EVEN JESUS THE CHRIST WAS TEMPTED

PROCLAMATION

“Then was Jesus led up of The Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungred.  And when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If Thou be The Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.'  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.’ ”  Matthew 4:1-4 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, as recorded under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the Apostle Matthew.  After He was baptized by John the baptizer, Jesus was led into the wilderness by The Spirit of God.  There He fasted for forty days and nights.  Then the devil came and tempted Him, not just once but three times. (Matthew 4:3, 4:6, and 4:8-9)  Jesus did not yield or give in to the temptations.  He refused the devil each of the three times. (Matthew 4:4, 4:7, and 4:10)  Afterwards the devil left Him and angels from heaven came and ministered to Him supplying all of His needs. (Matthew 4:11)  Then He left the wilderness and went into Galilee.  He left Nazareth and then dwelt in Capernaum which borders Zabulon and Nephthalim so that prophesy might be fulfilled. (Matthew 4:12-15)  From that time on Jesus, The Christ, began to preach saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)  Then Jesus started calling His disciples as He went about Galilee teaching, preaching, and healing. (Matthew 4:12-25)

 

APPLICATION

Since the devil tempted Jesus, The Christ, we should not be surprised that he tempts us.  The devil knows each of our weaknesses, and he knows exactly what to tempt us with.  It is not a temptation if it is something that we can easily refuse.  The test comes when it is something that we like or want but should not have.  Temptation is not a sin, yielding to temptation is a sin.  If we are not strong enough to resist the temptation, then we should avoid the situations where the temptations occur.  The Bible says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)  But the first part of that Bible verse says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God.”  Only with God’s help can we resist the temptation to sin.