Title: Jesus Overcame Temptation
Contents
1. Words that begin
The whole country was shocked by the suicide of former President Roh Moo-hyun, who was investigated by the prosecution along with his family over bribery issues.
With no exceptions, everyone will be tested. There are temptations as temptations of the devil that cause us to sin and fall, and there are trials as trials and trials by God who gives us more blessings or makes us a greater person. Some exams are a mixture of the two. Just as you must pass the academic exam to advance to the upper grades, you must pass the exams in life to achieve a more mature character, skills, and more fruit. Then comes a test worthy of that character, ability, and fruit. Hebrews 4:15 says of the Lord Jesus, “We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” The text records the temptations of Jesus who were led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness.
2. Jesus Tempted by the Devil
The final preparation for Jesus' public life was a test. The fact that the final preparation for Jesus' earthly mission was a test must be taken into account by church members who only dream of living a comfortable and smooth life and think that everything must go according to their will. G. A. McLaughlin said, “Great blessings always come with great trials.” He also said, “To make a great evangelist, not only great grace but also great trials are needed.”
After baptism, the Holy Spirit who fully indwelled Jesus led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, and also led Jesus throughout the temptation. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God who transcends time and space. Regarding the temptation of Jesus, in Hebrews 2:17 ff., “Therefore, he ought to be made like his brothers in all things, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. Having suffered when being tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
In the wilderness, Jesus was subjected to three temptations by the devil, a spiritual being with extraordinary powers and tricks.
First, it was a material test. After fasting forty days and forty days, Jesus became hungry. In the Bible, forty days is a period of special fellowship with God. Even when Moses received the Ten Commandments, he fasted forty days and forty days, and even after Elijah defeated the great spiritual battle, he fasted forty days and forty days. After fasting forty days, the devil came to Jesus and said, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
The phrase “If you are the Son of God” is not asking the devil because he does not know that Jesus is the Savior, but rather arouses his doubts. In Genesis 3:1, the devil aroused suspicion even to Eve, saying, “Did God really say to you, You must not eat from any tree in the garden?”
The first word of the devil's temptation is a subtle double line. A. Barnes said, “If you are the true Messiah, the Son of God, do you not have the power to perform any miracle? Now I'll give you that chance. Give it a try. That is why I am asking you to show me proof that you are the Messiah.”
It is to command the stones to become loaves of bread by the divine power as the Son of God, “Command these stones to become bread.” This test was the most appropriate test for Jesus after fasting forty days. It is not a relationship of submission to God the Father, but showing off that you are the Son of God by independent authority. This temptation of the devil is also a test of how to carry out Jesus' mission as Savior. To work miracles on a starving people and to attract people in a way that satisfies their material needs.
Jesus answered the devil by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Unlike animals and plants that simply live in material food, humans, created with spirit and body, must first and foremost obey all the words of God. Human beings, as creatures, can only live a worthwhile and rewarding life by living according to the will and purpose of their Creator. Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” The real world's hunger is not because of lack of food, but because of lack of love that obeys God's Word.
Second, it was a religious test. The devil put Jesus on top of the temple in Jerusalem and told him to jump down if he was the Son of God. And surprisingly, he quoted Psalm 91:11 et seq. “He will command his angels for you, and they will support you with their hands, so that your foot will not strike a stone.” Jesus, who overcame the previous test with the Old Testament, the word of God, was also subjected to a high-order temptation by quoting the Old Testament, the word of God.
However, the devil's quotations from the Bible are not based on a comprehensive understanding of the Bible, nor on the basis of accurate knowledge of the background of the Word, nor do they realize the spiritual meaning of the Word. It is a literal quotation, purely for his own evil purposes. These biblical quotations are also characteristic of all heretics.
The original psalmist was singing of the assurance that God would command His angels to keep the people from stumbling and to protect them from all kinds of danger, from being attacked by wild beasts. However, the devil is trying to tempt Jesus to prove that he is the Son of God by jumping down on the promise of God's miraculous protection. It is also tempting to test how faithful God's promises are.黑崎幸吉 said, “If he had done this, many people would have seen this and believed in me, and my religion would have gained extraordinary power. But I didn't do this either. Because it was not a command from God, but a whisper from the devil.”
Jesus also defeated the second temptation of the devil by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16. “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” This is a command that all members of the church, including Jesus, must obey. God is an object to believe and follow, not an object to be tested.黑崎幸吉 said, “If you take a risk according to God’s command, God will always protect you. He who, according to his thoughts or the whispers of the devil, takes the risk and wants to see whether God will protect him or not, he is testing God, and he must never do such a thing.”
Third, it was a political test. The devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms under his influence and their glory. And he said, “All these things I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” What Jesus saw was more like a vision that could be seen with the spirit eye rather than the naked eye. As R. C. H. Lenski writes, “He no longer uses the word ‘whether the Son of God’ to imply any blasphemous way of proving that Jesus is the Son of God. Cunningly, he accepts the fact that Jesus is one Son, even the Messiah, the chosen one, and based on this he puts his final test.”
For Jesus, it is a sweet temptation to gain the kingdom of heaven and its glory without going to the cross as a sin offering.
This devil's temptation is a cunning deception of the devil who knows well that nothing can be given without God's permission. However, there are many people who compromise with the devil or worship the devil in order to satisfy their greed for worldly things. Even in the religious world, there are people who cannot discern the sound of the devil's temptation because they are caught up in the political ambition to sit in a high position rather than a high position.
Jesus said, “Go away, Satan,” and quoted the first half of Deuteronomy 6:13, saying, “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” Satan, or the devil, is neither an object of worship nor an object of compromise.
Eventually, the devil left Jesus, and angels came and ministered to Jesus.
3. Conclusion
Adam was given the privilege to rule over all things, but he lost that privilege and was expelled from Eden by forsaking the Word of God, which he had to hear and obey, and hearing and obeying the temptation, the temptation of the devil, to rule. The tests of life will come to all people of all ages. The temptation as the devil's temptation to sin and degenerate will come, or the test as God's trial and discipline to give us more blessings or make us a greater person. Sometimes a mix of the two will come. Only when you pass the test of life can you achieve a more mature personality, skills, and greater fruit. Then comes a test worthy of that character, ability, and fruit. May all of us always have victory in the Lord Jesus by following the Holy Spirit, focusing on prayer and the Word.
(Poongseong Methodist Church. Book: Complete Commentary on 27 New Testament Books/ Interpretation of Difficult Scriptures I, II/ Salvation Before Jesus Came/Paul’s Understanding of Man/ Prosperous Prayer/ Seasonal Sermonbooks/ Sermonbook 18. T. 426 -3051)