The place where Adam, the first man, was tempted was in the garden of Eden, where he had everything that heart could wish, and where God had withheld from him the fruit of only one tree. The place where Jesus was tempted was in the wilderness, and among the wild beasts, where there was not even bread, to eat. Adam did not resist the devil, but yielded to the temptation, and fell. Jesus resisted the devil, and gained the victory over him, proving also that He was able to deliver those who had fallen under the devil’s power through sin.
In Matt. 4, we are told of three different ways by which the devil tried to overcome Jesus. I would like to have you notice these, and see how Jesus met the devil, and overcame him.
Jesus was forty days in the wilderness, among the wild beasts, and all those days He did not eat anything. I am sure you will not wonder that Jesus became hungry after fasting forty days. The devil knew this and tried to get Him to make bread out of stones, to satisfy His hunger. “If thou be the Son of God,” he said, “command that these stones be made bread.” Well, perhaps you will say, what harm would there have been in this? There would have been none at all, if God had told Him to do so. But do you know, dear young reader, a that men should never do anything that God does not tell them to do? The life of man should be a life of entire obedience to God. If we do anything without having God’s word for it, we do our own wills, and this is sin. Now Jesus would not act without His Father’s will, and so would not turn the stones into bread, because His Father had not told Him to do so. He said to the devil,
The proper life for man is to live by obedience to the word of God, and not merely by the bread which feeds the body. Jesus lived by the word of God, and not by bread only. The devil wanted Him to act without God’s word, to satisfy His hunger; but He would not. He could suffer hunger without sinning, but He could not act without God, and He did not. Thus the devil was, defeated.
In the second temptation the devil took Jesus to a pinnacle of the temple, and tried to get Him to throw Himself down, to see if God would keep His word, where it is said, “He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee,” etc. But Satan misquoted the Scriptures, and tried to put a false meaning on the passage, and Jesus answered, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” And thus again the devil was defeated.
In his third effort to overcome Jesus, the devil took Him “up into an exceeding high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and said unto Him, All these will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.” What a temptation! All the kingdoms of the world! Would it not be worthwhile to worship Satan, if He could get all these? No; Jesus would not take the kingdoms from Satan at all, and He would not worship such a wicked being. He will get the kingdoms of the world by and by, but it will be from His Father, and not from Satan. And His title to them will be, not the worship of the devil, but His work of atonement on the cross, which is the only ground of blessing for a scene that has fallen under the power of Satan through sin. Unmoved by all the devil’s wiles, He said to him, “Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” Then the devil left Him, and angels came and ministered to Him. Thus if Satan had found an easy prey in Adam, he had not found it so in Jesus. He was completely vanquished in every attempt to overcome the blessed Son of God. Jesus proved that He had power to bind the strong man and spoil his goods, and to deliver those whom Satan had taken captive.
Now, I want you to notice, that the only weapon Jesus used, with Which to defeat Satan, was “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” He always answered, “It is written,” and then quoted the word of God against him. This is the way Jesus resisted the devil. And if you, my young reader, would be able to resist the devil, you must first believe in Jesus as your Saviour, and submit’ to His authority. In this way you will be delivered from the power of Satan; and then, under the guidance of Jesus, you can resist the devil too, by using the word of God against him, when he would tempt you to sin. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Jas. 4:77Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7).
A. H. R.
ML 08/19/1900