The water from the Jordan River slowly trickled off our Lord’s wet hair. The hot, wilderness sand glued itself to His damp, walking feet. Behind Him, the well-known river snaked along. Before Him, the ancient serpent lay in wait.
Still wet with baptismal water, Jesus boldly goes into the desert of temptation. This is when heaven and hell will exchange blows in thedesertofJudea. And in the heavenly realm, you could have heard a pin drop.
You are tempted to view this coming battle as a spectator, as an outsider. You want to shout and cheer for your Big Brother. You want Jesus to blacken the eye of Satan and kick Him back into Hades. But you aren’t a fan in the stands.
In the person of Jesus, humanity goes toe-to-toe with the heavyweight champion of hell. When this one Man enters the ring with the tempter, you and I step in with Him. Why? It’s because, through Satan’s first temptation, all people fell in Adam’s fall. And so now in Christ, we go toe-to-toe with the tempter. You and I are not in the audience. You are in the desert because you are in Christ.
So, there’s the devil, hearing the Father’s sermon at the baptism of His Son, Jesus. He watches Jesus go into the desert. He watches Jesus fast. He sees him hunger. And he devises a plan of attack.
The other Gospel writers record that “the tempter came to [Jesus] and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread’” (Matthew 4:3). Do you hear Satan? He is saying, “If the voice from the cloud is true, why then has God left you to die of starvation? Why is He depriving you of the basic needs of life?” And so, Satan, hungry for victory, has swung his fist at the hungry belly of our Lord.
Yet, no more had the punch been made before it was blocked. But it wasn’t human strength, willpower, or cutting words that blocked the blow. It was the Word of God. Jesus answered and quoted Scripture: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
And the word that came from God was, “You are my Son, whom I love. With you, I am well-pleased.” Keep this in mind. The temptation wasn’t simply to turn rocks into food. Satan tried to lure Jesus to turn from the trustworthy words of His Father to the fickle feelings of the human heart. But instead of turning stones into bread, Jesus stuffed the stone of His Father’s Word into the devil’s deceiving mouth.
And that same satanic mouth has dropped such doubting thoughts into your own suffering heart. How so? Remember your baptism. Then, the Father also said: “You are my son, my daughter, whom I love. With you, I am well-pleased.” But does it always seem so?
When the bills pile up, have you wondered what use is the Father’s grace if you don’t have the money to pay what you owe? If He loves you, why does He allow the fallen world to harm you? Why does He allow you to become ill? If God is gracious, then why am I so miserable? And so you are tempted to fall into despair; perhaps, even into unbelief!
Yet, as it was with Jesus, so also is it with you. Satan is trying to lure you to turn from the trustworthy words of your Father to the fickle feelings of your human heart. Don’t trust yourself; trust your Father. If He sent His own Son to the cross, don’t fool yourself into thinking that He will spare you from your crosses, sufferings, and pains.
But know this: behind those masks of suffering is the face of your beloved Father. The Lord disciplines those whom He loves for their eternal well-being (Hebrews 12:6). In love, God is bringing you, cross by cross, suffering by suffering, to the glory of the resurrection.
So, after failing miserably in his earlier assault, Satan circles his opponent, planning his next attack. As Matthew records:
Then the devil took [Jesus] to the holy city and had him stand on the top of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘God will put his angels in charge of you,’ and ‘they will hold you up in their hands, so you will not strike your foot against a stone’” (Matthew 4:5-6).
Is the devil simply trying to break our Lord’s neck? No, he is far more sinister than that. He is saying:
You claim that you are God’s Son, in whom He is well-pleased. If that’s so, if you are so well-pleasing to Your Father, then He should do anything to protect you. So, prove that! Throw yourself down from theTemple. Why, God has even said that He will protect you with His angels. You rely on His Word, don’t You? So, take Him at His Word and fly, O wingless Son of God!
Do you see the arrogant presumption of Satan in this temptation? This temptation is to abandon the faith and live by sight. And living by sight wants to deny the crosses in the Christian life. Yet, Scripture tells us otherwise.
Scripture says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for, the proof of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). And again, “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Living by sight tempts you to replace faith for glory, which tells you that if you have God’s favor, He will always shower you with earthly blessings.
But Jesus doesn’t take the bait. He knows that He must walk by faith and not deny the crosses He is called to bear. Jesus knows that true blessings and glory await God’s own in eternity, not necessarily here in this fallen world. Jesus refuses to walk by sight and will, instead, live by faith. He refuses to judge His status with God by how many crosses He removes from His life. So, Jesus stands His ground.
Satan now tastes defeat in these first two rounds with our Lord. He then steps forward for one final and climactic effort. In the first temptation, the devil held hunger and pain before the face of Jesus. In this third temptation, Satan holds prosperity and delight before Jesus.
The devil knew that Jesus knew what sufferings awaited Him. So, the devil said, in essence:
Because you are God’s Son, you deserve better than this miserable life. You know you deserve riches, honor, and glory. After all, you are God’s Son. And I can give all that to you. Yes, I’ll give you that and more–if only you will get on your knees and worship me!
But our Lord didn’t come to seek wealth, fame, and glory. He came to serve. He came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for the many–even to be your ransom. He came to “fear, love, and trust in God above all else,” and in so doing, to fulfill the Law for you. So Jesus said, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him’” (Matthew 4:10).
Do you see what our Lord has done in His conquest of Satan and all his temptations? He has reversed the fall of the first man and has, instead, brought a new humanity into Life. Jesus has made Himself the new Adam. The first Adam bore in his body the seeds of death. But Jesus, the second Adam, bears in His body true and everlasting life.
What you could not do, Christ has done for you. Christ has defeated the tempter whom you could never defeat on your own. For you, Jesus has created a new beginning, something you could never create on your own.
In the Garden of Eden, the ancient serpent overcame the first Adam. But in the wasteland of the Judean wilderness, Jesus triumphed over the temptations of the evil one. Jesus has broken every fiery dart that Satan has hurled His way. Heaven and hell stood toe-to-toe, and Jesus left the Devil crawling in the dust.
The Lord Jesus fought this battle for you. His victory over the devil is your victory. For all that Christ carried out has been credited to you as your own. So, when you fall prey to the temptations of Satan, flee to the One who defeated him. For the enticements of evil cannot harm those who are living in Christ Jesus. Yes, in Adam you died in sin–but, in the obedient Christ, you live!
Repent and return to Christ. Leave the old Adam and the death he brings. Come to the new Adam, who is full of life. He will receive and embrace you as His own. For the One who let the Devil tempt Him is never tempted to turn away from you. His baptism is your baptism. His conquering of sin is your conquering of sin. His crucifixion, His resurrection, and His ascension are yours.
What belongs to the head belongs to the body. By faith, you belong to the body of Christ. You are a living member of that Man who is also God–the One in whom you have the life of the Father in the Holy Spirit.
And so we ask our Father, “Lead us not into temptation.” We ask that He, instead, lead us into the One who conquered the tempter for us, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
