Following his baptism, the Spirit of God led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil for forty days. There are three avenues where temptation finds access to human nature to provoke us to sin. John records these in his first epistle and all of our sins tend to find their expression through these portals. He writes “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (I John 2:16). The devil thought it possible to lead Jesus to sin by tempting him in these three areas. The short answer is that he failed.
He first tempted Christ along the lust of the flesh by suggesting that our Lord turn the stones into bread to satisfy his hunger. Failing in his first attempt, Satan appealed to the lust of the eyes by showing Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. If Christ would only worship him, he could have them all. Again, the devil failed. In both instances our Lord relied on the Scriptures to overcome the temptation presented.
In his last attempt, the devil sought to stir the pride of life. “Then the devil taketh him [Jesus] up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, if thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matthew 4:5-7).
Satan’s thinking was along these lines. Surey, Christ could rely on his special and unique position as the only begotten Son of God for the Father’s protection. But our Lord relied again on the Scriptures which affirm that we must not put God to the test. It did not belong to Christ to make the Father responsive to him, but to submit himself to the Father’s will.
We struggle in these same three areas that are common to all mankind, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. We are no better than our progenitors. “And when the woman [Eve] saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the furth thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Genesis 3:6).
The Lord could not sin and proved himself sinless by overcoming all three of Satan’s invitations to act independent of the Father’s will. Consequently, Jesus knows how to deliver us from temptation. “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:17-18; emphasis added).
Are you struggling with sin? Jesus knows how to deliver. He alone gives victory. As the old hymn says, “He breaks the power of cancelled sin and sets the prisoner free.”
From the Chaplain 