The temptations in the Wilderness

The temptations in the Wilderness

Over the last two Sundays, the Word preached at CDC looked into the very beginning of the public ministry of our Lord Jesus - the commissioning by God Himself from the heavens, and then, the temptations in the wilderness. Annette Arulrajah and then Pastor Micky brought us through Matthew 3-4 here.

It first started when the Lord Himself came to John the Baptist at the Jordan River to be baptized. John, recognizing the holiness of the Messiah, at first refused, saying “it is I who should be baptized by You” but the Lord declared, “let it be so now to fulfill all righteousness.” Then the heavens opened, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, and a voice from heaven declared “This is My Son, whom I love, with Him I am well pleased.”

God declared that:-

(i)                  Jesus is His beloved Son (His status)

(ii)                He is pleased with Him. (His life, attitude and behavior makes God proud of Him)

As a pattern for all believers, we too, upon our baptism, are reaffirmed as beloved children of God, because we have accepted Jesus, and He is pleased with us for taking this step of faith.

However, this is only the beginning, for the Lord was straight away led into the desert to be tempted for 40 days.

The three temptations mentioned summarize very well the three primary areas where man fall:- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

Lust of the flesh:- The Lord was first tempted through His hunger, having fasted for such a long time. With His power, He could easily turn stone into bread, and satisfy his physical desire. For us, we cannot turn stone into bread, but quite often, when we are tempted by a physical longing, hunger, thirst or sex, we are given the choice to fulfill it even if it goes against God’s will. To overcome this, we must live by God’s Word and not by our physical body.

Lust of the eyes:- The Lord was also tempted through His eyes. The devil brought the Lord to a high place and showed Him all the kingdoms in the world in their splendor. “All this I will give to you if you will bow down and worship me.” Today, we are given so many things which attract our eyes and our minds – money, possessions, entertainment and leisure is what the world wants us to go for. To overcome this, we must fix our eyes on Jesus, remembering that our first and primary purpose in life is to worship God, and serve Him only.

The pride of life:- Finally, the Lord was also tempted through His pride. The devil challenged him, since you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from the temple, surely God will rescue You! This attack was on Jesus’ status as the Son of God, and challenging Jesus to prove His sonship, that God loved Him. The Lord answered, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Jesus did not care if He was humiliated, His only concern was for God’s glory and doing His will. Sometimes life is tough, and we may be humiliated or shamed by even friends and family, bosses and colleagues – it is easy to forget we are children of God, dearly loved by God. To overcome this, we must resolve in our heart to put God first, His glory and His will, in spite of what happens to us.

God bless,

Jason