The Temptations of Christ

Matthew 4: 1 - 11 (NIV): Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' " Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' " Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

This is a deep and important passage of Scripture. Whole books have been written on these few verses. But here is one overview: The temptations that Jesus faced are similar in nature to the temptations we face today. The first is to be our own god. Instead of trusting in God's provision, Satan tempted Jesus to take matters into his own hands. That is a major temptation we still face to this day. We only need to look at what happened to Abraham to see the danger in not waiting on God to fulfill his promises.
The second temptation was to test God. How often do we ask God to protect us, then behave foolishly, forcing God to intervene. Jesus showed from scripture that this is wrong. It's not fair, for instance, to ask God for a safe trip, then speed and run lights. We need to do our part. Jesus refused to jump off the temple roof to prove who he was. Satan took a good scripture from Psalm and tried to distort it. Jesus wouldn't allow it.
The third temptation was to worship another god. The first Commandment tells us plainly not to do this under any circumstance. If we get our fulfillment from the world instead of from God, we are giving in to this temptation. If we worship or create any idol, including materialism, we are giving in to this temptation. For Jesus, the temptation was to become the political leader his peers wanted him to become. He knew he had a higher purpose. He knew he was to become a suffering Messiah. He couldn't let Satan pull him off course. Jesus was determined to do God's will at any cost.
So how do we defeat these temptations? The same way Jesus did. First, we notice that he answered Satan with Scripture. The Word of God is our only offensive weapon against the devil. We must know the Scripture. Second, know how much God loves us. When we understand this, we can wait for his provision. We can walk by faith when we know how much God truly loves us. And third, understand that our purpose is to walk with God. Jesus could overcome these temptations because he understood his purpose and would not let anything detract him from it.