The Temptation of Jesus it happens days after he was baptized, being directed by the Spiritwho takes him fasting to the desert where he would have his first frontal confrontation with satan.
That first encounter between the Son of God and satan is the prelude to what would be the ministry of Jesus on earth, since satan wanted to stop the purpose for which the Lord was found, however he was masterfully defeated through of the living Word.
The Temptation of Jesus
When speaking of the temptation of Jesus, it must be understood that it is an event that begins the ministry of Jesus on earth, since it occurred after the Holy Spirit He manifested himself in the form of a dove when he was baptized, and received God’s approval.
It is evident that satan would seek a way to stop Jesus in his plan of salvation on earth, which is why he manifested himself while he was fasting in the desert and feeling hungry, perhaps He thought that he could deceive him as he did with Adam and Eve, however that was not what happened.
“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, tempted by the devil. And he did not eat anything in those days, after which he was hungry. Then the devil said to him: If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.
Jesus answering him said, It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And he took the devil to a high mountain, and showed him in a moment all the kingdoms of the earth. And the devil said to him: To you I will give all this power, and their glory; because it has been delivered to me, and to whom I want I give it: If you prostrate yourself adore me, all will be yours.
Responding Jesus, he said to him: Get away from me, Satan, for it is written: The Lord your God you will worship, and him only you will serve. And he took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him: If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here; for it is written: He will command his angels over you, to keep you;
And in the hands they will hold you, so that you do not stumble with your foot in stone. Answering Jesus, he said to him: It is said: You shall not tempt the Lord your God. And when the devil had ended all temptation, he withdrew from him for a while” (Luke 4:1-13).
Although said biblical quote speaks specifically of the temptation of Jesus, it must be understood that it is the first combat that the Son of God has with satanwho sought to divert him from the purpose for which Jesus came to earth, which was to bring liberation to all men and their salvation.
Likewise, in an effective way Jesus defeated satan was left, who wanted to seduce him by showing him the power he could give him, something similar he did when he seduced Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. However, Jesus filled with the Spirit He answered him based on what was written in the Holy Scriptures.
This event is a similarity of what the believer lives today, since through the pleasures of the world satan continues to seduce all people to sin, and in this way they lose the purpose of the salvation that God grants to all.
Likewise, it is a confirmation of the spiritual conflict that the believer lives on a daily basis, since He is tempted by satan on a daily basis, and his faith is approved by his actions, in front of those pleasures that he faces on a daily basis, for which reason it is necessary to drink this example of victory that Jesus had against satan.
“For the rest, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand firm against the wiles of the devil. Because we have no fight against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this century, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly realms. Therefore, take the whole armor of God, so that you can resist on the evil day, and having finished everything, stand firm “(Ephesians 6:10-13)
Analysis of The Temptation of Jesus
This biblical quote shows Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit, who leads him into the desert where he meets satan, who wants to tempt him to disobey the work entrusted to him by God, It is therefore important to review each of the elements that is presented in this biblical quote, and know in detail what happened
He was led by the Spirit
In this event it is shown how the spirit that made sense during the baptism of Jesus was the one who took him to the desert, that is, after being clothed from above came the confrontation with satan.
“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days”
This speaks that Jesus was obedient to what God designated for his life, since when reviewing the texts they speak of his perfect obedience to the Spirit, since in Mark he speaks “And then the Spirit drove him into the desert” or matthew “was driven” emphasizing moving by obedience.
In all the biblical quotes that talk about this event experienced by Jesus, they emphasize that He did not oppose or resist the direction given to him by the Holy Spiritbut he opposed his human impulses, allowing the will of the Father to work at that moment when he began his ministry.
It can also be understood that all this referred to a training that Jesus was receiving, since He came from completing 40 days of fasting where he was ministered by the presence of God, and which was later approved with that confrontation he had with satan, whom he knew how to defeat.
Jesus was in the desert
Another point of analysis is that this temptation that Jesus lives It is in the desert, a secluded, precarious, inhospitable placewithout people, where he would not have human help to be able to face satan.
The fact that this event occurred in the desert speaks of a place that would easily allow one to be seduced by temptation, since being in an inhospitable place with no possibility of human well-being would lead one to succumb by not being sustained by God.
In this sense, Jesus teaches all believers a lesson by showing how important it is to maintain a intimate life in communion with Godwhich will allow you to defeat the strongest attacks that you can live, despite being tired or weakened, you will receive help from heaven.
Likewise, this serves so that the believer remains in constant connection with God, since Jesus had just been baptized and clothed with the Holy SpiritTherefore, led by the Spirit, he was fasting for 40 days, and in this way he was able to overcome the temptation presented by satan in the desert.
The Temptation of Jesus
When satan appears in the desert, he wanted Jesus to disobey God by breaking his orders, and to live in dishonor to God, by breaking what is written in the Holy writings, so Jesus forcefully claims not to dishonor God.
And he ate nothing during those days, after which he was hungry. Then the devil said to him: If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
With this suggestion that is presented to Jesus, he wanted to show the authority that Jesus had as Son of Godwho could easily convert all things according to his convenience, satan wanted Jesus to dishonor God’s authority in his life, so Jesus did not dare to lack the Word of God.
“Jesus answering him said, It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”
In this way, Jesus shows that to become the Savior of men, he had to be under the same terms as everyone, without using his divine power for his benefitin order to avoid each of the limitations that men have and determine their total dependence on the Word of God, even if that meant starving.
Seeing satan defeated with the answer given by Jesus, he continued to tempt him, seeking the way in which Jesus He thought of establishing his kingdom in this worldin a different way than what would be established according to God’s plan.
«And the devil took him to a high mountain, and showed him in a moment all the kingdoms of the earth. And the devil said to him: To you I will give all this power, and their glory; because it has been delivered to me, and to whom I want I give it: If you prostrate adore me, all will be yours»
This temptation referred to the fact that the devil offered him the rule of all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for their worshipseeking to recognize his authority in this world, serving him instead of God, for which Jesus responded forcefully against such a proposal, through the Holy Scriptures.
«Jesus answered and said to him: Get away from me, Satan, for it is written: The Lord your God you will worship, and him only you will serve»
Through this answer, he demonstrates the mastery that Jesus had of the word of God, since he understood that it was through it that he would overcome everything that came his way, because he would establish his kingdom based on the Word of God.
Given this, satan continued in his plan to tempt Jesus by seeking discredit the authority of God in your life, and in this way show his divinity before the circumstances that he presented to him in front.
«And he took him to Jerusalem, and put him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him: If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; for it is written: He will command his angels over you, to keep you. And in the hands they will hold you, so that you do not stumble with your foot on a stone.”
Satan, using his cunning, was looking for Jesus to commit some kind of imprudence, however, Jesus, full of wisdom, knew that he would not defeat him by satisfying his requests, but by means of God’s word for which, again, he responded based on what is established in the Holy Scriptures.
«Jesus answered and said to him: It is said: You shall not tempt the Lord your God. And when the devil had ended all temptation, he withdrew from him for a while.”
In this way, Jesus effectively defeats satan, who flees from Him as a result of the wisdom in responding to the temptations that He presented to them, since they wanted him to act self-sufficientlyand did not depend on God, but He behaved like a perfect man, who did not give in to any of them.
Finally, it can be said that the temptation of Jesus was aimed at creating a different model to the kingdom of Godsince he began to seek to solve the material needs that man has instead of the spiritual ones, then to seek the acceptance of people, and finally he wanted to avoid the sacrifice on the cross and not worship God.