Jesus after being baptized in water by John and in Holy Spirit, was Christened by God. Then he was led up by the Spirit into the desert wilderness to be tempted of the Devil while he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. Satan tempts christ jesus with 3 temptations. When Jesus overcame the Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eye and the Pride of Life, he received Power from God to fulfill his commission.
Type
Temptation
Response
Bible Verses
Lust of the Flesh
If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God
Matt 4:2-4 Luke 4:2-4
The Pride of Life
If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God
Matt 4:5-7 Luke 4:9-12
Lust of the Eye
If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve
Matt 4:8-10 Luke 4:5-8
3 temptations of Jesus Christ by the satan in the wilderness of Judean desert
At age 12: And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them
John 2:23-25
During Initial fame: But Jesus did not commit himself unto them
John 8:3-4
Jesus has saved himself from adultery even though he had access to women whom satan could have used
Matt 16:22-24
When it was the best moment of Jesus, Peter says that he should not see cross(it was Satan, as his disciples have not yet understood about death)
Luke 22:39-44
In the agony of the coming cross, Jesus prayed to escape from that but continued to pray to have the will of God done.
other temptation events in the life of Jesus Christ
Events leading into the temptations
Baptism: At the will of God, Jesus got baptized by John the Baptist in river Jordan. By this he surrendered his life to the will of God unto obedience. At this moment he was Christened/Anointed by the God and filled with the Holy Spirit.
To fulfill all righteousness: Though Jesus was Sinless yet he got water baptized to fulfill what the Lord God wanted through his life and also to full all the scriptures in the life of Jesus Christ and to fulfill the law putting it to completion.
Lead by the Spirit: Now he being filled with the Holy Spirit, being surrendered to the will of God, obeyed the Holy Spirit to go into the wilderness to fast for 40 days and 40 nights to get himself ready for the upcoming ministry.
By this moment Jesus was called and anointed for ministry but not yet launched into it. He still need to wait for power from high.
Jesus Christ fasting
Jesus Christ being baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit is fasting for 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness of Judean Desert.
During this time he did eat nothing. He did drink water though. This was not a dry fast in the presence of God as was of Moses.
He was among wild beasts. This might suggest that the scene was not like that of Moses in the cloud and glory of God.
As human Jesus he was subjecting his body to the obedience of the Spirit day by day.
As anointed Messiah he was seeking the grace, strength and power of God to do the ministry.
Was Jesus tempted?
From scriptures we understand that everyone is tempted and tested in their lives due to the free will given to each. Each one is tempted either by self desires or by external forces. All of the temptation is for one thing, whether one is subjecting to the will and ways of God or not! This is seen in the entire creation that has free will: People in this world, Angels of God too. So Jesus who was the word of God is now holding a human nature too and was tempted because of human nature and then tested by the Satan. Therefore the scripture does say in Heb 4:15 that Jesus was tempted in every way, in all things yet was without sin.
FYI, General study suggest this about Hunger in fasting: Hunger always leaves after a few days of fast and returns after a long fast of about 40 days or when all toxic poisons have been expelled from the body. The breath at this time becomes as sweet as a baby’s. Any normal healthy person can fast this long without any harm. Starvation only begins after hunger returns in such cases.
Why was Jesus tempted?
While he was fasting and seeking grace of God, Behind the scenes, the Lord God is creating a setup in which Jesus was living the Story of Israel in the Exodus! from Slavery to the Promise of God. And now Jesus would need to overcome self, his own ways and if he was successful then the Satan would also test him and if he was successful, Jesus would have authority and Power in this world of Satan. The Israelites failed to go through the full journey at once by one generation. They failed at various stages: disobedience to the word of God, grumbling for food, subjection to Moses and feared enemies, failing to trust God though God was with them.
Now as Jesus Christ completed the fast successfully and stayed there without getting defeated by self and also had subjected his body to the will of the Spirit. Now was the time that an external force to test him, Satan, just as he tempted Adam and Eve in the garden. Now he will tempt Jesus and Jesus must stand before him, show that he is worthy to have this authority by proving his faithfulness to God, in all things even under pressure from Satan, his body, his dreams and desires. And glorify God in him when he was at the edge to enter the fullness of his calling.
Satan the devil tempts Jesus Christ
We can understand all the temptations by which Satan was trying to attack when we look at replies of Jesus and by knowing that Jesus had learnt and understood the Ways of the Lord from the scriptures.
The first temptation of Christ Jesus to turn Stone to Bread in the wilderness
When Jesus had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And 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.
For this temptation it looks like what is wrong in turning stones to bread or why should Jesus not turn stones to bread? When looked from standalone perspective, nothing looks wrong. So a silly argument is if it was not wrong, where then is the temptation and why would Satan choose to do that. So now let us look from the place of Jesus
Jesus to use the authority & supernatural power must get authorization from God (backing of God that he would do this when Jesus speaks). Jesus was a human with a lineage coming from God but authority is a different thing.
He cannot be reckless with the Sonship he has. He must wait for direction and should not do anything just because of an opportunity, but with understanding and wisdom, else that would be lost. In this Adam and Eve missed the mark.
The Devil came to steal and corrupt what god has given him. If Jesus misused it, then he would have lost it like Adam and Eve.
He must trust god to provide his needs, not like Israel: grumbling and murmuring without knowing and understanding as to why God is doing those things with them.
It is not scriptural to use power of God for self needs unless god tells you so. Do earthly things in earthly ways as they are governed by earthly law, except ordained from above.
He was not weak to the point of death, some might imagine that but scripturally its not presented like that(compare Elijah’s fast too).
Jesus would not die for lack of food: He already fasted for 40 days and there is no biological rule that 41 days means death. Timing of Life and Death are at will of God. So Satan was using the voice and need of his flesh as his hunger has returned.
Jesus knew why he was fasting and having understood that Life is not sustained just by food but is by God and therefore he replies by quoting from Deut 8:3 “And God humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”
Jesus understood that Life is more than food which he later says in Mat 6:25 “Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” and John 4:32 “But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.”, meaning doing will of God satisfied him more, he just needed food to only what was needed to take care of body.
Second Temptation of Christ Jesus to tempt God
Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city(Jerusalem), and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Now God has told Jesus that he was his Son and it is too quick for a person to get proof of that or see that in action. It is like this, you are living by every word of God that proceeds from his mouth, then let God show that it is true. At this Satan is attacking the word of God, faith of Jesus to hold to the word of God in patience. He wants Jesus to doubt God and test him in haste, to Prove that God is holding his word. What is wrong in that? In the Kingdom of God, faith is an essential quality of a God’s Child character and without faith it is impossible to please God – the word of God says. So Jesus continued to believe God and having understood the ways of the Lord which he learnt from scriptures and replies by quoting Deut 6:16 “Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah” based on the context of Exodus 17:7 “And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?”
Last temptation of Christ Jesus to worship Satan
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them in a moment of time; And the devil saith 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 I give it, if thou wilt fall down and worship me, all shall be thine. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Now Jesus was finally tested with a lure of great Glory and Power, in the most critical area of clinging unto the Lord. With so much of high temptation, emotions and his destiny visible before his eyes, he must still control himself, Yet above all this fire of his spirit and Love for God is being tested. In such hot and high situation his spirit jumps into the action and he rebukes the Satan and regards God above all things by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, 10:20 “Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave”. In this did the Satan himself lost basically at the core.
Worthy to receive power
Now when Jesus had overcome all the three temptations, Satan left him for a season and the Angels of God came and ministered unto him. And Jesus went back to where John the Baptist was baptizing with full of Holy Spirit and Power of God.
Bible Topic Study
Temptation of Jesus Christ Videos
Bible Scripture verses of Temptation of Jesus Christ
Temptation of Jesus Matthew
Matthew 4:1–11 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And 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. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Temptation of Jesus Mark
Mark 1:12–13 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
Temptation of Jesus Luke
Luke 4:1–14 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And 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. And 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 I 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. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee.
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Jesus tempted in the wilderness during 40 days fasting by the devil. Satan tempts jesus christ with 3 temptations and in every way. Temptation of christ jesus finishes by he overcoming them to receive power of the Holy Spirit.
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