Jehovah's Characteristics Reflected in Jesus
Matthew 4:1-11
The temptations of Christ reveal the tactics of the devil as
well as the characteristics of Jesus. In his first temptation, the devil waited
until after Jesus “had fasted for
forty days and forty nights” (Matt. 4:2). Satan then tempted Jesus to turn
stones into loaves of bread. Satan thus displayed cunning by waiting until
Jesus was most vulnerable. Jesus’s long-suffering spirit, however, allowed him
to resist the temptation to abuse his authority and perform miracles for such a
self-serving purpose. Jesus thus displayed not only a long-suffering attitude,
but also a self-sacrificing attitude and a love for others by reserving his
power only for the benefit of others.
Satan next tempted Jesus to throw himself off a battlement
in order that angels might save him. Why, though, is this a temptation for
Christ—how would Jesus benefit from listening to Satan. Picture this scenario
in your mind: you have this idea that you are the Son of God, and you must get
baptized in order to do his will. You follow through and get baptized. All of a
sudden you see what appears to be a dove descending on your head and you hear a
voice booming overhead, saying, “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have
approved.” At the same time, you have memories flooding into your head of a
life that you had prior to being born on earth—a life in heaven as God’s
only-begotten son, first-born of all creation.
After having such an experience, you might wonder if you
have gone completely nuts. You may find that you are continually questioning
your own identity and constantly asking yourself, “Am I really who I think I
am?” Jesus was human and subject to the same emotions as all humans, so it just
may be that Christ’s second temptation was designed for him to find out if he
truly was the Son of God. Thankfully, Jesus maintained his integrity and
loyalty to Jehovah by refusing to put his God and Father to the test in such a
manner.
Finally, Satan tempted Jesus one last time by offering Jesus
all the nations of the world in exchange for one act of worship. Satan thus
took advantage of Jesus’ love for others, for he knew that Jesus had the power
to relieve so much suffering and do much to help mankind and the earth. Imagine
if you were given the opportunity to do away with suffering and war and poverty
and many other things that malign humanity—would you take it if it meant
performing an act of worship to the Devil? Jesus’ resistance of this final
temptation showed not only loyalty to and love for his Father, but also true
love for humanity. After all, any good that Jesus would have done then would
eventually be undone because sin would eventually overtake the earth once more.
Jesus would have given up his only
opportunity to save humanity once for all time. Since he successfully resisted
the final temptation, he has done much more for us by taking our sins upon himself
on the torture stake. For his loyalty, Jesus will now have the privilege of
reigning over the earth for a thousand years and restoring creation back to the
perfection that his Father had always intended. What a wonderful privilege,
both for him, and for us!
