"Christ's Temptation, Our Salvation"

A few years ago, in southern California, in the span of just a few days, a biker was killed by a mountain lion and another man was mauled in a separate lion attack. The stories were all over the news, and people were terrified of these aggressive lions. A few days later, the lions were killed; and people went back to talking or thinking about mountain lions like they did before the attacks. But during that time and even today, there are lion attacks taking place all around us, and most people are unaware of them.

The Bible tells us that the devil prowls around like a lion, looking for someone to devour. He is always ready to pounce and to tempt people into all kinds of sin. Fortunately, this ferocious lion has done battle with another lion; the Lion of Judah, and he could not overcome him. At the very beginning of Christ’s ministry, the devil attacked Jesus, but our Lord defeated him by resisting all temptations, and he did this in order to save us.

Jesus called the devil the “ruler of this world,” and his existence is an unfortunate reality. In our text, Jesus’ tempter is called “ό διάβολος,” “the devil,” or more literally, “the slanderer.” Matthew also adds “the tempter.” Verse 2 clarifies the question about the temptations of Jesus. He was tempted throughout the forty days, and the final three temptations, those recorded in our text, were waged against him at the end of it all. We also know from Scripture that the devil didn’t leave Jesus alone after these wilderness temptations, he just waited until what seemed like more opportune times.

Jesus was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. In the face of those temptations, Christ kept God’s law perfectly for our salvation. It is fitting that we start Lent with this text. The Lenten season is a time for reflection on our sin. When Christians focus on their sinful condition and renew their efforts to resist temptation, the end result is often frustration.

We become frustrated because we cannot overcome sin. Despite our best efforts, we do not do the good we want, but the evil we do not want to do is what we keep on doing. The good news is that Jesus subjected himself to the Law, and fought temptation for us. He has gone ahead of us, not only to die, but to live a perfect life and keep the Law of God in its entirety for our salvation.

Jesus was actively obedient to his Father’s will. While Jesus’ ability to resist temptation, and the way he was able to resist those temptations are a good example, the fact of the matter is that if Christ had ever given in, even once, to temptation, then his suffering and death would have been to no benefit for us.

Christ was in the process of working out our salvation when he was battling the devil in the wilderness. Jesus battled every sin that we battle. The only difference is that where we have failed and continue to fail, Christ was victorious. Christ is our Savior, not just in his dying and rising, but also in his perfect obedience to God’s Law.

The devils first temptation is to seduce Jesus into using his divine power to serve himself. Christ would later perform miracles to feed others, but using his

The second temptation is based on a lie. The devil offers Jesus the authority and splendor of the world, even alleging that they have all been given to him. While Satan is the ruler of this world, he has not been given this authority. He has usurped it, and God has allowed him a pre-determined time to reign.

This kind of temptation, built on a lie, is like so many sins we give in to. We think we might gain something desirable or pleasurable, only to realize, after the fact, that it was all a lie and we are filled with regret.

The devils third temptation is one that distorts God’s Word and would have Christ test the truth of Scripture. A common example of the same temptation would be spending beyond our means and then consoling ourselves by saying; "But didn’t God say, ‘the Lord will provide’?" This is a good reminder for us that the devil knows the Bible and how to use it, or rather, misuse it to his advantage and our destruction.

The roaring lion tempts us to sin against God’s will by distorting the Scripture. Christ shoots down the devils temptations by proper use and interpretation of the Scriptures. His repetition of the phrase "It is written," shows his high view of Scripture and his reliance on it in times of temptation. This serves as a good example to follow, and it gives us another reason to be in the Word so that we can also rely on it in times of temptation.

Temptation by itself is not sin. Temptation can be a sinful suggestion or thought entering our minds. The world, the devil, and our sinful flesh constantly assail us with these kinds of sinful suggestions, and we just cannot escape them. But the suggestions themselves are not sin. They become sin when the sinner delights in his mind about the idea and plays with the thought of indulging in the sin and finally resolves to act on it.

For sinners who are burdened and frustrated with many failed attempts to overcome temptation, it is a comfort to know that Christ has overcome every temptation on our behalf. Jesus was tempted, but he did not ever delight or act on any of the devils temptations.

So often in Scripture, and consequently in the proclamation of it, our salvation is tied to the shedding of blood that took place on the cross of Calvary. Jesus’ temptation reminds us that our salvation is also tied to the victory over temptation that took place in the desert. To put it another way, we are saved by the shed blood of Jesus, but this is true only because that shed blood was innocent of all sin.

When attacked and accused, we trust in Christ, who saved us by his perfect obedience, suffering and death. When the devil tempts us to sin, we trust in Christ and his perfect obedience. When the Law accuses us of sin, we trust in Christ and his perfect obedience. When death demands our life, we trust in Christ and his innocent suffering and death.

Our Savior knows what it is to be tempted. He willingly faced temptation by our enemy, the prowling lion, and he did it for our salvation. He won the battle and his victory belongs to all who trust in him. Amen.