EnjoyingtheBible

Temptations
The Three Recorded Temptations of Jesus

Kah Wor 8/19/2013

The Three Recorded Temptations of Jesus

Jesus the Man was tempted in the wilderness when He was at His weakest, physically; when circumstances were most dire. Today, are we not living in the wilderness of the world? Are we not faced with the same three temptations every now and then? Remember the devil withdrew only to wait for a more opportune time to tempt Jesus the Man. [Luke 4:13]. And Bible says that Jesus the Man was tempted in every aspect but sinned not [Hebrews 4:15]. Again Scriptures say that Jesus has resisted temptations to the point of having to shed His Own Blood [Hebrews 12:4]. When scriptures say that we have not resisted to the point of having to shed our own blood, it would mean that Jesus did. We will be tempted. That is for sure. The question remains then. Since Jesus was tempted so many numerous times, why were only three such temptations being recorded in the Bible? I believe God recorded the responses of Jesus as examples for us to follow. It is my conviction that the three recorded temptations are the very same ones we would encounter while sojourning in this world. We will walk in victory over those temptations when we respond to them in the same way our Saviour did. The following rendition of the scriptures represents my personal take on them. It may not rest well with some readers. But I appeal to such that we maintain our fellowship based on the precious Blood of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus the Christ.

EnjoyingtheBible | Temptations

Temptation#1 The Devil Jesus the Christ Then the devil said to Him, If You are And Jesus replied to him, It is written, the Son of God, order this stone to turn Man shall not live and be sustained by into a loaf [of bread]. [Luke 4:3] (on) bread alone but by every word and expression of God. [Luke 4:4] My Rendition The Devil Me If you a child of God, turn this negative I do not live my life by circumstances situation around. but by the Word of God. First, the devil will never remind me that I am the beloved child of God. Next, stone is dead. To me, it represents the dead or negative circumstances in my life. The stone denotes the cares, concerns, worries and anxieties of the world. The devil uses those to choke the word. Mark 4:19 says that Then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless. Riches or wealth is deceitful in that they give a pseudo sense of assurance. John 2:16 says that the pride of life refers to assurance in ones own resources or in the stability of earthly things. Is it any wonder that God says He will yet once more shake the earth and the heaven in order that what cannot be shaken may remain and continue? [Hebrews 12:26-27, Isaiah 13:13]. If I have placed my trust or assurance on earthly things, God will shake them out of my life so that I will learn to trust in Him completely. And that brings us to the next temptation.

EnjoyingtheBible | Temptations

Temptation#2 The Devil Jesus the Christ Then the devil took Him up to a high And Jesus replied to him, Get behind mountain and showed Him all the Me, Satan! It is written, You shall do kingdoms of the habitable world in a homage to and worship the Lord your moment of time [in the twinkling of an God, and Him only shall you serve. eye]. And he said to Him, To You I will [Luke 4:8]. give all this power and authority and their glory (all their magnificence, excellence, pre-eminence, dignity, and grace), for it has been turned over to me, and I give it to whomever I will. Therefore if You will do homage to and worship me [just once], it shall all be Yours. [Luke 4:5-7]. My Rendition The Devil Me Serve money and all power shall be No one can serve two masters; for yours. Cash is king! either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in). [Matthew 6:24]. Satan tempted Jesus the Man with power, not money. But today, we equate power with money for money can make the world go round. It is interesting to note that Jesus the Man called the tempter satan only in this temptation. And satan is defined as the accuser [Source]. What was the tempter accusing God? It brought to my mind how the tempter tempted Adam through Eve in Genesis 3:4-5, But the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die, For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity. I see the carrot in Genesis 3:4-5 as power. He was trying to tempt the last Adam [Jesus the Man] with power just as he did with Adam through Eve. [Genesis 3:4-5]. To me, there was a suggestion or insinuation that God was withholding that power from us. But it is written that as Jesus is, so am I in this world [1 John 4:17]. And Jesus the Christ is far above all principalities and powers [Ephesians 1:21]. Today, when I cast all of my cares on Jesus because I know He cares for me [1 Peter 5:7], I live in the Garden of Eden (i.e. Delight) [Psalms 1:1-3]. And God has already given me the greatest power in the world; the power of His great and unfailing love for me by the blessed Holy Spirit. He Who lives in me is greater than he who is in the world. [1 John 4:4]. EnjoyingtheBible | Temptations 4

Temptation#3 The Devil Jesus the Christ Then he took Him to Jerusalem and set And Jesus replied to him, [The Him on a gable of the temple, and said Scripture] says, You shall not tempt (try, to Him, If You are the Son of God, cast test exceedingly) the Lord your God. Yourself down from here; [Luke 4:12] For it is written, He will give His angels charge over you to guard and watch over you closely and carefully; And on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. [Luke 4:9-11]. My Rendition The Devil Me Since you are a child of God and He Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with has forgiven all of your sins, go ahead and presume upon and despise and and do whatever you like. underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and longsuffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant [of the fact] that Gods kindness is intended to lead you to repent (to change your mind and inner man to accept Gods will)? [Romans 2:1-4]. To me, this temptation alludes to reckless living. Being under grace and having my entire sins forgiven do not give me a licence to sin. I have been sinning without any licence. Jesus the Man, the only Beloved Son of God, was hung on the Cross as a lump of bloody torn tissues without any human form [Isaiah 53:2]. He was there precisely because of what I am about to do or am already doing. The only reason I can ignore that is because I dont believe that as real. When I can begin to see Him in that bloody form right in front of me as I am doing any sinful thing, I will begin to pull the brakes. Is this what it means to believe in the heart? [Romans 10:9-13]. When I can see the Lord on the Cross in that bloody form telling me, I am here because of what you are about to do, how can I ever proceed to do it? Now I can understand what some Christian writers meant when they wrote, How can anyone sin against such great love? Now I can better appreciate what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 6:1-2, What shall we say [to all this]? Are we to remain in sin in order that Gods grace (favour and mercy) may multiply and overflow? Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?

EnjoyingtheBible | Temptations