The Temptations of Jesus, Part 1

Looking at the temptations of Jesus in Matthew 4, Satan tries to get Jesus to apply Scripture when it is about proving Himself as God’s beloved Son.

I am amazed at Satan’s brilliance with Jesus. Our Lord trusted, rested, and quoted the Scriptures (God’s Word). 

In verse 5, Satan comes back at Jesus with a quote out of the Bible. He is asking Jesus to pull off a PR stunt and get a crowd behind Him, getting people to watch the angels catching Him when He jumps, because Scripture has said they would.

Matthew 4:6 says, “‘“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.”’”

Satan wants Jesus to prove it by seeing if God will come through for Him and do what He says He will do. Jesus doesn’t have to prove anything by testing His Father because He has the uttermost confidence that He is the Son, in whom the Father is well pleased. Why? Because the Father had told Him with the spoken word.

Jesus doesn't need to test the trustworthiness of His Father’s Word. If the Lord said it, Jesus believes it is true.

When the Father asked Jesus to go to the cross, Jesus responded, “‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will (Matthew 26:39).’” Even if the Father asked me to be rejected and killed by my people, I still will believe that I am my Father’s beloved son.

Aren’t you and I called to this type of faith, also? Jesus has said that nothing will separate us from God’s love, and that no matter what happens, “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37).” When our world is falling apart, do we struggle and question God, or do we cling to the words of our Savior, who says:

• “‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).’"
• “‘And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20).’"

Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39).

Now I must decide if I tell God, “Change my circumstances and prove you love me,” or, “Change my heart that I may know You love me.” It’s OK to ask, “Why,” but don’t expect an answer most of the time. The Holy Spirit is always committed to lead us to the Father and have our heart ravished by Him, making all the “why” we need to know just fade away.

Don’t use Scripture as a tool to make God prove Himself. Our Father has already proved His love.

“But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” -Romans 5:8, AMP