And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
When the testing was finished Christ had met the threefold assault in the wilderness after His baptism and forty days of fasting, and Satan left Him for the time being. For a season means the departure was only temporary, not the end of opposition and temptation. He had stood without yielding even in thought, meeting every challenge with It is written alone and gaining a complete victory as humanity's representative. That victory is the foundation of the plan of salvation, breaking the power of perverted appetite and making it possible for every person to conquer in His strength. The enemy withdrew to renew the conflict through human agents until Gethsemane and Calvary, leaving His life as the pattern that believers overcome by Scripture, prayer and self-denial and then receive ministering strength from God.
Words and Wilderness Setting
This verse closes the three-fold temptation of Christ in the wilderness, a neglected yet most important subject that teaches Christian temperance and carries out the plan of salvation. The testing followed the baptism in the Jordan, when before His mission began He was led by the Spirit into the desolate wilderness to bear the three-fold test in behalf of those He came to redeem, praying for strength to endure the conflict. The opening of the heavens with descending glory and the Father's voice declaring Him the beloved Son attested His divine character and close relation to the Infinite Majesty. It was the opening conflict between Satan's kingdom and God's kingdom at the start of His public ministry, a conflict often referred to afterward. The devil is Satan, once an honored angel in heaven and covering cherub, who became ambitious for the more exalted honors bestowed on Christ, grew envious, asserted he should be exalted equal in honor with Christ, drew sympathizing angels into rebellion, and fell with them from their high and holy estate and was expelled from heaven with them.
The conflict lasted forty days and nights of fasting without food or drink, with real hunger and intense physical suffering, while Satan and his demons pressed Him from the start with manifold, powerful and deceptive temptations adapted to His circumstances. The strain was long and exceedingly trying to His human nature in His weak and suffering condition, closer and severer than will ever be brought upon man. He was left exhausted and fainting and emaciated from nearly six weeks of fasting, falling upon the ground as though dying, as one dead, solitary and alone after being pursued by the rebel chief. When Satan ended all his temptations he departed because the foe was conquered, repulsed in every test answered by Scripture which found no foothold.
The phrase for a season means the departure was temporary for a little while, not permanent and not the end of opposition or temptation. It marks the end of this round in which Satan brought every artifice and force to tempt Christ away from allegiance, not the end of the conflict, for Satan withdrew as a defeated foe only for a time. Though he had power to tempt and taunt Christ and to carry Him to the temple pinnacle and a high mountain, Christ was the mighty Conqueror, yet the temptations could be made to look good and even be supported with Scripture while serving Satan's purpose to overthrow Him. The outcome mattered to Satan's claimed rule over the world, for Christ's victory would contest that rule and bring his power and glory to an end.
After the departure angels who had bowed before Him in the royal courts and had watched their loved Commander with intense and painful interest and amazement at the terrible contest came and ministered unto Him. They prepared food and strengthened Him, bringing messages of love and comfort from the Father and assurance that all Heaven triumphed in the full and entire victory He had gained in behalf of man, while angels were filled with amazement and awe that the world's Redeemer who was equal with God was passing through inexpressible suffering to achieve redemption. His Father's blessing rested upon Him. The long fast being over and the victory won, He returned to the Jordan and mingled with John's disciples without outward display of His special work or seeking notice, then returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of Him spread throughout the region. His experience shows that His followers too will face seasons of Satan's attack, and when they resist those seasons are followed by grace and strength from God imparted through His angels.
Character of Satan's Assault
The temptations were the leading forms from which many grow: appetite, presumption, and love of the world. Those allurements by which people are often overcome include love of honor, riches, ambition and pride, with the burden of the world's guilt making the trial especially severe. Christ met and overcame them single-handedly on humanity's behalf, and his resistance strengthens weak purposes and resolves. His victory shows how people may overcome, teaching them to avoid dangerous situations and to use meditation, prayer and reliance on Scripture, while claiming God's promises while recklessly entering danger or ignoring nature's laws, prudence and sound judgment is presumption rather than genuine faith.
Satan adapted his temptations to Christ's hunger and circumstances, attacking Him in His greatest weakness as the suffering of hunger began. He was at hand from the start of the long fast with manifold temptations prepared to ensnare Christ and gain advantage, trying another whenever one failed, and bringing to bear every artifice and every force of his powerful temptations to allure Him from allegiance by an easier way than trial and suffering. The assault through forty days and nights of fasting and strain was severe, with every great temptation brought against Him, yet finding no place in Him. That temptation in the wilderness was stronger and a hundredfold heavier than any ever brought to bear upon humanity or ever will be.
He concealed his real character, coming enshrouded in light in persuasive and beautiful guise as a Heaven-sent friend and sympathizing angel from God's throne. He claimed to be sent on an errand of mercy to relieve suffering, to save from painful hunger and death by starvation, and to help bear the work in the plan of salvation, urging that God required only willingness to endure and not the anticipated self-denial and sufferings. He feigned to doubt Christ's divinity because of His emaciated appearance and unpleasant surroundings, even claiming to be the angel who stayed Abraham's hand when the knife was raised to slay Isaac. This was part of his wider scheme of hiding his true character and presenting himself as humanity's friend, even as an angel from heaven doing good, though he was its enemy.
He misused Scripture to support his challenges, quoting it clothed as an angel of light to justify indulgence of appetite and worldly pleasures that suit the carnal heart. By that deceptive use evil could appear good and gain confidence, while serving his purpose to overthrow Christ. The temple scene presents the misuse in urging Jesus to throw Himself down, with Scripture presented deceptively to lead astray. In every temptation he presented some bribe of apparent good to be gained.
The specific tests included urging Him to turn stones into bread to satisfy hunger after forty days and nights without food, answering with Scripture and refusing though weak and emaciated. They included the challenge to throw Himself from the pinnacle of the temple to prove Sonship, which He refused, saying God must not be tempted. They included the appeal to ambition and the kingdoms, wealth and glory of the world, demanding homage and worship of Satan for worldly advantage, which Christ refused to show that integrity must never be surrendered for earthly gain and that riches gained at the cost of honesty and principle bring a curse. The daring blasphemy of demanding homage, the presumptuous boldness of bearing Him to the mountain summit and temple pinnacle, and the malicious intent of urging Him to cast Himself down were cruel warfare that excited amazement and indignation and unmasked the deceiver.
All Satan's prosperity hung on this contest, for he knew what he had lost and feared his claimed dominion and empire over the world would be contested, his right disputed, and his power broken. He knew through prophecy of a kingdom to be established on earth by the Prince of Heaven embracing all kingdoms, not in earthly triumph with worldly honor and display, at which his own power and glory would cease and he would receive retribution for the sins introduced and the misery brought upon man. If he succeeded he would gain victory over the entire race and seem to secure his life and kingdom, but defeated his case was hopeless. Jesus remained loyal, showing Satan had not gained complete control of humanity and his claim was false, so that those seeking freedom from his power could be delivered, while His divine power joined with humanity won an infinite victory as humanity's representative.
How Christ Conquered
Christ remained loyal without yielding even in thought, because nothing within Him answered to deception. Satan could solicit sin but could not compel Him to act against the Father's will, and He could be overcome only if He consented to temptation. His steadfast resistance proved Satan had not gained complete control of humanity and exposed the claim to such control as false, opening deliverance to all who seek freedom from Satan's power. United to Him by faith, others can resist sin through the power of God's word and share in the divine nature.
Every test was met with Scripture alone, with It is written, and with no human arguments or reasons, for argument is of no use against Satan. He gave the tempter no word to use, refused to parley with temptation, rejected each offer at once, and stood firm on that solid foundation through forty days and nights of fasting and assault while bearing human nature in suffering. Though Satan came in persuasive and beautiful guise and himself used Scripture, Christ answered each test with Scripture and the fiery darts found no foothold in Him. That word alone repulses the enemy and puts feet on immovable rock.
The victory was complete in every conflict, the tempter being repulsed and forced to depart as a conquered foe. The contest was long and exceedingly trying to His human nature in weakness and suffering, leaving Him exhausted, fainting, emaciated from nearly six weeks of fasting, fallen as though dying, solitary and alone under a closer and severer test than will ever be brought upon man. He refused to yield a single point of integrity despite the most flattering inducements, when honor, riches, and glory were promised if He would only acknowledge Satan's claims, and He kept integrity as Son of the Infinite especially upon appetite. Heaven watched with intense concern, and angels who had bowed before Him in the royal courts came with food, strength, messages of love and comfort from the Father, and assurance that all Heaven triumphed in the full and entire victory gained in behalf of man, filling Heaven with joy and amazement that the world's Redeemer, equal with God, had passed through inexpressible suffering to achieve redemption. Those battles fought and victories won in behalf of humanity make it possible for followers to conquer, for Christ gives strength to all who seek it.
He passed over the ground where Adam fell and bore the test Adam failed, resisting every temptation where Adam had been overcome. The burden of the world's guilt, with the pressure of Adam's and his descendants' guilt, made the trial especially severe, and the destiny of the human race was at stake. His triumph overcame where Satan had overcome Adam and redeemed the disgrace and fall brought by Adam's disobedience, forming a righteous character for humanity because people could not do so for themselves. That victory means people need not be overcome, because they can resist the enemy in His strength and find help as they follow His example.
Victory Won for Humanity
The closing of the threefold wilderness temptation is a neglected yet most important subject, for it teaches Christian temperance and carries out the plan of salvation. Divine power joined to humanity won there an infinite victory on humanity's behalf, and as humanity's representative Christ raised humanity in moral value before God. That victory is the foundation of the plan of salvation, watched with intense concern by angels to see who would conquer. If Satan had won, people would have remained bound by appetite, but because Christ overcame, human overcoming became possible. His divine power united with His humanity to win that victory for humanity and to make His life the standard and pattern for resisting indulgence.
By a long fast of forty days and forty nights He denied appetite and broke the power that would hold people in bondage to perverted appetite and passion. His example shows that appetite can be denied and its power overcome with divine help, so that those who struggle are not beyond help. Through His power people in their weakness can overcome appetite and passion and be victorious, gaining moral integrity and freedom from slavery to perverted appetite and passion through their own choice with divine help. That long fast taught the need for self-denial and temperance, redeeming the disgrace of Adam's failure and giving Christians the basis for temperance. Intemperance weakens mental and moral powers and degrades the likeness to God, while His victory gives moral integrity, freedom, temperance and self-control.
Those battles were fought in behalf of humanity, and those victories make it possible for followers to conquer sin and Satan. Jesus passed over the ground where Adam fell and resisted every temptation, so people need not be overcome but can resist the enemy in Christ's strength and name. What He gained benefits each person only as each also resists and gains victory individually, for Satan remains the adversary and each faces the same kinds of temptations Christ overcame. Strength to overcome is provided in Christ, who gives strength to all who seek it, and the fact that Christ has conquered should inspire courage to fight manfully against sin and Satan. This proves He has power and grace for the fulfillment of His commission to preach the gospel.
His life is the standard Christians compare their lives with and the pattern they follow in resisting indulgence and overcoming as He overcame. Having borne the pressure of Adam's guilt and that of his descendants and overcome the powers of evil without failing in every test, He proved Himself a tried and dependable foundation for all who trust in Him. He came in person from the courts of glory to bear on man's account the test Adam failed to endure, and through His name made it possible for man to overcome Satan on his own behalf. Armed with It is written He met and overcame the strongest temptations the enemy could bring, proving the power of the word for the work laid upon Him. The dishonoring condition of the field and the world does not mean the word has less power on hearts, but that God's people have failed because men have chosen to disobey.
Conflict Renewed Afterward
The departure after the wilderness was only temporary, not surrender, for though defeated in his fiercest and strongest attacks Satan had prevailed nothing yet remained disappointed and enraged without giving up hope of succeeding at some future time. He withdrew from direct conflict to turn to strategy, looking forward to the period of ministry for new opportunities to try his artifices and power by various devices and through human agents. He held counsel with his angels on what course to pursue to prevent faith in Christ and to stir unbelief and hostility, hatred, rejection, and efforts to destroy Him and discourage Him in His mission. After the temptations angels brought food and strength to Jesus and His Father's blessing rested upon Him.
His plan was to blind the understanding of the Jews, God's chosen people, so they would not discern in Christ the world's Redeemer and promised Messiah. He would fill their hearts with envy, jealousy, hatred and unbelief so they would not receive Him, would reject Him, would make His life on earth as bitter as possible, and would serve as his agents to discourage Jesus. He also sought to foster unbelief by blinding them to the prophecies and leading them to expect a worldly king instead of the Saviour.
The same evil spirit that tempted Jesus in the wilderness met Him again in altered form, working openly through the demoniac and also through rejecters under an air of piety and learning. In the synagogue at Capernaum on the Sabbath Jesus was again brought face to face with the same enemy in the possessed man, where a demon struggled to keep control. Because He had already conquered in direct conflict He stood calmly, and with a voice of authority set the captive free, again meeting and conquering the prince of darkness so that for Satan to lose ground there was to give Jesus another victory. The victory in the wilderness was complete yet the war continued, with the enemy confronting Him again in Capernaum and in the men from the tombs.
That season of withdrawal ended in Gethsemane, where Satan returned for the last fearful conflict after preparing during the three years of ministry. In the wilderness the destiny of the human race was at stake and Christ was conqueror, but in that final struggle everything was at stake for Satan. If he failed there his hope of mastery was lost, the kingdoms of the earth and of the world would finally become Christ's, who would bind the strong man and cast him out and overthrow him. If Christ could be overcome the earth would become Satan's kingdom and the human race would be forever in his power.
The warfare did not end in the wilderness, for with unsleeping malice Satan hunted Christ from place to place, contested every claim put forth by the Son of God, and employed men as his agents to fill His life with suffering and sorrow. He inspired priests and people to reject His love until envy, malice, hatred and revenge burst forth at Calvary in the cry to crucify Him, because Christ's mercy, love, compassion and pitying tenderness were representing the character of God to the world. The daring blasphemy of demanding homage, the presumptuous boldness of bearing Him to the mountain summit and the pinnacle of the temple, and the malicious intent of urging Him to cast Himself down were cruel warfare that excited the amazement and indignation of the universe, unmasked the great deceiver before heavenly angels and the whole loyal universe, and effectually uprooted him from their affections. The same foe later urged Him to avoid going to Jerusalem and facing death, but Jesus did not yield or change His course to save Himself because His life was governed by the Father's will and the appointed hour had come to offer Himself for human sin, and each assault from the wilderness to Calvary brought His spotless character and unexampled goodness into clearer view.
Power and Pattern for Believers
Christ's wilderness conflict teaches every true follower how to resist and overcome Satan, showing that victory is gained not by visiting scenes of gaiety and feasting but by going into desolate places and enduring real hunger and suffering through forty days and forty nights without food. His life is the standard to compare with and the pattern to follow in denying appetite and resisting indulgence, for He met the leading temptations of appetite, presumption, and the world with temptations stronger and adapted to His circumstances yet overcame where professed followers prove weak. His example therefore calls followers to avoid dangerous ground, to use meditation, prayer and self-denial, and to carry forward His work, since in His name complete victory over Satan's devices is possible. Claiming God's promises while recklessly entering danger or ignoring nature's laws, prudence and sound judgment is presumption rather than genuine faith.
Those battles were fought and those victories won on behalf of humanity, and they make it possible for followers to conquer sin and Satan because Christ gives strength to all who seek it. Satan can distress and cause agony, but he has no power to control the will, to force the soul to sin, or to defile and contaminate without the person's own consent. The fact that Christ repulsed the tempter in every conflict should inspire His followers with courage to fight manfully the battle against sin and Satan.
Believers must meet temptation as He did, with It is written alone, for arguments and reasons are of no use against Satan while Scripture alone repulses him and puts feet on solid, immovable rock. They are to learn these lessons from the Word and hang them in memory's hall, using spare time to commit Scripture to memory instead of reading foolish, trifling, lying stories, then meeting temptation with words of Scripture and speaking words of Scripture in season to those around them. When provoked or tempted to speak in anger they should answer with God's words or remain silent. Doing this baffles the great enemy, strengthens character, perfects fitness for transfer to the future immortal life where there will be no danger of being overcome, and confirms that its words are true.
As Jesus was tempted for forty days and then left for a season with angels ministering to Him, so His followers will be buffeted by Satan for a season, and when they resist those seasons are followed by grace and strength from God imparted through His angels. His long fast in behalf of man and His victory over every temptation, especially through appetite, redeemed Adam's failure, elevated man in moral value, and laid the foundation for temperance and sanctification, giving divine grace and strength to resist as He did even when faint from hunger and struggle. Victory comes through continual resistance by joining human weakness to His enduring strength, so that even the strongest temptation can be resisted in His name and overcome as He overcame. Through His name, strength and merits those enslaved to habit, including the liquor and tobacco inebriate, can break the slavery of habit and become victors, living upon the plan of addition from faith to charity.
Satan's constant design to draw minds from Jesus to man and to destroy individual accountability failed when he tempted the Son of God, but he succeeded better when he came to fallen man. He corrupted doctrine so that popes and priests took an exalted position and taught people to look to them to pardon sins instead of looking to Christ for themselves, with the Bible kept from the people to conceal truths that would condemn them. Under the same specious, bewitching influence by which he came disguised as an angel of light and Heaven-sent friend offering an easier way than trial and suffering, he still leads many to obey the worst impulses of the human heart while believing God is leading them, when they are serving not God but the enemy of all righteousness.
When the testing was finished Christ had met the threefold assault in the wilderness after His baptism and forty days of fasting, and Satan left Him for the time being. For a season means the departure was only temporary, not the end of opposition and temptation. He had stood without yielding even in thought, meeting every challenge with It is written alone and gaining a complete victory as humanity's representative. That victory is the foundation of the plan of salvation, breaking the power of perverted appetite and making it possible for every person to conquer in His strength. The enemy withdrew to renew the conflict through human agents until Gethsemane and Calvary, leaving His life as the pattern that believers overcome by Scripture, prayer and self-denial and then receive ministering strength from God.
Words and Wilderness Setting
This verse closes the three-fold temptation of Christ in the wilderness, a neglected yet most important subject that teaches Christian temperance and carries out the plan of salvation. The testing followed the baptism in the Jordan, when before His mission began He was led by the Spirit into the desolate wilderness to bear the three-fold test in behalf of those He came to redeem, praying for strength to endure the conflict. The opening of the heavens with descending glory and the Father's voice declaring Him the beloved Son attested His divine character and close relation to the Infinite Majesty. It was the opening conflict between Satan's kingdom and God's kingdom at the start of His public ministry, a conflict often referred to afterward. The devil is Satan, once an honored angel in heaven and covering cherub, who became ambitious for the more exalted honors bestowed on Christ, grew envious, asserted he should be exalted equal in honor with Christ, drew sympathizing angels into rebellion, and fell with them from their high and holy estate and was expelled from heaven with them.
The conflict lasted forty days and nights of fasting without food or drink, with real hunger and intense physical suffering, while Satan and his demons pressed Him from the start with manifold, powerful and deceptive temptations adapted to His circumstances. The strain was long and exceedingly trying to His human nature in His weak and suffering condition, closer and severer than will ever be brought upon man. He was left exhausted and fainting and emaciated from nearly six weeks of fasting, falling upon the ground as though dying, as one dead, solitary and alone after being pursued by the rebel chief. When Satan ended all his temptations he departed because the foe was conquered, repulsed in every test answered by Scripture which found no foothold.
The phrase for a season means the departure was temporary for a little while, not permanent and not the end of opposition or temptation. It marks the end of this round in which Satan brought every artifice and force to tempt Christ away from allegiance, not the end of the conflict, for Satan withdrew as a defeated foe only for a time. Though he had power to tempt and taunt Christ and to carry Him to the temple pinnacle and a high mountain, Christ was the mighty Conqueror, yet the temptations could be made to look good and even be supported with Scripture while serving Satan's purpose to overthrow Him. The outcome mattered to Satan's claimed rule over the world, for Christ's victory would contest that rule and bring his power and glory to an end.
After the departure angels who had bowed before Him in the royal courts and had watched their loved Commander with intense and painful interest and amazement at the terrible contest came and ministered unto Him. They prepared food and strengthened Him, bringing messages of love and comfort from the Father and assurance that all Heaven triumphed in the full and entire victory He had gained in behalf of man, while angels were filled with amazement and awe that the world's Redeemer who was equal with God was passing through inexpressible suffering to achieve redemption. His Father's blessing rested upon Him. The long fast being over and the victory won, He returned to the Jordan and mingled with John's disciples without outward display of His special work or seeking notice, then returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of Him spread throughout the region. His experience shows that His followers too will face seasons of Satan's attack, and when they resist those seasons are followed by grace and strength from God imparted through His angels.
Character of Satan's Assault
The temptations were the leading forms from which many grow: appetite, presumption, and love of the world. Those allurements by which people are often overcome include love of honor, riches, ambition and pride, with the burden of the world's guilt making the trial especially severe. Christ met and overcame them single-handedly on humanity's behalf, and his resistance strengthens weak purposes and resolves. His victory shows how people may overcome, teaching them to avoid dangerous situations and to use meditation, prayer and reliance on Scripture, while claiming God's promises while recklessly entering danger or ignoring nature's laws, prudence and sound judgment is presumption rather than genuine faith.
Satan adapted his temptations to Christ's hunger and circumstances, attacking Him in His greatest weakness as the suffering of hunger began. He was at hand from the start of the long fast with manifold temptations prepared to ensnare Christ and gain advantage, trying another whenever one failed, and bringing to bear every artifice and every force of his powerful temptations to allure Him from allegiance by an easier way than trial and suffering. The assault through forty days and nights of fasting and strain was severe, with every great temptation brought against Him, yet finding no place in Him. That temptation in the wilderness was stronger and a hundredfold heavier than any ever brought to bear upon humanity or ever will be.
He concealed his real character, coming enshrouded in light in persuasive and beautiful guise as a Heaven-sent friend and sympathizing angel from God's throne. He claimed to be sent on an errand of mercy to relieve suffering, to save from painful hunger and death by starvation, and to help bear the work in the plan of salvation, urging that God required only willingness to endure and not the anticipated self-denial and sufferings. He feigned to doubt Christ's divinity because of His emaciated appearance and unpleasant surroundings, even claiming to be the angel who stayed Abraham's hand when the knife was raised to slay Isaac. This was part of his wider scheme of hiding his true character and presenting himself as humanity's friend, even as an angel from heaven doing good, though he was its enemy.
He misused Scripture to support his challenges, quoting it clothed as an angel of light to justify indulgence of appetite and worldly pleasures that suit the carnal heart. By that deceptive use evil could appear good and gain confidence, while serving his purpose to overthrow Christ. The temple scene presents the misuse in urging Jesus to throw Himself down, with Scripture presented deceptively to lead astray. In every temptation he presented some bribe of apparent good to be gained.
The specific tests included urging Him to turn stones into bread to satisfy hunger after forty days and nights without food, answering with Scripture and refusing though weak and emaciated. They included the challenge to throw Himself from the pinnacle of the temple to prove Sonship, which He refused, saying God must not be tempted. They included the appeal to ambition and the kingdoms, wealth and glory of the world, demanding homage and worship of Satan for worldly advantage, which Christ refused to show that integrity must never be surrendered for earthly gain and that riches gained at the cost of honesty and principle bring a curse. The daring blasphemy of demanding homage, the presumptuous boldness of bearing Him to the mountain summit and temple pinnacle, and the malicious intent of urging Him to cast Himself down were cruel warfare that excited amazement and indignation and unmasked the deceiver.
All Satan's prosperity hung on this contest, for he knew what he had lost and feared his claimed dominion and empire over the world would be contested, his right disputed, and his power broken. He knew through prophecy of a kingdom to be established on earth by the Prince of Heaven embracing all kingdoms, not in earthly triumph with worldly honor and display, at which his own power and glory would cease and he would receive retribution for the sins introduced and the misery brought upon man. If he succeeded he would gain victory over the entire race and seem to secure his life and kingdom, but defeated his case was hopeless. Jesus remained loyal, showing Satan had not gained complete control of humanity and his claim was false, so that those seeking freedom from his power could be delivered, while His divine power joined with humanity won an infinite victory as humanity's representative.
How Christ Conquered
Christ remained loyal without yielding even in thought, because nothing within Him answered to deception. Satan could solicit sin but could not compel Him to act against the Father's will, and He could be overcome only if He consented to temptation. His steadfast resistance proved Satan had not gained complete control of humanity and exposed the claim to such control as false, opening deliverance to all who seek freedom from Satan's power. United to Him by faith, others can resist sin through the power of God's word and share in the divine nature.
Every test was met with Scripture alone, with It is written, and with no human arguments or reasons, for argument is of no use against Satan. He gave the tempter no word to use, refused to parley with temptation, rejected each offer at once, and stood firm on that solid foundation through forty days and nights of fasting and assault while bearing human nature in suffering. Though Satan came in persuasive and beautiful guise and himself used Scripture, Christ answered each test with Scripture and the fiery darts found no foothold in Him. That word alone repulses the enemy and puts feet on immovable rock.
The victory was complete in every conflict, the tempter being repulsed and forced to depart as a conquered foe. The contest was long and exceedingly trying to His human nature in weakness and suffering, leaving Him exhausted, fainting, emaciated from nearly six weeks of fasting, fallen as though dying, solitary and alone under a closer and severer test than will ever be brought upon man. He refused to yield a single point of integrity despite the most flattering inducements, when honor, riches, and glory were promised if He would only acknowledge Satan's claims, and He kept integrity as Son of the Infinite especially upon appetite. Heaven watched with intense concern, and angels who had bowed before Him in the royal courts came with food, strength, messages of love and comfort from the Father, and assurance that all Heaven triumphed in the full and entire victory gained in behalf of man, filling Heaven with joy and amazement that the world's Redeemer, equal with God, had passed through inexpressible suffering to achieve redemption. Those battles fought and victories won in behalf of humanity make it possible for followers to conquer, for Christ gives strength to all who seek it.
He passed over the ground where Adam fell and bore the test Adam failed, resisting every temptation where Adam had been overcome. The burden of the world's guilt, with the pressure of Adam's and his descendants' guilt, made the trial especially severe, and the destiny of the human race was at stake. His triumph overcame where Satan had overcome Adam and redeemed the disgrace and fall brought by Adam's disobedience, forming a righteous character for humanity because people could not do so for themselves. That victory means people need not be overcome, because they can resist the enemy in His strength and find help as they follow His example.
Victory Won for Humanity
The closing of the threefold wilderness temptation is a neglected yet most important subject, for it teaches Christian temperance and carries out the plan of salvation. Divine power joined to humanity won there an infinite victory on humanity's behalf, and as humanity's representative Christ raised humanity in moral value before God. That victory is the foundation of the plan of salvation, watched with intense concern by angels to see who would conquer. If Satan had won, people would have remained bound by appetite, but because Christ overcame, human overcoming became possible. His divine power united with His humanity to win that victory for humanity and to make His life the standard and pattern for resisting indulgence.
By a long fast of forty days and forty nights He denied appetite and broke the power that would hold people in bondage to perverted appetite and passion. His example shows that appetite can be denied and its power overcome with divine help, so that those who struggle are not beyond help. Through His power people in their weakness can overcome appetite and passion and be victorious, gaining moral integrity and freedom from slavery to perverted appetite and passion through their own choice with divine help. That long fast taught the need for self-denial and temperance, redeeming the disgrace of Adam's failure and giving Christians the basis for temperance. Intemperance weakens mental and moral powers and degrades the likeness to God, while His victory gives moral integrity, freedom, temperance and self-control.
Those battles were fought in behalf of humanity, and those victories make it possible for followers to conquer sin and Satan. Jesus passed over the ground where Adam fell and resisted every temptation, so people need not be overcome but can resist the enemy in Christ's strength and name. What He gained benefits each person only as each also resists and gains victory individually, for Satan remains the adversary and each faces the same kinds of temptations Christ overcame. Strength to overcome is provided in Christ, who gives strength to all who seek it, and the fact that Christ has conquered should inspire courage to fight manfully against sin and Satan. This proves He has power and grace for the fulfillment of His commission to preach the gospel.
His life is the standard Christians compare their lives with and the pattern they follow in resisting indulgence and overcoming as He overcame. Having borne the pressure of Adam's guilt and that of his descendants and overcome the powers of evil without failing in every test, He proved Himself a tried and dependable foundation for all who trust in Him. He came in person from the courts of glory to bear on man's account the test Adam failed to endure, and through His name made it possible for man to overcome Satan on his own behalf. Armed with It is written He met and overcame the strongest temptations the enemy could bring, proving the power of the word for the work laid upon Him. The dishonoring condition of the field and the world does not mean the word has less power on hearts, but that God's people have failed because men have chosen to disobey.
Conflict Renewed Afterward
The departure after the wilderness was only temporary, not surrender, for though defeated in his fiercest and strongest attacks Satan had prevailed nothing yet remained disappointed and enraged without giving up hope of succeeding at some future time. He withdrew from direct conflict to turn to strategy, looking forward to the period of ministry for new opportunities to try his artifices and power by various devices and through human agents. He held counsel with his angels on what course to pursue to prevent faith in Christ and to stir unbelief and hostility, hatred, rejection, and efforts to destroy Him and discourage Him in His mission. After the temptations angels brought food and strength to Jesus and His Father's blessing rested upon Him.
His plan was to blind the understanding of the Jews, God's chosen people, so they would not discern in Christ the world's Redeemer and promised Messiah. He would fill their hearts with envy, jealousy, hatred and unbelief so they would not receive Him, would reject Him, would make His life on earth as bitter as possible, and would serve as his agents to discourage Jesus. He also sought to foster unbelief by blinding them to the prophecies and leading them to expect a worldly king instead of the Saviour.
The same evil spirit that tempted Jesus in the wilderness met Him again in altered form, working openly through the demoniac and also through rejecters under an air of piety and learning. In the synagogue at Capernaum on the Sabbath Jesus was again brought face to face with the same enemy in the possessed man, where a demon struggled to keep control. Because He had already conquered in direct conflict He stood calmly, and with a voice of authority set the captive free, again meeting and conquering the prince of darkness so that for Satan to lose ground there was to give Jesus another victory. The victory in the wilderness was complete yet the war continued, with the enemy confronting Him again in Capernaum and in the men from the tombs.
That season of withdrawal ended in Gethsemane, where Satan returned for the last fearful conflict after preparing during the three years of ministry. In the wilderness the destiny of the human race was at stake and Christ was conqueror, but in that final struggle everything was at stake for Satan. If he failed there his hope of mastery was lost, the kingdoms of the earth and of the world would finally become Christ's, who would bind the strong man and cast him out and overthrow him. If Christ could be overcome the earth would become Satan's kingdom and the human race would be forever in his power.
The warfare did not end in the wilderness, for with unsleeping malice Satan hunted Christ from place to place, contested every claim put forth by the Son of God, and employed men as his agents to fill His life with suffering and sorrow. He inspired priests and people to reject His love until envy, malice, hatred and revenge burst forth at Calvary in the cry to crucify Him, because Christ's mercy, love, compassion and pitying tenderness were representing the character of God to the world. The daring blasphemy of demanding homage, the presumptuous boldness of bearing Him to the mountain summit and the pinnacle of the temple, and the malicious intent of urging Him to cast Himself down were cruel warfare that excited the amazement and indignation of the universe, unmasked the great deceiver before heavenly angels and the whole loyal universe, and effectually uprooted him from their affections. The same foe later urged Him to avoid going to Jerusalem and facing death, but Jesus did not yield or change His course to save Himself because His life was governed by the Father's will and the appointed hour had come to offer Himself for human sin, and each assault from the wilderness to Calvary brought His spotless character and unexampled goodness into clearer view.
Power and Pattern for Believers
Christ's wilderness conflict teaches every true follower how to resist and overcome Satan, showing that victory is gained not by visiting scenes of gaiety and feasting but by going into desolate places and enduring real hunger and suffering through forty days and forty nights without food. His life is the standard to compare with and the pattern to follow in denying appetite and resisting indulgence, for He met the leading temptations of appetite, presumption, and the world with temptations stronger and adapted to His circumstances yet overcame where professed followers prove weak. His example therefore calls followers to avoid dangerous ground, to use meditation, prayer and self-denial, and to carry forward His work, since in His name complete victory over Satan's devices is possible. Claiming God's promises while recklessly entering danger or ignoring nature's laws, prudence and sound judgment is presumption rather than genuine faith.
Those battles were fought and those victories won on behalf of humanity, and they make it possible for followers to conquer sin and Satan because Christ gives strength to all who seek it. Satan can distress and cause agony, but he has no power to control the will, to force the soul to sin, or to defile and contaminate without the person's own consent. The fact that Christ repulsed the tempter in every conflict should inspire His followers with courage to fight manfully the battle against sin and Satan.
Believers must meet temptation as He did, with It is written alone, for arguments and reasons are of no use against Satan while Scripture alone repulses him and puts feet on solid, immovable rock. They are to learn these lessons from the Word and hang them in memory's hall, using spare time to commit Scripture to memory instead of reading foolish, trifling, lying stories, then meeting temptation with words of Scripture and speaking words of Scripture in season to those around them. When provoked or tempted to speak in anger they should answer with God's words or remain silent. Doing this baffles the great enemy, strengthens character, perfects fitness for transfer to the future immortal life where there will be no danger of being overcome, and confirms that its words are true.
As Jesus was tempted for forty days and then left for a season with angels ministering to Him, so His followers will be buffeted by Satan for a season, and when they resist those seasons are followed by grace and strength from God imparted through His angels. His long fast in behalf of man and His victory over every temptation, especially through appetite, redeemed Adam's failure, elevated man in moral value, and laid the foundation for temperance and sanctification, giving divine grace and strength to resist as He did even when faint from hunger and struggle. Victory comes through continual resistance by joining human weakness to His enduring strength, so that even the strongest temptation can be resisted in His name and overcome as He overcame. Through His name, strength and merits those enslaved to habit, including the liquor and tobacco inebriate, can break the slavery of habit and become victors, living upon the plan of addition from faith to charity.
Satan's constant design to draw minds from Jesus to man and to destroy individual accountability failed when he tempted the Son of God, but he succeeded better when he came to fallen man. He corrupted doctrine so that popes and priests took an exalted position and taught people to look to them to pardon sins instead of looking to Christ for themselves, with the Bible kept from the people to conceal truths that would condemn them. Under the same specious, bewitching influence by which he came disguised as an angel of light and Heaven-sent friend offering an easier way than trial and suffering, he still leads many to obey the worst impulses of the human heart while believing God is leading them, when they are serving not God but the enemy of all righteousness.