Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Luke 4:1-2a Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.
HE ANSWERED FOR YOU
When Satan tempted Christ in the wilderness, the answers he received from Jesus were not the ones he was used to hearing from a member of the human race. The first Adam, after all, had fallen easily. A little appeal to pride ("you will be like God") and the fruit from the forbidden tree was eaten. But now all alone with Jesus, he could not get Him to do anything wrong.
Whether the temptation was to doubt God's ability to care for His needs, or whether it was the temptation to sin for the sake of earthly gain, or whether it was the temptation to put God's faithfulness to the test, Jesus gave the devil an answer. And the answer was always, "No!"
The fact the Jesus answered this way means the greatest blessing and comfort to you. For when He answered Satan, He did so in your place and as your representative. Our answer to temptation is often, "Yes! I'll do that!" From the two year old throwing a temper tantrum to the 20 year old facing sexual temptations; to the middle aged dissatisfied with where God has placed him in this life; to the older person afraid of the future, the devil tempts us in many ways, and in many circumstances we find ourselves failing to give the right answer.
So we needed Christ to answer Satan for us. We needed Him to stand against sin as one of us. This He most certainly did. Without making use of His divine power He stood against the devil -- standing just like we stand. In all points tempted like we are, so that in the end He could offer to the Heavenly Father perfection and victory over the devil and the Heavenly Father would accept that perfection as our own. When Jesus gave the devil the answers He did, He was giving them for you.
