Now, Satan didn't have a special temptation for the Son of God. Perhaps his intention was to derail Jesus' ministry before it started by tempting Him the way he would tempt ALL men; thus proving that He was merely a man, and not the Messiah. Satan followed the same pattern of temptations with Jesus as he would with any of us; with Mary, the dieter who wants to cheat on her diet; Bobby, the young person being tempted to get into a fist fight; or Steven, the married man tempted to cheat on his wife.
The first temptation of Jesus was "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." (Matthew 4:3) At the moment of Jesus' greatest starvation, He was tempted to simply create bread out of the stones here; to immediately satisfy his hunger while abandoning what he came out here to do: seek the voice of God and prepare for his mission. Thus, He is tempted with instant gratification.
Mary may be tempted to satisfy her craving for sweets with "just one little bonbon." Bobby, being annoyed by a bully, may be tempted to let out his building anger by punching out the guy; "just one punch, and that'll teach him." That woman may be flirting, and Steven may be feeling certain urges, "who's gonna know, go ahead, kiss her."
Jesus' response was "It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) In other words, my hunger is one thing, but my commitment to God is more important. Sure, I'll ease my hunger, but I'll have betrayed my Lord. Mary might say, "I can't have that bonbon, I'm trying to be healthy." Bobby: "It WOULD feel good to punch that guy out, but I'm not a violent person." Steven: "I made a commitment to my family, and no amount of instant gratification will make me betray that."
Second Temptation. Satan tried the next tactic: "If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." (Matthew 4:6) Some think that he was tempting Jesus into suicide, but I think he was trying to make Him prove his divinity. "If you're REALLY divine, then you won't die, Angels will save you."
"Come on, you can manage your own diet. A few calories now, and you'll eat an extra salad later." "What are you a wimp? This guy is challenging your manhood. Are you going to take that from him?" "What, does your wife decide what you do? Are you THAT hen-pecked?"
Jesus' response: "It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’" (Matthew 4:7) In other words, I AM the son of God, which means I don't HAVE to prove it.
"Yes, I HAVE will power, which means I'll have a celery stick." "A real man would never have to beat up another man to prove it." "I do what my wife would want because it's MY choice to honor her."
On to the final temptation. "All this I will give you,” Satan said, “if you will bow down and worship me." (Matthew 4:9) If you worship Satan, I'll give you whatever you've always wanted.
"Don't you want to be happy? A Celery stick won't make you happy, Chocolate will." "If I fight this guy, I'll be mightier than him, stronger, better. And in the eyes of all these people watching, I'll be awesome." "She's probably REALLY good. I'll be a stud if I can make it with her."
Very tempting, indeed, how do we battle that? Well, Jesus said, "Begone, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." (Matthew 4:10) Satan's offer is not the only way to seek satisfaction. He made the choice to serve His greater commitment to God, rather than be superlative in any way. Only with God's help will He become the savior He's meant to be.
"Think of how happy I'll be when I'm thin and healthy, and feeling good about myself." "I'll be the stronger man when I walk away from this argument." "I'm a great man in the eyes of my wife, and that's all I need to be."
In this Lenten Season, I've chosen to deepen my commitment to God by reading an online bible study every day, and to find inspiration in music and share that message with others. No doubt, I'll be tempted with instant gratification: "I'm kinda tired and busy, maybe I can skip it today;" a challenge to my ego: "What are you, one of those crazy, over-preachy Christians?" and probably, an offer to satisfy personal status, "Nobody's listening anyway, wouldn't your time online be better served sharing links to cooking videos?"
But, as every year, I'll remind myself of how Jesus battled His temptations, and this was after 40 days of NOTHING to eat, Nothing to drink, and blistering wilderness. Compared to Him, my little sacrifice is minuscule. How can I come before Him and say, "Please understand, Lord, I was tired. I was embarrassed. I didn't want to come off as being uncool."
