2-1-6-Jesus_Tempted

Son of

After this clear statement of Jesus' identity made by God Himself, Satan began to tempt Jesus as the Son of God.  Two times during the temptations Satan says: "If you are the Son of God, then..."

First of all, let's look at the way Jesus was tempted as Son of God in the desert.  Begin by observing the following things from Matthew 4:1-4.

1. How many days did Jesus go without food in the dessert?

2. What was the solution to his need according to Satan?

3. As the Son of God, did Jesus have the power to do this?

4. Did Jesus do as Satan suggested?

Now let's look for the trap Satan has laid behind his temptation of Jesus in the Desert.  There would be a time in Jesus ministry when He would us His power to do a miracle and make bread for 5,000 people.  He did this in time of real need.  Answering this time of need was not sin.

Jesus, taught His disciples to ask God for their daily bread in the Lord's prayer.  Therefore, the fact that Jesus was hungry and wanted bread in itself was not sin.

Have you ever thought to yourself?

"How could Jesus be truly God and truly man at the same time?  His human nature must have been only symbolic or pretended.  It couldn't have been real.  Why, in a moment of human need, He could always have solved the problem by using His power as God!"

This is the important point about the temptation of Jesus in the dessert.  If Jesus had used His divine power, and done the miracle to free HIMSELF (not others) from His difficulties, His human life would have been: easier than ours, not fully human, and not a effective role model. 

What was the first miracle that Jesus performed? (Read John 2:9-11)to solve someone else's need.

Compare the two situations-The Desert and the Wedding Banquet.

1. After being without food in the dessert for 40 days and nights, Jesus as true man, was close to dying.

2. At the Wedding Banquet there was an over abundance of food and it was only an inconvenience to have run out of wine.

So what is the moral of the comparison:

1. Who should you depend on to satisfy your needs:

2. Who is responsible for other's needs satisfaction?

It is also interesting to make a comparison between the temptation in the Dessert and the Garden of Eden.

Could it be that its harder to resist temptation when we have many material things verses suffering?

Throughout all of His ministry Jesus, as the Son of God was tempted to pass by human suffering and misery and avoid being involved in it as the Son of Man.  This temptation came to Him in many different people.

The second temptation took place on the highest point of the huge temple built by Herod the Great.  The temple was on the Mount of Jerusalem and overlooked a high cliff.

Among the Jews there was a general belief that the Messiah, the  coming King would appear on the pinnacle of the temple.  It was believed that he would appear on the pinnacle of the temple.  It was believed that he would throw himself down the cliff without being hurt while the people in Jerusalem watched.

Jesus always had a purpose for the miracles He did.  Sometimes it was to teach some truth or to ease the troubles of others, but never did Jesus do a miracle just to impress some one or to get publicity.  He never did a miracle to boost His own reputation.

How far did Jesus carry His decision not to use His divine power to ease His suffering as a man?  (Read Philippians 2:8)

According to Hebrews 4:15, Jesus was tempted

Jesus had a purpose in suffering the most difficult temptations men must face.  What was his purpose?  Read Hebrews 2:18.

Using your own words, explain the truth of Philippians 2:6-8, showing how Jesus was truly God, could be tempted in everything as we are, being truly man, without destroying the perfect balance of His personality?

Tempted as Man

Jesus didn't win over the temptations with his divine power, but as a man using the same two weapons that God offers us in our spiritual battle.  In this part of the lesson we will add to your understanding of the temptations of Jesus by looking at the ways he was tempted as man.

Read Matthew 4:1-4

When Jesus answered Satan with the words, "Man does not live on bread alone," He meant to identify Himself with humanity.

The word "alone" is a very important one.  It changes the meaning of Jesus' words completely.  Therefore, to live one's life without God is sin.  Jesus was tempted to sin when He was tempted to live.

Read Matthew 4:5-7

We have learned that Jesus was tempted to jump down from the highest point of the temple to impress the people, get publicity, and gain prestige for Himself.  If He had jumped, it would have been an act of self-glory.

Read Jesus' answer to Satan in the temptation of the temple in Matthew 4:7.  To test God means to act without reference to God or the will of God.  He would have made a great effort to get prestige without God.

What did Satan offer to Jesus on the high mountain?  Read Matthew 4:8-11.  theof the

But at what price?  Read Matthew 4:9

If Jesus had accepted the kingdoms of the world at the price of worshipping Satan, He would have received; power without God.

The temptation of the dessert was for Jesus to get bread without God.  This is the sin of materialism.  Materialism means being dominated by riches, material goods, and the pleasures of this world.  It does not necessarily mean that one has all of these things, not that one's life is dominated by the desire for these things. (Matthew 6:19, 24, 31-32, 27).

In the temptation of the temple Jesus was tempted to get Prestige without God.  It was a temptation to self-pride.  Had Jesus done as Satan suggested, glory would have been given to the man Jesus rather than to God.  The proud person boast about his own abilities and uses them to bring glory to himself instead of God.  His life is lived to impress other people with his own talent. (Proverbs 8:13; Romans 12:16; Matthew 6:2, 5, 16).

The temptation Jesus faced on the High Mountain is the temptation to seek personal power without God.  Those who fall into this temptation often try to "buy" friends or make people feel obligated to them so that they will be able to force them to do the things they want.  Power hungry people seek to force their will upon others by being bossy, always insisting that things be done their way, and wanting to dominate the ideas and actions of others.  Sometimes those who have fallen into this sin are willing to resort to Violence when it is necessary to get the power they want or when they think they may be losing some of their power. (Matthew 2:16; Acts 8:18-20; Matthew 5:38).

Now let's learn how Jesus was able to have victory over the temptations He had to face.  Read the replies made to Satan carefully.  Jesus used on phrase every time He talked back to Satan "It is written" (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10).

Draw a circle around the Words "It is written in Matthew 4:4, 7, 10) in green.

Jesus and Satan both used the Word of God.  It is clear then that the use of the Word of God, by itself, won't give us victory over the temptations of Satan.  Many people use the Word in the wrong way, just like Satan did to make the Bible say what they want it to say.  We must learn to use the Word of God in the Right Way.

By looking closely at the answers Jesus gave we can discover that it is not enough just to use one verse from the Bible without even thinking about the other verses around it.  This is what Satan did!

In your Bible, underline Matthew 4:4 in Green.

Very good!  We've seen that Jesus defeated temptation, using all of the Word of God.  But even this is not enough.  We can know everything there is to know now about the Bible, but if the Holy Spirit is not present in our lives to direct us to the truth and the will of God for our lives, then all our knowledge is useless.

Email address: