Satan's Timing: Jesus' Battle With Temptation

Introduction:

When considering Jesus and His identity, we must never forget that He was God in the flesh, but with that experience of being in the flesh, meant that He was tempted like as we are yet without sin.

Jesus demonstrated perfect and complete obedience that seems unfathomable to us today.

However, that reveals more about us than what we may feel comfortable with acknowledging. In reality, we need to see how Jesus overcame the devil’s temptations and work to model Christ’s obedience.

Sin is something that should be avoided at all costs and there is no better example to turn to than Jesus in His overcoming temptation.

The Devil’s Tactics

Luke shows us that Jesus was not only tempted with three temptations. Jesus was being tempted for forty days -

Luke 4:2 NASB95

for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry.

It is best to read these temptations as the best of the best.

The devil is trying to shoot the moon and go all out. He’s pulling out all the tricks in his bag—or at least the best ones.

By seeing Jesus’s defeat of Satan, we see what the devil is doing in these situations. We learn more about the enemy in this passage as well.

Similar to how a football coach will watch game film of their opponent to look for weaknesses to exploit, we need to see what the devil is doing to try to get Jesus to sin.

Satan’s methodology:

The devil looks for the times where pride may cause us to stumble -

Often after our greatest spiritual victories, the devil will try to play upon our pride.

The devil appeals to our flesh -

The most obvious test was to begin with what Jesus would have wanted and needed most — food!

Our physical, fleshly cravings for food, sex, companionship may be the strongest desires we have to overcome - ;

1 Thessalonians 4:3–5 NASB95

For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

Galatians 5:19 NASB95

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,

They are natural and good when used for the glory of God. Yet, they can also be used in a wrong/sinful way.

Also, if the devil is able to get us to fall by appealing to our flesh then it also provides a quick and easy victory. Not much work is required.

I think this is why the devil turns to this one first.

Satan abuses the word of God -

One of the things that makes the devil such a powerful foe is that he knows our Scriptures!

He knows the Bible well enough to actually try to use it against God Himself!

This certainly shows the devil’s own pride, but it should serve as a warning to us. If Satan feels that comfortable using the Scriptures, then he may very easily deceive us!

What the devil does is twists and distorts the promises God makes -

Psalm 91:11–12 NASB95

For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone.

The psalmist expresses complete trust and obedience to God - vv. 1-2

God commits himself to protecting believers completely - vv. 9-10

Our God certainly promises protection from danger, but He is not considering the situation where the believer is willfully endangering themselves trying to tests the limits of God’s goodness and protection.

To behave in a way that would test God would be reckless and careless, it is to behave ungodly and prove oneself to be disloyal to God -

This would be comparable to going up on the Empire State Building, jumping off and quoting that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (). Don’t willfully do something that would be contrary to God’s promises and expect God to act in a way that would help you.

We do this too often in our prayers. We think of prayer as something where God will just give us whatever we ask and expect Him to make everything better.

The devil makes a mockery of God’s redemptive plan -

Jesus would have wanted to obtain the allegiance of all the kingdoms of men. That was why He came to earth, to preach the kingdom of God.

Jesus could have obtained that if He would just worship Satan.

Whether or not the devil could have fulfilled this is immaterial, the temptation is built upon a deception—all that matters was if Jesus would have fallen for such a deception.

The devil is offering Jesus the easy way out—which is what makes this a powerful temptation. This would have avoided preaching and being rejected. It would avoid public debate. It would avoid betrayal by a companion and friend. It would avoid pain and suffering through crucifixion.

The devil always looks for the easy way and makes it appealing to us.

Jesus came here to seek and save the lost which He knew meant going to the cross. Thankfully Jesus did not fall for the devil’s snare.

Satan will give us a break for only a short time -

Luke 4:13 NASB95

When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

He may know we’re too strong for him at the moment, but that does not mean we let our guard down.

He will return with more temptations.

Jesus’s Resolve and Commitment

Since we have studied what the devil did in these temptations, how did Jesus overcome? How was He victorious? Now we want to see what made Jesus different from everyone else that the devil had encountered.

Jesus knew the word of God - , ,

Each of these were from the book of Deuteronomy, the law of Moses.

Jesus had clearly spent time reading and meditating on the law and how it applied to Him - ; ;

Moses was addressing Israel as they prepared to go into the promised land. Yet, Jesus was gleaning from those instructions to see how He should live and face the trials that were before Him.

Do you know the story of Israel as well as Jesus did? Do you spend time reading these stories and just leave it as “I don’t understand it...” If so, you’re not reading the Bible the way Jesus did.

Christ read the stories and knew them well enough to quote them and use them in temptation.

He used the best tool at His disposal. He put the word of God in His heart so He may not sin against God -

Psalm 119:9–11 NASB95

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. 10 With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. 11 Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

Jesus had given His heart exclusively to God -

Christ knew that He should worship the Lord and serve Him “only.”

No one else had the rights to Jesus.

No one else has the rights over us. We don’t had the right to just do whatever we want to do.

Our entire life and existence is to be rooted in service to God. And only God.

Jesus told Satan to “go!” -

There may be a time/season in our lives where we are faced with temptations for a regular time.

But we do not have to get used to those temptations (in fact, if we do, it may be an indication that we are about to cave to the temptations).

We should get fed up with the devil’s tactics and temptations.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray in a way that would bring deliverance, safety, and protection from the evil one -

We should pray to avoid temptation -

With every temptation there is a way of escape -

We should never feel comfortable with temptation. We should never try to inch as close to the line as we possibly can without crossing the line of sin. We should tell Satan to go! -

James taught us to resist the devil -

Conclusion:

The devil will try to get all of us to sin and fall short of God’s standard.

Yet Jesus shows us the way to overcome temptation and defeat Satan.

Temptation will