guest post: when Jesus was tempted

Dear Blog readers, I have the pleasure of introducing a friend & fellow-blogger, Adam Sylvester, who was so kind as to write the following guest-post for my blog. Enjoy! (oh and check out his blog by clicking right here!)

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Matthew 4 tells the account of when Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. There is a wonderful lesson to be learned from Jesus through the three temptations that took place.

The 1st is about satisfying the flesh: "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Although that was probably appealing since He was hungry, Jesus gave a wise and spirit led response (like always) and referenced Scripture to give Himself a strong footing against the devil. At this point you don't get the sense that Jesus was very flustered.

The 2nd temptation is an identity issue: if you really think God loves you then you'll do something works-based just to make sure He does. "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down." Satan knew (and still knows) that Jesus is the Son of God but he wanted Jesus to question His identity. Jesus uses Scripture to resist the devil's lies and again doesn't seem anxious or out of sorts.

The 3rd temptation is different than the first two. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you bow down and worship me." Up to this point, Jesus had been calm and reserved but this time the devil crossed the line. Worship someone other than my Father? Give His glory to someone else? Based on Jesus' reaction I bet he could have vomited just at the idea. "AWAY FROM ME SATAN! FOR IT IS WRITTEN: 'WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY."

I think Jesus' actions say something like: "You come after me, fine. You try to convince me I'm not loved, I can handle that too. But don't you dare suggest I would worship ANYONE BUT MY FATHER."

No wonder the next line says, "Then the devil left him".

Another verse that comes to mind is: "Flee from sexual immorality". (1 Cor. 6:18) When not to flee? When your beloved God is being mocked. And He won't be mocked.