Who led jesus into the wilderness5/9/2023 ![]() So why was this a temptation?” Because hunger represents human wants, plain and simple! Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights in order to focus on the spiritual and away from the physical, that is, the comforts of life. You may ask, “What’s wrong with that? Jesus was hungry and there’s definitely nothing wrong with hunger especially in a spiritual time of fasting. Didn’t He multiply food later during His ministry to feed some 4,000 and 5,000 people? After all, Jesus was done fasting and He had the power to do exactly what Satan was suggesting. He wanted Jesus to use His divine powers to make something to eat. Satan challenged Jesus to prove or demonstrate that He is the Son of God through miraculous works. He was saying, “Since you are the Son of God, why starve yourself to death? C’mon, just change some stones into bread.” When Jesus said, “If you are the Son of God …” he was not questioning Jesus’ deity for he knew exactly who Jesus was. But the number “40” is commonly used in the Bible for a period of hardship, difficulty, or suffering. By the way, there is no reason to doubt that Jesus really did fast for forty days and forty nights as the text clearly says. Notice how Satan picks up immediately on the fact that Jesus was hungry because He had not eaten for forty days (Matthew 4:2). Matthew 4:3 “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” In the Bible the word temptation primarily denotes a trial in which man has a free choice of being faithful or unfaithful to God only secondarily does it signify allurement or seduction to sin. ![]() The dictionary defines temptation as an urge or desire to do something, especially something you should not, or it refers to a wrong or forbidden pleasure that is enticing. ![]() But while the first Adam was tempted in a beautiful garden and failed, the last Adam (Jesus Christ) was tempted in a dangerous wilderness (Mark 1:13) and won the victory. The temptation in the Garden parallels that of Jesus’ temptation. This is the same Tempter who showed up in the Garden (Genesis 3:1-5) the fallen angel, the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) and the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) who came in disguise, in the form of a serpent to deceive Adam and Eve here Satan did not come in disguise, but in a bold and direct attack on Jesus. It is in this passage where the devil, Satan is first introduced in the Gospel. This is the same Spirit who descended on Jesus at His baptism and empowered Him (Matthew 3:16). It is important to note that it was the Spirit of God that led Jesus into the wilderness (Matthew 4:1). The account of Jesus’ temptation recorded in Matthew 4:1-11 and in Luke 4:1-13 was not only God’s way of showing that Jesus was the perfect man, it also exposed the tactics of the enemy and reveals to us how we can overcome when we are tempted.įrom the high and holy experience of blessing at the Jordan River, Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
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