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The Victory
This chapter is based on Matthew 4:5-11; Mark 1:12, 13; Luke
4:5-13.
“Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the
pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God,
throw Yourself down. For it is written: “He shall give His angels
charge concerning you,” and, “In their hands they shall bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”’”
Satan still appeared as an angel of light, and he made it evident
that he was acquainted with the Scriptures. Jesus had used the
Word to sustain His faith, and the tempter now used it to make his
deception seem acceptable. Satan urged the Savior to give still
another evidence of His faith.
But again he prefaced the temptation with the hint of distrust: “If
You are the Son of God.” Christ was tempted to answer the “if,” but
He refused to do anything that would involve the slightest acceptance
of the doubt.
The tempter thought to take advantage of Christ’s humanity and
urge Him to go beyond what God allowed. But while Satan can
invite, he cannot compel to sin. He said, “Cast Yourself down,”
knowing that he could not cast Him down. Nor could Satan force
Jesus to cast Himself down. Unless Christ consented to temptation,
He could not be overcome.
The tempter can never force us to do evil. The will must consent,
faith must let go its hold on Christ, before Satan can exercise his
power on us. But every sinful desire we cherish is an open door that
he can enter to tempt and destroy us. And every failure on our part
gives him opportunity to throw contempt on Christ.
When Satan quoted the promise, “He shall give His angels charge
concerning you,” he omitted the words, “to keep you in all your
ways,” that is, in all the ways of God’s choosing. Jesus refused to go
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