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Wilderness Temptation
69
could shake Christ’s confidence in God, Satan knew that he could
overcome Jesus. He hoped that under the force of despair and hunger,
Christ would lose faith in His Father and work a miracle in His own
behalf. If He had done this, the plan of salvation would have been
broken.
Satan made the most of his supposed advantage. One of the most
powerful of the angels, he said, had been banished from heaven.
The appearance of Jesus indicated that He was that fallen angel,
forsaken by God and deserted by everyone. A divine being would
establish his claim by working a miracle: “If You are the Son of
God, command this stone to become bread.” Such an act of creative
power, the tempter urged, would be conclusive evidence of Divinity.
It would bring the controversy to an end.
But the Son of God was not to prove His divinity to Satan. If
Christ had followed the suggestion of the enemy, Satan would still
have said, “Show me a sign that I may believe you to be the Son
of God.” And Christ was not to exercise divine power for His own
benefit. He had come to bear trials as we must, giving us an example.
His wonderful works were all for the good of others. Strengthened
with the memory of the Voice from heaven, Jesus rested in His
Father’s love.
Jesus met Satan with Scripture. “It is written,” He said. The
weapon of His warfare was the Word of God. Satan demanded a
miracle from Christ. But a firm reliance on a “Thus says the Lord”
is greater than all miracles. It was a sign that could not be disputed.
As long as Christ held to this position, the tempter could gain no
advantage.
In the time of Christ’s greatest weakness, Satan attacked Him
with the fiercest temptations. This is how Satan has taken advantage
of humanity’s weakness. See
Numbers 20:1-13
;
1 Kings 19:1-14
.
When we are perplexed or afflicted by poverty or distress, Satan is
there to tempt, to attack our weak points of character, to shake our
confidence in God. Often the tempter comes as he came to Christ,
pointing out our weakness to us. He hopes to discourage us and
break our hold on God. But if we would reply to him as Jesus did,
we would escape many a defeat.
Christ said to the tempter, “Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” In the
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