Temptation of Mankind
Satan and demons have the power to tempt us to sin against God. We see Satan’s temptation in the first sin committed by mankind in the Garden of Eden.
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘you shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (Gen. 3:1-8)
Notice how Satan, who is often referred to as a serpent, effectively tempted and deceived Eve. First, he put doubt in the mind of Eve by saying that God had been lying to her and her husband Adam. He then questioned God’s integrity and made Him out to be selfish. Finally, he persuaded Eve to eat of the fruit so that she would become like God. She was no match for his cunning and deception. She ate of the fruit in disobedience to God and then took it to her husband, telling him what happened, and then he disobeyed God and ate of the fruit.
Satan and demons have the power to tempt us in ways that can entice us to sin. They know where we are weakest and will tempt us to do evil in those areas. We must be continually alert and on guard to not let demons persuade us to disobey God. We need to pray for strength to defeat the wiles of the devil.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Pet 5:8)
The Temptation of Christ
The first Adam fell after being tempted by Satan. The second Adam, Christ, overcame the deceptions of the evil one. Satan attempted to make Jesus Christ, the Son of God, sin. He wanted to get vindication for being cast out of heaven. He sought to be worshiped as God, and he had his best opportunity to attack Jesus who was in a weakened state after fasting for 40 days and nights.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matt. 4:1-4)
Satan’s first temptation of Christ was to try to make Him prove He was the Son of God. He used Jesus’ great hunger as a pivotal way to get Christ to do his bidding, to submit to his command. Satan was saying, “Jesus, you say you are the Son of God. Well, if that is really true, you can perform a miracle and make these stones become bread, satisfy your hunger, and in so doing prove that you really are the Son of God. If you don’t change these stones into bread you really are not the Son of God.” If Jesus had submitted to the command of Satan, He would have been subordinating Himself to the devil.
Jesus told Satan that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Obeying God’s Word is more important than taking care of our physical needs. Jesus would not let his hunger cause Him to succumb to the wishes of the evil one. Jesus placed the emphasis on following the Word of God. Notice that Jesus uses the Word of God to defeat the cunning of the devil.
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’” (Matt. 4:5-7)
Satan then decides to tempt Christ by using the Word of God himself. He takes Jesus up on the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem and challenges Him to again prove He is really the Son of God by jumping off the temple. Satan told Jesus that if He is the Son of God, God would send angels to catch Him. Satan quotes from the following passage for his proof text:
For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:11-12)
Jesus again is not fooled by the deception of the great deceiver. He again quotes from Scripture to defeat the devil by saying no one should tempt the Lord God. Jesus is telling Satan that he is not to put God to the test. He is also making application to Himself since He is God. How foolish of Satan to think he could use the Scriptures to defeat Jesus Christ who is the very Word of God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1, 2, 14)
The important lesson for us in this second temptation of Christ is to realize that Satan is an expert in knowing what is contained in the Bible. He will even try to use the Word of God against us to cause us to sin. We need to be on guard at all times against this evil being and his demonic followers and never underestimate their power of deception.
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. (Matt. 4:8-11) In this last temptation, we see that Satan took Jesus up on a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in their glory and splendor. He offered all these to Jesus if He would only fall down and worship him. It was a way for Jesus to become a King without suffering the pain and agony of the cross. To many, this temptation would be terribly appealing but not to Jesus. He commanded Satan to go away and told him the Scriptures make it clear we can only worship and serve God. The Father has given Jesus rule over heaven and earth.
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (Matt. 28:18)
In each case, Jesus used the Word of God to defeat Satan. Jesus was not interested in any shortcuts to His kingship. He was already King and was willing to wait to be officially installed as King after He had accomplished the will of His Father.
37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (John 18:37)
One day when Jesus returns He will be declared King of kings and Lord of lords.
I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. (1 Tim. 6:13-16)
Why Did Jesus Call Peter Satan?
Jesus came to this world to fulfill the will of His Father. He came to save all those whom the Father had given Him. That plan involved dying for the sins of His people. Anyone who would try to circumvent that plan was a tool of Satan.
21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matt. 16:21-23)
Although Peter meant well and didn’t want the Lord to die, he was unwittingly being used as a tool by Satan. The purpose of Satan is to do whatever he can to thwart the will of God. He used Peter to try to tempt Jesus not to go to the cross. Jesus rebuked Satan to get behind Him. No matter how he tries, Satan is no match for God. The Lord always has him in a constant state of check-mate.
When we are tempted to sin, we need to seek immediate help through the Word of God and prayer. If we do that, we can overcome the cunning of the devil.
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)