Satan tempts Christ

Jesus was "led by the Spirit into the wilderness" to be tempted by Satan. So for forty days and forty nights our Lord fasted. Satan comes to Jesus, at His weakened human nature, and tempts Him. He had not eaten nothing and was hungry, so the evil one uses this opportunity for a way of attacking Christ's humanity. While the Bible records 3 times Satan tempts Jesus during his time in the wilderness, there were probably many more according to how it is written in Luke 4:2. The three that is recorded during this time frame: Turning stone into bread, the Kingdoms of the world, and the Pinnacle of the Temple.

Luke 4:3-4 The Devil says, "command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him saying, it is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." Jesus had been fasting and had not eaten. Obviously this would have been such a challenge for many of us. Jesus example of resisting and trusting God through the fast, only strengthens us spiritually and allows us to draw closer to our Father.

Luke 4:5-6 "And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, all this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it." Satan is the "father of lies", but in this passage of scripture he makes an accurate claim, in that those things were given to him by God and of course he is limited to what he can do based on God's authority. If these claims wasn't true, there would not be much of a temptation. Its also interesting that Satan makes another true statement in verse 3, acknowledging that Jesus was the Son of God.

Satan's attempts to cause doubt in our Savior by showing Him alternatives to God's plan, failed. Jesus used scripture to combat Satan's temptations. We should take note of Jesus' examples of fighting temptations and rely on God, trusting that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond our limits. God provides a way out.

Hebrews 4:12 + 14-16

Some Christians believe that Jesus was never tempted to sin. This doctrine is known as the impeccability of Christ.

The word tempt there refers to test, similar to how God tempted Abraham regarding sacrificing his son.

God allowed Satan to test Jesus that he was indeed pure gold, he had no fleshly nature that we have that would ever result in any temptation working.

Can you just imagine what would of happened if Jesus gave in the anything the devil offered. He would of sinned, and lost his authority and he wouldnt be able to die for the sins of the world, to say the least. That would of been the least of his problems.

Luke 17:20-37

New International Version

*** *** ***
The Coming of the Kingdom of God
20 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”[a]
22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. 24 For the Son of Man in his day[b] will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.” [36] [c]
37 “Where, Lord?” they asked.
He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”
*** *** ***

Jesus Christ was the "Son of Man", a human being subject to temptation by Satan just like everybody else.

Jesus Christ defeated Satan:
https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_1326.cfm

As a human being, Jesus Christ fully understands our pain. God sent him to teach us how to suffer for God by doing the right thing instead of giving in to Satan by doing the wrong thing. Resisting temptation is difficult work that all followers of the Lord enjoy.

Today much of the USA Church is falling for this part...

And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” (Luk 4:5-7) (Think Ebay / Amazon)

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
(1Jn 2:15)

...........and, while He was "fully man," He ALSO was FULLY GOD! You do know that, right?

Philippians, Chapter 2:

5) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7) But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8) And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9) Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Temptation of our Lord Jesus in the wilderness sheds much light and exhorts us all.

If we study the four gospels, except for the Book of John, the main theme that our Lord taught was "the Kingdom". By the "Kingdom (of Heaven, or of God), Christ meant the recovery of man to be in the Likeness and Image of God (Rom.8:29), and to subdue and rule this earth (Gen.1:26-28, Rom.4:13). The Adversary (the meaning of the word Satan) is an angel, and he is called "Prince of this world" by our Lord Jesus Himself (Jn.12:31, 14:30, 16:11). Man was not made to go to heaven. He was made to subdue and exercise rule over any Adversary who tries to rebel or usurp rule on this earth. So, the Kingdom (OUT) OF Heaven is simply when the rules that apply in heaven are enforced on earth, and the Kingdom (out) of God is when God's will is exercised and enforced on earth, as it is in heaven.

Man was made as an adversary to Satan. They are arch enemies. The prize is this beautiful earth and its GOVERNMENT. So man is "SAVED" for the Kingdom. His sin and sins are put away so that he will not land in jail, but be worthy to rule. He is born again for the Kingdom (Jn.3:3-5). He is endued with eternal life so that he might bring rule to earth that is God-like. The whole process of rebirth of the spirit, transformation, or sanctification of the soul and resurrection of the body is to equip men to rule like Christ would. Satan, who seems to be the previous Governer of this earh (Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28), deceived man into disobeying God and incurring the loss of his status as ruler. Luke 4:6 gives an interesting insight. "And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it."

Our Lord did not contradict nor correct Satan. And calling Satan the Prince of this world seems to confirm that Satan is in possession of the Kingdoms of this world. And our Lord Jesus came to subdue Satan and rip the Kingdom from him and return it to His Father - the Maker and rightful Owner and King of the earth (see 1st Cor.15:22-28). But because God is 100% righteous, there was no short cut to this goal. Sin and sins had to be accounted for - for God does not wink at the smallest of sins. So the WAY to the Kingdom was very rocky for our Lord Jesus. He had to go through a process where He would be lashed and buffeted ("afflicted" - Isa.53:4) and carry the full brunt of the just deserts of every sin ever committed - a truly terrible road to travel. AND SATAN OFFERED HIM A WAY OUT!

The WAY that our Lord Jesus VOLUNTARILY took entailed THREE things

1. His flesh would be truly taxed unto death
2. His name and reputation would be trashed
3. He would have to wait another 2,000 years for His rightful place as King of the earth

And so Satan tempted Him in these THREE WAYS

1. He tempted our Lord Jesus to SATISFY the FLESH. If Satan could get a hungry man, who had power over bread, to eat, why, to get Him to avoid the cross would be a breeze
2. He tempted our Lord Jesus to claim His fame. Jesus is God, but He is also the most famous of all creation. In heaven He sits equal with God. If Satan could get Him to claim His fame, it would be a breeze to keep Him from the humiliation set before Him
3. He tempted our Lord Jesus with avoiding the horrible road He was about to take for the Kingdom. He could have it without pain and loss. He could take it at the hand of the Prince of this world and save Himself AND STILL BE KING.

THE TEMPTATION WAS GRIEVOUS! Everything that would be a major issue could have been resolved by Jesus just saying "YES!" But He never wavered. Why? Because He had a MIND SET. His MIND was set on pleasing His Father and OBEYING His will. Philippians 2:5-9 tells it all;

5 "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name"

Christ's MIND was set on

1. His death - a gruesome death on the cross
2. His humiliation - from equality to the glorious God of the universe seated in the heavenlies, to a battered and bleeding CRIMINAL, slaughtered by His own subjects
3. His exaltation. It would be God Who gave Him the Kingdom, and the Name, and the Fame and the Glory

And this MIND should be in us Christians

• We are commanded, if we are to follow Christ, to carry OUR cross DAILY. That is, for the sake of the Kingdom set before us, we must be prepared to say no to a morsel of bread, nay, even go to our deaths as martyrs
• We are commanded, if we want to be "conformed" to Christ, that we lay aside our rights, our claims and our reputation
• We are PROMISED, as a reward (i) the JOY of Christ, (ii) to be famous, (iii) to rule with Christ in His Millennial Kingdom, (iv) to enjoy the Wedding Feast with Christ, and (v) to to be co-inheritors with Christ of this beautiful and wealthy earth (Rom.4:13, 8:17)

And how then was EVE tempted?

1. The lust of the flesh - the fruit was good to taste and eat
2. The pride of life - the Tree was assumed to make one wise
3. The lust of the eyes - the Tree was good to look on, so are the kingdoms of this world

And how are we tempted - by "ALL that is in the world" 1 John 2:16!

1. " ... the lust of the flesh,
2. " ... and the lust of the eyes,
3. " ... and the pride of life,

... is not of the Father, but is of the world.

The Christian, when tempted, is always tempted in one or more of these three areas. The question is, will he take it at Satan's hand, or the Father's??? The REFUSAL of Satan will incur SUFFERING at first, but GLORY at last when the Father gives these things.

I think Satan is doing the very same thing to the church to tempt it away from the truth as Satan did to Christ.

Satan said turn this stone to bread, and it was the truth the Jesus could do just that. Jesus responded with scripture.

Satan said jump from a high place, and Jesus could do just that. He responded with scripture.

Satan offered worldly power, and Satan could arrange that for Christ. Christ responded with scripture.

Satan tells us Mary made a Sunday discovery that Christ had risen, so Satan said it follows that Mary changed the Sabbath. We changed it, not responding with scripture.

Satan said the Law of Moses is abolished, so the ten commandments are no more. We didn't respond with scripture.

Satan said the new covenant wiped out the old one, so don't listen to anything told of on Mt Sinai. We didn't respond with scripture.