Matthew 4: the temptations of Christ by Satan
I know this post might seem long, but please give it a read, I myself have learned much while writing it. I have written about the tricks of Satan in the beginning, leaving for the end our defenses.
These verses really spoke to me because they resonate with the true trials we face by Satan. They show us when Satan fights us and they present the hierarchy of his temptations. Finally, we are shown how to overcome them by the example of our Lord.
The first trial Jesus faces occurs after a high point in his (earthly) spiritual life, after 40 days of fasting and praying. It is important to emphasize that Satan did not stop Jesus from making it to the wilderness, nor did he, after Jesus arrived into the wilderness, distract him during his period of fasting. Rather, he waits until Jesus has completed his period of fasting and meditation.
I would think that after I had undergone a period of fasting or closeness with God, Satan would resist me or at least avoid encountering me after a period of sanctification. Surprisingly, this is not so. In fact, it is exactly this time when Satan came to tempt Christ. Well, I might ask, wouldn't God prevent Satan from tempting me after I had shown my dedication to my religious practices? Actually, Matthew tells us, "Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness TO be tempted by the devil". This is a very striking verse; emphasis on the word “to”. Our test is not the fasting and praying and going to church on Sunday, it is our reaction to the trials following such periods, after we are weakened spiritually.
When Satan tempts us, he comes to us in three stages, starting with our most primitive desires and working his way up into our highest facilities.
His first trial is an attack from within our own desires, the things that may not be wrong to us as humans, but are bad for us as Christians. He taps into our most basic desires and tries to reduce us to the mammalian urges we were born into. For me, these desires are lust and desire for wealth. They could also be anger or lack of patience. They are the natural tendencies that are intrinsic to our human nature but drive us away from true fasting and true union with Christ. What would you think this temptation was for Christ after 40 days of fasting? Satan appealed to Christ's physical hunger-- a deep, powerful force within any human being to satisfy a natural human urge, (and in this case a human necessity). Imagine smelling baked bread after 40 days of not eating--I would buckle instantly. The interesting thing here is it seems Satan's offer is good. You're hungry? Have some food! In Adam and Eve's case, Satan said, "You will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil". On this point, Satan did not lie, and it is not in itself a bad thing to know the difference between good and evil. However, what Satan tells us is rarely truth. As Jesus taught us, "he is a liar and the father of lies". The other statement Satan made to Adam and Eve was also truthful, that "You [Eve] will not surely die". It wasn't until Adam and Eve were banished from the garden of Eden that God prevented them from taking fruit from the tree of life and living forever (Gen 3:22). Satan uses these seeming truths and seemingly well-intentioned instructions to drive us away from God. In Adam and Eve’s case, Satan led them to directly disobey God’s instruction, and their actions led to their own banishment and their eventual physical deaths. In Christ’s case, Satan is requesting God to obey Satan and in return heal a pain that has controlling power over most human beings—the hunger of starvation. Of course, our Lord does not succumb to the temptation, and instead fights Satan by his quotation of scriptures, proclaiming that true life proceeds from the Word. (More on overcoming temptation after we walk through the next two levels of temptation).
Thus, the first temptation is a very carnal, worldly, one that plays to the weaknesses of our human nature. It is the thorns in the parable of the sewer and the seed, and it is a stumbling block for many of the faithful, myself first.
While the first trick of Satan is to appeal to our weak physical natures, his second trick is truly insidious, to remove the image of a loving Father from our minds and hearts. This step is the stumbling block for many people who honestly attempt to understand God but are unwilling to believe in his goodness by faith. He starts with a simple accepted truth, God=good. Nobody will deny this. Satan may remind us, “well God loves you”. And of course, we will not disagree. Then Satan will introduce the lie: “Since God is good, and he loves you, then surely he will want you to live a pain-free, productive, happy life. Since God loves you, he would never let anything bad happen to you.” The truth is God does love us, and he does take care of his children, but they are also called to carry their personal crosses and suffer! When Satan tells us that had God existed, than the world would be full of roses and nobody would suffer, nothing could be further from the truth! Christ himself came to earth to take an inferior nature—humanity—and by so doing Christ suffered—a lot. When we are born at birth, we are born into the image of Adam (that is human nature), in which suffering is intrinsic. We are born into Christ through the church, and it is not until the second birth (that is eternal life in heaven) that “God will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes” (Rev 7:17). For now, we have been born into the sin of Adam (that is humanity), and for this we must suffer together, carrying our own crosses as Christ has. Jesus hungered and cried even though he did not have to (much to meditate upon). The church (as is described in Acts) is called to help the needy and pray for the sick, to follow in the example of Christ by lifting its collective cross and suffering for the sake of Christ.
So here, in the second stage of temptation, Satan takes our perceptions of what is good and what a good parent is, (essentially our own opinions of God) and perverts them, using our own experiences and perceptions to turn us away from God. How did Satan do this to Christ? He asks Christ to throw himself off the temple, and the angels will “bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone”. Satan tells Christ, “God won’t let you get hurt, don’t worry!” In a way there is some truth, that God does love and care for his children, but the lie is hidden: God wishes for us an eternal happiness, and in return we must carry our crosses for a temporary time. Christ again quotes scriptures, “You shall not tempt the LORD your God”.
So, first Satan attacked our carnal nature. Then he attacked us by way of our intellect by perverting our perceptions of goodness and the unwavering love of the Father. What is his final trick? Well think to yourself, what if you are a truly devout Christian that never falls to the petty sins or obstacles that prevent us from reaching Christ? You have an unwavering belief in the goodness of God, and you are keen to carry your cross and serve him (hint hint). What could possibly be your stumbling block? After we have wrestled with ourselves to come nearer and nearer to Christ, Satan has to do little to make us stumble. We feel that we are so close to God unlike those “petty sinners”, that we forget that we ARE sinners, and even WE need Christ’s salvation. Satan’s final trick is not a matter of lust or an argument of intellect, it’s a matter of pride and faith in the wrong thing—anything but God. When we are dazzled by our own actions and begin thinking that it is by our own faculties that we are to reach God, then we start believing that we can win the kingdom of heaven by our own doing. Our love shifts from a love of Christ to a love of other-than-God, and our efforts become a labor of pride rather than of love. A good sign of this is when we ask ourselves how to serve the church or serve God instead of asking GOD how he wants to be served and allowing a place for his will in our lives. In the story with Christ and Satan, this temptation is manifested when Satan takes Christ to an exceedingly high mountain and shows Christ “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory”. Satan tells Christ, “All these things I will give you if “You will fall down and worship me”. Our desires for accomplishment, whether earthly or spiritual, is akin to Satan’s showing Christ the world and all its glory. Our reliance on ourselves and on our worldly actions would be akin to Christ worshipping Satan, to which Christ replies, “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him ONLY you shall serve”. (I’m emphasizing the word "only"). For us, a humble heart and an unwavering reliance on God is how we serve him.
If you’ve made it this far, that means you’ve found what I said either interesting, aggravating, or hopefully edifying. Now I’d like to mention something that you can put to use immediately.
How did Christ fight temptation? Well, he quoted scripture. Just any scripture? In all three cases Christ quotes Deuteronomy. But why Deuteronomy? If you are a devout Christian today, where do you go for religious instruction or spiritual inspiration? The Bible. Anything else? Church services / sermons. This is exactly what Christ did. As a good Hebrew, Christ went to Deuteronomy (“Second Law”). A large part of Deuteronomy was essentially sermons delivered by Moses. I think Christ is telling us two things here. First, Christ chose to incorporate the scriptures when he fought Satan, although he did not need to (after all, he CREATED Satan and could have in any instant annihilated him). I think it’s very clear. Christ is teaching us to put the sandals of the Gospel on our feet, so that they will give us a great mobility when dodging Satan’s attacks. We need to read the Gospel regularly, in order to avoid the attacks of Satan. A good place to focus as Christ focused would be the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7. This is the New Testament parallel to Deuteronomy. It is on the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus delivers to us his higher code for Christians (Third Law?) and he even tells us, “I did not come to destroy but to fulfill [the law]”. The second thing I think Christ is trying to tell me is to always rely on him. In all three of Christ’s scripture references, he shows a diehard reliance on God. 1. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” 2. “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” 3. “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.”
I personally need to begin persistently reading the Gospels and relying on God, asking him what he wants for me in my life. My main hindrances are I’m either too proud or uninterested, and writing this post has been something of a wakeup call for me. GB
These verses really spoke to me because they resonate with the true trials we face by Satan. They show us when Satan fights us and they present the hierarchy of his temptations. Finally, we are shown how to overcome them by the example of our Lord.
The first trial Jesus faces occurs after a high point in his (earthly) spiritual life, after 40 days of fasting and praying. It is important to emphasize that Satan did not stop Jesus from making it to the wilderness, nor did he, after Jesus arrived into the wilderness, distract him during his period of fasting. Rather, he waits until Jesus has completed his period of fasting and meditation.
I would think that after I had undergone a period of fasting or closeness with God, Satan would resist me or at least avoid encountering me after a period of sanctification. Surprisingly, this is not so. In fact, it is exactly this time when Satan came to tempt Christ. Well, I might ask, wouldn't God prevent Satan from tempting me after I had shown my dedication to my religious practices? Actually, Matthew tells us, "Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness TO be tempted by the devil". This is a very striking verse; emphasis on the word “to”. Our test is not the fasting and praying and going to church on Sunday, it is our reaction to the trials following such periods, after we are weakened spiritually.
When Satan tempts us, he comes to us in three stages, starting with our most primitive desires and working his way up into our highest facilities.
His first trial is an attack from within our own desires, the things that may not be wrong to us as humans, but are bad for us as Christians. He taps into our most basic desires and tries to reduce us to the mammalian urges we were born into. For me, these desires are lust and desire for wealth. They could also be anger or lack of patience. They are the natural tendencies that are intrinsic to our human nature but drive us away from true fasting and true union with Christ. What would you think this temptation was for Christ after 40 days of fasting? Satan appealed to Christ's physical hunger-- a deep, powerful force within any human being to satisfy a natural human urge, (and in this case a human necessity). Imagine smelling baked bread after 40 days of not eating--I would buckle instantly. The interesting thing here is it seems Satan's offer is good. You're hungry? Have some food! In Adam and Eve's case, Satan said, "You will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil". On this point, Satan did not lie, and it is not in itself a bad thing to know the difference between good and evil. However, what Satan tells us is rarely truth. As Jesus taught us, "he is a liar and the father of lies". The other statement Satan made to Adam and Eve was also truthful, that "You [Eve] will not surely die". It wasn't until Adam and Eve were banished from the garden of Eden that God prevented them from taking fruit from the tree of life and living forever (Gen 3:22). Satan uses these seeming truths and seemingly well-intentioned instructions to drive us away from God. In Adam and Eve’s case, Satan led them to directly disobey God’s instruction, and their actions led to their own banishment and their eventual physical deaths. In Christ’s case, Satan is requesting God to obey Satan and in return heal a pain that has controlling power over most human beings—the hunger of starvation. Of course, our Lord does not succumb to the temptation, and instead fights Satan by his quotation of scriptures, proclaiming that true life proceeds from the Word. (More on overcoming temptation after we walk through the next two levels of temptation).
Thus, the first temptation is a very carnal, worldly, one that plays to the weaknesses of our human nature. It is the thorns in the parable of the sewer and the seed, and it is a stumbling block for many of the faithful, myself first.
While the first trick of Satan is to appeal to our weak physical natures, his second trick is truly insidious, to remove the image of a loving Father from our minds and hearts. This step is the stumbling block for many people who honestly attempt to understand God but are unwilling to believe in his goodness by faith. He starts with a simple accepted truth, God=good. Nobody will deny this. Satan may remind us, “well God loves you”. And of course, we will not disagree. Then Satan will introduce the lie: “Since God is good, and he loves you, then surely he will want you to live a pain-free, productive, happy life. Since God loves you, he would never let anything bad happen to you.” The truth is God does love us, and he does take care of his children, but they are also called to carry their personal crosses and suffer! When Satan tells us that had God existed, than the world would be full of roses and nobody would suffer, nothing could be further from the truth! Christ himself came to earth to take an inferior nature—humanity—and by so doing Christ suffered—a lot. When we are born at birth, we are born into the image of Adam (that is human nature), in which suffering is intrinsic. We are born into Christ through the church, and it is not until the second birth (that is eternal life in heaven) that “God will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes” (Rev 7:17). For now, we have been born into the sin of Adam (that is humanity), and for this we must suffer together, carrying our own crosses as Christ has. Jesus hungered and cried even though he did not have to (much to meditate upon). The church (as is described in Acts) is called to help the needy and pray for the sick, to follow in the example of Christ by lifting its collective cross and suffering for the sake of Christ.
So here, in the second stage of temptation, Satan takes our perceptions of what is good and what a good parent is, (essentially our own opinions of God) and perverts them, using our own experiences and perceptions to turn us away from God. How did Satan do this to Christ? He asks Christ to throw himself off the temple, and the angels will “bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone”. Satan tells Christ, “God won’t let you get hurt, don’t worry!” In a way there is some truth, that God does love and care for his children, but the lie is hidden: God wishes for us an eternal happiness, and in return we must carry our crosses for a temporary time. Christ again quotes scriptures, “You shall not tempt the LORD your God”.
So, first Satan attacked our carnal nature. Then he attacked us by way of our intellect by perverting our perceptions of goodness and the unwavering love of the Father. What is his final trick? Well think to yourself, what if you are a truly devout Christian that never falls to the petty sins or obstacles that prevent us from reaching Christ? You have an unwavering belief in the goodness of God, and you are keen to carry your cross and serve him (hint hint). What could possibly be your stumbling block? After we have wrestled with ourselves to come nearer and nearer to Christ, Satan has to do little to make us stumble. We feel that we are so close to God unlike those “petty sinners”, that we forget that we ARE sinners, and even WE need Christ’s salvation. Satan’s final trick is not a matter of lust or an argument of intellect, it’s a matter of pride and faith in the wrong thing—anything but God. When we are dazzled by our own actions and begin thinking that it is by our own faculties that we are to reach God, then we start believing that we can win the kingdom of heaven by our own doing. Our love shifts from a love of Christ to a love of other-than-God, and our efforts become a labor of pride rather than of love. A good sign of this is when we ask ourselves how to serve the church or serve God instead of asking GOD how he wants to be served and allowing a place for his will in our lives. In the story with Christ and Satan, this temptation is manifested when Satan takes Christ to an exceedingly high mountain and shows Christ “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory”. Satan tells Christ, “All these things I will give you if “You will fall down and worship me”. Our desires for accomplishment, whether earthly or spiritual, is akin to Satan’s showing Christ the world and all its glory. Our reliance on ourselves and on our worldly actions would be akin to Christ worshipping Satan, to which Christ replies, “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him ONLY you shall serve”. (I’m emphasizing the word "only"). For us, a humble heart and an unwavering reliance on God is how we serve him.
If you’ve made it this far, that means you’ve found what I said either interesting, aggravating, or hopefully edifying. Now I’d like to mention something that you can put to use immediately.
How did Christ fight temptation? Well, he quoted scripture. Just any scripture? In all three cases Christ quotes Deuteronomy. But why Deuteronomy? If you are a devout Christian today, where do you go for religious instruction or spiritual inspiration? The Bible. Anything else? Church services / sermons. This is exactly what Christ did. As a good Hebrew, Christ went to Deuteronomy (“Second Law”). A large part of Deuteronomy was essentially sermons delivered by Moses. I think Christ is telling us two things here. First, Christ chose to incorporate the scriptures when he fought Satan, although he did not need to (after all, he CREATED Satan and could have in any instant annihilated him). I think it’s very clear. Christ is teaching us to put the sandals of the Gospel on our feet, so that they will give us a great mobility when dodging Satan’s attacks. We need to read the Gospel regularly, in order to avoid the attacks of Satan. A good place to focus as Christ focused would be the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7. This is the New Testament parallel to Deuteronomy. It is on the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus delivers to us his higher code for Christians (Third Law?) and he even tells us, “I did not come to destroy but to fulfill [the law]”. The second thing I think Christ is trying to tell me is to always rely on him. In all three of Christ’s scripture references, he shows a diehard reliance on God. 1. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” 2. “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” 3. “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.”
I personally need to begin persistently reading the Gospels and relying on God, asking him what he wants for me in my life. My main hindrances are I’m either too proud or uninterested, and writing this post has been something of a wakeup call for me. GB
