What was the meaning and purpose of Jesus’ temptations?

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What was the meaning and purpose of Jesus' temptations? The three temptations by Satan in the wilderness were not the only temptations our

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Lord suffered on earth. We read in Luke 4 -2 that He was tempted by the devil for 40 days, but He was undoubtedly tempted at other times, and yet in all this,

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He was without sin or compromise. Although some have suggested that the Lord's period of fasting compares with that of both

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Moses and Elijah, the main point is how the Lord deals with temptation in the light of His humanity.

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It is because He is human, and made like us in every way, that He could do three vital things.

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1. Destroy the devil's power and free those who are held in slavery by their fear of death. 2.

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Become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God and atone for our sins. And 3.

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Be the one who is able to sympathize with us in all our weaknesses and infirmities. Our Lord's human nature enables

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Him to sympathize with our own weaknesses, because He was subjected to weakness too. More importantly, we have a high priest who is able to intercede on our behalf and provide the grace of forgiveness.

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Temptation is never as great as when one has made a public declaration of faith as did our

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Lord when He was baptized in the Jordan. However, we also note that during this time of exhaustive testing, our

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Lord was also ministered to by angels. A mystery indeed that the omnipotent one should condescend to receive such help from lesser beings.

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Here is a beautiful description of the ministry that His people also benefit from. During times of testing and trial, we too are aided by angels who are ministering spirits sent to those who will inherit salvation.

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Jesus' temptation followed three patterns that are common to all men. The first temptation concerns the lust of the flesh.

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Our Lord is hungry, and the devil tempts Him to convert stones into bread. But He replies with the scripture, quoting

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Deuteronomy 8 .13. The second temptation concerns the pride of life. In here, the devil uses a verse of scripture, but the

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Lord replies again with scripture to the contrary, stating that it is wrong for Him to abuse His own powers.

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The third temptation concerns the lust of the eyes. And if any quick route to the

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Messiahship could be attained, bypassing the passion and crucifixion for which He had originally come, this was the way.

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The devil already had control over the kingdoms of the world, but was now ready to give everything to Christ in return for His allegiance.

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But the mere thought almost causes the Lord's divine nature to shudder at such a concept, and He replies sharply,

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You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only. There are many temptations that we sadly fall into because our flesh is naturally weak.

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But we have a God who will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. He will provide a way out.

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We can, therefore, be victorious. And then we'll thank the Lord for deliverance from temptation.

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Jesus' experience in the desert helps us see these common temptations that keep us from serving God effectively.

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Furthermore, we learn from Jesus' response to the temptations exactly how we are to respond with scripture.

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The forces of evil come to us with a myriad of temptations, but all have the same three things at their core.

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Lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. We can only recognize and combat these temptations by saturating our hearts and minds with the truth.

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The armor of a Christian soldier in the spiritual battle of life includes only one offensive weapon, the sword of the

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Spirit, which is the word of God. Knowing the Bible intimately will put the sword in our hands and enable us to be victorious over temptations.