THE GOD-MAN, TESTED

One more test to pass before the God-man could step onto the public stage. Already equipped with the Father’s blessing after a peerless thirty years, Jesus had to decide His strategy… under whose authority would the God-man carry out His mission?

Would the Father, who loved His Son, choose to set the test? Not Himself or the Holy Spirit! None other than the devil, His most formidable opponent! Why the devil? Why not the religious leaders…those who would be in His face to the full extent of His endurance? The devil it was who masterminded Jesus’ opposition, challenging, like he did Job, not only His actions but the very core of His relationship with the Father. Was is not the same gauntlet he threw down before the first Adam…”You don’t need God. You can be God!”

“If you are the Son of God…!”

Where would He take the test? In the most inaccessible terrain, the wilderness of Judea, deserted and in total isolation! No food, no water, no creature comforts, no shelter, no human company, no support system, no cellphone, no Wifi, no 911, no possibility of calling for help… just utter desolation and silence!

And so He waited…day after day…and nothing happened! Ten days…nothing, silence! Twenty days…nothing, silence, not even a bird call to break the monotony! Thirty days…still nothing, still silence! Forty days…empty stomach writhing in pain, lips cracked and bleeding from thirst! Then, like a caged animal released, the devil burst on the scene! Had he been waiting in the shadows, straining at the leash, watching his opponent grow weaker by the day? Visible? We don’t know, but real, yes, horribly real! Why now, when Jesus was drained to the dregs? Why not forty days ago when He was fresh and up to the challenge?

Who was the referee in this struggle for position…power… authority…ultimately Lordship, in this monumental battle?

Matthew 4:1 NIV
[1] “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”

The Holy Spirit was there, all the time, keeping score, silent, invisible, uninvolved but vigilant. This was Jesus’ fight. He could not intervene.

What was the issue? What was the prize?

The devil had once challenged God for the highest position in heaven… and lost.

Isaiah 14:12-14 NLT
[12] “How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. [13] For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. [14] I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’

Since he had already lost to God, the same devil challenged the first Adam, and won. The only obstacle between him and the coveted prize was the last Adam. He still wanted the title, office, and role of Lord of the universe. Beat Him, and the title and role was his! He saw his opportunity through God’s offspring, this “Adam”, this righteous but untested God-man, now weak and vulnerable.

To gain the throne from Jesus Himself, the last Adam, Satan would need to win it by cunning and stealth.

It was showdown time. Step by step, Satan went for the jugular, the God-man’s unity with the Father through the Spirit. To prise Him loose from His union with the Father, he tried a sneak attack…act by your own power. “You don’t need God. You are God.”

The devil knew he could not attack His deity, so he tried Jesus’ vulnerable humanity through the front door…extreme physical hunger! Jesus refused to take the bait. As hungry as He was, He still left the choice, the initiative to the Father. His strategy unveiled, little by little, as the tests were hurled at Him. Point one…

Matthew 4:4 NIV
[4] “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

God’s Word would always be His modus operandi, His guiding light, His method of attack and defence, His weapon of choice. Obedience to God’s Word would be His supreme and only way to go.

Round one: Jesus – 1, Satan – 0.

John 8:29 NIV
[29] “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”

“Okay, if that’s your strategy, Jesus, how are you going to apply it?”

The devil’s tactic became more subtle. If you are choosing to live only by God’s Word, use it to get what you are after! What do you can to get what you want, Jesus, you God-man? You want what I want…supreme authority over your people, your world…to be, once and for all, Lord! Show your people your power by defying gravity in public! Jump from the highest point on the temple so that everyone can see you. God’s angels will catch you. He won’t let you fall. That’s His Word! That will convince the people who you are!

Jesus gave the devil a withering look. “You fool! Do you think I don’t know the truth? Do you think I’m stupid enough to fall for your scheme?”

Matthew 4:7 NIV
[7] Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Score: Jesus – 2, Satan – 0

Angry and raging, not willing to give up, the devil strips off his cover and fires his final round with guns blazing. “It’s so easy! Worship me, and I’ll give you everything you want. You want the world? I’ll give it to you if you just give me what I want…to be Lord!”

Matthew 4:8-9 NIV
[8] “Again, 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.”

How subtle was that!

Jesus slapped him down with one final strike! “First, devil, they are not yours to give.”

Psalms 24:1 NIV
[1] “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it… “

Second, devil,

Matthew 4:10 NIV
[10] Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Final score: Jesus – 3, Satan – 0

Raging and beaten, the devil retreats for a season but, under his breath he fumes, “I’ll be back!”

Luke 4:13 NLT
[13] When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.

This encounter was crucial. The God-man had cemented His modus operandi, His strategy for securing what was rightfully His, the title, office, and throne as Lord. It would take years of fierce defence of His claim, lived out daily, choice by choice, decision by decision, always going the way of absolute obedience and submission to the Father, always living as a man under God’s authority, always resting under the canopy of truth, to gain the prize.

“It is written,” was His weapon of choice, unassailable truth by which He would reveal his strategy, win the war, reign as king, and vanquish His enemy forever.

To be continued…