The first three gospels describe the temptations of Jesus. "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." (Matthew 4:1-3). "Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him." (Mark 1:12-13). " Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time." (Luke 4:12-13)
There are only two times Satan talks directly to a person. The first was in Genesis 3, when satan was talking with Eve in the garden of Eden (cf Genesis 3). And the second time is to Jesus in the wilderness. Perhaps the best way to understand these temptations is to compare them to the the temptation that Satan placed before Eve in the Garden of Eden. In both cases satan appealed to worldly desires and bodily needs.
Through these experiences of tests in life, we can understand our nature and God’s Power. We come to realize that God is God and we are not. Wilderness is not a pleasant experience. Unpredictable and harsh, it is a place that offers nothing but the possibility of death. As the word itself says, it is wild. To be in the wilderness is to be alone totally relying on God for survival. In a weakened state, after having fasted for forty days and forty nights, Jesus was taken into the wilderness with the intention of testing Him.
We are tempted by three things appealing to our senses. In 1 John 2:16, we read "For all that is in the world, [1] the lust of the flesh, and [2] the lust of the eyes, and [3] the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." In Genesis 3 we read of Satan coming to Eve and tempting her with the fruit of the forbidden tree. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food (1. Lust of the flesh), and that it was pleasant to the eyes (2. Lust of the eyes), and a tree to be desired to make one wise (3. Pride of life), she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” (Genesis 3:6). It was not because Eve or Adam was hungry, they chose to eat of the tree. They had access to all the other trees and fruits they could eat. Their appetite for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was much more than hunger or thirst. God had told Adam and Eve that if they ate of the forbidden tree, they would die. “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.” (Genesis 3:4). Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not certainly die; for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” They chose the pursuit of knowledge with the desire to become like God.
The Bible calls Jesus the last Adam in 1 Cor 15 "as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive". "The first Adam became a living being; the last Adam, became a life-giving spirit.” In the wilderness temptations of the Lord Jesus Christ we see satan taking the same approach that he did with Eve. The differene here is that Jesus was tired and hungry and was in the wilderness with nobody to help.
We read that the devil finally departed Jesus temporarily until an opportune time. Jesus was again tested in the garden of Gathesmane. Jesus prayed to the Father to remove the cup in front of him, but submitted to the Father's will. He took up the cross and was crucified. While on the cross, the Jewish leaders shouted, “if you are the Son of God, Come down from the cross.” (Matt 27:40). With Joyful hearts, we can say today, Thank you Jesus, for not coming down, because you died on the Cross, I am a child of God today. Because you passed the tests, death has been defeated. Because you rose again, we have the hope of resurrection.
Lent is a time the church uses for self-examination and repentance through prayer, fasting, and reading and meditating on God's Holy Word. We renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of our sin. Jesus Christ spent the period before his crucifixion in prayer and meditation. We can prepare for the commemoration of our Lord’s resurrection in the same way. Through such a practice we can experience renewal, lent offers the chance to refresh and renew our faith.
Blessings
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