Trampling Temptation

Matthew 4:1-11

The Temptation of Jesus
1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'[a]"

5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
" '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.'[b]"

7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'[c]"

8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."

10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'[d]"

11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Reflection of Bee:

The devil tempted Adam & Eve (Genesis 3), and then Jesus, in 3 different ways: body (v1-4), soul (v5-7), and spirit (v8-10). Adam and Eve fell into the temptations of the devil, but Jesus overcame all the temptations.

Today, the devil still uses the same tricks to temp us. We need to learn from Jesus how to overcome these temptations.

1. Temptation of our physical needs:
Jesus told the devil that we need to live by God's word (Bible) and He quoted the scriptures to overcome Satan. That means, we need to know God's truth to win the battle.

2. Temptation of our emotional needs:
Jesus told the devil that we should not test God into giving Him what He wants. We must not test God in order to feed our emotional needs, such as telling God that if He is God He will bring us a spouse, etc.

3. Temptation of our spiritual needs:
Jesus told the devil that we should only worship God and no one else. We are not to fall into the trap of worshiping material things and recognize that God is the only one deserve our worship.

Dear Lord,
Thank You for the reminder tonight that I can conquer the temptations of the devil by following Your example. You know all my needs and You will be the One to supply them in Your time.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.