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Matthew 4:3-4
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness; hungry and alone, to be tempted by the devil in the most remote and desolate environment available. The table was set for Satan to have his way with Jesus. Satan had the home field advantage. The only thing that Jesus had (in His physical state of humanity) was His faith in God as the Almighty God and Creator of heaven and earth. But the faith of Jesus was unshakable; it was the deity of His being that was rock-solid. It was His knowledge of the reality of who He is and of who Satan is that was the essence of His faith.
So Satan did what he does – he attacks the weakness. He said to Jesus as He had not eaten for forty days, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matthew 4:3, NKJV). What Satan was trying to do here is get Jesus to do something that he commands Him to do. This would show obedience to him in that, if Jesus obeyed the command given Him by Satan, Jesus would portray Satan as being superior to Him as if He needed the advice of Satan to sustain His life. Jesus (in His deity) is God in human form. If Jesus does as Satan commands Him, He would be giving Satan a higher authority than God Almighty, who created Lucifer (the name originally given to Satan before he was cast to this earth (Isaiah 14:12; Luke 10:18; Revelation 12:7-9). But in this time of physical struggle and temptation, Jesus sets the example for us as He leads us in doing the same thing that we should do when Satan brings trials and temptations upon us; He quotes God’s word – He quotes the Bible to Satan – He speaks to Satan the words of the one who is more powerful than he – He reminds Satan that he has already been cast out of heaven in his quest to be more powerful than God. He quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 in His reply to the command given Him by Satan (Matthew 4:4), “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’” In His reply to Satan, Jesus is not fighting Satan in His physical form, but in spirit – in His faith in God Almighty being more powerful than the devil. He is confident – He is strong – He is mindful of the power of our Creator and Almighty Ruler of heaven and earth.
This is the promise and example of overcoming the devil in trials and temptations.
Jesus and Satan knew these things as they spoke to one another, but because of the disobedience of Satan when he was in the presence of God, he was cast out of the presence of God for eternity, eventually to be destroyed completely. But God, being just and the justifier of all, gives Satan, just like all of us, the opportunity to prove themselves. Satan is trying to prove to God that he can be greater than God, and God is giving him the opportunity to do so. But in this quest Satan will only prove the Almighty power and authority of the one true God of heaven and earth.
When you feel Satan attacking you in your weaknesses, that we all have, quote a passage of Scripture or simple say, “Jesus help me to overcome this temptation” and believe that He will as He has defeated Satan once for all (Joel 2:32; Romans 6:10, 10:9, 10:13; 2 Timothy 2:22; 1 Peter 1:3-9). The Apostle Peter teaches us in 1 Peter 1:8-9 (HCSB), “You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
Dear LORD,
Whenever we face the trials and temptations of the devil, please help us to look to You – to call on the name of Jesus our Lord and Savior to help us – to free us from the fiery darts of Satan. We believe in You and in Your ability and strength in our weaknesses. We trust in You LORD to lead us in the way of righteousness in Christ Jesus that we would overcome temptation through our faith in Jesus, the Savior of the world. In Jesus name I pray, amen.