GodSprings - March 18, 2016

My Master Is Tried And True – Can I Be?

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1 (NIV)

In the 1970s comedian Flip Wilson made "The Devil made me do it" a national catchphrase. As host of his own TV variety show, Flip Wilson created a recurring character named Geraldine. And every time her husband accused her of doing something wrong, whether it was buying a dress that was too expensive, or crashing the car into the side of the church, her excuse was always the same: "It wasn't me. The Devil made me do it."      

We believe he (devil) has the power to "make" us do things. Or we imagine him as a little guy wearing a red suit, with a pitchfork, sitting on our left shoulder, whispering in our ear. And meanwhile, there's a little angel perched on our right shoulder, trying to counteract whatever temptation the devil is whispering to us. And in the cartoons, the devil usually won.

Is that how temptation works? Is the devil really equally as powerful as God? Can he "make" us do anything we don't want to do? The short answer is no. Jesus made it clear that the One who is in us is greater than the one that is in the world (1 John 4:4).  The truth is, the devil doesn't have any power over us that we don't let him have.

Just after coming up from the waters of baptism, Jesus was taken into the wilderness of temptation. Why? Why would Christ, our Lord, our Savior, need to be tempted? The reason is that if Jesus is to be our King, He must first demonstrate to us His power over the ruler of this world. If Jesus is to be our Savior, He must at all points prove His purity through sinlessness.

The Spirit led Jesus to the place of temptation, but He was not the source of temptation. God was not surprised. God was not ambushed. This meeting was expected, necessary, and allowed. The nature of the word tempted helps us gain further insight into the necessity of this encounter. Tempted is often used in both Hebrew and Greek to mean “to test or to prove.” We could say that these tests were allowed to prove the purity of the One being tested. Through this process, Jesus could be proven as an acceptable sacrifice for the sins of mankind.

Three proven, persuasive, and highly effective strategies that had been used in times past would also be used here: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. With rapid fire succession the Enemy of God would attack, tempting Jesus to serve self, to test God, and to worship the created rather than the Creator.

Do we find ourselves struggling with temptation today? There is hope! Jesus’ victory can be our victory because Jesus has given us all the resources we need to resist any and all temptation. Take hold of the Word of God, rely on the power of the Holy Spirit of God, and follow the example of Jesus.