Temptations of Jesus

Short reflection on the Temptations of Jesus



 Synopsis:- (Lk. 4:1-13)
> Jesus full of the Holy Spirit is led by the Holy Spirit in wilderness
> Fasts for 40days and gets tempted by devil
> 1st temptation:- to turn stone into bread
> 2nd temptation:- lure of the kingdom of the world
> 3rd temptation:- jumping off the cliff and Angels will come to the rescue
> Devil flees away


Reflection:- 
If you see the previous and the successive chapters you will find "Baptism of Jesus" and "The beginning of the Galilean ministry" respectively. Once Jesus was baptized, He was full of the Holy Spirit and it was the Holy Spirit who led Him in the wilderness to be tested by Devil.
How often we too who cling to Christ have often been put to difficult times?? Like how silver and gold are put to test, God tests our heart.

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.
Proverbs 17:3 NRSV.
  
So then why do some succumb to such tests? It's because the Word of God is not deeply rooted in them. They are like the ones where seed fell on rocky surface and seeds that fell among weeds.

 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13 NRSV
God always provides a way out for the test provided we endure it.

 The next thing we see in this passage is that Jesus fasts for 40days and once He's famished (meaning: starving to death), He is confronted by the devil. See the timings of the evil one to attack Jesus!
If you go back to the old testament, this is same thing that happened to the Israelites who were led in desert by the Lord for 40yrs.

Remember how the Lord your God led you on this long journey through the desert these past forty years, sending hardships to test you, so that he might know what you intended to do and whether you would obey his commands. He made you go hungry, and then he gave you manna to eat, food that you and your ancestors had never eaten before. He did this to teach you that you must not depend on bread alone to sustain you, but on everything that the Lord says. During these forty years your clothes have not worn out, nor have your feet swollen up. Remember that the Lord your God corrects and punishes you just as parents discipline their children. So then, do as the Lord has commanded you: live according to his laws and obey him. The Lord your God is bringing you into a fertile land Deuteronomy 8:2‭-‬7a GNT

Now let's see various dimensions of the temptations:-
1) Devil uses the phrase, "If you are the Son of God...." in every temptation. The word "if" creates an environment where you ought to prove something to that person in other words provokes us to make our point. 
2) First two statements of the temptations made by devil were non-biblical whereas the statement of the 3rd temptation is from Psalm 91:11-12. 
3) The first two replies to the temptations by Jesus are the acts of human towards God i.e. to mortify the body and to worship God alone. Whilst the 3rd temptation was to test God's promises to man i.e. will God be faithful to His promises?
4) In all three temptations, Jesus replies from the Word of God. [ Duet. 8:3; Duet. 6:13; Duet. 6:16 ]
Therefore it is mandatory to study and meditate on the Scriptures because when you face situations in life, you will always face it in the light of the Scriptures. 
This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful.
Joshua 1:8 NRSV

After the 3 temptations the devil flees away and Angels came and the very 1st line of the next episode begins with "Jesus being filled with the power of the Spirit..."

Therefore, in life you can be led by the Holy Spirit and also by the devil like how Jesus was; but it is only when you know your scriptures well, you will be able to guard and fight back the attacks of the evil one.

Praise God❤

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