Why Was Jesus Tempted?

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What to Know About Jesus' Temptation:

1. Jesus is God who manifested in human form.

2. As a human with blood and flesh, He experienced human frailty.

3. The devil understood that, given Jesus' weakness due to His human nature, He was susceptible to temptation.

4. Jesus would not have been tempted without the possibility of falling, given His human nature. In other words, temptation occurs where there is a possibility that the one being tempted might fall.

5. Temptation predates Jesus. Satan tempted Eve as the first human ever tempted. Satan also successfully tempted Adam, Cain, Abraham, and David to sin. He was less successful with Job, and Jesus was "tempted in every way as we are, yet was without sin" (Heb. 4:15 HCSB).

6. Jesus was tempted thrice by the devil:

   - The first temptation (Matt. 4:3-4) was to get Jesus to doubt God's providential care. The devil acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God and argued that, since Jesus was the Son of God, He should use His powers to meet His own needs.

   - The second temptation (Matt. 4:5-7) involved the misapplication of Scripture (Ps. 91:11-12) to get Jesus to jump from the highest point of the temple and test God's promise to protect Him from physical harm. Jesus’ response with Deut. 6:16 alluded to Israel’s rebellion at Massah (Exod. 17:1-7). Jesus refused to test God’s faithfulness and protection, trusting the Father without needing tests.

   - The third temptation offered Jesus the opportunity to seize a kingdom and avoid the cross. Satan presented Jesus with the "bait" ("all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor") and the compromising stipulation ("if you will fall down and worship me") (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 2003:1570).

7. Had the devil succeeded in making Jesus fall, Jesus would have failed in His mission to redeem humanity and reconcile them with God.

From the foregoing, it is clear that Jesus' temptation was a direct challenge to His mission on earth by the devil.

While there are lessons to be learned from Jesus' temptation, it is crucial to understand that the primary focus was not on the lessons we can derive but on the devil's intention to thwart Jesus' mission.