Satan's temptation of Christ
Satan’s temptation of Christ is an extraordinary event in biblical history. If Scripture had not told us of it directly, we might wonder if it was even possible for God the Son to be tempted, even in His humanity. It goes without saying that if the Devil had succeeded in getting Christ to sin, he would have succeeded in ruining the whole plan of salvation. But leaving its extraordinary aspects aside, this event has many applications for ordinary believers in their daily lives. The temptation is recorded at some length in Matthew 4:1–11 and Luke 4:1–15. We will primarily use Luke’s account, and consider the occasion of the temptation, its nature, Christ’s defense against it, and more briefly, its aftermath.
The Occasion of the Temptation
In the previous chapter Jesus, having reached the age of 30, was inaugurated into his redemptive offices through baptism and anointing by the Spirit (Luke 3:21-23), following the biblical pattern of Old Testament prophets, priests, and kings. It was then, at the very outset of his ministry, that Satan chose to assault Him. Commenting on this event in Matthew’s Gospel, John Calvin says, "When he was leading a private life at home, we do not read that he was tempted; but when he was about to discharge the office of Redeemer, he then entered the field in the name of his whole church."
It is difficult to say how fully Satan understood Christ’s mission, but he understood at least enough to recognize that it was critical to derail it at the outset if possible. It is a common device of Satan’s to attack a man early when he first begins to become useful to God’s kingdom. If he can cause an instrument of God to fall into sin early, he knows that he can greatly reduce their effectiveness.
John the Baptist similarly faced a temptation at the beginning of his public ministry, when many wondered if he were the Christ. At that time, it would have been easy for John to take some of Christ’s glory to himself by at least letting people continue to wonder. But John the evangelist goes out of his way to record how John passed this early test: “And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who art thou?’ And he confessed, and denied not, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ,’” (John 1:19-20).
If we turn to church history, we can see the same pattern in the ministries of George Whitefield and Charles Spurgeon, for example. Both of these men came to great fame at very young ages through their powerful, Spirit-anointed preaching (Whitefield at 22, Spurgeon at 19). This formed an immense temptation to pride at a vulnerable age. Additionally, each was viciously attacked by enemies from all sides at an early stage. By the grace of God, both overcame these twin temptations and went on to have long, useful ministries.
Arguably, John Wesley at least partially succumbed to the temptation to pride early in his ministry, as he chafed at the junior role he played compared with Whitefield even though he was the older man and a former mentor to Whitefield in their unconverted days at Oxford. This led to a split in the Methodist movement and a reduction in its impact (see Arnold Dallimore’s biography of Whitefield for a careful analysis of this dynamic).
The Nature of the Temptation
Satan first tempted Christ with food when He was hungry after fasting for 40 days. At first glance, it is not immediately apparent what would have been wrong with Jesus providing food for Himself by miraculous means in His state of hunger. But Jesus’s miraculous power was not for His own comfort, and He never performed miracles at the behest of the wicked (see for example His refusal to provide a sign to the Pharisees in Matthew 12:39, to cite one of numerous cases). His later miracles were performed to prove and illustrate his doctrine, build up the faith of His people, and relieve the suffering of others. He would not mistrust His Father’s natural provision for Him by resorting to miraculous means outside of what they had been given for. And even if it would have otherwise been right, He would not be seen to cooperate with Satan in anything, no matter how seemingly trivial.
Luke next records the temptation to accept the kingdoms of the world at the price of worshiping Satan (Luke 4:5-7). This temptation was more direct, but contains a layer of subtlety. The Father had promised Christ the nations for His inheritance after He accomplished the redemption of His people at the cross (Isaiah 53:11-12, Philippians 2:8-11, Psalm 2:7-8, Hebrews 12:2), but Satan offers them to Christ without the suffering.
It is interesting to note that Matthew puts this temptation last (likely in its chronological order) whereas Luke puts it second. Matthew Henry argues plausibly that this may be to highlight the similarity of Christ’s temptation with Eve’s temptation in the garden:
In the devil's tempting of our first parents, he presented to them the forbidden fruit, first as good for food, and then as pleasant to the eyes [Genesis 3:6]; and they were overpowered by both these charms. Satan here first tempted Christ to turn the stones into bread, which would be good for food, and then showed him the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, which were pleasant to the eyes; but in both these he overpowered Satan, and perhaps with an eye to that, Luke changes the order.
Satan’s temptation of Christ was essentially the same as his temptation of Adam and Eve. It was an appeal to distrust God, using our fleshly appetites and desire for glory against us. Though the nature of this temptation was not new, the magnitude was much greater. Adam and Eve were tempted with fruit from a single tree when they were well provided for, and the opportunity to know more than they did. Christ was tempted with food after 40 days of fasting, and with the glory of all the kingdoms of the world. “He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin,” (Hebrews 4:15).
The third temptation in Luke’s account was to cast Himself down from a pinnacle of the temple, trusting that God would save Him. Here we see again Satan’s subtlety, quoting Scripture in the temptation, and seemingly encouraging trust in God’s protection. Matthew Henry says of this temptation:
It is true, God has promised the protection of angels, to encourage us to trust him, not to tempt him; as far as the promise of God's presence with us, so far the promise of the angels' ministration goes, but no further: "They shall keep thee when thou goest on the ground, where thy way lies, but not if thou wilt presume to fly in the air."
This temptation is similar to the first, in that Jesus is again tempted to rely upon miraculous means for the needs of His flesh. He refuses to tempt the Lord in either case.
Christ’s Defense against the Temptation
Jesus’ defense against the temptation is striking in its simplicity: “It is written, it is written, it is written.” He needs no ten step plan or outside help (though plans and outside help can be helpful). He simply replies to each temptation with Scripture. In reading this account, we are tempted to wonder if this really is all we need when facing our own temptations. Will merely quoting the Bible enable us to overcome our temptations too?
It should first be said that Christ is not using Scripture as a lucky charm that will dispel temptation through a bare recitation of it. In order for Scripture to be effective against the temptations of our flesh, we must meditate upon it, love it, and treasure it. Only when our affections are stirred up by constant exercise in the Word will our love for God and His precepts overcome our love of self and our fleshly desires:
Psalm 119:11 — “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
Psalm 119:103–104 — “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.”
Galatians 5:16 — “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
Ephesians 5:18-19 — “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”
But, secondly, as the above verses attest, the Word of God which is the sword of the Spirit is a powerful weapon by which we may overcome the temptations of Satan (Ephesians 6:11, 17). Commenting on this Calvin says, "No other reason can be assigned, why the fury of Satan meets with so little resistance, and why so many are everywhere carried away by him, but that God punishes their carelessness, and their contempt of his word."
It is worth noting that all three of Jesus’s quotations are taken from Deuteronomy, the record of Israel’s 40-year trial in the wilderness (8:3, 6:13, 6:16). Perhaps this is an allusion to the fact that where God’s people have failed and given in to temptation, Christ has triumphed on their behalf. Of the two sons God called out of Egypt (Israel and Jesus, Matthew 2:15, Hosea 11:1), only our Elder Brother has overcome the temptation in the wilderness, and He has graciously done it on behalf of His wayward people.
The Aftermath of the Temptation
Verse 13 gives this wonderful note: “And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.” Temptation does not last forever, though often part of Satan’s attack is to convince us that it will last too long for us to hold out, like a besieged city, and therefore we might as well surrender. But here we see that Christ’s temptation ended, though it was very strong while it lasted. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” (James 4:7).
In verses 14 and 15 we see that Jesus came out of this temptation stronger than ever, exercising a powerful ministry through the Spirit. Having passed the test that His heavenly Father permitted, His ministry began to experience great blessing. Temptations are not merely trials, but also opportunities.
The basis of this initial fame and power appears to have been simply His teaching, as verse 15 records. Later He would add the witness of miracles to confirm the preached word, but His reputation at first seems to have been due to His preaching alone, similar to John the Baptist of whom it was later said “John did no miracle, but all things that John spake of this man were true.” (John 10:41). Here again we see the power of the living Word of God in the lives of those that make it their meditation.
Conclusion
Satan still aims his sharpest attacks at the outset of usefulness, still urges us to distrust our Father's provision, and still tries to convince us the siege will never lift. But our Savior has triumphed on our behalf where we have failed, and has given us the pattern for victory. Because He was tempted in all points like as we are, we may come boldly to the throne of grace for help in our own hour of trial (Hebrews 4:15–16). Let us treasure His Word as He did, and He will make us stand in the evil day.