms, and you won’t hurt your feet on the stones.’ ”
Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, ‘Don’t try to test the Lord your God!’ ”
Finally, the devil took Jesus up on a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms on earth and their power. The devil said to him, “I will give all this to you, if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus answered, “Go away Satan!
The Scriptures say: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ”
Then the devil left Jesus, and angels came to help him.
Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus, after 40 days and nights of fasting, was tempted by the devil to trust in himself rather than in his father in heaven.
Instead of falling, like the children of Israel had, Jesus would be triumphant,
pre-enacting what he would do for the world on the cross: conquer sin and defeat the enemy.
Jesus’ first temptation was in the area of life’s necessities — food — the same area in which the children of Israel showed their lack of trust.
The enemy tests Jesus’ identity by saying, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
Jesus responded, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
Notice that the enemy focuses on Jesus’ identity and relationship with God the Father by saying, “If you are the Son of God.”
Often our temptations will test our identity as sons and daughters of God.
How often we think to ourselves,“If God really loved me, then I wouldn’t be in this situation.”
In the second temptation, the devil tries to trip up Jesus by getting him to tempt God by throwing himself off the pinnacle of the temple.
Psalm 91 says, “He will give his angels charge of you, and on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
” If Jesus would have jumped off of the temple, it would have been for the purpose of seeing if Psalm 91 were true.
Jesus didn’t have to jump to prove his trust in the Father; he demonstrated it by trusting in God’s word.
Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”
How many times do we test the Lord by saying, “Lord if you do so and so for me then I’ll know that you love me.”
In the third temptation the devil pulls out all stops to get Jesus to worship him.
This corresponds to when Israel worshipped the golden calf in Exodus 32.
Once again Jesus answers from Deuteronomy 6:13-14: “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”
In the end, Jesus is triumphant over these three temptations and the devil flees.
Contained in this Gospel reading is the secret to overcoming the various temptations we face.
Knowing our identity as sons and daughters of God, we trust in him for all we need and rely on his word as assurance.
Hi,
My artistic name is electron7 and I'm an independent electronic music composer and producer from
Belgium.
Music is like a painting for me.
My music is first and foremost to praise and worship God.
My music is instrumental for 99% and is about personal situations, testimonies, God's power and feelings, biblical themes, etc....more
A majestic yet delicate album from Berlin school-style synth masters Node, recorded in 1994 but unreleased until now. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 21, 2023
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