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.
It's important to study how Jesus was tempted because the devil tempts us in the same basic ways today. It's also important to see how Jesus defeated the temptations: he fought back with scripture. The Word is our only offense against the devil and some of us only know enough of it to fight back against an army with a water gun.
Jesus' three temptations were to turn the stones into bread, to throw himself from the temple and force angels to catch him, and to set up an earthly kingdom. The first two had to do with misusing his power and proving who he was too soon. The third dealt with taking the easy way out.
Satan hit Jesus in a weakened state. That's how he operates; he searches for our weaknesses and hits us there. Jesus was hungry and could have easily ended his fast by turning the stones into bread. But that would have meant he used his power for his own gain. That is still a major temptation for us today: to do things our way instead of God's way.
The second temptation was to quickly prove who he was. But this would have forced God's hand. It's not fair to jump off a building and expect God to rescue us. We trust God in all things, but we don't foolishly test him (Deuteronomy 6:16). Many of us today live recklessly and expect God to save us from our actions. That's not fair and God forbids it – and almost always lets us fall. (Satan may have hoped he could simply get rid of Jesus if he did something so foolish.)
The third temptation was for Jesus to set up the earthly kingdom everyone expected. He could have lived out his earthly life in luxury and avoided the cross. But that wasn't God's plan for him and he knew it. If we opt for a life of ease and thumb our noses at God, are we not worshiping Satan?
Know the Scripture and beat temptation just like Jesus did.
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