Matthew 4:1-11
Satan is crafty and he is all over our weaknesses. So we need to be prepared to deal with all the temptations that come our way. And believe me, I do mean "all" and they will come--head on, subtle, big, small. Temptation is just part of life.
Ok, now to some good news. Temptation is beatable...It's manageable...It's defeatable! I know that because Jesus overcame temptation in Matthew 4:1-11. So if we draw on Jesus' strength and His power and then pair that with His example here, we can overcome too.
So how does knowing that Jesus was tempted encourage and help us as we face our own temptations? What tactics or strategies did you see in Matthew 4:1-11 that you might use moving forward? Tami W.
Jesus was tempted by Satan himself... I don't think I have ever been tempted by the devil himself, maybe one of his cohorts, but not the devil himself. The other observation is this is not tempting to Jesus if he had no interest in it, so Jesus had a desire for these temptations in his body. All of these temptations were an area where Satan thought he could defeat Jesus, in some way or another. This shows the humanity of Christ and his total leading and surrendering to the Holy Spirit in the his day to day life. WOW!!
Several things jump out at me in this scripture. First- Jesus was led by the Spirit, this is an important fact. It proved how completely God planned His Son's physical presence on earth to give us an example of our need to depend on his power to overcome.
satan used Jesus physical condition , hunger and pride of His position as the cared for-Son of God, to bait him into action to prove His power.
The humorus part of all this to me is Jesus was/is complete in all that satan required. Jesus knew beyond any shadow of doubt who He is and what His mission for mankind was/is. To apply Jesus stand to our life today I am reminded that I must have NO doubts as to who my Lord & Savior is and the confidence that He will keep me according to His perfect will. I thank God for understanding my weakness and the assurance of His power to overcome all things.
Linda
HI TAMI
SINCE JESUS WAS TEMPTED THEN WHO ARE WE TO BELIEVE THAT WE WILL OR SHOULD NOT BE TEMPTED? SATAN HAS NO RESPECT FOR ANYONE. IN FACT THE MORE WE TRY TO FOLLOW CHRIST, THE MORE THE ENEMY COMES AFTER US.
I FEEL THAT BY GOD'S GRACE THE MORE WE ARE ATTACKED BY THE ENEMY THEN, THE STRONGER WE SHOULD BECOME AFTER EACH ATTACK BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT SATAN IS PAYING ATTENTION TO US BECAUSE WE ARE ENDEAVORING TO TRAVEL THE RIGHT PATH.
WE NEED TO BECOME MORE IMMERSED IN THE WORD OF GOD BECAUSE THIS IS A STRONG WEAPON WHICH CHRIST USED THREE TIMES IN HIS ENCOUNTER WITH THE DEVIL. LET US CONTINUE TO WATCH AND PRAY FOR EACH OTHER IN JESUS THE CHRIST.
REGARDS IN CHRIST
CECIL
This scripture shows how Jesus was fully man and was fully God. This means that He was tempted as we are (hunger, etc.), but that He could have defeated Satan with the power only God could wield. However, in his infinite wisdom, Jesus used the Word to turn away Satan as this showed us that we can also bring forth the power of God in this way and turn away the temptation brought forth by the evil one. This gives me strength, but also shows me how wide the chasm is that I need to fill by being in the Word more. Hence, I have just joined P4 as it looks like a great format for "Bible engagement" to improve my ability to "write His Word on my heart" by a more interactive daily devotion. Thanks for this forum.
Pete
When Jesus was physicaly weak and hungry, Satan presented himself to tempt Him. In my own life I have to remember that Satan tries to take advantage of my weaknesses to lead me away from Jesus. However, this passage shows me that if I am led by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, God will use my weaknesses for His glory by giving me the power to overcome and resist any temptation. My primary defence is the WORD! Jesus said, "It is written...." That is why it is so important that we know what is written and study it so that it becomes ingrained in our hearts.
When I consider the temptations of Christ, it always amazes me that the God of the universe would submit himself to the temptations of one of his creations. It's rather mind boggling to even think about WHO Jesus is and the extraordinary amount of self control that He had in doing so. Especially when it would've been so easy for him to crush Satan right there.
The other thing that this reminds me of, and convicts me of, is the need to really hide His words in my heart and have it on my mind so fast that I can be discerning enough to know when I'm being tempted.
In my former work as a therapist, working with drug addicts in particular, and the 12 steps...I just have to say that all of that work that many people struggling with temptation go through - is way too much, when it would be way EASIER to just hide God's word in your heart and trust Him with their deliverance. (Hopefully that made sense)
I observed that satan temptations are empty because he has no power or control- over anything. His tactics included the promises of worldly desires of the flesh that will leave you unfulfilled. It's so important to know the source of any temptation and to make the mental and physical choice to choose God each and every time because you cannot go wrong. Satan has no power or authority and when he uses deception to yield authority, our only course of action is to run to God.
God has a plan in everything He does from creation onward..Jesus came on earth as man as part of the plan. Jesus' temptation by the devil is another part of the plan. Jesus was "led up of the the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil". Jesus knew His purpose on earth and so did devil. Perhaps satan thought that because Jesus was human then He could be easily tempted to sin as Adam and Eve but Jesus knew no matter how hungry or thirsty He was He would not succumb to any temptation.
I believe God is showing us that as a man, Jesus never sinned while on earth. Could it not be that God is showing us that we can be like Jesus and not succumb to temptation, that He will be there for us just as He was for Jesus? All we have to do is call on His name showing that we really have faith in Him, that we believe in Him and will always trust in and obey His Word.
Nothing to add but awesome, great thoughts everybody. Thanks
They are lot of things we can learn from this scripture,frist never let down ur guard after we have overcome an temptation because the devil never gives up.secondly we need to know the scripture well because the devil know scriptures and he will miscoat it in deceiving us as he does with adam and eve and his attempt with jesus.
I like that Joan does not capitalize the words devil and satan, they need to be made to be as little as possible, small enough to crush under our feet by the power of the Holy Spirit.