“Then (immediately after the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him) was Jesus led up (urgently led) of the Spirit (Holy Spirit) into the wilderness (probably close to Jericho) to be tempted of the Devil (as the Last Adam, He would be tempted in all points like as we are [Heb. 4:15; I Cor. 15:21-22, 45, 47]).
“And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward hungry (other than Christ, three men in the Bible fasted forty days and forty nights: Moses [Deut. 9:9, 18, 25; 10:10], Joshua [Ex. 24:13-18; 32:15-17], and Elijah [I Ki. 19:7-8]).
“And when the tempter (Satan) came to Him, he said, If You be the Son of God (since You are the Son of God), command that these stones be made bread (Christ was tempted to use His Power for His Own benefit, which He was to never do).
“But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds out of the Mouth of God ([Deut. 8:3]; man is a spiritual being as well as a physical being; therefore, dependent on God).
“Then the Devil took Him up (a powerful force) into the Holy City (Jerusalem), and set Him on a pinnacle of the Temple (its highest point, which Josephus stated, was about 700 feet from the ravine below),
“And said unto Him, If You be the Son of God (since You are the Son of God), cast Yourself down (literally spoken): for it is written, He shall give His Angels charge concerning You: and in their hands they shall bear You up, lest at any time You dash Your foot against a stone (derived from
Psalms 91:11-12).
“Jesus said unto him, It is written again, you shall not tempt the Lord your God ([Deut. 6:16]; to tempt God is to question His Word, which casts doubt on His ability to do what He has promised).
“Again (the third temptation), the Devil took Him up into an exceeding high mountain (not definitely known, but probably Nebo), and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them (showed them to Him, not in a physical sense, but rather in a spiritual sense);
“And said unto Him, All these things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me (the temptation was that Christ abrogate the Cross, through which He would regain all things).
“Then said Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan (presents Christ for the first time Personally addressing Satan): for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve (Satan desires that mankind worship and serve him; we are to worship and serve the Lord Alone).
“Then the Devil left Him (“departed from Him for a season,” meaning that there would be other temptations [Lk. 4:13]), and, behold, Angels came and ministered unto Him (in what manner they ministered, we aren’t told)” (Mat. 4:1-11).
What Is Temptation?
The word “tempted” as used in Matthew 4:1, means “to entice,” “to prove,” “to test.” Temptation is a difficult situation, it’s a pressure that brings a reaction through which the character or commitment of the Believer is demonstrated, and it’s instigated by Satan, and, as here, it is allowed by God, although God never tempts His Children.
James 1:13 says, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of (by) God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts He any man.”

Why Does God Allow The Believer To Face Temptation?

1. Temptation is allowed by God so we may learn reliance on the Word of God.
2. Temptation is allowed by God in order to test one’s faith. In I Peter 1:6-7 Satan tempts, the Lord tests.
3. Temptation is allowed in order that the Believer may choose only the Will of God – Luke 22:42.
4. Temptation is Satan’s attempt to get us, the Believer, to step outside the Word of God, to violate the Word of God. We may think that the temptation is to lie, steal, cheat, etc., but really it all begins with a temptation to step outside the revealed Will of God, which is the Word of God. When the Believer states he was tempted to do something wrong, the truth is, they were tempted to disobey the Word of God. This was and is Satan’s desire in Matthew, Chapter 4, to get the Lord to step outside of the revealed Word of God, as it regarded the Cross.
5. Temptation, within itself, is not sin, for Christ was tempted as we are, yet remained sinless. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we have not a High Priest Who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
6. Temptation is allowed by the Lord in order that we may realize how weak we are.
The Manner Of Satan’s Temptation
In Satan’s temptation of the Lord, the temptation came in three ways:
1. “The Lust of the Flesh”: The turning of the stones to bread – Matthew 4:3.
2. “The Lust of the Eyes”: That all would see Him make a grand entrance by leaping from the pinnacle of the Temple – Matthew 4:6.
3. “The Pride of Life”: Offering to Christ the kingdoms of the world – Matthew 4:8 – the abrogation of dying on the Cross.
The Original Temptation In The Garden
It’s important to note that in Genesis, Chapter 3, Satan used the same methods:
1. Eve, seeing that the tree was good for food, presents the “Lust of the Eyes.”
2. It was pleasant to the eyes, proclaims to us the “Lust of the Flesh.”
3. That the fruit of the tree was desired to make one wise, presents the “Pride of Life.”
4. Taking and eating of the fruit was in direct disobedience to the Command of God, which at that time, the spoken Word of God was the Word of God to Adam and Eve.
David And Bath-sheba
As given above, there is a pattern that emerges. This pattern sets the stage for all spiritual failure.
II Samuel, Chapter 11, concerning David and Bath-sheba, gives to us the same pattern:
1. “The Lust of the Flesh” was already at work in David, due to his lax spiritual condition.
2. He then “saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon” – “The Lust of the Eyes.”
3. “David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her” – “The Pride of Life” – “I am King and I can do what I want.”
Was It Possible For Jesus To Yield To
Temptation And Sin?

Many claim that the Lord could not have sinned in that He was the Son of God. However, that statement shows a complete lack of understanding regarding the Incarnation. If it was impossible for the “man” Jesus to not have sinned, then all of Satan’s efforts were futile. Please understand, Satan has more understanding of spiritual things than you may realize. While it is certainly true that Jesus, as God, could not have sinned, still, as God manifest in the flesh, it certainly was possible for Him to sin.
Romans 8:3 says, “For what the Law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His Own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.”
Were it not possible for Christ to sin as man, he would have truly not been Incarnate. The Incarnation demanded that He be “made in the likeness of men” – Philippians 2:7.
However, there was one great difference; He did not sin, where all others have.
Let me quote Hebrews 4:15 once again, “For we have not an High Priest Who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
This Verse tells us the following:
1. If the Lord had not suffered the same pressure of temptation as we do, and with the possibility of failure, He could not have been “touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” Because He has faced the same thing we face, He can empathize with us.
2. As the Last Adam, He must face Satan on the same ground that all other human beings do, with all the potential for failure. Were it not possible for Him to fail, then He was not truly the Last Adam.
3. Satan would not have wasted his time in the Wilderness Temptation if there was no possibility for failure. This was Satan’s greatest opportunity.
4. Jesus, as a man, overcame Satan in every respect, showing us that there is Victory for redeemed man. As Christ was our substitute, not only on Calvary’s Cross, He was also our substitute in the wilderness. We identify with Him by Faith, and consequently, are given His victory.
The Believer And Temptation
There is nothing a Believer can do which will stop temptation. Satan is going to be constantly looking for some way to lead us astray.
James said in Chapter 1, Verse 14, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” Temptation is Satan’s bait to the heart of the individual. In the heart of all men, there is a desire for some things which are wrong. Though we are Saved, the Sin Nature is still there, and Satan will do everything to revive the Sin Nature.
Let me say it this way, temptation is traced to the desires of the heart, desires that are not godly. Where there is no desire, there is no temptation. Every person has different desires, one desire may not be a pull or problem to you, but it is to someone else.
What Is The Answer?
Hebrews 2:18 says, “For in that He Himself has suffered being tempted, He is able to succour (help) them who are tempted.”
Hebrews, Chapter 2 speaks of Redemption. Therefore, the way we have help is through Calvary’s Cross.
The true temptation of Christ in the wilderness was to get the Lord to bypass the Cross. We see this in Verses 8 and 9 of Matthew, Chapter 4. Satan tries to get the Lord to accept from his hands world dominion he is yet to have. “You don’t have to die on the Cross for the world to bow at your feet, I will give them to you.”
A proper understanding of the Cross is the Believer’s power and strength.
1. We are to understand that all of the help and strength that the Lord has comes to us totally and completely through what Christ did for us at Calvary’s Cross.
2. We must understand that Satan was totally defeated at the Cross.
3. The Believer must place his Faith in the Cross, not a wooden beam, but Faith placed in the One Who died on the Cross. Faith in Him and not self.
4. Proper Faith then allows the Holy Spirit to work on our behalf as the Lord intended. This does not mean that with proper understanding of the Victory won at Calvary’s Cross, all temptation will stop; for Satan is going to tempt us until our time on Earth is up. It doesn’t mean that you will never yield to temptation, but it definitely means that “sin will not have dominion over you” (Rom. 6:14).
There is a way of escape, there is a path of Victory, and that is Faith in Calvary’s Cross.

Your Evangelist, Donnie Swaggart