Satan tempts Jesus in the desert

Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13

These accounts of Jesus' first recorded battle with the enemy remind me of a verse I recently hid in my heart as part of the Spirit's arsenal in protecting from the enemy's attacks:

Hebrews 2:18
Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

I'm convinced that Christ went through more pain and agony and doubt and weakness in this desert than we'll ever know, and that it probably only became more intense over the course of the remaining three years of His life.

Christ is our warrior poet--He shows us that we can be certain of our identity as God's warriors, never doubting despite the tempters "If you are who you say you are..." questions.

Satan used scripture to tempt Christ away from truth and righteousness. If Satan can use the bible to support His motives, what motives cannot be justified with the misuse of God's holy word?

Check out what happens when Jesus finally gets fed up with Satan. He says, "Away from me, Satan!" And then He stabs Satan with a final piece of scripture, and Satan leaves Him, and angels attend Him, dressing their valiant master's wounds.1

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Mark's brief account of this event is interesting in this detail: it says, "[Jesus] was with the wild animals."2 Jesus was a wild guy, I think.

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Luke's account ends on a much more sinister note. Instead of Satan fleeing at Jesus' command, it says, "When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left Him until an opportune time."3

Satan's not going to give up attacking any of us until we give up fighting--and in that is a freedom to fight to the death.

1. Matthew 4:10-11
2. Mark 1:13
3. Luke 4:13