Temptation of Jesus

Temptation of Jesus? The Bible clearly states the Jesus was tested ineverything, like us, but He did not sin in anything. Matthew 4 and Luke 4 provide us with the story of Jesus in the wilderness being tested by the devil. Some say the three temptations in Matthew are the same as those in Luke; some argue that there were actually two sets of 3 temptations each, but once I heard a man of God I respect extremely much – Dr. Jonathan David, pull out a 12 fold temptation of Jesus out of these texts, e.g. each of the three main temptations carried in themselves several other other important nuances of temptations, which we will do well if we learn from. Let me try to briefly bless you with this practical revelation in this article:

1) The temptation of food / satisfying the needs of the flesh - Just like Jesus, we have the power to satisfy our physical longings. We work, we receive wages and we have the power to turn money into food and other commodities. But if we work only for that, we will receive the same reproof from Jesus, as the people in John 6:27

”Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.” Therefore, we need to get rid of our bad spending habits, because they may destroy our bodies, our work and our very life, which we must give wholly to do God’s will. That’s exactly why Jesus answered that temptation by saying: ”It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

2) The temptation to disobey - That was a general temptation of Jesus, through which the devil wanted to make Jesus fall in the exact same way Adam and Eve fell. Stones, bread and all the other things the devil tried to use on Jesus were just means, the main purpose being to make Jesus disobey His Father, or at least partially do so, because any obedience that is not complete (e.g. partial obedience), is actually disobedience.

3) The temptation to exert His position - The enemy will always try to tempt us to use whatever position we may have, for sordid gain. We can’t allow ourselves to use the position that God has given to us, for our own agenda and benefit. We must be humble, knowing our restrictions and borders in God.

TEMPTATION OF JESUS AND HOW TO OVERCOME IT

4) The temptation of seeing the glory of the Earthly kingdom without being enslaved by it - When we see the glory of the kingdoms of the world, we must not be lured by them. We must have the ability to see all the glory and yet not be tempted by it. We need to be grateful for everything that the Lord has given to us. When we are grateful, we always remember things twice – once when we receive the gift and another time when we remember it. These words by apostle Paul summarize this point so well: ”Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:11-13)

5) The temptation of abusing Power, Authority and Domain - When the Lord gives us something to operate under our authority and domain, we must make sure that we give our best towards it. Whatever is given to us must be returned to the Lord in a better state. What He has sown in us as a seed, must grow into a large plant. One of the greatest temptation is to do the least when we have the ability to do the best.

6) The temptation of having status before man and not stature before God - So many times we try to do things so that we can gain status before man. Our stature before God is the first thing that we need to seek. We must make sure that God gets the glory, as Jesus did by answering the devil properly, always turning His focus and attention to God.

TEMPTATION OF JESUS AND HOW TO OVERCOME IT

7) The temptation of robbing God of True Worship - We must give God quality time. He is our life and our passion. This must not be only in words, but mostly, in action. Jesus gave the devil a good lesson by clearly stating that we are to worship ONLY the Lord and Serve Him only. The devil knew what Jesus was talking about, because once he was in the Presence of the Lord, worshipping Him. Now he lost all this and is trying his best to make us be just shallow worshippers, lacking the Spirit and the Truth Jesus was talking about in John 4:23-24.

The temptation of serving without the spirit of sonship - In connection with point 7, religious serving is without joy. When we serve we need to serve with the attitude of a servant and most of all – as sons and daughters of our Father.

9) The temptation of falling into hype, extremism and emotionalism - We don’t want to stir the soulish aspects of people. We need to give them substance. All our expressions must have some substance behind it. Jesus always carried with Himself that substance and that’s what made the people amazed, because they could see the different level of authority in Him, in comparison with the other religious leaders.

TEMPTATION OF JESUS AND HOW TO OVERCOME IT

10) The temptation of misquoting Scripture - The devil quoted the Scripture, but always took it out of context. He is continuing in this direction even today, so let us beware of this.

11) The temptation to abuse spiritual privileges and intimacy - There are some things that happen between us and God, that can’t be shared with others. In every intimate relationship there are some things that need to stay within the confines of the relationship. We can’t use and abuse the privileges that God has entrusted to us.

12) The temptation of keeping the devil near us when he should be leaving us - Let us live a ‘devil free life’. With every temptation of Jesus, Jesus drove the devil out with His wordimmediately. After the wilderness period, every time a demon manifested through somebody, Jesus told it to shut up and did not get preoccupied with it at all. Instead, He cast it out right away. We should not give the devil ANY place.

I believe the above blessed you and gave you a clear revelation of the areas we should keep ourselves and how we can overcome any temptation – the way Jesus did – through His Word and through focusing His entire attention to God and God’s will and purpose.

God Bless You!

Nikola 


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