The Temptations of Christ - Part 2
The three attempts by Satan to tempt the Lord Jesus Christ are covered in Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12, 13, and Luke 4:13. Our Lord was led out into the desert by God the Holy Spirit for 40 days and nights of fasting, which for Him was a concentrated time of prayer and concentration on God’s Word. It was preparation for what was next. Afterwards, with our Lord in a very weakened physical state in extreme hunger, Satan approached with the first temptation. “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” (Matthew 4:3)
At his fall, when Satan said, “I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14b), he put his own self and his own desires before the plan of God. Now Satan asks Jesus Christ to do the same. He asks Christ to provide for Himself with a miracle that is outside the will and plan of God the Father. If Christ did that, He would be following the authority of Satan, and Satan’s authority would have superseded the will of the Father. What was Satan’s sin at his fall? Arrogance. Here we see Satan trying to get our Lord to be arrogant. In effect, he is saying to our Lord, “You are the God-man. And since You are God, You can do anything You want. Turning a stone into bread is easy for You. So, let’s see You do it.”
This is a test designed to get Jesus Christ who was suffering severe hunger pains to act independently from the Father’s plan for His life and perform a miracle to take care of Himself, rather than rely of the power the Holy Spirit in His spiritual life and the Word of God in His soul to carry Him through it. The Father will provide for His every need, just as He does ours (Philippians 4:19). All He must do is trust in the Father and His grace provision, rather than performing a miracle not authorized by God the Father, which would be a sin (anything that goes against the will of the Father is sin).
What is the application for us? Eating was a legitimate function for Lord, especially when he was in such terrible hunger. Yet His priority had to be to wait on God’s provision in God’s timing. We must do the same (Lamentations 3:21-26). We constantly face temptations to change our priorities and put something else as more important than our daily learning and studying of the Word of God. There are many distractions from the Word, such as friends, social life, money, good times, fun, etc. None of those things are wrong in and of themselves. But we will fail the temptation when those things take precedence over our spiritual life.
Notice the answer Jesus Christ gives to Satan. He did not just say “no.” Instead, he answered with the authority and power of Scripture. “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) Jesus Christ emphasized the priority that must be given to the Word. If the Word of God is first in our life, everything else will fall into place. We must not depend on our own works; instead, we must depend on the grace and power of God for our needs (Philippians 4:19). God is much more capable of fulfilling our needs at just the right time and in just the right way. We must put the will and plan of God first in our lives. It must be our number one priority.