Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13 (The temptation)

Rachel Workman: 

Matthew	Mark	Luke	John
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. If Jesus was God, how could he be tempted? First, the Bible teaches the deity of Christ (Jn. 1:1; Col. 2:9). Second, it also teaches that he was tempted (Matt. 4:1; Heb. 4:15). Similarly, God cannot die; but Jesus died. How was this possible? The risen Christ, a miracle by which God, the Son, took on the sin of humanity made many things possible that were not possible of God in his divine essence. By coming in the flesh, Jesus was not only capable of dying, but he was also subject to the other characteristics of being a man hunger, weariness, etc. Likewise, being in the flesh made it possible for the God-man to be tempted, as the Scriptures testify. It's important for us to realize that Jesus could have failed this test of temptation but he did not. He did not because of his obedience to God and love for us. 3 During that time the devil[a] came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone,     but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Words to live by. We must live by every word that comes from the mouth of God. I think most people forget or choose to ignore how important God's word is to us and to Him. People lost lives to give us what we have today. And we take it  for granted because we are so busy living in this world. God didn't provide us with his word and then decide to make us too busy to study it. 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands     so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” 7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’ 8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” 10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God     and serve only him.’[e]” 11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.	12 The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, 13 where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him. The Holy Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted, but this is no more alarming than the fact that God sent Christ into the world to die. Our salvation involved a sacrificial death, and the road to Calvary was paved with suffering, testing, and temptation, through which Jesus was perfected to serve as high priest for you and I.	Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,[a] 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry. Here stood a man with a man's courage, facing an existential moment so significant the outcome would determine the fate of the entire universe, having been led by the Spirit into a dark place of doubt and hunger, not a known spiritual being but an untested human being. Had Jesus failed and been found to be imperfect everything we know now would be lost. But Jesus was found to be perfect by man and spirits. 3 Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’[b]” 5 Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. 7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.” 8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God     and serve only him.’[c]” 9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. 11 And they will hold you up with their hands     so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’[d]

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John Burnett: 

Matthew 4:1-11

The Temptation of Jesus

4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He ^[a]then became hungry. ³ And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” ⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

⁵ Then the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,

‘He will command His angels concerning You’;

and

‘On their hands they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “^[b]On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

⁸ Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; ⁹ and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and ^[c]worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and ^[d]serve Him only.’” ¹¹ Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

Mark 1:12-13

¹² Immediately the Spirit *impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. ¹³ And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.

Luke 4:1-13

The Temptation of Jesus

4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around ^[a]by the Spirit in the wilderness ² for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. ³ And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” ⁴ And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

⁵ And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of ^[b]the world in a moment of time. ⁶ And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and ^[c]its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. ⁷ Therefore if You ^[d]worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” ⁸ Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

⁹ And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; ¹⁰ for it is written,

‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You,’

¹¹ and,

‘On their hands they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”

¹² And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

¹³ When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

I find it interesting that the chronological order differs in Matthew’s and Luke’s versions.  The importance of these verses to our salvation cannot be overstated.  How could Jesus overcome sin and death if he was never tempted to sin.  The Holy Spirit put Jesus in the weakest human conditions possible (fasting for 40 days, I can’t fast for 40 hours) and then allowed the most powerful tempter possible to have his best shot at Him.  If Jesus would have succumb to any temptation, our salvation is out the window, because He would no longer be the spotless lamb of God and qualified to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

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Krista Cook:  - What can we learn from Jesus' time of temptation?  That we MUST have the Word in our hearts and minds in order to combat all our temptations.  And when we think we have defeated Satan, he is just waiting for the next time to attack us.  Always be ready!