Chapter 6—Temptation of Christ
After the baptism of Jesus, he was led by the Spirit into the wilder-
ness to be tempted of the devil. When he came up out of Jordan,
he bowed and plead with the great Eternal for strength to endure the
conflict with the fallen foe. The opening heavens and the descent
of the excellent glory attested his divine character; and the Father’s
voice declared the close relationship of Christ to his Infinite Majesty:
“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The mission of
Christ was now about to begin; but he must first withdraw from the
busy scenes of life to a desolate wilderness for the express purpose of
bearing a three-fold temptation in behalf of those whom he had come
to redeem.
Let us pause in the history of Christ’s earthly life, and briefly notice
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the events prior to his advent in a world of sin. Satan, after compassing
the fall of Adam and Eve, had boasted that he was monarch of the
earth, and it was true that in all ages of the world he had found many
followers. But he had failed to unite fallen man with him as he had
hoped to do, and thus reign supreme over the whole earth. Though man
in his fallen state was suffering the consequence of his disobedience,
yet he was not without hope. He was unable, because of his guilt,
to come directly before God with his supplications, but the plan of
redemption, devised in Heaven, transferred the sentence of death from
the obedient and faithful, to a substitute. There must be the shedding of
blood, for death was the consequence of man’s sin. In the slain victim,
man was to see for the time being the fulfillment of God’s word: “Ye
shall surely die.” The flowing blood also signified an atonement, and
pointed forward to a Redeemer who would one day come to the world
and die for the sins of man, thus fully vindicating his Father’s law.
The hope of salvation through Christ led fallen man to be ex-
ceedingly faithful in the matter of sacrifices. Satan watched with
intense interest every circumstance connected with these sacrificial
ceremonies, and soon learned that they typified a future atonement for
the human race. This caused him great uneasiness, as it threatened to
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