The Temptations of Jesus

Matthew 3:16-17

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Matthew 4:1

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

These verses have always intrigued me. As soon as Jesus had the revelation of his true identity as the beloved offspring of God who didn’t have to do anything to please His Father, He was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

This was the same Spirit (which we know was one with the Father) that Jesus saw descending like a dove and heard saying the words of assurance which revealed Jesus’ true nature.

We know that though God may have led Jesus into the wilderness, He could not have been the one doing the tempting.

James 1:13-14  Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

We are told in Matthew that Jesus was tempted of the devil, while James tells us that we are tempted by our own lust, and enticed.

We have always thought of the devil as a being outside ourselves, really a fallen angel by the name of Lucifer. That is the subject for another study, but suffice it to say here that the devil —that which tempts us— is our own lust. It is that man of sin (or our humanity) which believes that it is a separate self (see The Greatest Deception).

We tend to think of Jesus as being pure and holy, having nothing inside Himself that could oppose God. On the contrary, God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3) and made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin (2Corinthians 5:21). Jesus was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

Jesus partook of the same humanity that we have and had the same temptations. He was without sin because He didn’t yield to those temptations, though, in the Garden of Gethsemane He sweated as it were great drops of blood as He was taking that humanity (and ours along with it) to the death (Luke 22:44).

The point I want to make here is that we are not to be surprised or discouraged when we undergo the trial of our faith (1Pet 1:7) which comes as an inevitable result of spiritual progress. Our humanity ALWAYS rises up and challenges any revelation that we have of our true identity —which is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. It is the anti-Christ setting itself up in our temple and calling itself God (see The Greatest Deception). That’s why the devil wanted Jesus to fall down and worship him (Matthew 4:9)–that would be acknowledging His humanity to be God.

If we are wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16), we will be aware of what is happening when we too are led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

Why would the Spirit do this?–because that man of sin must be revealed for what it is: just old beliefs which are all lies. For our humanity is a liar which never abode in the truth (John 8:44). The same Spirit which reveals our true identity must also reveal our false one; or we will worship our humanity and think that it is God.

I recently had —or should say am having— this experience myself. One morning I awakened with the revelation that I was indeed the beloved offspring of God that had been born to bear witness to the truth (see The Name “Dauthor”). That was on a Saturday. I was enjoying this revelation and words of Life poured from me easily as I began to write these contemplations.

Then, as the expression goes, all hell broke loose. Physical, emotional and mental problems emerged from nowhere (I’ll spare you the details). I was feeling stress and the tears were flowing. And I heard a voice saying, You thought you had faith? Look at yourself! You are pathetic! You are full of fears. You’ve just deceived yourself into believing that you know the truth. If you knew the truth, you would be free. Wake up to the reality that nothing is ever going to change. You’ll suffer this mental torment until you die. If you haven’t made any more progress than this in over 60 years, whom are you kidding?

But I awakened this morning at four o’clock with the revelation of what I’ve just written. I knew that the Spirit had led me into this wilderness to face my own lying beliefs that have been there a lifetime and which must be seen for the lies that they are. These lies are the same lies that Jesus had to face —lies concerning having a life of my own that I have to look after and make successful.

I knew that the day of Christ, the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, is indeed at hand (2Thessalonians 2:1-2; see The Greatest Deception). I knew that Jesus Christ is appearing in me.

1Peter 1:7-12  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

I knew that I was experiencing something that neither Moses nor Elijah (nor even John the Baptist) had experienced —Christ in me, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). I knew that Jesus had taken His humanity and mine to the death of the cross so that He could appear IN me and AS me.

And I knew for a certainty that none of this was my doing, for

1Thessalonians 5:24  Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.