The Temptations of Christ


mikbone
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This week while counseling family, I had a rare epiphany.

The three temptations of Christ (found in Matthew 4:1-11) seem pretty superficial at first glance, but with further insight they become quite profound.

1) Command that these stones be made bread.  - Christ had just fasted for 40 days.  No doubt He was hungry.  The superficial temptation is to satisfy our physical carnal desires.  But deeper, is the sin of Pride.  Satan was tempting Christ to use his creative powers to prove that He was God by transmuting stone to bread.  Beware of Pride  And Christ's response - Deuteronomy 8:3

2) If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down. - Satan even quotes scripture Psalm 91: 11-12 to bolster his temptation.  The superficial temptation is to rely upon others, and once again to prove his godly powers.  But as I studied this - and recalled the events in Gethsemane, coupled with hardship that occurs during a normal lifetime.  I recognized that Satan was going to a much darker place.  He was trying with all his might to cause Despair to enter into the heart of our Lord and Savior.  Real despair - the type that leads to concepts of suicide or annihilation. Despair is a tool of the Devil, it is the complete absence of Hope.  Both of these temptations are of an emotional nature. There are times in our lives when all seems at loss and no forward progress appears as a possibility.  We must recognize that Despair is from the Evil One and fight it with hope.  Do Not Despair  Christ's response - Deuteronomy 6:16

3) All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.  On the surface once again we see the temptation for worldly stuff.  But it was at the cost of changing allegiances from God to Satan.  As I look deeper though, I perceive a common sin that many of us indulge.  We seek Shortcuts, the path of least resistance.  God wants all of his children to have - all that He has.  But He wants us to obtain these gifts, rewards, property, and increase through the process of overcoming all things.  Only when we deserve the rewards should we have them.  These sins can be somewhat perceived as a spiritual nature.  Christ created the Earth.  At age 12 He could have overcome Rome and conquered the entire world.  When Peter smote off of the Roman centurion's ear, Christ stated, "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?"  A single roman legion is considered 5,000 soldiers.  Imagine 5,000 military soldiers invading your hometown.  And recognize that a single angel of the Lord killed over 185,000 men in 2 Kings 19:35.  Jesus was proclaiming his authority to command a dozen legions of Angels!  But He didn't.  He bid his time and suffered the will of the Father in all things.  How many times do we seek after things that we have not earned.  Fornication or adultery, purchasing goods on debt, unjust abuse of power, dishonest dealings with our fellow man to produce lucre we did not earn.  God wants us to have everything, but He wants us to earn it, so that we can be a wise steward and use our increase to bless others.  There is no heavenly lottery. Christ's response - Deuteronomy 6:13-14

Pride is the root of all sin.  Despair is a tool of the Devil, we have no business dwelling with despair.  If darkness gathers we must use the light of hope to dispel its effects. In ourselves and others.  And we must trust in the Lord to have the patience and work ethic to achieve the gifts and increase that the Lord has in store for us.  

Edited by mikbone
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So, you think "pride" is evident in saving oneself from starvation, but not from death by falling?  Surely if he just turned the stone into bread, that would be a shortcut -- which you only attributed to the third temptation.  And the missionary work that would have occurred by being saved by angels in front of everyone would certainly be a shortcut. I'm not sure where you got "relying on others" (when these others include the Lord and his angels) to be a sin.

Pride enters into all three of them.  Loyalty to God and faith in God are tested by all three of them.  I don't see how you're making these clear distinctions when they clearly mix and match and fall into each other, with these interpretations.  Could you look at them that way?  Could there be some validity in what you're saying?  Could be.  Yes.  But I don't see how that's a profitable interpretation when all three seem to exemplify the same things you're talking about.

But the traditional separations: Physical appetites, Glory, & Riches.  These have clear distinctions and clearly fit nicely into these categories and the narrative of temptations.

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Honestly I don't how the first two are  "temptations" other than the plain fact that it came from Satan. Hunger isn't as sin. Being hungry isn't a temptation. So the temptation clearly wasn't to eat (considering the fast over).  And, what, exactly, would have been wrong about turning stone into bread, in and of itself? He turned wine into water. It seems to me the temptation here was simply to do as Satan suggested. Same thing with the second. If Jesus so commanded the angels to lift Him up so he flew, why is that a sin? Seems pretty analogous to walking on water, actually, which Jesus did. Once again, seems like it was the following Satan part that was the problem. I'm not honestly sure.

The third is clearly a temptation: Worship Satan for riches. But the other two seem sort of the same thing. Do as Satan tells you to do.

Edited by The Folk Prophet
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2 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

Honestly I don't how the first two are  "temptations" other than the plain fact that it came from Satan. Hunger isn't as sin. Being hungry isn't a temptation. So the temptation clearly wasn't to eat (considering the fast over). The temptation had to be the turning stone into bread. By what, exactly, would have been wrong about that, in and of itself? It seems to me the temptation here was simply to do as Satan suggested. Same think with the second. If Jesus so commanded the angels to lift Him up so he flew, why is that a sin? Seems pretty analogous to walking on water, actually, which Jesus did. Once again, seems like it was the following Satan part that was the problem. I'm not honestly sure.

The third is clearly a temptation: Worship Satan for riches. But the other two seem sort of the same thing. Do as Satan tells you to do.

That's a good point.  But I'll take an off the top of my head stab at this.

When fasting, are we really supposed to look at the clock like Bob Wiley saying,"baby steps to 40 days." ??  No, we're supposed to glory in the fast and prepare food with singleness of heart that our fasting may be perfect, or that our joy may be full.  Satan was trying to interrupt that communion by getting Jesus to give into the fleshy desires instead of focus on the communion with the Father.

As for the leaping off the temple, it was about the motivation.  This didn't happen in a vacuum.  It was in a busy location in front of lots of people.  The motivation that Satan was trying to push on Jesus was to give into the desire for the glory of men.   Could Jesus do something flashy?  Of course he could.  Hello Lazarus, and many mighty miracles, and as you pointed out, walking on water.  But none of those were for his own gain or for the glory of men.  They were done that the works of God might be accomplished.

In this vein, you are somewhere in the same neighborhood.  Are we doing these things for the glory of God? or the glory of men?  Again, it was about glory.

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