Overcoming Temptation 

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” (Matt 4: 1) 

   Matthew 4: 1 – 11, which tells of Satan tempting Jesus to sin, has always been a bit confusing to me.  Why would the devil even try to tempt Jesus?  He knew that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah, true God and true man.  Did he think that the humanity of Jesus could be tempted to sin?  If so, he really isn’t very smart.

   The more I’ve thought about the tempting of Jesus the more I believe it was a means of teaching us, an example to guide us.  Jesus could not be tempted to sin, but we are tempted and fall into sin on a daily basis.  Maybe the lesson is that Satan will never give up trying to overthrow God, in our lives and in the world.  After all, if he would even try to tempt Jesus, he will certainly never quit tempting us.

   Jesus also gave us an example of how to overcome Satan and his temptations.  The devil tried many temptations; to turn stone to bread; to throw Himself down from the rocks, trusting the angels to protect Him.  He even offered Jesus the world’s kingdoms if He would worship Satan.  In each case Jesus answered with scripture.  I believe we are to understand that it is through scripture that we can best rebuke Satan when he comes calling.

   If we don’t know scripture we are at a great disadvantage, it is our best weapon in our battle against the evil one.  When I say we should know scripture it means more than just reading the bible from cover to cover.  It means praying with scripture, studying it, trying to make it alive in our life.  The bible can be a difficult read, but it is the most important book ever written.  Our very souls depend on it. 

Lord, You gave us the answers.

They are in Holy Scripture.

Give us the wisdom to understand.

Give us the strength to live our life by Your word. 

Amen