Creator, Father, King #166

Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

THE SUN BLAZED OVERHEAD. The wilderness was barren of food and human interaction. For forty days, Jesus was alone in the desert. Only God’s Spirit and prayer sustained him.

Then he heard a voice. It offered a sinister suggestion, almost as if a snake had slowly slithered up and started whispering in his ear. “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread” (Matthew 4:3).

The voice was Satan’s. He was no longer in serpentine form, as he had been in the Garden of Eden. But make no mistake: his purposes were just as diabolical. As he tempted Jesus three times, the devil hoped to swiftly destroy God’s plan of salvation for mankind.

Jesus—fully God and fully man—was hungry and physically weak. But he knew his purpose, and he wasn’t about to let Satan ruin what the Son, the Father, and the Spirit had planned together in eternity past to save us.

“Get out of here, Satan!” Jesus commanded. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the LORD your God and serve only him’” (Matthew 4:10).

Then Satan fled. Jesus had won.

What’s It Mean?

When you read about Jesus’ temptations, do you see any parallels to Satan’s temptations of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? You should! The Gospel writers wanted you to notice some similarities—and a major difference.

Where Adam failed, Jesus prevailed! The apostle Paul talks about this in Romans 5 (see today’s verse). God provided his Son to be “the better Adam”—to fulfill God’s law where Adam fell short. Because Jesus is a High Priest “who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15, ESV), he was able to perfectly represent us as our sin-sacrifice.

Also, by enduring various temptations like we do—but remaining holy—Jesus “understands our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15). We have a sympathetic Savior who can relate to the difficulties of the human experience.

Satan’s sneaky attempts to ensnare Jesus failed. Our Savior triumphed. Nothing can stop God’s saving plan for us in Christ!

Now What?

If you read about Christ’s temptations, you’ll notice how he always answered Satan by quoting Scripture. Make Bible memorization a regular part of your life. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

Did You Know?

Matthew 4:2 said Jesus “fasted” before his temptations. Biblical fasting is always for the purpose of prayerfully seeking God’s will. Jesus likely was preparing himself spiritually for the extreme hardships of his redemptive ministry.