Did you notice that before Jesus was tempted, Jesus was baptized? This really helps us understand the temptation, because at Jesus’ baptism, God declared that Jesus was the Son of God (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22). Then after that, Satan tempts Jesus by saying: “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (Matthew 4:3; Luke 4:3); and “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down” (Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:9). This shows us that the temptations are a test to see if Jesus really is the true Son of God. You can recognize the true Son of God because He trusts and obeys His Father. A false son will distrust God and obey Satan instead (John 8:41-47). Jesus proved that He is the true Son of God because when He was tested, Jesus perfectly trusted and obeyed God, and not Satan. Satan’s attempt to let Jesus sin, and so let Jesus’ salvation work fail from the beginning, didn’t succeed.
Jesus compared to other people
However, there’s more. The temptation and baptism of Jesus teach us more than just about him. God wants us to observe the differences between Jesus and other people. Who else is referred to as the “son of God” in the Bible? Examine the family tree Luke (Luke 3:23–38) places between Jesus’ baptism and his temptation; notice how it concludes with Adam being referred to as “the son of God.” God therefore wants us to make a comparison between the time Satan tempted Jesus and the time he tempted Adam when we read about Satan enticing Jesus (Genesis 3). Adam refused to trust God and obey him when the devil tempted him. Rather, Adam submitted to and trusted Satan. Adam became a rebellious, humiliating, and wicked son because he valued Satan’s lies over God’s truth. However, where
Jesus compared to Israel
God also wants us to compare Jesus to the nation of Israel, which the Bible also calls God’s “son” (Exodus 4:23). Did you notice that Jesus’ temptation is a mirror image of the Israelites’ temptation? Jesus was baptized in the water and was tested in the desert for 40 days, just like the Israelites went through the water (the Bible describes this as a baptism in 1 Corinthians 10:1-2), and then were tested in the desert for 40 years (Deuteronomy 8:2). Israel’s hunger in the desert (Deuteronomy 8:3) mirrors Jesus’ hunger in the desert (Matthew 4:2; Luke 4:2). Jesus replied to Satan’s temptations by quoting commands based on Israel’s testing in the desert (Deuteronomy 6:13, 16; 8:3). But the difference is, where Israel failed, Jesus succeeded. Israel didn’t trust and obey God, but distrusted and disobeyed Him time after time.
All are sinners
The Bible declares that all people are sinners, even Jews and Gentiles like myself.”Everyone is sinner, Jews and Gentiles alike” (Romans 3:9). We are no longer deserving of the title “sons of God,” as demonstrated by our transgressions. All we deserve is for God to abandon us, to send us away from Him, just as He did when he sent Adam out of Eden and banished Israel out of the Promised Land. The good news is that Jesus won in the places where we fell short! According to 1 Corinthians 15:22, Jesus is the genuine Adam who gives humanity life! Furthermore, Jesus is the real Israel, bringing salvation and light to all peoples (Isaiah 49:6)!
Jesus succeeded
According to Hebrews 4:15, only Jesus was able to obey God perfectly. According to Luke 23:41, he is the sole man who didn’t deserve to be punished. However, God forsook the sinless Son of God, Jesus, on the cross (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34), in order to save sinners like you and me (1 Peter 3:18). We don’t have to be banished from the family house permanently thanks to his redemptive work. Rather, God accepts us back into His family when we put our faith in Jesus (Romans 8:15–17), and this gives us the authority to refer to ourselves as His offspring (John 1:12-13)!
This has two primary implications for us as Jesus’ disciples.
- For us, Jesus overcame Satan in the desert, in Gethsemane, and finally on the cross. Thus, according to 1 John 3:1, we who follow Jesus are glad to be God’s offspring! We now make every effort to be good sons and daughters, loving, honoring, and following our heavenly Father in every aspect of our life as God’s children (Matthew 6:9–13).
- Jesus can relate to us and knows precisely how we feel since He has experienced the same temptations as we do. This implies that when we sin, we don’t give up; rather, we turn to God in confident humility, keeping in mind Jesus’ amazing promise to treat us with kindness and grace, to forgive all of our transgressions, and to support us throughout our hour of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).