Chapter 13—The Victory
This chapter is based on
Matthew 4:5-11
;
Mark 1:12, 13
;
Luke 4:5-13
.
“Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him
on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto Him, If Thou be the Son of
God, cast Thyself down: for it is written,—
“He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee:
And in their hands they shall bear Thee up,
Lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.”
Satan now supposes that he has met Jesus on His own ground. The
wily foe himself presents words that proceeded from the mouth of
God. He still appears as an angel of light, and he makes it evident
that he is acquainted with the Scriptures, and understands the import
of what is written. As Jesus before used the word of God to sustain
His faith, the tempter now uses it to countenance his deception. He
claims that he has been only testing the fidelity of Jesus, and he now
commends His steadfastness. As the Saviour has manifested trust in
God, Satan urges Him to give still another evidence of His faith.
But again the temptation is prefaced with the insinuation of distrust,
“If Thou be the Son of God.” Christ was tempted to answer the “if;”
but He refrained from the slightest acceptance of the doubt. He would
not imperil His life in order to give evidence to Satan.
[125]
The tempter thought to take advantage of Christ’s humanity, and
urge Him to presumption. But while Satan can solicit, he cannot
compel to sin. He said to Jesus, “Cast Thyself down,” knowing that he
could not cast Him down; for God would interpose to deliver Him. Nor
could Satan force Jesus to cast Himself down. Unless Christ should
consent to temptation, He could not be overcome. Not all the power
of earth or hell could force Him in the slightest degree to depart from
the will of His Father.
The tempter can never compel us to do evil. He cannot control
minds unless they are yielded to his control. The will must consent,
94