Call Us: 423 661-4734 | Email: requests@comeandreason.com      
The Temptations of Jesus: A Lesson for Us

The Temptations of Jesus: A Lesson for Us

According to Scripture, Jesus was tempted “in every way just as we are yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NIV84). As we praise God for the victory of His Son, we can simultaneously examine how the devil approached our Savior and discover the evil tactics that he uses against us.

We will see that all of Satan’s temptations are rooted in lies – but his lies come at us from different angles, aiming at different points of vulnerability, ultimately leading us to exchange our trust in God for something or someone other than God.

 

The Temptations of Jesus

The first temptation of Jesus came after He had fasted for forty days and was hungry. Purporting to be an angel from heaven, Satan approached our Savior and tempted Him to turn a stone into bread, if He was the Son of God (Matthew 4:3).

Note the layers of deceit:

  • The devil presented himself as an angel of light, a friend, someone from God, a being interested in Jesus’ welfare; this was a lie – not a lie of words, but of action and presentation. He was an enemy, not a friend.
  • How many people today get deceived because they cannot discern a friend from an enemy? They believe that someone really cares about them, when, in reality, the person just wants to take advantage in some way.
  • Satan, in his disguise as an angel of light and pretending to be interested in Christ’s welfare, approached Jesus in a time or situation of need. Jesus was hungry; He was in a desert without easy access to food. The devil also presented another deception – tempting Jesus to doubt God and doubt Himself. “Surely, the Son of God wouldn’t be left to suffer and starve alone in the desert? God is love, and a God of love wouldn’t leave one of His children to starve to death, would He? Don’t let this mischaracterization of your Father stand. If you are God’s Son, turn this rock into bread and save yourself.” Satan tempted Jesus to take matters into His own hands, to act selfishly to fix the situation Himself and prove who He was to this so-called friend from God.
  • How many of us find ourselves in positions of real need and are tempted by people to doubt God, and instead of waiting patiently for God to lead, we listen to the so-called friends and act outside of God’s will, trying to fix the problem ourselves?

The first temptation is to deceive us by pretending to be a friend or an agent from God sent to help us in a time of real need, but instead of helping, this fake friend leads us away from trusting God and toward trusting ourselves or trying to prove what we don’t actually need to prove.

For the second temptation of Jesus, the devil took Him to a high place, showed Him all the power and wealth of the world, and then offered it to Jesus, claiming it was his to give, if our Savior would only recognize Satan as the rightful ruler of Earth and worship him.

Note the layers of deceit:

  • The devil again presented himself as something he is not. This time, instead of an angel of light, he represented himself as the rightful ruler of Earth, the one with the authority to give what he claimed he could give. This was a lie. Jesus is the rightful ruler of Earth. Adam, in Eden, was Jesus’ subordinate governor. When Adam sinned, Jesus remained the rightful ruler – Satan was a usurper, and his claim was false.
  • But, in his disguise as the rightful ruler of Earth, Satan’s second temptation is that of inducement, bribes, payoffs – more wealth, fame, power, glory, control, or ability. If only Jesus would acknowledge Satan as ruler and worship him, He could have it all and not have to suffer and die. Why suffer? Why take the hard way? Wouldn’t it be better to take the easy way?
  • In society today, we see this temptation all the time; people have exchanged their belief in God or their devotion to God for material possessions, more wealth, power, or fame – or anything else to exalt self.

The first temptation was to exchange trust in God for trust in self when a false friend deceives in a time of need; the second temptation was inducement, bribe, payoff of wealth, power, fame, or some ability – that is, don’t trust God with your situation, but take matters into your own hands and advance yourself; no need to suffer; you can get ahead the easy way.

For the third temptation, Satan took Jesus to the top of the temple, quoted Scripture out of context, and then tempted our Savior to jump off the tower to prove that He was the Son of God.

  • This temptation was again a deception but through the misquoting of Scripture and attempting to introduce doubt into Jesus’ mind; this was to get Him to act outside of God’s will in a way that would injure Jesus, harm the mission, or interfere with God’s purpose, all the while purporting to be in harmony with Scripture. In other words, the final temptation was again to distrust God but this time through false religion, false religiosity, and false application of Scripture.
  • How many people throughout history have been deceived by those who misuse Scripture to advance the purposes of God’s enemy? How many religious leaders have acted the role of Satan’s agent and led people on crusades, inquisitions, suicide bombings, or other acts outside of God’s will while claiming to be working for God?

The third temptation was to distrust God and exalt self through the application of Scripture and claims of devotion to God and advancement of His kingdom.

 

How Jesus Overcame: A Lesson for Us

Jesus defeated all of these temptations by knowing God and having a personal relationship with His Father. Jesus knew God’s character, methods, principles, motives, purposes; thus, He knew the true meaning of Scripture. For this reason, Jesus was able to quote Scripture that exposed each temptation for the lie that it was.

We, too, must know God for ourselves. This requires that we know God’s methods, design laws, principles, and purposes so that we can rightly understand and apply God’s Word. And this means that we must know and study God’s Word for ourselves to know its true meaning and develop by practice the ability to discern truth from error (Hebrews 5:14).

However, Jesus’ temptations did not end in the wilderness with deceit, inducement, or false religion – nor will our temptations end with these three.

If we, like Jesus, are not deceived by those claiming to be from God but are not; if we are not bought off with the riches or fame of this evil world; if we are not tricked by false religiosity, then the devil will attack us with the fear of rejection, ruined reputation, loss of position, and eventually physical pain, suffering, and ultimately death through false allegations and acts of injustice. The evil one uses his agents to lie about the righteous, betray them, imprison them, and torture and kill them if he can’t get them to choose him and his methods. All of these pressures are designed to get us to embrace his methods of power and coercion to stop the injustice and protect ourselves or others.

Jesus’ final temptation came during crucifixion weekend when He was repeatedly tempted to stop the greatest injustice in history and save Himself.

This final temptation was so diabolical because it tempted Jesus to do justice by acting selfishly. The action to stop His own execution would have been an act of judicial justice because He was innocent – but to do so would have been an act of selfishness.

Let’s examine this a little more closely:

  • Jesus was publicly misrepresented and lied about repeatedly (Matthew 12:24).
  • Religious and political leaders threatened His followers (John 9:22).
  • Corrupt leaders bribed one of His followers to betray Him (Matthew 26:14–16).
  • Witnesses were hired to perjure themselves at His trial (Matthew 26:59–61).
  • The Sanhedrin violated its own laws in conducting His trial at night, as it was forbidden to conduct legal matters between the evening and morning sacrifice.
  • They lied to the Roman governor.
  • They hired mobs to riot and intimidate Pilate and silence any who would speak in favor of Jesus.
  • They voted for a known criminal over the Messiah (Matthew 27:16–21).
  • They hit Jesus and beat Him without cause (John 18:23).
  • They crucified Him though He was innocent.
  • They mocked Him and berated Him.

All of these events were orchestrated by Satan to tempt Jesus with outrage at the injustice, in the face of the most extreme torture of His physical body, maximizing the temptation to become angry and say to Himself, “This is wrong! It’s not fair! I don’t deserve this!” and then act to save self.

Each one of us, if we do not give in to the lies, the bribes, and the false religion, will face similar temptations either directly or vicariously. We will face our worst fears – fear of rejection, fear of being cast out of our churches, fear of imprisonment, physical abuse, torture, and even death. And all of this mistreatment will be based on lies and falsehood. It will be a gross miscarriage of justice.

In the face of this terrible social injustice against us or people we love, we will be confronted with the most intense temptation: to use the methods of this world to put down the wrong. It is then that our faith(trust) in Jesus must be exercised. It is then that the final remnants of the carnal nature will be purged from our hearts and minds. It is then we must choose to say no to fear, no to selfishness, no to the methods of force and coercion, and remain surrendered in trust to our Savior. It is then, in the face of the most intense human passion, with anger boiling over at the injustice, with fear crushing us down and tempting us to give in, that we must choose to follow Jesus, who said:

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:44–48 NIV84).

When our fears are the strongest, when our anger is the most intense, when the temptation to strike back seems so right, it is then, if we want to be free from sin, free from fear, free from selfishness, free from the power of Satan, that we must trust Jesus and love our enemies. It is only then that we will be fully healed children of our Father in heaven, perfect like He is perfect!

 


Email me the blog whenever a new one is published.

Donate online, securely via PayPal using your credit or debit card (no PayPal account needed, unless you want to set up a monthly, recurring payment).


cancel recurring payment

 

Want to use zelle instead?
See how on our
Support and Donations page.

Upcoming Events

calendar

Testimonial Post Slider

Testimony 51

I Love This Ministry!!!!!!! I see first hand how this message is desperately needed, how erroneous beliefs about God and His Character negatively affect humanity at every level. I thank God for your ministry, as I was searching on my own and was discovering some of your same beliefs and was blown away when I found your ministry. I know you hear it all the time, but it is truly life changing. May God continue to reveal His Will to you and Bless you!

Eric S., Sanford, FL, USA

 

Testimony 66

I am incredibly grateful for the transformative impact you’ve had on my life, and words cannot fully express my appreciation. Over the years, I have been an avid listener and follower of C&R and extend my heartfelt thanks for creating the C&R mobile app. It has allowed me to immerse myself in your lessons repeatedly, enabling me to grasp the profound significance about the Character of God, Design Law, the protocols for life, the reasons behind the current chaos, and Christ’s mission to restore everything. They have deeply touched me. Having studied with various churches, I came away with the perception that God is no different from the deities of ancient Greek or Roman mythology—demanding sacrifices and taking pleasure in bloodshed. Thanks to your transformative teachings, I have experienced a profound awakening to the true nature of God and the immense power of His love. It is truly a remarkable and liberating sensation to finally grasp the truth and embrace the empowering nature of God’s laws. My self-perception has become brighter and more infused with love. My journey of growth continues on a daily basis.

Chris P., Lake Mary, FL, USA

 

Testimony 72

I am blown away by the truth that you present. God’s Design Law makes so much sense! You have validated my impression that, if God is love, He would not kill those who don’t want to know him. If God gives us choice, then how can He destroy us if our choice is not to follow him. Thank you for opening my eyes and heart to the pure love of God seen through Jesus. The love I now have for Jesus is deeper and free from condemnation. My heart has been opened to love others as Jesus loves me. May God continue to bless your God-given insight into His word and your ministry. The truth has set me free!

H. Miller, Centereach, NY

Testimony 30

God lead me to your book “The God-Shaped Brain” while I was searching for another book about the brain and then to your interview about your book on HeartWise Ministries [where] I found out about [Come And Reason Ministries]. I’m now devouring the webcasts of your Bible studies. I have been so greatly blessed and I thank God so much for your courage to speak the Truth in love no matter what. Listening to you contrast the two opposing systems (laws) and digging deep to unearth the hidden treasures in the Bible makes me so incredibly happy and I feel very blessed to be part of your Bible Study Group although I live far away. I am just so excited that there is a group of people that is spreading the Truth about the character of God and it saddens me how few realize what our Father in Heaven is really like.

Kessy B., Australia

 

Testimony 48

I just want to tell you how blessed I have been reading “The Remedy!” It has become a daily part of my devotional relationship with God. In it I have found a God of love and a God that loves me! The bible has come alive for me! It is the first time that I can say that I have felt hope fill my heart as I have read God’s word. This is good news I can share! Thank you, Dr Jennings! Thank you for your heart for others. I can’t put into words how this has set me free! It has strengthened my trust and love for God.

Jason H.

 

Testimony 17

The blessings of clarity and understanding you and your class inspire me to take from the word of God have impressed upon me so greatly the true, loving character of our Creator. I have found amazing freedom and joy through building a stronger, more intentional relationship with Him. What is new is that this is now a relationship built on love, reverence and respect rather than fear and obligation, and as such my eyes have been slammed OPEN as I am continually impressed by the manifestations of God’s true character in His provisions for fallen man.

T.E.H., Salt Lake City, UT, USA

 

Testimony 34

I was introduced to Come and Reason Ministries by accident, via a passing comment made in a bible study class we were visiting. I checked this website out and my life was changed. The understanding of the truth of God’s character, and how we apply it, is so right. The tricky part is consistently applying which “lens” to look through. As I began to understand, I started sharing the basics of this understanding with a discussion group I was leading and, suddenly, a lot of things started to make sense that never used to. At the same time, I enjoyed an amazing opportunity. I was able to conduct a full bible study at WORK! What an amazing experience! It is such a joy to share the truth about God and to share how it all fits in the war between God and Satan. So many people benefit when we have a correct understanding about how God works and who He really is! Thank you for this transformational understanding. Keep up the good work! God Bless you!

Tony P., CA, USA

 

Testimony 15

I have been sharing Come And Reason Ministries Bible study lessons with several folk. You have such a beautiful view of the plan of salvation. If we had this message preached when I was young, my generation would still all be in church.

H. R., New Zealand

Testimony 28

I have been following your Bible study class for about a year now. I must say I am impressed with how your ministry has grown. I took it upon myself to listen to all your lesson podcasts from the past and they have both enriched me physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I have learnt a lot from this class. I have also noticed how the class has grown in spiritual strength. One of the things that benefited me is that now I am not afraid of God. I use to be, but now it has melted away. The second thing is that you helped me to have a real life relationship with God. Now He is my friend that was always there and I love having him with me all the time. Thirdly, because of this class, it inspired me to take over and lead a class. I have called it “Let Us Reason Together,” adapting your inquisitive style and creating a class of free thinkers.

T. Banda, Malawi, Africa

 

Testimony 71

When I was 9 years old, I remember setting at our devotional table with a hunger and thirst for God that wanted more, deeper, BETTER. I can remember literally crying and pounding on the table, “I know these teachers didn’t mean to give us error. They taught what THEY had been TAUGHT, but didn’t ANYBODY READ THE BOOK?!?!?” It mattered to me then. It mattered to me as a teenager. It matters now as I teach bible classes. It didn’t have to be so hard as I watched so many give up and lay God’s great plan and gift of salvation aside as being “impossible.” Then, a friend sent me a link to Come And Reason’s website. I grew excited. YES! FINALLY! Then another friend told me to stay away, saying her son had just broken up with a girl because she was involved with Come And Reason and that “Tim Jennings preaches a false gospel.” But, AFTER many years of developing an authentic and, dare I say FUN relationship with Jesus, through the Holy Spirit I see this message has been around a LONG time, since the apostle Paul, Ellen White, Graham Maxwell, Ray Foucher, and yourself (though I admit, you’ve made me back up, rewind and replay the clips, and get out my well-worn Bible on a few things.) I’m so thankful I have found LIGHT during these DARK days. I am not alone.

Vicki DiNitto

Testimony 21

I am absolutly on fire with the message at Come and Reason! I can’t get enough! I’ve read your book, blog, and articles. I’ve listened to your Bible study podcasts, your radio show, and your series – all excellent! It wasn’t until the past couple of years that I have I like I’m becoming “healthy,” with more to share with others than just beasts and commandments! I used to be a Bible worker and preached when the pastors were gone until I had had enough. I didnt realize at the time what the problem was, but i know now… the message wasn’t properly focused. Now my flame is rekindled. All of your little examples are so perfect in explaining something “complicated” and making it easily understood! Now I’m trying to shape it into a life changing evangelistic series! Thank you!

M.T., USA

 

Testimony 47

I can’t even begin to thank you and your ministry enough for introducing me to the Truth about a loving and merciful God! I have my daughter and her in-laws to thank for sharing with me “The God-Shaped Brain” as well as your website. I listen to the Bible study class lessons on my daily walk. May God continue to bless your thirst-quenching ministry!

Liz H., Port Angeles, WA, USA

 

 

Testimony 56

I cannot thank you enough for opening my understanding to the beautiful truth of God’s Law of Love and how it applies to everything. I have been a Christian for over forty years, but I feel like I am only now seeing with my eyes open. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

Tammy Cinzio, Australia

 

Testimony 2

I continue to enjoy your lessons every week. The more that I research your conclusions, the more I am convinced that the Holy Spirit has lead you to distill out the essence of human redemption. Thank you for your courageous stand for the truth.

S. G., TX, USA

 

Testimony 31

It was very touching to hear the testimony of your class share how viewing God’s true character has changed their lives. My feelings are the same – there is so much freedom in knowing that God LOVES me – regardless of my… just, REGARDLESS! I’m still blown away by the true gospel, the fact that God is not ready to strike us when we fail. He is not arbitrary. He simply loves us and warns of the natural consequences because He can’t stand to see us suffer. I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS GOD!!!

Ceil V.,  UT, USA