CHRIST’S TEMPTATION
by Dr. Richard McNeely Professor of Bible Biola College
T here is no one who has ever lived who has been without temptation. It is important to see how our Sav iour met the devil’s wiles as given to us in the fourth chapters of Matthew and Luke. The Lord had fasted forty days and forty nights. He was physi cally low when the evil one ap proached Him. It’s interesting to see that Mark testifies of these events, “The Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness.” The second Gospel writ er presents Christ as the obedient Son of God, the suffering Servant. Matthew says, “the Spirit led him.” Matthew, presenting the Lord as King, declares, “The Spirit led Him.” Christ was taken into the wilderness to be tested so that His person might be proven and demonstrated to be genuine. It was to show that He cannot sin. No where is it indicated in the slightest that Satan had any power against God’s Son. Christ was not a helpless victim but rather was on the offensive, forcing the devil to try his utmost in temptation. Al though He had been fasting for some days, He could not hunger, for God sustained Him both physically and spiritually (John 4:34). The first temptation was in the sphere of Christ’s humanity and His loyalty to the will of God. What a subtle temptation when Satan sug gested turning stones into bread! Eating isn’t sinful, but normal. Here was a bid for the Lord to act on His own initiative apart from God’s per fect will. If I can put it into your jargon today, it was a temptation to do His own “thing” ; it was a tempta tion that was independent of the Fa ther. Satan reveals his knowledge of the Sonship of Christ for the word if really means since. The devil knew
Jesus had certain rights and certain ly He could satisfy Himself. This shows our enemy’s ever clever lie that happiness comes from gratify ing our fleshly appetites. “Step out of God’s will,” is what Satan is coax ing. “Exercise your own rights as a Son.” Satan didn’t test the deity of Christ, he rather conceded it. But we see the Trinity there in a perfect unity. Christ quotes from Deuter onomy 8:3, pointing out that real contentment comes in submission to the Word and will of God. This is contrary to Satan’s basic philosophy that man is an independent being. Next Christ was tested in the sphere of His Messiahship. In the Holy City, He sat upon a pinnacle of the temple. This was some 450 feet high. It rose up from the great Court of the Gentiles. The devil quoted Psalm 91:11, 12, making this temptation an outgrowth of the first one. He decided very cleverly to use Christ’s trust in God as a means of tempting Him. “Just how much do you trust God?” the enemy confided. What a misconception on Satan’s pa rt! He isn’t omniscient and fortun ately doesn’t know all the thought of God. The Old Testament prophecies in dicated that Messiah would come in the clouds. So what a spectacle this would be if He lowered Himself gently from that height. Why, all the Jews would cry, “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” Christ’s kingdom might come in early. Here again the Lord met the temptation by quoting the Word of God (Deut. 6:16). He testifies, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” To trust someone doesn’t mean that you have to put him to the test. 3
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