Wednesday, February 10, 2016

The Three Tiers of Temptation

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.” This is an amazing comfort to us as humans, but it is also incredibly convicting, because normally—at least in my experience—we look back (post-fall) and say, “There was a way out there, and there, and there, but I still fell. I’m an idiot!” Jesus clearly shows us the way out in Matthew 4:1-11.
The setting is laid out clearly in 4:1-2. Here it says that Jesus had just been baptized by John, where a voice had come down from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him!” (3:17). The very next verse says, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil” (4:1). If anybody had a reason to ever make the claim, “I’ve been rejected by God; sin won’t matter,” it was Jesus at this moment. The very same Spirit that had just comforted Him (3:16) was now driving Him into the wilderness for a period of temptation. And Matthew concludes in verse 2 by saying Jesus was fasting for forty days and forty nights. As if that itself wasn’t enough, the setting ends with the words, “He was hungry.”
The Devil comes in verse 3. His first tactic is to get Jesus to doubt His position before God. “If You are the Son of God,” he says, “tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus, of course, was the Son of God, but the point is that the Devil is hitting on a very basic need Jesus has at the time. He is hungry; the Devil says, “Eat!” Our temptations normally first arise because of some physical stimulus. There’s nothing wrong with desiring food; it’s clear Jesus did, but it is wrong to get it in a way that is not appropriate at the time. Jesus’ response sums this up perfectly. He quotes Scripture, saying, “Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (4:4; cf. Deuteronomy 8:3). Jesus knows that the true cure for hunger is God. Eating bread will leave anyone hungry again; feasting on God truly satisfies. When a physical temptation strikes, we must look to God as the superior pleasure and all-satisfying One.
But the Devil doesn’t stop there. Verse 5 has him standing in Jerusalem, atop the temple, and verse 6 has him repeating the question, “If You are the Son of God,” and then adding the conclusion,  “Throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will give His angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone’.” The Devil knows Jesus is going to fight him with Scripture, so he tries to turn Scripture against Jesus. He basically claims, “The Bible says it’s okay. Even if You do, God will still save You.” Or, as it gets spoken to us normally, “The more you sin, the more grace there is. Just do it and ask forgiveness later.” And then Jesus, in verse 7, replies back again with Scripture, “It is also written: ‘Do not test the Lord your God’ ” (cf. Deuteronomy 6:16). The Devil had completely ripped the verse (cf. Psalm 91:11-12) out of its context and said, “Jump! He’ll save You.” Jesus knows that there is an element of human responsibility in our living and our choices, so He says, “I won’t. I can’t test God. I must persevere through this thing.” When a verse pops into our head in a moment of temptation that seems to ease the consequences of our intended actions, it’s the Devil tempting us to test God! We can’t give in to these!
Then the Devil takes Jesus to a mountain where he shows Him all the cities of the world (4:8). He tells Jesus, “I will give You all these things if You will fall down and worship me” (4:9). The Devil knew why Jesus had come. He knew He was the Son of God. His goal had simply been to get Jesus to question it and to test it, thus sinning and ruining His standing before God. When all that failed, He told Jesus to worship Him in order to get what He came to earth to get: the nations. Jesus again responds with Scripture, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him’ ” (4:10; cf. Deuteronomy 6:13). Jesus recognized this temptation for what all temptations ultimately are when given into: Devil worship. In one sense it was the easiest temptation to avoid because the Devil told Jesus to worship him, and all good Jews know to only worship God. But in another sense it was the hardest temptation to abstain from: the Devil promised Jesus His life’s mission-goal apart from the cross.
If our temptations came to us with the label, “Do this and worship me, signed: Satan,” of course we’d stay miles away from them. However, this is why even if we make it through both of the first two rounds, we still end up failing in the third. The Devil promises that which we think we most need at the time we think we most need it, however, the hook is always hiding.
Let’s say Jesus gave in to this temptation; and let’s also say the Devil gave Him what he promised. Jesus would have all the nations, but sinning and worshipping the Devil ruins His claim to perfection as a perfect sacrifice, so He can’t die for the sins of the world or rise again. He would “possess” all the nations of the world, but they would really still be in Satan’s power and under God’s wrath.
Praise God that Jesus stood strong in temptation. And let’s pray that we can stand strong as well. The first test is often a physical stimulus; the second is a twisted promise from Scripture; and the third is a promise to get exactly what we want, even though the deadly hook is hidden. Trust God, know God, and love God. Pray to Him in time of need! There’s always a way out!
Soli Deo Gloria

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