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| The Temptations of Jesus Christ |
According to the Bible, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
The devil, which is also called Satan, was described in the Bible as the one who likes to test human. The devil’s objection is to get human to live in their way rather than God’s way.
Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden in the beginning of history and he was succeeding there. Human race fell into sin since then. Unlike most people think about Satan as being only a symbol of evil, the Bible clearly teaches that Satan is a real spiritual being. And as the opponent of Heaven Satan constantly fights against those who follow and obey God.
Jesus will one day reign over all creation, but Satan tried to force His hand and get Him to declare His kingship prematurely. If Jesus had given in, his mission on earth – to die for our sins and give us the opportunity to have eternal life – would have been lost.
This temptation by the devil shows us that Jesus was human, and it gave Jesus the opportunity to reaffirm God’s plan for his ministry.
One important thing that differentiates us and Jesus is that even though Jesus was tempted by the devil, He never sinned.
The devil’s temptations upon Jesus focused on three crucial areas, they are:
- Physical needs and desires
- Possessions and power
- Pride
Jesus did not give in to these temptations. Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus “has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.”
Jesus was able to resist all of the devil’s temptations because He not only knew Scripture, but He also obeyed it.
Temptation is often the combination of a real need and a possible doubt that create an inappropriate desire. Jesus demonstrates both the importance and effectiveness of knowing and applying Scripture to combat temptation.
