Temptations of Christ (Matthew 4: 1-11)

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Bible Summary:

Jesus goes to the desert for forty days and nights without food. The Devil comes along and tempts him three times to prove he is the Son of God.

  • First, since Jesus is hungry, the Devil challenges him to make bread out of stones. Jesus says people cannot live on bread alone, but also need the word of God.
  • Then, the Devil takes Jesus to the top of the highest temple in Jerusalem and tells him to jump so the angels will catch him. Jesus tells him not to put God to the test.
  • Last, the Devil takes Jesus to the highest mountain and offers him all the kingdoms of the world if he will just worship the Devil. Jesus commands Satan to go away since we are to worship God and serve only Him.

My Thoughts:
Three Temptations of Life: I believe these temptations of christ are like the food, fame, and riches of today.

  • Food: Bread, signifying food in general, is not enough to sustain life. We also need to nourish our souls with spiritual and social interactions. Food cares for our body, but worship and relationships care for our mental health.
  • Fame and Foolishness: I have a couple interpretations of the Devil tempting Jesus to jump off the temple. First is fame, which is a great temptation of today. Many famous people have reached the peak of their careers only to plummet because they are not grounded spiritually. In other words, they do not have angels to catch them so when they test God they fail.
  • Another interpretation is foolishness, or showing off to gain the approval of others. Many teens fit this profile, thinking they are invincible and doing foolish things that put their lives and others’ at risk.  But, sometimes the angels are not there to catch them either. Case in point is an 18-year-old who fell 60 feet to his death at Old Man’s Cave in Logan, Ohio last weekend because he was playing around off the path (Man falls to his death at Old Man’s Cave story at the Circleville Herald).  Please stay on the path and be safe.
  • Riches: The devil offers Jesus all the riches of the world if he will worship him. People that worship money discover at the end of their lives that it really was not worth it. Many forsake family and friends for their riches, but ultimately learn that we all come into this world with nothing and leave this world the same way.