Jesus Answer to Satan's Temptations!

Jesus’ ministry begins first with a Baptism. Then is promptly faced with the temptations of human flesh.  

As soon as God pronounces:  "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”  The Spirit takes him out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 

His beginning is much the same as your’s and mine.  The only thing is that most of us are baptized as babies.  Jesus was a young man.  However, we all go from that blessed event, where God blesses us with the presence of his Spirit, into a world of temptation.  

We are not told, in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus' the temptations were.  But in both Matthew and Luke’s Gospels, in chapter 4, we are given a full description of the temptation. They all involve the temptation of human power.   

1. Is to turn stones into bread to relive his hunger.

2. To throw himself off a high cliff.  Thus proving that 

          God will save him from the fall. Putting God to the 

          test!

3. The devil then shows Jesus all the world and says:

    “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and 

              worship me.”

Jesus past all the tests!  He refused all the temptation to override God’s place of power and authority. 

You and I live in a world that constantly asks us to compromise on God’s request to let him be God.  

That is just the truth of life on this earth.  

And we are drawn into the realm of trusting only what we see, hear, can touch and control.  We admire the heroes who portray excellence in their field of endeavor.  We have learned to love money, and what it can give us.  We have learned well the philosophy of taking care of me first.  We have allowed the claims of the human ego to convince us that we don't need God to live well. 

And we are now fully experiencing the results of our cultural conditioning. 

Just like Pavlov’s dog, that learned to immediately react to the sound of a bell!

Here is how Jesus finally responded to Satan’s attempts to draw him away from God: "It is said, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' “

We have a great deal to learn about Jesus!

1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God….. 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.