Chapter 12—The Temptation
This chapter is based on
Matthew 4:1-11
;
Mark 1:12, 13
;
Luke 4:1-13
.
“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan,
and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.” The words of Mark are
still more significant. He says, “Immediately the Spirit driveth Him
into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days,
tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts.” “And in those days
He did eat nothing.”
When Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted, He was
led by the Spirit of God. He did not invite temptation. He went to
the wilderness to be alone, to contemplate His mission and work. By
fasting and prayer He was to brace Himself for the bloodstained path
He must travel. But Satan knew that the Saviour had gone into the
wilderness, and he thought this the best time to approach Him.
Mighty issues for the world were at stake in the conflict between
the Prince of light and the leader of the kingdom of darkness. After
tempting man to sin, Satan claimed the earth as his, and styled himself
the prince of this world. Having conformed to his own nature the
father and mother of our race, he thought to establish here his empire.
He declared that men had chosen him as their sovereign. Through his
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control of men, he held dominion over the world. Christ had come to
disprove Satan’s claim. As the Son of man, Christ would stand loyal
to God. Thus it would be shown that Satan had not gained complete
control of the human race, and that his claim to the world was false.
All who desired deliverance from his power would be set free. The
dominion that Adam had lost through sin would be recovered.
Since the announcement to the serpent in Eden, “I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed”
(
Genesis 3:15
), Satan had known that he did not hold absolute sway
over the world. There was seen in men the working of a power that
withstood his dominion. With intense interest he watched the sacrifices
offered by Adam and his sons. In these ceremonies he discerned a
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