Jesus' Temptations in the Wilderness

[mfblume]

I have long considered the three temptations hurled at Jesus in the wilderness. I am blessed about how Christ really was in our shoes as a human being, and responded and overcame the enemy precisely int he same manner we can today. It might be easy to think of Him as God in the flesh overcoming in a way we could never do since we are not God. But it is God IN THE FLESH. We are not sons of God incarnate, as He was, but God is in our flesh, and Jesus as a man relied on the leading of the Spirit.

The first temptation was to turn stone into bread to prove He was Son of God. The Father had just declared from Heaven that Jesus was His beloved Son in whom He was well-pleased 40 days earlier at His baptism. So it is as if the enemy was challenging that WORD. As a man Jesus had to stand on that word.

Not only that, but Jesus' response shows something powerful! Jesus quoted Deut 8 and said "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." I took note of what passages Jesus quoted and WHY He quoted them. First of all, they were ALL SAID BY MOSES TO ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS, just as Jesus was IN THE WILDERNESS. They were used by Jesus after having been there forty days as Israel was 40 years in the wilderness. Jesus went into this wilderness after having been baptized in Jordan and would obviously return through Jordan to begin His ministry, just as Israel would cross Jordan and enter their promised land.

But note all the words of the verse Jesus quoted:

Matthew 4:3-4 KJV And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. (4) 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.

Deuteronomy 8:3 KJV And he 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.


Consider why Jesus chose this verse. It was about eating food just as He was tempted to turn stone into bread for food. But notice it says that God suffered Israel to hunger and then provided manna so they would know they must live by His Word and not just food. What does that mean? How does giving them manna make them know they have to live by God's Word and not just food?

I have my thoughts I will share later. Anyone have thoughts about why God gave manna to teach them about the word, and how that provided the key to overcome Jesus' temptation?

[mfblume]

While y'all are thinking about it.... It hit me that the INSTRUCTIONS God gave in order to obtain and enjoy the manna were part of what I think God meant in saying He taught them to live by the Word and not bread alone. They had to ensure they got up early in the morning to get the manna. They learned it turned to worms if it was left too long and if it was kept overnight. And they learned on the sixth day they had to gather twice as much, for there would be no manna on the sabbath morn. And if they kept it overnight into the sabbath it would not breed worms.

In other words, if you want "bread", you are going to have to first learn and abide by the Word of God, otherwise you'll not get the bread and be fed.

This manner of dealing with manna would actually reveal the entire approach Israel would have for the rest of the entire Word of God and the Law.

And it revealed that Jesus would NOT LISTEN TO THE DEVIL as for what to do, but ONLY LISTEN TO THE FATHER. It shows Christ's utter dependency upon the Word of God. He was not so concerned about what went into His mouth, but what came out of the Father's mouth.

It shows SPIRIT LEADING. And did not Romans 8 say they who are led by the Spirit of God THEY ARE THE SONS OF GOD?! So Jesus would not prove His sonship by doing what the devil tempted to do, but being led by the SPIRIT OF GOD ALONE.

[Scott Hutchinson]

Alot of Christians want to be fed,but they neglect daily bible reading,they feel empty,but they are not putting in time in with the word.
If one is truly led by the Spirit they will be led to do the things the words instructs.
Also abiding in the Holy Ghost causes one to produce fruit and have works that are faith based and not not performance based.
The word and The Spirit work together.

[mfblume]

Woohoo, a blessed thought just hit me. Jesus said He would not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. LIVING by the word meant relying on it and living life that behaves as though that WORD was true. He just heard the Father tell him forty days beforehand that HE WAS HIS BELOVED SON. To LIVE by the word would be to NOT PROVE His Sonship to anyone, but have the confidence that HE IS SON just because the WORD SAID HE WAS!

Also, Jesus was told He was wellpleasing before having done one miracle or preaching one sermon. We do not have to prove ourselves as pleasing to God by performance!

[UnTraditional]

Faith pleases God. The work of faith is a byproduct of faith, not what faith is. It is the faith of the believer that is pleasing to the Lord.

[mfblume]

Faith pleases God. The work of faith is a byproduct of faith, not what faith is. It is the faith of the believer that is pleasing to the Lord.

And faith is trust in the WORD without need for proof. The just live live by faith, and we walk by faith and not sight that requires visible proof.

[mfblume]

AS A MAN, He heard that word of His Sonship 40 DAYS BEFOREHAND!
• Since hearing that Word He fasted 40 days and NO WORD FROM THE FATHER.
• Then He was hungry and the devil tempted Him.
• The flesh was suffering.
• Talk about a dry spell.
• 40 days without hearing another word.
• On top of that the devil tempts Him and takes advantage of His hunger.
• BUT JESUS SHOWS HOW HE HELD ONTO THAT WORD!

He truly LIVED by the WORD OF GOD, and his life manifested that.

What a lesson to learn from HIS HUMANITY!

Living by faith and living by the Word is acting as though what the Word says is actually true, despite any absence of proof in the physical. And to do THAT in the midst of a dry spell and the devil's temptations is TRUE LIFE BY THE WORD.