When the devil tempted Jesus in the desert, he used nuggets of Scripturally-based truth to conceal greater lies.
First, the devil plays on Jesus’ hunger and thirst from being in the desert and says, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” (v.3) This echoes Moses in the desert, who upon God’s command, tapped a rock with his staff and out flowed water. The devil did not say anything remarkable to Jesus; God has provided sustenance in the desert miraculously before, and Jesus has the power to create. However, it is not upon God’s command that Jesus change the stone to bread, it is a temptation of the devil.
The next temptation is in vv. 5-6. The devil takes Jesus to the highest point of the temple and says;
“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
” ‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.“
The devil tempts Jesus, using Scripture, to do what all of us yearn to do from an early age – fly. It is true that Jesus has legions of angels at his command (Mt. 26:53) and the power of flight, as you might expect God to have. But again, there is an absence of God’s will. God would not be glorified through Jesus’ succumbing to this temptation. You might think, well then the devil will see that Jesus does have that power, and so, hey, that would be a good thing. That is the great folly of temptation – we rationalize it and convince ourselves that it’s the right thing to do, or at least, not all that bad, at least not this once.
Jesus does not need to prove anything to the devil, and the devil knows that. If Jesus were to succumb and show his power, he would allow the devil power over him, through goading. He would also negate his human side, which needed to suffer like the rest of us humans, in favor of his divine side, which can alleviate his sufferings.
For the last temptation, the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and promises him power and wealth, if Jesus bows and worships the devil.
In response to the devil’s temptations, Jesus responds, “”It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[a] (v.4)”, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[c] (v.7)”, and “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[d] (v.10)”.
In other words, Jesus uses Scripture to rebuke the devil. This passage, among many things, shows the importance of studying the Bible and knowing it well, in context. Anybody can misuse the Bible for their own selfish motivations, but Christians should arm themselves against this by trusting no other than Jesus, and by knowing the Bible well through studying it themselves.
I think you are right to say studying the scriptures should be an important part of any Christian’s life, but I think you are wrong to say that Jesus uses scripture to rebuke the devil. On the surface, it seems that way. The passages which Our Lord uses, however, point in another direction altogether. All the responses point to his unique connection to the Father. He is the Word, the Logos, the 2nd person of the Trinity, and so this passage points us towards Him, towards the eternal word, towards the person of Jesus Christ and not the scriptures. We live in Christ, the living Bread who came down from heaven, not the inspired words recorded by the apostles. I know you aren’t disagreeing with this statement, but I felt I would make an unnecessary clarification.
Mitch
I am just as probable as the lockness monster, flying saucers, and the abominable snowman. Who am I? I give you one guess.
This blog is so stupiddddd!!!!!!!. You have to be mentally defecient to beleive god exists. Your clining to age-old supersitions because your scared of life and need comformt. You can’t handle the truth so you make up lies. Even if some old man in the sky does exist, who the hell (get it- hahahaha) cares? And anyway, the so-called word of god says that god gave us control of the earth to do whatever we wanted with it. We can destory it for all he cares. You need serious mental health.
Thanks for your post, Mitch. That’s an interesting point about the logos, or word of God (for those who might not be familiar, Logos means Word of God, from the Gospel of John, as a direct reference to Jesus in Genesis). I hadn’t made it that far in my thoughts about this passage. His responses do point to his unique connection with the Father, but they also point to the Scriptures, which of course, Jesus is the living embodiment thereof.
We do live in Christ, and Christ with us. However, the Scriptures are God’s revelation to us, and should be meditated on and used accordingly to help us seek a closer relationship with God. All actions should be guided by God’s spirit, but God can and I do feel sometimes does, use Scriptures to do so.
Jesus of course, spent years meditating (and memorizing) God’s word in the Scriptures, and he draws on this knowledge to rebuke the Devil. Yes, he is God’s son, and thus, has intimate knowledge of God, but he also is human like us, and thus has set the example of the importance of meditating on the word of God in the Scriptures, and as you pointed out, the ultimate Word of God (Jesus).
And I’m not sure what to say in response to “Concerned”. It seems you just wish to get some steam off your chest. If you wish to debate or engage in a conversation, please leave a topic or question, or a hypothesis of your own. Check out some of my other posts to address some of your statements and let me know what you think.
for “concerned”:
i have inferred a few things from you.
1) that you are in search of something that even you can’t get a grasp of yet. perhaps more meaning of the things happening in your life right now. why else have you arrived in this page and even took the time to post your comment?
2) that you are hurting and you want to get back at the world in general for hurting you. you feel like the world doesn’t care about you and that you shouldn’t care in return.
3) that you feel you are too smart to believe what Christians believe.
my words for you:
1. learn to love yourself. know yourself more. do you know the poem “desiderata?” it has these lines “you are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars, you have the right to be here…Therefore be at peace with God,whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations,in the noisy confusion of life,keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.” how i wish i could comfort you like a real friend. i know how it is to be so alone sometimes with your pain.
2. i agree that you are smart and that makes you less compliant and that’s a good thing. like doubting thomas, one jesus’ 12 disciples. but how can say you don’t believe something if what you know about that thing is limited to the christians who are also like you struggling to find their meaning in God? you have to study more and learn the truth for yourself and if you still believe it’s a hoax, then at least you did your part: that you didn’t just make a conclusion from an incomplete or faulty premise.
i pray that you’ll find peace and comfort in your pain. but it may make you comfortable to know that i ask this prayer in Jesus’ name. mwah! strive to be happy:)
The name of God and Author of the Holy Bible is JEHOVAH and no tittle like “lord” ofcourse. The degradation of people and religions to make from the Holy name Jehovah a tittle is the same what people did in the agriculture. They gave the glory to satan who are even a “god” like the demeter god or baal or allah. Jehovah God maked from A´bram…..Abraham and the religions make from JEHOVAH …..”lord”…..a disaster. God gave His name by him self , so even gave the name Jesus , Michael , Abraham to others. So who we are to change the right name of the Author of all Life in a “tittle”. Yes the “christianity” are not the real christians, that are only the Witness of the Almighty God , Jehovah.
You should have known one of Jehovah’s Witnesses would latch on to this blog and take no prisoner’s while trying to “defend” the name of God. You