Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” He said in reply, “It is written: ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’
“Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'”
Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.'” Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan!” It is written: ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone you shall serve.'” Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.”
Matthew 4:1-11 (NABRE)
Temptations, temptations.
In this passage, we see a glimpse of what it means to live the Christian life. The devil’s temptations attempt to persuade Jesus to submit to evil and become weakened in His mission to redeem humanity. Serving two masters is impossible, and Jesus, had He sinned, would have been caught where the rest of fallen humanity is now, under the persuasion of the evil one. Thankfully, Jesus never sinned.
Temptations abound and are a constant presence in our lives, but nonetheless, Jesus shows us that resisting them is possible, even if they seem quite alluring. It is worth noting, though, that after resisting the devil, Jesus is left alone by him. As Scripture says, “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
More importantly, when you resist the devil, you always have the same Jesus who defeated him by your side.
Thank you for reading. Peace.
Eat the Scroll 