Satan Trying Jesus' Faith in the Wilderness

The faith of Jesus: Satan's testing in the Wilderness - Part 3:

The Gospel of Matthew (4:1 - 10) records three specific temptations of Jesus, as does the Gospel of Luke (4:1 - 12). The temptations in Matthew are similar to those recorded by Luke but there are differences in the circumstances, the words used to describe them and the order in which they appear in the two Gospels. We will address a possible explanation for these differences after we finish reviewing them.

Our last study examined the Devil's first recorded temptation of Jesus in Matthew and Luke: "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." Matthew 4:33 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

. In Luke 4:33 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

, the Devil is quoted as saying "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread. Jesus' response as recorded in both Gospels was a quote from the last part of Deuteronomy 8:33 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.

: "man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live." Matthew 4:44 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.

and Luke 4:44 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

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In today's study we observe that the second temptation of Jesus as recorded by Matthew is similar to the third temptation recorded by Luke. Jesus used the same passage from God's Word to answer in both passages so we will address both. Matthew records the second temptation: "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." Matthew 4:5 & 65 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

. Luke records the third temptation: "And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." Luke 4:9 - 119 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:

10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:

11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

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The Devil quoted loosely from Psalms 91:11 & 1211 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

, which actually reads: "For He shall give His angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all they ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, Lest thou dash they foot against a stone." In quoting this passage Satan omitted the essential words "to keep Thee in all Thy ways," as recorded by both Matthew and Luke. He also added the three words "at any time," as recorded by Luke. Simply put, the "ways" of Jesus are not the "ways" of Satan and Jesus' "ways" would not be to follow Satan's advise so Satan left out this phrase in his quote. And of course Satan did not mention the verse that follows in Psalms because it speaks of his own demise: "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: The young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet." Psalms 91:1313 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

. This prophecy is that Jesus Christ will someday trample Satan under His feet.

Jesus answer is the same in both Matthew and Luke: "Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Matthew 4:77 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

& Luke 4:1212 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

. Here He quotes from Deuteronomy 6:1616 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.

: "Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as he tempted Him in Massah." In order to understand all this we need to find out what happened in Massah and we find this is the place where the children of Israel tried God, Exodus 17:77 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

: "And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us, or not?" The context of this verse in Exodus is the occasion in the wilderness when the Israelites complained loudly to Moses that they were thirsty and needed water. It came to the point where they were about to stone Moses to death. The Lord responded by directing Moses to strike the rock in Horeb, from which water issued forth, Exodus 17:1 - 61 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.

2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?

3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

4 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.

5 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.

6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

, and the Children of Israel drank there from.

With this background information we understand that Satan's motive in the second temptation recorded by Matthew and the third recorded by Luke was an attempt on the life of the man Jesus as well as his questioning whether Jesus was in fact "the Lord among us, or not." Of course Jesus withstood this temptation. He stood on the Word of God in which His faith rested for Satan could not take his life as a man and Jesus indeed proved Himself "the Lord among us."

Today, Jesus is no longer a man here on earth because after His death, burial, resurrection and ascension into heaven He became the Lord Jesus Christ. But Satan continues to pervert and blind the understanding of most of humanity to where the majority of people do not believe that Jesus was indeed both God and Man when He was here on earth. And they don't believe He now lives in the Heavenlies seated on the right hand of God as the Lord Jesus Christ. They either cannot understand how this can be or they simply choose not to believe the Word of God, which clearly states: "So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God." Mark 16:1919 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

. "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Romans 8:3434 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." Colossians 3:11 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

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