JESUS TEMPTED BY SATAN

Judean Wilderness

Autumn 26 A.D

Judean Wilderness

The Judean Wilderness is not some totally barren desert. It is a sparsely settled rugged mountainous area along the Jordan River and the Dead Sea to the East of Jerusalem. It was poorly suited for crops, but was used for pasturing. It has extensive forests, but also places of rock.

Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13 and Luke 4:1-13

And immediately the spirit drove him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him.

Mark is very brief, leaving out all the details of Jesus temptation in the wilderness. Mark’s statements stand as a preface to what Matthew and Luke tell about this instance immediately after Jesus was baptized.

And then was Jesus, being full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted forty days of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungered.

And when the tempter came to him the Devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God command that these stones be made bread.”

But he Jesus answered him and said, ”It is written, That Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Notice the subtleness (the nuance if you would) of how the Devil tempts. First he told Jesus to turn the stones to bread and eat, an odd thing to say. Why didn't Satan turn the stones to bread and wave the baked aroma beneath the nose of the hungry man? Satan is very powerful, but there are limits to his power. The hungry man was also God, and there are no limits on God's power. Satan knew full well Jesus could produce all the food he needed if he just stretched out his hand and commanded it. Jesus didn't deny this fact. He said, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (NIV) He quoted scripture (Deuteronomy 8:3 - “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.) and didn't give in to the tempting.

And Then the devil he brought him to Jerusalem, took him up into the holy city, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, And said to him, “If you be the Son of God, cast yourself down for it is written, ‘He shall give his angels charge concerning you to keep thee: and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone’.”

And Jesus answering said to him, “It is written again, ’You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”

Again Jesus answers Satan with scriture from Deuteronomy, this time 6:16 - “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.” We may ask what is this Massah? To answer that we must go to Exodus 17: 1-7 – “All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Is it total coincidence that Jesus answered Satan with these particular verses? Yes, they were fitting answers, but were the questions asked because Satan was trying to play with Jesus’ head? These scripture quotes came from the long speech Moses made to the Hebrews after they had been in the desert for 40 years, as Jesus was in the wilderness 40 days. 

When the Hebrews tempted the Lord at Massah it showed their fear and lack of faith in what God could do, even after they had witnessed several miracles. Although they should have known God would provide, they moaned and groaned about a lack of water. Satan may have felt Jesus would be like the Hebrews then, uncertain of God because of what Jesus knew was coming and might take his destiny into his own hands.

It is also interesting that this same reference pointing back to Massah involved the command to strike the Rock that would bring forth water, the salvation to the Hebrews who were thirsting, the Rock being the archetype of Christ, the Savior, who also would be struck for the salvation of men thirsting for redemption.

Anyway, the Devil tried a new tact. Satan took Jesus to the top of the highest temple in Jerusalem. Just stop and think about this for a moment if you doubt Satan has greater power than you do. He took Jesus to the highest point in Jerusalem. Do you think they walked there and climbed up the building? When they got there, like in an instant, Satan asked a question. "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down." Satan is great at asking these kinds of questions. How did he tempt Eve? By asking questions and here he asks Jesus the same question the Pharisees and Sadducees were always asking. "Will you show us a sign?" It was the same question asked when Jesus hung on the cross, "If you are the Son of God, come down off that tree?"

Then Satan has the audacity to quote scripture, Psalm 91:11-12 " '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.'" (NIV) But Satan, just as when he was the Serpent in the Garden of Eden, takes this a bit out of context. Read Psalm 91 and see how it is God's assurance of his presence when we face the afflictions of this world.

Psalm 91

King James Version (KJV)

1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

(Also note how Satan cherry-picked his verses. Satan certainly didn’t continue to Verse 13 where it says, “And the Dragon you shall trample under feet.”

But Satan also knows that God could command the Angels to swoop down and gather up Jesus if he jumped. Jesus knows this as well. Satan is good at trick questions, too. Look at how he phrased things before God concerning Job. If Jesus would have jumped and Angels weren't commanded to catch him, He could have been killed by the fall and God's Salvation Plan would have been impossible. If he jumped and the Angels grabbed him and He lived, He would have sinned and the plan would have been impossible anyway. Jesus answered with scripture, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" (Deuteronomy 6:16 NIV)

And again, the devil took him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. And the devil said to him, “All this power will I give you, and the glory of them, for that is delivered to me and to whomsoever I will I give it. All these things will I give you if you will therefore fall down and will worship me, it all shall be yours."

And Then Jesus answered and said to him, “Get you hence behind me, Satan, for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve’.”

Satan is also persistent. Now he takes Jesus to a very high mountain. (Again, do you think they walked to this mountain, hired some Sherpas, rented some pickaxes and began climbing?) Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and said: "All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me?" 

Could Satan make that promise? Yes, otherwise it would have been just a silly bluster and there would be no temptation. It'd be as much of a temptation as if someone said to me, "Read my Blog and your psoriasis will immediately clear." 

Note Satan didn't say, I will give you the world. He said he would give him "the kingdoms of the world and their splendor."  The world belongs to God and God is in control. But Satan has rule over the superficialities of this world. This was given to him when man sinned. Man could have been the ruler of the world, but God took that away. Satan was the king of the political world, but there is a greater Kingdom where he has no rule. Jesus made this distinction between these kingdoms himself.

Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

"Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?"

"Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?"

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."

"You are a king, then!" said Pilate. 

Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." John 18:33-37

Jesus doesn't laugh at Satan's boast, doesn't deny it as fact. (At another time he asks what good is it to gain the world and lose your soul, but not here.) Jesus addresses Satan's demand to be worshiped with more scripture, "Worship your God, and serve him only." (Deuteronomy 6:13) and observe that all Jesus' replies were taken right from the Law. If Jesus had acceded to any, he would have broken the Law and that is sin.)

Jesus also said, "away from me Satan!" Then the Devil left him. How come? Because as powerful as Satan is, even he knows his limits and whose really boss. 

And when the devil had ended all the temptation, then the devil left him, he departed from him for a season, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

 [Note: Luke reverses Matthew’s order of Satan taking Jesus to Jerusalem and the high mountain.]

“The angels came and ministered to him.” I believe Jesus always has this special protection by the Angels. When it says, “He shall give his angels charge concerning you to keep thee: and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone”, that was to guard the human body of Jesus from the dangers of everyday life. We stump our toes on a coffee table and break them, we fall off of ladders and break a leg, we cut off a finger with a power saw, we step in the street and get run over by a bus. The world is full of hazards to this body. Jesus had a goal and purpose that must be fulfilled; he could not be subject to everyday accidents.

So why take the risks that existed in the wilderness? He could have been overcome by heat, bitten by scorpions, set upon by robbers. Jesus had just heard his Father in Heaven call him His son, yet he decides to take a forty-day hike alone in the badlands?

     No, this was no whim. This had a purpose. What were we told in the Scripture that opened this section?  (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13 and Luke 4:1-13) “And immediately the spirit drove him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him.

And then was Jesus, being full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted forty days of the devil.”

Jesus was compelled by the Holy Spirit to go immediately into the wilderness to be tempted. Like all of us, Jesus was tempted and tested. How would He know what we face if he did not face similar temptations? How would we fare in such a situation? Not only were the temptations grand, but these were made to a man now in a weakened physical condition, struggling to go on after forty days of deprivation. This would heighten the lure of what was offered, but in this Jesus did not sin.

JESUS TEACHES NICODEMUS

Visit of Nicodemus to Christ by John La Farge, 1880

John 3: 1-21

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that you do, except God be with him.”

This is almost the full extent of what we know of Nicodemus. We can conclude he was a man of wealth from the information in John 19:39-40 when he brings 75 pounds of myrrh mixed with aloes to prepare Christ’s body for burial. Myrrh was an expensive spice.

We can also infer from his aiding Joseph of Arimathea in caring for Christ’s body and from his stance against the Pharisees in John 7: 50-51 that he was a follower of Jesus, and from the reaction to his statements this was probably secretly. 

John 7:40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” (ESV)

The passage in John 7 also indicates that the events described in John 3 took place well before the Passion month, another indicator that there were two separate cleansings of the Temple.

We really don’t have any information outside of scripture on the man. There was a Nicodemus (or Naqdimon) written about in the Babylonian Talmud, a rich man of Jerusalem who was living in the late 60 ADs during the time of the war with Rome. Some scholars have claimed this was the same Nicodemus, but more likely he was a nephew or other member of the same family. 

This man was of the ben Gurion family, and probably Nicodemus was a member of it as well. The ben Gurions were rich, with a long history as Pharisees, teachers of the law and members of the ruling class. Members of the family carried the name Nicodemus at least as far back as 64 BC with a Nicodemus ben Gurion written about in Josephus’s Antiquities (14:37). We’ve already mentioned that the Nicodemus ben Gurion of the Babylonia Talmud lived in the 60s AD. The Nicodemus, who met with Jesus, fits with this family in social status and time period.

Why did he come to Jesus at night? Perhaps his duties kept him busy during the day, but more likely he came secretly. Jesus was not exactly making friends with the Pharisees and Sanhedrin, both of which Nicodemas was a member. (There was another member of the Sanhedrin, who was a secret follower of Jesus and who Nicodemus apparently had a friendship with, Joseph of Arimathea.)

He shows respect toward Jesus by calling him Rabbi and says the miracles he has done show that God must be with him.

Jesus replies by answering a question never asked. Obviously Jesus knows what is weighing on Nicodemas’ mind. The question is how can I know the Kingdom of God. The answer, and the only answer, is one must be born from above.

Jesus answered and said to him, “Verily, verily, I say to you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?”

Jesus answered, “Verily, verily, I say to you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it lists, and you hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell whence it comes, and whither it goes. So is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Jesus’ reply rocked Nicodemus back on his heels. He couldn’t understand it for it made no sense.

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. John 3:3 (NIV)

“Verily, verily, I say to you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 (KJV)

I show both translations here because the NIV misses some of the emphasis of its import shown by the King James. The NIV says, “I tell you the truth…” The double “Verily, verily” of the KJV means “I tell you the truth of truths.”

Jesus uses the double “verily”; this is the truth of truths, the absolute, “Verily, verily, I say to thee, if any one may not be born from above, he is not able to see the reign of God” (Young Literal Translation).  This is the source of the oft-used phrase, “born again.” We find it confirmed in 1 Peter 1:23: “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” The literal translation of 1 Peter is “being begotten again”, or in modern English, “born again”. (Perhaps it could be interpreted as reconceived as well.)

Nicodemus may have been surprised by this reply. We don’t know that, but we know it confused him. Oh, he took it as meaning born again all right; he just didn’t understand how that was possible because he was thinking of physical birth. He may have been thinking he made a mistake in coming to Jesus. It was ridiculous, re-entering the womb and being reborn? 

Jesus, with another “verily, verily,” strongly reiterates this fact. There is no way around this truth; a person must be born again to see the Kingdom of God.

Nicodemus answered and said to him, “How can these things be?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you a master of Israel and know not these things? Verily, verily, I say to you, we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and you receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Jesus gently admonishes Nicodemus for not understanding. Nicodemus is a teacher and a leader, yet he missed it. What kinds of things did he miss? Such things as these among many others:

"The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, " declares the LORD. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Jeremiah 31:31-33

"Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live! Ezekiel 18:30-32

Then Jesus makes reference to an event Nicodemus would have known well when he says, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. Numbers 21:6-9

Nicodemus probably did not understand what Jesus was talking about. He couldn’t see the cross for that was in the future. When he came and helped bury Christ’s body that reference to Numbers 21 probably came back to him in total clarity.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believes on him is not condemned, but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that does truth comes to the light that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

Nicodemus may have left that night still confused and in wonder. He probably hit the scrolls and over the course of time came to understand and believe in Jesus as the Messiah. He probably came to understand that no man was capable of following the Law completely and that a study of the men of God in the Old Testament clearly shows their relationship with God was not one of perfection in deed, but in faith in the Lord.

This passage, early on in Christ’s ministry, leaves no doubt that Jesus declared there is but one way to Heaven and that is through belief in Him.

It is also important to take note Jesus came to save the world, not condemn it.

JOHN THE BAPTIST'S TESTIMONY ABOUT JESUS

Ecce Agnus Dei by Dieric Bouts the Elder, 1464

John 3: 22-36

After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea and there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there and they came, and were baptized. For John was not yet cast into prison.

Here are two more location that no one any longer knows where they were, Aenon and Salim. Since it says Aenon near to Salim, Salim was probably the better-known town. Despite the similarity in spelling, this most likely isn’t the Salem over which Melchizedak ruled (See Genesis 14 and Hebrews 7). That Salem is almost universally agreed to be Jerusalem. A small minority, following the opinion of St. Jerome, a priest and early Christian apologist (circa 347 to 420 AD), disagree and places Salem eight miles from Scythopolis, part of the Decapolis, and the only one located in Israel. Still, this is only speculative and there has been so much speculation about where Salim actually was that it isn’t worth reviewing the theories. What we can know is this, John moved there because there was a lot of water.

We aren’t told why he chose to move. It is quite possible, even logical, that John moved around to different places over the course of his ministry to reach more people, so maybe this was just one more time.

At this time Jesus has left Jerusalem for elsewhere in Judea, so both men have moved from their previous location. We aren’t certain who made the move first. It says John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, so perhaps they were not far apart. Why else would it say “also”? John has been baptizing all along, but Jesus wasn’t. The way it is put sounds as if John had moved to Aenon and Jesus came later and was baptizing in the same general region. This seems even more plausible because the next part is a discussion about who’s baptizing is to be accepted.

Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying and they came to John, and said to him, “Rabbi, he that was with you beyond Jordan, to whom you bore witness, behold, the same baptizes, and all men come to him.”

John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that I said; I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that has the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice, this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

It would seem John and Jesus are baptizing not to distant from each other. A question arose about this from the Jews, who I take to mean the usual Jewish religious leaders. Notice how it John’s disciples who come to John, not these Jews. This sounds like a kind of rivalry or jealously developing with these disciples, especially when they say “all men come to him”.  

This does not perturb John. He explained he had all ready told them this was going to happen. He was to prepare the way for Messiah and then was to get out of the way. We have an allusion to the Best man at a wedding, part of a recurring theme of Christ as the bridegroom we will see throughout the Gospels.

“He that comes from above is above all; he that is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He that comes from heaven is above all. And what he has seen and heard, that he testifies; and no man receives his testimony. He that has received his testimony has set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God: for God gives not the Spirit by measure to him.”

This statement by John is a bit difficult to follow. Essentially, John starts off by comparing the Messiah [he that comes from above) to ordinary men (he that is of the earth). The man from heaven is far superior (is above all) to anyone on earth and he tells the truth about God’s kingdom because he is from it (what he has seen and heard). He has come to tell mankind about the Kingdom (that he testifies), but people don’t want to hear it or believe it (no man receives his testimony. Yet, some people do listen and believe (he that has received his testimony…sets his seal that God is true). The man from Heaven speaks for God (whom God sent speaks the words of God) and God hasn’t limited him (God gives not the Spirit by measure), Jesus is filled with the Spirit.

“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. He that believes on the Son has everlasting life and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Finally, John the Baptist reaffirms that Jesus is the only way to God and Salvation. There is no way to everlasting life with God except through belief in the Son, Jesus Christ.