Chapter 15.
Jesus Humiliated Satan
In the Wilderness.
Satan became ebullient as he watched the Baptism of Jesus. When God said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased,” Satan saw an opportunity to show God a thing or two.
Who dares to think like that? Satan! Remember, he was once a glorious archangel named Lucifer, residing in Heaven -- perhaps, the most glorious archangel. He became exceedingly prideful. As he watched God preside over the Universe, he decided that God was too kind, too forgiving, and too helpful toward those beings He had created. He actually came to believe he could “out-god” God, and he was able to get one-third of the angels to agree with himself. They began to worship Lucifer instead of God. This was outrageous behavior.
Immediately, God evicted Satan and his followers from Heaven. Eventually, He placed them on Earth. But, the Bible says, they will all be cast into Hell in the last days.
However, Satan is so prideful that he continually thinks he can thwart the plans God has recorded in the Bible. When he saw Jesus arise from the waters of His Baptism, he laughed derisively. “He doesn’t look like God’s Son now,” he giggled. “He’ll have to walk home in wet clothes. His hair and beard are dripping. I’d never let a mere man dunk me in this river!” And, when Satan heard the Lord say, “This is My beloved Son,” Satan had concocted an even more wicked thought. “God has made a great mistake. He’s put His Son into a man’s body. I’ll corrupt Jesus. I’ll lure Him into sin. Then, the world will see that God is a fraud. I corrupted Adam and Eve. I corrupted the leaders at the Tower of Babel. I corrupted almost everyone on Earth before the Flood. And, lately, I’ve corrupted the elites of Judaism. Surely, I can corrupt Jesus. I’ll make Him the butt of men’s jokes.”
Of course, God knew Satan’s thoughts. They angered Him. God arranged a showdown between Jesus and Satan. He told Satan, “I am sending Jesus into the most deserted part of the wilderness for 40 days and nights. You may approach Him and tempt Him during this time. But, using all of your charms and tricks, you will not be able to corrupt Him. Yes, He is now a man, but He is also God. Your efforts will be futile. You will be humiliated.”
Matthew reported ...
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. (Matthew 4:1-2 NLT)
Jesus prayed and meditated as the days passed. He didn’t take time to hunt for food or water. But, God protected and sustained Him. Even so, He felt hunger.
Luke said ...
Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry. (Luke 4:1-2 NLT)
And, Mark added ...
The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals ... (Mark 1:12-13a NLT)
We can only imagine how many times Satan tempted Jesus. We are told of three. Matthew gives them in one order and Luke in another. But, these three were repeated multiple times in diverse orders and mixed in with others that are not recorded in the Bible. In the book of Hebrews we read ...
We do not have a high priest [Jesus, the High Priest of Heaven’s Temple] who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet he did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15 NIV)
Satan:
“Make Yourself Some Bread
From These Stones.”
Matthew and Luke reported temptations related to Jesus’ fasting. Though God sustained Him, as a man, Jesus felt hunger. So, often, during the 40 days and nights of temptations, Satan urged Jesus to use miraculous means to assuage His hunger. Matthew told of a time when Satan urged Jesus to turn “stones” into bread. Luke told of another time when Satan pointed to a particular stone and said, “Turn this stone into bread.” Jesus refused to give Satan a “magic show”. Instead, He voiced a divine principle recorded in Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man should not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from God.”
Matthew reported ...
... when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:3-4 KJV)
And, Luke stated ...
... the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. (Luke 4:3-4 KJV)
Satan:
“Jump From This Pinnacle.
The Bible Says
The Angels Will Catch You!”
Matthew and Luke reported another temptation Satan put before Jesus repeatedly during the 40 days. Satan took Jesus to the highest point of the Temple in Jerusalem and dared Him to cast Himself down to the plaza fronting the Temple.
Satan tried to make the test seem sensible by citing a thought from Psalm 91:11-12. “God will command His angels, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Note. Satan is a persistent and malevolent reader of the Bible. He studies it to mis-use it -- to confuse men and women. And, he has recruited an army of non-believers to further this evil work. We must oppose those who twist the Scriptures. Jesus did. He responded to Satan’s silly challenge by quoting another Bible verse, Deuteronomy 6:16, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Matthew described one of these events with these words ...
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matthew 4:5-7 NIV)
Similarly, Luke said ...
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
(Luke 4:9-12 NLT)
Satan:
“Worship Me,
And All the World Is Yours!”
Matthew and Luke told us of the most tempting set of enticements Satan offered to Jesus. The temptations to turn stones into bread, if accepted, would have resolved Jesus’ hunger for a moment. If Christ had accepted one of Satan’s challenges to jump off the Temple roof, He would have been the talk of Jerusalem for a few days. But, in the third type of temptation recorded in the Gospels, Satan offered to make Jesus the king of the Earth for as long as He worshiped Satan. Satan indicated that every imaginable comfort and privilege would become available to Him.
But, remember, Jesus knew Satan as the “father of lies”. He was in Heaven when Satan, as Lucifer, deceived a third of the angels and led a rebellion against the Trinity. The Apostle John recorded what Jesus said about Satan in one of His discourses at a later date ...
... when he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
(John 8:44b NIV)
So, were Satan’s promises reliable? No! Furthermore, on another occasion, Jesus said ...
... what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
(Mark 8:36 KJV)
So, when Satan took Jesus to a prominence on a high mountain and showed Him all the splendor of Earth and offered to give it all to Him, if He would join the satanic cult and become a worshipper of Satan, Jesus firmly commanded, “Get away from Me, Satan!” and quoted Deuteronomy 6:13, “Worship the Lord your God, and Him only!” Matthew used these words to tell of this event ...
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only,”. (Matthew 4:8-10 NIV)
And, Luke said ...
... the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Luke 4:5-8 KJV)
Satan Left the Wilderness in Failure.
Satan departed in defeat, and angels ministered to Jesus. Luke said ...
... when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
(Luke 4:13 KJV)
Matthew added ...
Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. (Matthew 4:11 KJV)
And, Mark stated ...
... angels took care of him (Mark 1:13b NLT)