And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness." The words of Mark are still more significant. He says, "Immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts." "And in those days He did eat nothing."
When Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted, He was led by the Spirit of God. He did not invite temptation. He went to the wilderness to be alone, to contemplate His mission and work. By fasting and prayer He was to brace Himself for the bloodstained path He must travel. But Satan knew that the Saviour had gone into the wilderness, and he thought this the best time to approach Him.
Mighty issues for the world
were at stake in the conflict between the Prince of light and
the leader of the kingdom of darkness. After tempting man to sin,
Satan claimed the earth as his, and styled himself the prince
of this world. Having conformed to his own nature the father and
mother of our race, he thought to establish here his empire. He
declared that men had chosen him as their sovereign. Through his
control of men, he held dominion over the world. Christ had come
to disprove Satan's claim. As the Son of man, Christ would stand
loyal to God. Thus it would be shown that Satan had not gained
complete control of the human race, and that his claim to the
world was false. All who desired deliverance from his power would
be set free. The dominion that Adam had lost through sin would
be recovered.
Since the announcement to the serpent in Eden, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed" (Gen. 3:15), Satan had known that he did not hold absolute sway over the world. There was seen in men the working of a power that withstood his dominion. With intense interest he watched the sacrifices offered by Adam and his sons. In these ceremonies he discerned a symbol of communion between earth and heaven. He set himself to intercept this communion. He misrepresented God, and misinterpreted the rites that pointed to the Saviour. Men were led to fear God as one who delighted in their destruction. The sacrifices that should have revealed His love were offered only to appease His wrath. Satan excited the evil passions of men, in order to fasten his rule upon them. When God's written word was given, Satan studied the prophecies of the Saviour's advent. From generation to generation he worked to blind the people to these prophecies, that they might reject Christ at His coming.
At the birth of Jesus, Satan
knew that One had come with a divine commission to dispute his
dominion. He trembled at the angel's message attesting the authority
of the newborn King. Satan well knew the position that Christ
had held in heaven as the Beloved of the Father. That the Son
of God should come to this earth as a man filled him with amazement
and with apprehension. He could not fathom the mystery of this
great sacrifice. His selfish soul could not understand such love
for the deceived race. The glory and peace of heaven, and the
joy of communion with God, were but dimly comprehended by men;
but they were well known to Lucifer, the covering cherub. Since
he had lost heaven, he was determined to find revenge by causing
others to share his fall. This he would do by causing them to
undervalue heavenly things, and to set the heart upon things of
earth.
Not without hindrance was the Commander of heaven to win the souls of men to His kingdom. From the time when He was a babe in Bethlehem, He was continually assailed by the evil one. The image of God was manifest in Christ, and in the councils of Satan it was determined that He should be overcome. No human being had come into the world and escaped the power of the deceiver. The forces of the confederacy of evil were set upon His track to engage in warfare against Him, and if possible to prevail over Him.
At the Saviour's baptism, Satan was among the witnesses. He saw the Father's glory overshadowing His Son. He heard the voice of Jehovah testifying to the divinity of Jesus. Ever since Adam's sin, the human race had been cut off from direct communion with God; the intercourse between heaven and earth had been through Christ; but now that Jesus had come "in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Rom. 8:3), the Father Himself spoke. He had before communicated with humanity through Christ; now He communicated with humanity in Christ. Satan had hoped that God's abhorrence of evil would bring an eternal separation between heaven and earth. But now it was manifest that the connection between God and man had been restored.
Satan saw that he must either conquer or be conquered. The issues of the conflict involved too much to be entrusted to his confederate angels. He must personally conduct the warfare. All the energies of apostasy were rallied against the Son of God. Christ was made the mark of every weapon of hell.
Many look on this conflict
between Christ and Satan as having no special bearing on their
own life; and for them it has little interest. But within the
domain of every human heart this controversy is repeated. Never
does one leave the ranks of evil for the service of God without
encountering the assaults of Satan. The enticements which Christ
resisted were those that we find it so difficult to withstand.
They were urged upon Him in as much greater degree as His character
is superior to ours. With the terrible weight of the sins of the
world upon Him, Christ withstood the test upon appetite, upon
the love of the world, and upon that love of display which leads
to presumption. These were the temptations that overcame Adam
and Eve, and that so readily overcome us.
Satan had pointed to Adam's sin as proof that God's law was unjust, and could not be obeyed. In our humanity, Christ was to redeem Adam's failure. But when Adam was assailed by the tempter, none of the effects of sin were upon him. He stood in the strength of perfect manhood, possessing the full vigor of mind and body. He was surrounded with the glories of Eden, and was in daily communion with heavenly beings. It was not thus with Jesus when He entered the wilderness to cope with Satan. For four thousand years the race had been decreasing in physical strength, in mental power, and in moral worth; and Christ took upon Him the infirmities of degenerate humanity. Only thus could He rescue man from the lowest depths of his degradation.
Many claim that it was impossible for Christ to be overcome by temptation. Then He could not have been placed in Adam's position; He could not have gained the victory that Adam failed to gain. If we have in any sense a more trying conflict than had Christ, then He would not be able to succor us. But our Saviour took humanity, with all its liabilities. He took the nature of man, with the possibility of yielding to temptation. We have nothing to bear which He has not endured.
With Christ, as with the holy pair in Eden, appetite was the ground of the first great temptation. Just where the ruin began, the work of our redemption must begin. As by the indulgence of appetite Adam fell, so by the denial of appetite Christ must overcome. "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."
From the time of Adam to
that of Christ, self-indulgence had increased the power of the
appetites and passions, until they had almost unlimited control.
Thus men had become debased and diseased, and of themselves it
was impossible for them to overcome. In man's behalf, Christ conquered
by enduring the severest test. For our sake He exercised a self-control
stronger than hunger or death. And in this first victory were
involved other issues that enter into all our conflicts with the
powers of darkness.
When Jesus entered the wilderness, He was shut in by the Father's glory. Absorbed in communion with God, He was lifted above human weakness. But the glory departed, and He was left to battle with temptation. It was pressing upon Him every moment. His human nature shrank from the conflict that awaited Him. For forty days He fasted and prayed. Weak and emaciated from hunger, worn and haggard with mental agony, "His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men." Isa. 52:14. Now was Satan's opportunity. Now he supposed that he could overcome Christ.
There came to the Saviour, as if in answer to His prayers, one in the guise of an angel from heaven. He claimed to have a commission from God to declare that Christ's fast was at an end. As God had sent an angel to stay the hand of Abraham from offering Isaac, so, satisfied with Christ's willingness to enter the bloodstained path, the Father had sent an angel to deliver Him; this was the message brought to Jesus. The Saviour was faint from hunger, He was craving for food, when Satan came suddenly upon Him. Pointing to the stones which strewed the desert, and which had the appearance of loaves, the tempter said, "If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread."
Though he appears as an
angel of light, these first words betray his character. "If
Thou be the Son of God." Here is the insinuation of distrust.
Should Jesus do what Satan suggests, it would be an acceptance
of the doubt. The tempter plans to overthrow Christ by the same
means that were so successful with the human race in the beginning.
How artfully had Satan approached Eve in Eden! "Yea, hath
God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"
Gen 3:1. Thus far the tempter's words were truth; but in his manner
of speaking them there was a disguised contempt for the words
of God. There was a covert negative, a doubt of the divine truthfulness.
Satan sought to instill into the mind of Eve the thought that
God would not do as He had said; that the withholding of such
beautiful fruit was a contradiction of His love and compassion
for man. So now the tempter seeks to inspire Christ with his own
sentiments. "If Thou be the Son of God." The words rankle
with bitterness in his mind. In the tones of his voice is an expression
of utter incredulity. Would God treat His own Son thus? Would
He leave Him in the desert with wild beasts, without food, without
companions, without comfort? He insinuates that God never meant
His Son to be in such a state as this. "If Thou be the Son
of God," show Thy power by relieving Thyself of this pressing
hunger. Command that this stone be made bread.
The words from heaven, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17), were still sounding in the ears of Satan. But he was determined to make Christ disbelieve this testimony. The word of God was Christ's assurance of His divine mission. He had come to live as a man among men, and it was the word that declared His connection with heaven. It was Satan's purpose to cause Him to doubt that word. If Christ's confidence in God could be shaken, Satan knew that the victory in the whole controversy would be his. He could overcome Jesus. He hoped that under the force of despondency and extreme hunger, Christ would lose faith in His Father, and work a miracle in His own behalf. Had He done this, the plan of salvation would have been broken.
When Satan and the Son of God first met in conflict, Christ was the commander of the heavenly hosts; and Satan, the leader of revolt in heaven, was cast out. Now their condition is apparently reversed, and Satan makes the most of his supposed advantage. One of the most powerful of the angels, he says, has been banished from heaven. The appearance of Jesus indicates that He is that fallen angel, forsaken by God, and deserted by man. A divine being would be able to sustain his claim by working a miracle; "if Thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread." Such an act of creative power, urges the tempter, would be conclusive evidence of divinity. It would bring the controversy to an end.
Not without a struggle could
Jesus listen in silence to the arch-deceiver. But the Son of God
was not to prove His divinity to Satan, or to explain the reason
of His humiliation. By conceding to the demands of the rebel,
nothing for the good of man or the glory of God would be gained.
Had Christ complied with the suggestion of the enemy, Satan would
still have said, Show me a sign that I may believe you to be the
Son of God. Evidence would have been worthless to break the power
of rebellion in his heart. And Christ was not to exercise divine
power for His own benefit. He had come to bear trial as we must
do, leaving us an example of faith and submission. Neither here
nor at any subsequent time in His earthly life did He work a miracle
in His own behalf. His wonderful works were all for the good of
others. Though Jesus recognized Satan from the beginning, He was
not provoked to enter into controversy with him. Strengthened
with the memory of the voice from heaven, He rested in His Father's
love. He would not parley with temptation.
Jesus met Satan with the words of Scripture. "It is written," He said. In every temptation the weapon of His warfare was the word of God. Satan demanded of Christ a miracle as a sign of His divinity. But that which is greater than all miracles, a firm reliance upon a "Thus saith the Lord," was a sign that could not be controverted. So long as Christ held to this position, the tempter could gain no advantage.
It was in the time of greatest
weakness that Christ was assailed by the fiercest temptations.
Thus Satan thought to prevail. By this policy he had gained the
victory over men. When strength failed, and the will power weakened,
and faith ceased to repose in God, then those who had stood long
and valiantly for the right were overcome. Moses was wearied with
the forty years' wandering of Israel, when for the moment his
faith let go its hold upon infinite power. He failed just upon
the borders of the Promised Land. So with Elijah, who had stood
undaunted before King Ahab, who had faced the whole nation of
Israel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal at their
head. After that terrible day upon Carmel, when the false prophets
had been slain, and the people had declared their allegiance to
God, Elijah fled for his life before the threats of the idolatrous
Jezebel. Thus Satan has taken advantage of the weakness of humanity.
And he will still work in the same way. Whenever one is encompassed
with clouds, perplexed by circumstances, or afflicted by poverty
or distress, Satan is at hand to tempt and annoy. He attacks our
weak points of character. He seeks to shake our confidence in
God, who suffers such a condition of things to exist. We are tempted
to distrust God, to question His love. Often the tempter comes
to us as he came to Christ, arraying before us our weakness and
infirmities. He hopes to discourage the soul, and to break our
hold on God. Then he is sure of his prey. If we would meet him
as Jesus did, we should escape many a defeat. By parleying with
the enemy, we give him an advantage.
When Christ said to the tempter, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," He repeated the words that, more than fourteen hundred years before, He had spoken to Israel: "The Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness. . . . And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." Deut. 8:2, 3. In the wilderness, when all means of sustenance failed, God sent His people manna from heaven; and a sufficient and constant supply was given. This provision was to teach them that while they trusted in God and walked in His ways He would not forsake them. The Saviour now practiced the lesson He had taught to Israel. By the word of God succor had been given to the Hebrew host, and by the same word it would be given to Jesus. He awaited God's time to bring relief. He was in the wilderness in obedience to God, and He would not obtain food by following the suggestions of Satan. In the presence of the witnessing universe, He testified that it is a less calamity to suffer whatever may befall than to depart in any manner from the will of God.
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." Often the follower of Christ is brought where he cannot serve God and carry forward his worldly enterprises. Perhaps it appears that obedience to some plain requirement of God will cut off his means of support. Satan would make him believe that he must sacrifice his conscientious convictions. But the only thing in our world upon which we can rely is the word of God. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. 6:33. Even in this life it is not for our good to depart from the will of our Father in heaven. When we learn the power of His word, we shall not follow the suggestions of Satan in order to obtain food or to save our lives. Our only questions will be, What is God's command? and what His promise? Knowing these, we shall obey the one, and trust the other.
In the last great conflict
of the controversy with Satan those who are loyal to God will
see every earthly support cut off. Because they refuse to break
His law in obedience to earthly powers, they will be forbidden
to buy or sell. It will finally be decreed that they shall be
put to death. See Rev. 13:11-17. But to the obedient is given
the promise, "He shall dwell on high: his place of defense
shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his
waters shall be sure." Isa. 33:16. By this promise the children
of God will live. When the earth shall be wasted with famine,
they shall be fed. "They shall not be ashamed in the evil
time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied."
Ps. 37:19. To that time of distress the prophet Habakkuk looked
forward, and his words express the faith of the church: "Although
the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the
vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall
yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there
shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation." Hab. 3:17,18.
Of all the lessons to be learned from our Lord's first great temptation none is more important than that bearing upon the control of the appetites and passions. In all ages, temptations appealing to the physical nature have been most effectual in corrupting and degrading mankind. Through intemperance, Satan works to destroy the mental and moral powers that God gave to man as a priceless endowment. Thus it becomes impossible for men to appreciate things of eternal worth. Through sensual indulgence, Satan seeks to blot from the soul every trace of likeness to God.
The uncontrolled indulgence and consequent disease and degradation that existed at Christ's first advent will again exist, with intensity of evil, before His second coming. Christ declares that the condition of the world will be as in the days before the Flood, and as in Sodom and Gomorrah. Every imagination of the thoughts of the heart will be evil continually. Upon the very verge of that fearful time we are now living, and to us should come home the lesson of the Saviour's fast. Only by the inexpressible anguish which Christ endured can we estimate the evil of unrestrained indulgence. His example declares that our only hope of eternal life is through bringing the appetites and passions into subjection to the will of God.
In our own strength it is
impossible for us to deny the clamors of our fallen nature. Through
this channel Satan will bring temptation upon us. Christ knew
that the enemy would come to every human being, to take advantage
of hereditary weakness, and by his false insinuations to ensnare
all whose trust is not in God. And by passing over the ground
which man must travel, our Lord has prepared the way for us to
overcome. It is not His will that we should be placed at a disadvantage
in the conflict with Satan. He would not have us intimidated and
discouraged by the assaults of the serpent. "Be of good cheer,"
He says; "I have overcome the world." John 16:33.
Let him who is struggling against the power of appetite look to the Saviour in the wilderness of temptation. See Him in His agony upon the cross, as He exclaimed, "I thirst." He has endured all that it is possible for us to bear. His victory is ours.
Jesus rested upon the wisdom and strength of His heavenly Father. He declares, "The Lord God will help Me; therefore shall I not be confounded: . . . and I know that I shall not be ashamed. . . . Behold, the Lord God will help Me." Pointing to His own example, He says to us, "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, . . . that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." Isa. 50:7-10.
"The prince of this world cometh," said Jesus, "and hath nothing in Me." John 14:30. There was in Him nothing that responded to Satan's sophistry. He did not consent to sin. Not even by a thought did He yield to temptation. So it may be with us. Christ's humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And He came to make us partakers of the divine nature. So long as we are united to Him by faith, sin has no more dominion over us. God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character.
And how this is accomplished, Christ has shown us. By what means did He overcome in the conflict with Satan? By the word of God. Only by the word could He resist temptation. "It is written," He said. And unto us are given "exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1:4. Every promise in God's word is ours. "By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" are we to live. When assailed by temptation, look not to circumstances or to the weakness of self, but to the power of the word. All its strength is yours. "Thy word," says the psalmist, "have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee." "By the world of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer." Ps. 119:11; 17:4.
