Temptations of Jesus
Summarize the three temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness after His baptism. Matt. 4:1–11, Mark 1:12, 13.
The temptations of Jesus reveal some contrasting parallels with those of Adam and Eve. First, the fact that Adam was tempted while in the Garden of Eden, in an environment free from the corrupting reality of sin; Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, in an environment under the influence of evil powers. Second, Adam had abundance of food, while Jesus was deprived of food. Third, Adam was not fasting; Jesus was. Fourth, both Adam and Jesus were tempted to satisfy their desire for food apart from the will of God; Adam did, Jesus didn’t. Fifth, Adam was tempted to question what God had said and showed lack of trust in God’s word. Jesus also was tempted to question the trustworthiness of the word of God, but He rejected the temptation. Sixth, Adam openly went against the Lord and joined Satan in his rebellion against God and His government. Jesus was offered the kingdoms of this world if He would only worship and join Satan in his struggle against the kingdom of God. Jesus, however, remained loyal to the Father.
By overcoming Satan on the fundamental points in which Adam failed, Jesus was undoing Adam’s failure and making His (Christ’s) victory available to those who will put their faith in Him. The new humanity will not receive from the head of the race a spirit of disobedience and rebellion, as the old humanity did from Adam, but one of humble submission to God’s will.
Read 2 Corithians 5:21. What does Jesus’ victory over all sin mean for us and for the process of atonement?
That deep bond of unity between the Father and the Son was not broken through the temptations and attacks that Satan launched against the Son of God. He overcame every one and remained totally dependent on the Father. No other human being has been, is, or will be exactly like Him. He was by nature and by personal election sinless. It is there that we find the very ground of His capacity to save us. The Sinless One became sin for us in order for us to receive by faith the righteousness that was not ours but His. The perfect sacrificial Lamb took on Himself our sin in order to restore us to unity and harmony with the Creator.
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