Before Jesus could declare his message to the world, “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand” (Matt. 4:17), he first had to declare it to his chief adversary on earth, Satan. After his baptism, Jesus spent 40 days and nights fasting in the desert.
See how we can learn to face temptation from Jesus’ example.
“At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan.” (Mark 1:12, NIV)
Three Ways We Face Temptation
Satan is the leader of the fallen angels and the ruler of this world. Throughout Scripture, Satan is opposing God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. However, the primary way he opposes God is through his continual temptation of God’s people.
In the desert, Satan tested Jesus three times. Our cunning adversary uses the same themes in our lives as well.
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Our Worldly Cravings. After weeks of fasting, Jesus was physically hungry, and Satan tried to tempt him to fulfill his desires with food (Matthew 4:2-4). Satan attempts to use our worldly desires to try and lure us into believing that he can meet our needs.
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Our Self Reliance. Satan led Jesus to a high tower, thinking he could entice Jesus to jump off and then save himself (Matthew 4:5-7). As in the Garden of Eden, Satan attempts to make us feel that we are better off “on our own” instead of relying on the Father.
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Our Desire for Power. Satan knows that we are selfish and desire power. He offered Jesus dominion over the world in their final standoff (Matthew 4:8-10). While Jesus rightly rebukes Satan, we sadly fall into the trap of lusting after worldly power.
Temptation by Satan is real, and it always begins in the human heart. The story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert shows us that Satan will tempt us in both small and significant ways.
Put It Into Practice
Jesus teaches us how to respond to temptation. Our response should be to turn to Scripture and pray to God to release us from Satan’s grip.
Following Jesus’ example, we demonstrate our allegiance to him as we resist temptation.
