Temptation and early ministry of Christ in our exploration of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. In this session, we will explore a pivotal phase of His life – “Temptation and Early Ministry.”
The early ministry of Jesus is a profound and transformative period marked not only by His divine calling but also by the trials and temptations He faced. This chapter in His life provides invaluable insights into how we can navigate our challenges and temptations while remaining steadfast in our faith and purpose.
As we journey through the temptations faced by Jesus in the wilderness and His initial ministry activities, we will uncover the timeless lessons embedded in these experiences.
Temptation and Early Ministry of Christ
After His baptism “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil”. He had received the fullness of the Holy Spirit and Father’s approval at his baptism but immediately afterward, the devil confronted Him with manifold temptations. Temptations often come to men on the mountaintop of victory and joy or in the valley of weakness and sorrow.
Shortly after Peter’s great confession of faith, he was tempted to discourage, Jesus, from going to Calvary. Similarly, Job was tempted to curse God and die while down in the valley of losses and sickness. God has not promised us the absence of temptation while on the pathway of duty. But His faithfulness will not allow us to be tempted above our ability; “but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that we may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
The Spirit’s purpose in leading Jesus to be tempted was not to see whether He would sin. Rather, it was to prove that He could not sin. It was also necessary so that Jesus could identify with mankind in their struggle against sin. Only in this way could He become a proven High Priest who can represent us in heaven.
“For we have not a High Priest which can- not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
The Source of Temptation
(Matthew 4:3,5,8,10; James 1:13-15; 1 Peter 2:11).
The chief source of temptation is the devil and his purpose is to humiliate his victims by causing them to sin. He is described by three titles in the narrative: Tempter, the devil (accuser or slanderer), and Satan (adversary or enemy).
These titles reveal his personality and activities. He is a real personal being who opposes, tempts, and turns around to accuse God’s people of having sinned.
Sometimes he takes advantage of the flesh or inward desires to draw away and entice men. But as this is true of fallen men, it was not the source of Christ’s temptations: since He had no inward depravity. His temptations came from outside and the physical needs of the body.
.Therefore, sanctified men struggle with the question of the real source of their temptations and can identify with the Holy Son of God.
At other times, the devil uses the world and the power of its transient pleasures and treasures to Allure the heavenly-bound pilgrim. But the vanity fairs of this world, no matter how loud and persistent in their call, cannot impede the course of a truly sanctified child of God.
The Scope of Temptations
(Matthew 4:3-10; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 2:15-17).
The devil based the first two temptations on the premise “if thou be the Son of God….” This was an obvious reference to the approving voice of the Father after His baptism. Satan was thereby tempting Jesus either to doubt His Sonship or else do something spectacular to prove it.
To the first temptation: “…command that these stonés be made bread”. Jesus answered:
“It is written, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
Jesus had fasted forty days and forty nights. Hun- gry and lonely with the wild beasts in the wilderness (Mark 1:13) the devil assumed that Jesus would be predisposed and vulnerable to satisfy the lust of the flesh. He tempted Christ to act independently of the Father and use His Messianic anointing to satisfy His self-interest. That would amount to an abuse of Sonship and the fulfillment of a legitimate need in the wrong way.
In answering Satan, Jesus quoted scripture (Deuteronomy 8:3). In its context, this scripture referred to the inability of the Israelites to grasp a basic kingdom lesson in their wilderness journey: that physical needs must be subjugated to the spiritual and the revealed will of God. The whole life of Jesus conformed to this principle. On one occasion He said:
“I have meat to eat that ye know not of… My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:32,34)
He also taught:”Labour not for the meat which perisheth but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed” (John 6:27).
In the second temptation, Satan approached from the religious dimension. The devil took Him up into the holy city and set Him up 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” (Matthew 4:6).
Right in a holy temple, in a holy city, and with a quotation from a holy scripture Satan sought to provoke Jesus into a daring presumptuous action. He quoted the scripture incorrectly and out of context by adding the words “lest at any time” and removing “to keep thee in all thy ways” (see Psalm 91:11,12). This was a temptation to vainglory and sensationalism. It was a suggestion to exploit the promises and presume God’s protection.
Also, since the Jews were expecting a sensational, miracle-working Messiah, such a feat would have endeared Him to the religious crowd below. They would have hailed Him as having fulfilled the prophecy of (Malachi 3:1). But Christ rejected the prospect of the praise and glory of men or their superficial profession which did not come from a genuinely enlightened and repentant heart. He answered the devil:
“It is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God”, “Again the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; And saith unto him, all these things will I give thee, if thou wilt falls down and worship me” (Matthew 4:7; of Deuteronomy 6:16; Matthew 4:8,9).
This was a temptation to possess the kingdoms of the world and its glory without suffering and before the Father’s appointed time. No doubt “the kingdoms of this world will certainly become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). But the crown must be won through the pathway of the cross.
Satan’s offer was an alternative to the Father’s will and we should be wary of such alternatives. Through the lust of the eye and desire for power, the devil tried to get Jesus to bow and worship him as he did with the first Adam. What impudence! Satan still craves worship in pursuit of his original rebellious ambition.
“Jesus answered get thee hence, Satan: for it is written thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve” (Matthew 4:10).
Once again Jesus remained under the authority of scripture and absolute submission to God’s will. He rejected the offer of rulership by compromise and negotiation with the devil.
Even later He still rejected the offer of kingship through the people’s consensus. For Him, the only legal way of establishing His kingdom is through the conquest of hell and the overthrow of the kingdom of darkness via the cross.
The Significance of Temptations
The temptation account is significant for believers in many ways.
- We learn that temptation is not sin. The sin is in the yielding. Christ was tempted, yet without sin.
- because He was tempted we should expect temptations as well. Just as Satan did not give up easily in tempting Christ, he will not give up easily in tempting us, no matter how many victories we have had over him.
- Christ’s victory is a pattern for us on how to handle temptations, using the same weapons that He used: the word of God which is the sword of the Spirit.
- By using the scriptures in the combat against Satan, Jesus established the word of God as the final authority in all matters of faith and conduct. In answering all questions and settling all doubts the believer should always refer “to the law and to the testimony…” (Isaiah 8:20).
- The subtlety of the devil in using scriptures to confuse believers as he transforms himself into an angel of light is exposed.
Not every literature or audio-visual that has Bible references is necessarily from God. We must be on our guard and reject video films and audio tapes or books and magazines that have a satanic undertone. Six, believers must reject every generous offer from Satan or his representatives.
It may be material, financial, or position and privileges. Every generous offer from Satan is to enable him to enslave the soul of his victim. Seven: We see the role of the Holy Spirit in overcoming temptations.
Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and he was led by the Spirit. We cannot defeat the spiritual forces of evil and sin unless we have the Spirit’s power. Lastly, those who desire to enjoy the ministry of holy angels must triumph over temptations and remain free from sin.
The Spirit-Empowered Ministry
Immediately after the temptations, Jesus began His three-fold ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing. We should note that a life of victory over temptations and the anointing of the Holy Spirit are prerequisites to ministry. Thus, we see Jesus returning in the power of the Spirit to Galilee and later in Nazareth, He stood up to read:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recover of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18, 19).
Without the Holy Spirit, our ministry will lack unction and the wheel of our service for the Lord will drive heavily. The ministry of Christ began as that of John the Baptist wound to a close.
John being the son of a priest had officially declared Jesus as the perfect “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the whole world” (John 1:29). With that significant introduction, Jesus began His ministry in Galilee, with Capernaum as headquarters.
Right from the beginning, He gave a three-fold call that would characterize His earthly ministry First, a call to repentance and entrance into the kingdom. Then, a call to discipleship is a pre-requisite to the call to service and fruitfulness in the kingdom.
Call to Repentance
(Matthew 4:17; 3:2; Mark 6:12; Acts 2:38).
“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).
Repentance from dead works and faith in God is one of the first foundation principles of the Christian life (Hebrews 6:1). It was emphasized by John the Baptist and the disciples went everywhere preaching the same message. It was also the keynote of the message of the early church.
“Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”, “Then Peter said unto them Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins…” (Matthew 3:2; Acts 2:38).
Repentance is the rule to enter the kingdom and it means to turn one’s mind, will, and conduct from Satan and sin to God and righteousness. The grace of God to do so has been poured out to men through Christ. There is a promise of forgiveness for the penitent, but for those who refuse to repent, there will be eternal suffering in hellfire”… except ye re- pent ye shall likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).
Call to Discipline and Service
In calling the first disciples, Jesus said: “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).
The call of Peter, Andrew, James, and John was a call to be disciples first, and later they would be changed to be fishers of men.
Jesus came to change not only the names of men but also their character and goals as He did for Peter. Anyone who is not prepared to be changed cannot be a disciple of the Lord. True disciples always end up as faithful and fruitful servants of the kingdom.
The response of these first disciples to Christ’s call is instructive to us. They were willing and prompt in obedience. “They immediately left the ship and their father and followed him”. No treasure should be too great nor a relationship too dear for us to leave to answer the Master’s call.
“Leaving all”, “Forsaking all”, and “Selling all” to follow Jesus are familiar terms and basic requirements to follow Christ as disciples.
Christ’s early ministry summarized that “He went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing all manner of disease among the people”. His was a balanced ministry that provided solutions to the spiritual and physical needs of men.
It was a holistic ministry making men whole in every sense. This is the only acceptable and scrip- pattern of ministry. Such a ministry cannot be fruitful and stand the test of time.
Personal Questions
1. Mention two purposes why the Spirit led Jesus to be tempted.
2. Enumerate the sources of temptation.
3. (a) What is the first temptation of Christ and what were Satan’s hidden goals in it?
(b) How did Jesus overcome the tempter’s snare?
Conclusion
“Temptation and Early Ministry of Christ” has allowed us to peer into a crucial phase of Jesus’ life that holds profound lessons for us all. Jesus, by facing and overcoming temptations in the wilderness, demonstrated the strength of His character and His unwavering commitment to God’s purpose.
As we examined the early days of His ministry, we witnessed His compassion for the suffering, His call to repentance, and His miraculous deeds that testified to His divine identity.
His ministry set the stage for the transformative impact He would have on individuals and communities throughout His earthly life.
