Matthew 4:1, commentary and pictures

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, immediately after His baptism when the Spirit descended and the Father declared Him the beloved Son. The leading was deliberate and necessary in God's plan to save sinners, bringing Him to the place of temptation at the beginning of His public ministry rather than sparing Him from it. As the second Adam and head of fallen humanity He took real human nature with its hunger, weakness and liabilities, yet without sin, to go over the ground where Adam had failed and to dispute Satan's claimed dominion. He endured a threefold test on appetite, presumption and love of the world, meeting every assault not with miracle or argument but with the written Word of God. His complete victory where Adam fell laid the foundation of salvation, raising humanity to vantage ground, and stands as the pattern and power by which every tempted person may overcome.

Spirit Leading After Baptism

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. The leading was by the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, after His baptism, for the express purpose of facing temptation from the devil, and He remained affirmative and refused to yield. Satan approached Him there disguised as an angel of light from heaven to expose enmity by deception, yet the trial could be overcome in Christ's name, testing whether He would act independently of the Father or obey God's word without using divine power for Himself.

The leading came immediately after He came from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized by John to fulfil all righteousness. After He went up straightway out of the water the heavens were opened and the Spirit of God descended like a dove and lit upon Him and a voice from heaven declared Him the beloved Son in whom God was well pleased. The Spirit had prepared Him and fitted Him for this special trial and fierce temptation before His mission began. He then fasted forty days and forty nights and afterward was hungry, alone in a desolate lonely place with wild beasts in surroundings from which human nature would shrink, pale and emaciated from fasting and suffering, yet continuing because His course was set to fulfill the work He came to do. At the Jordan He had prayed to the Father for strength to endure the conflict, and the heavenly glory and the Father's declaration attested His divine character as He faced a threefold test on behalf of those He came to redeem, enduring nearly six weeks of fasting where the burden of the world's sin made the trial more than physical hunger.

The temptation was a deliberate and necessary part of God's plan to save sinners, not an accidental encounter or merely an attempt to trouble Him. The Spirit's leading brought Him to the place of temptation and did not spare Him from it, as part of heaven's plan. His human nature would have shrunk from the trial, and after fasting and praying forty days He was weakened by hunger when Satan attacked to wrest humanity claimed after Adam's fall, demonstrating to fallen and unfallen worlds and to heaven that Satan could find nothing in Christ answering his evil designs, where Adam failed through appetite Christ endured and won victory making it possible for people to overcome through Him.

The wilderness temptation stands at the beginning of His public ministry and was part of His preparation for His mission. Full of the Holy Ghost after returning from Jordan, led and driven by the Spirit of God immediately into the wilderness, He was forty days with the wild beasts and ate nothing. Mighty issues for the world were at stake and the destiny of the race was at stake in the conflict between the Prince of Light and the leader of the kingdom of darkness, for after tempting man to sin Satan claimed the earth as his and styled himself prince of this world holding dominion through control of men, having conformed Adam and Eve to his nature and thinking to establish his empire on the claim men had chosen him as sovereign. Christ had come as Son of man to disprove that claim by standing loyal to God, thus showing Satan had not gained complete control and his claim was false, so all desiring deliverance would be set free and the dominion Adam lost through sin would be recovered, a subject of great importance connected with carrying out the plan of salvation.

He did not invite temptation but went to be alone to contemplate His mission and work, withdrawing from the busy scenes of life. By fasting and prayer He braced Himself for the blood-stained path He must travel to free captives held in torment by the destroyer, with the whole plan of His work as man's deliverer laid out before Him during the long fast. He withdrew and prayed for strength to endure the conflict with the fallen foe, submitting to fierce assaults on behalf of those He came to redeem, knowing without conflict there could be no victory. Satan knew the Saviour had gone there and thought it the best time to approach Him.

On entering He was shut in by the Father's glory and absorbed in communion with God was lifted above human weakness. Then the glory departed and left Him to battle temptation pressing upon Him every moment while His human nature shrank from the coming conflict. As He left the Jordan His face was lighted with the glory of God, but after He entered the wilderness this glory disappeared, the sins of the world were upon Him, and His face showed sorrow and anguish such as man had never felt as He suffered for sinners, marred more than any man, weak and emaciated from hunger and worn and haggard with mental agony. He felt the overwhelming tide of woe deluging the world and realized the strength of indulged appetite and unholy passion controlling the world, increasing with every generation since Adam's transgression until the race was too feeble in moral power to overcome in its own strength, giving Satan his supposed opportunity to overcome Him.

He went willingly, not under compulsion, and not for His own sake but on behalf of humanity. As representative and head of the fallen race He stood with humanity tested, meeting Satan personally and overcoming the one who claimed rule over the kingdoms of the world. After His baptism and inauguration as the Son of God He faced Satan's temptations following a forty-day, forty-night fast and a severe test at the beginning of His public ministry in human weakness yet in perfect harmony with the Father.

Being led by God into trial is not the same as presumptuously seeking danger. God can bring people into trials for their good, limits temptation to what they can bear and provides a way to endure or escape, and they should not lose courage or conclude the Spirit has stopped leading them when temptation comes nor despair. Jesus did not seek temptation by presuming on God's promises, and believers should not enter danger needlessly.

After fasting forty days and forty nights and being tempted of the devil all that time with all his power upon Him, He won the victory. He then returned to the Jordan, where He mingled with John's disciples without publicly displaying His special work or seeking attention, giving no outward sign and taking no steps to draw attention to Himself. He had withdrawn into the wilderness for forty days, nearly six weeks, the sinless Christ fighting the powers of darkness poor and suffering hunger and fatigue with path rough and obstructed, overcoming not for Himself but for humanity to make it possible for every descendant of Adam to overcome through the merit of His sinlessness, and in need depending on His heavenly Father for what was required. Because He gave His life and endured this, His followers are called to make sacrifice in return to be living agencies with Him to bring souls to truth to bear the test in the last days.

Wilderness Fasting and Suffering

He fasted forty days and forty nights, nearly six weeks, eating nothing and drinking nothing, and afterward was hungry. He spent the forty days being tempted, alone in a desolate, lonely wilderness never trod by man, with wild beasts, without companions or food and in actual want, in surroundings from which human nature would shrink. Fasting and suffering left Him pale and emaciated, weakened, worn and haggard with mental agony, with gnawing hunger, fatigue, poverty, loneliness and humiliation, bearing the weight of the world's sins.

His attention was fixed on seeking strength and grace from the Father for the work He had undertaken on humanity's behalf, so that He did not feel hunger until the forty days ended, praying for strength with heavens opened in glory. He sought solitude so that no human eye would see His agony and no human heart sympathize with it, dismissing even John to be alone, remaining separated from His mother for about two months, with the marks of emaciation and distress still visible afterward when He met her again. His path was made rough and obstructed with difficulties and obstacles as He suffered hunger and fatigue in poverty while tempted by a vile foe.

After passing through the temptations He fainted and was left like one dying on a battlefield until angels came to minister, encircled Him, rested His head, gave Him food and poured divine consolation into His soul, which fitted Him to go out with power of the Spirit to proclaim truth. Angels watched the trial with intense interest and stood guard ready to act if Satan passed his prescribed limit, guarding Him from being overpowered. He bore the forty-day fast for others, so believers are not called to repeat a forty-day fast and there is no virtue in doing so, since virtue to purify and refine is in the blood of Christ and power to make laborers together with God is in His grace.

The long fast and all He endured even to the agony of the cross were part of the infinite sacrifice and inexpressible suffering paid for redemption, calling for response in sacrifice, self-sacrifice, patience under affliction, solemn consecration to God and preparation for holy work, even going without dinner without harm to be living agencies hunting and fishing and working to bring souls to truth to bear the test in the last days. He endured severe trials as part of a life of sorrow and grief in which He endured persecution and contradiction from sinners, poverty, hunger and fatigue, and bitter hatred against His works and teachings, teaching that those who defend God's honor and stand for what is right may face many trials but those who rely on God can resist wrong and win precious victories. Ministers of the gospel suffer little compared with this and need closer connection with Christ and greater self-denial, devotion and consecration instead of shunning what displeases them and avoiding care and responsibilities, if the power of God is to work with their efforts, and physicians may face Satan's fierce temptations and need daily grace to keep hold on God.

He entered in great weakness and faced the fiercest temptation with real physical suffering, mental anguish and humiliation of taking humanity, showing victory over temptation is worth more than gaining the whole world and losing the soul. The nearly six weeks of suffering in the wilderness reveal God's inexpressible love for the fallen race in withholding not His divine Son from taking the humiliation of humanity and giving His dearly beloved to shame and agony to bring many sons and daughters to glory, proving it is infinite gain to overcome as He overcame and eternal loss to gain the whole world with all its pleasure and glory and yet lose the soul, so that heaven is cheap at any cost.

Satan's Disguise and Assault

Satan knew where Jesus had gone into the wilderness and judged solitary weakness and suffering the best time to approach Him, beginning his assault as soon as suffering commenced and adapting his offers to the circumstances of hunger and want. He did not invite the encounter, but Satan sought Him out at the opening of His public ministry during the long fast of forty days and nights.

He concealed his true character under the disguise of an angel of light from heaven, appearing as a beautiful young man more like a monarch than a fallen angel, not as a disgusting fiend. He presented himself as a friend and benefactor sent on a merciful errand from heaven to sympathize with suffering and to relieve it, doing a good work for humanity. In that disguise he claimed God did not require the coming sacrifice and self-denial but only willingness, as Abraham's hand had been stayed, and professed he had come to save Jesus from starvation and spare Him the blood-stained path. He wove some truth together with falsehood to make truth ineffective, quoting Scripture and misconstruing it in his appeal while covering temptation with an appearance of goodness and friendship meant to deceive.

His aim was to destroy integrity as Son of God by questioning dignity, disputing authority and assailing allegiance to the heavenly Father. He sought to shake confidence in the Father's love through the suggestion that God had abandoned Him in want, attacking at the point of hunger as he had overcome Adam and others and prevailed with humanity. He urged paths the Father had not appointed and an easier way than trial and suffering, trying to induce Him to act independently of the Father, to prove He was the Christ by working a miracle, to use divine power to relieve His own hunger by making bread from stones, and thus to take Himself out of the Father's hands. By covenant made in heaven, having taken humanity, He was not to work miracles in His own behalf but to stand as a man among men, bearing burdens as substitute and surety to save others rather than spare Himself hardship.

The leading allurements were appetite, love of the world, presumption, vanity, desire for display and honor, and ambition for worldly kingdoms, wealth and power in exchange for worship. He offered the world's dominion in exchange for worship and pressed Him to choose suffering and death appointed by the Father or receive the kingdoms as an everlasting possession by departing from God's will, as he had tempted Adam and Eve. Satan personally had power to carry Him to the temple pinnacle and an exceedingly high mountain, showing his ability to tempt and mislead is real though God limits his power. He attacked the weak points of the human heart with utmost power against the assumed humanity, exploiting fasting, hunger, distress, weariness, doubt and shaken faith to undermine confidence and make Him distrust God, coming when Christ was at His weakest.

The same deception he tried on Christ he uses on men, hiding his existence behind the fable that there is no rebellious foe and no personal devil to guard against, while gathering thousands under his control and working their ruin behind a friendly appearance honored as heavenly. The same tactic of coming disguised as an angel of light is used toward honest souls distressed by heresy and low spirituality who desire a higher standard, when men professing new light and claiming to be reformers gain influence over them and draw them farther from the path of right. The evil spirit that tempted Him is the same spirit that later possessed the demoniac in the synagogue, though using different forms and devices, openly recognized in the possessed but working through piety and learning among those who rejected His teachings. Because He had conquered in the wilderness He could with calm authority wrest captives from Satan's grasp and free them, and the same enemy controlled unbelieving Jews who scorned Him.

After failing to overcome Him directly, Satan withdrew from that conflict for a season and planned to oppose Him through human agents during His ministry. His defeat increased his rage and led him to seek another way to bring sorrow to Christ by attacking John the Baptist and by hoping to turn the Jewish people against Him and undermine His mission. He kept changing his temptations and used every device to hinder Jesus from carrying out the appointed work, working through every divided heart, every unchristlike trait and every tendency to wrong to confuse judgment and weaken faith, even afflicting bodies and then relieving them to claim glory by false miracle and misconstruing Scripture to serve his purposes. He came quoting Scripture as a most beautiful heavenly angel, claiming to be sanctified and a pure angel from the heavenly courts, continuing the same self-exaltation above God and deceptive power by which he had corrupted many angels in heaven and drawn their sympathy, but Jesus was not deceived.

That same suggestion to accept an earthly kingdom and the praise and honor of men was repeated again and again, especially after the feeding of the five thousand when the multitude wanted to take Him by force and make Him king. There was a real conflict, and He promptly and decidedly refused the honor, constraining His disciples to leave and dismissing the multitude and going alone into the mountain to pray, which was virtually saying, Get thee behind Me, Satan.

Second Adam in Humanity

As the second Adam and the representative and head of fallen humanity, Jesus went over the ground where Adam had failed in order to meet fallen humanity where it stood and rescue it from sin's degradation. He went willingly, not for himself but to overcome Satan and defeat his claim to rule the kingdoms, taking human nature with its infirmities and the race's degeneracy so he could sympathize with people. He met temptation as a man, and there is nothing for men to endure that he has not endured, with heaven's help made available in every emergency. His forty-day fast made this a severe test of appetite through which Satan had often overcome humanity, and his victory there began redemption where ruin began.

He took human nature with its infirmities, liabilities, possibilities and degeneracy, in genuinely human flesh experiencing hunger, thirst and weakness. That nature was fallen but uncorrupted, without sinful corrupt propensities or evil propensity within, yet he remained in perfect harmony with the Father. His human nature would shrink from the trial, and after fasting and praying he was weakened by hunger when Satan attacked. The setting shows he faced temptation in human nature while bearing the weight of human sin, gaining a victory people could not win by their own strength in order to unite divine power with human effort.

His trial was far more severe than Adam's. Adam stood in perfect strength and manhood with full vigor of mind and body in beautiful Eden, with direct communion with heavenly beings and none of sin's effects upon him, surrounded by its glories. Jesus entered the desolate wilderness alone after four thousand years of decrease in physical strength, mental power and moral worth, taking upon him the infirmities of degenerate humanity with all its liabilities. Nothing was done to remove temptation from Christ, though the plan had removed temptation as far as possible from Adam, and only by thus taking Adam's position could he rescue man from the lowest depths of degradation. The length of his fast shows how sinful and powerful debased appetite had become, which fallen people had grown too weak to overcome.

Separated from God's presence he bore the sins, infirmities and degeneracy as they then existed, bearing the weight of the world's sins with glory departed. His face showed deep sorrow under that burden, and the burden made his trial more than physical hunger. He who knew no sin became sin and bore undeserved condemnation as Sin-bearer, establishing a righteous character people could not establish for themselves, so receivers stand justified with imputed righteousness. He overcame appetite, love of the world, desire for honor, and prideful display on humanity's behalf.

As God he could not be tempted but as man he could be strongly tempted and could have yielded as Adam did. His test was real and genuine liability in genuinely human nature with the same faculties and exposure as people have, raising the question whether in his human nature he was capable of yielding. In his fallen but uncorrupted nature joined with the divine he was capable of yielding, but he would not be corrupted unless he accepted Satan's words instead of God's, and his liability did not mean he had sinful corrupt propensities. Denying his liability to yield would degrade the meaning of his humanity and rob his humiliation of its force as perfect example, instruction and help, for the history is not fable but living acting experience. He could have sinned or fallen, yet he held fast to God and his word under trial.

Though his purity and holiness were assailed and he felt the humiliation deeply and keenly, Satan could find nothing in him that would answer his evil designs against the Father. He kept his greatest glory and was not reckoned with the transgressor, holding fast to God and his word without giving Satan any response or foothold. Satan's fiery darts found no lodgment, for he answered from point to point only with It is written. The trial demonstrated to fallen and unfallen worlds and to heaven that Satan had no hold on him.

He entered a real test in which he had to use all his faculties to resist the inclination to use his power to rescue himself from danger. Satan attacked the weak points of the human heart and used his utmost power and subtlety against the assumed humanity, trying to compel his mind to yield, with the wisest of the fallen angels using the most enticing words. He endured suffering and stood firm in weakness, trusting to be kept by God's power through faith, and the devil gained no victory over him. If he had swerved a hair's breadth from allegiance, Satan would have gained the victory and the world would have passed under his control. He came down to humanity's level and was tempted on the same great points where Satan attacks people, yet did not yield or suffer defeat in any respect.

He came as Son of man to disprove Satan's claim that the earth was his and that he was prince of this world. By standing loyal to God he showed Satan had not gained complete control of the human race and his claim was false, so that all desiring deliverance would be set free and the dominion Adam lost through sin would be recovered. He came to dispute Satan's sovereignty over mankind, to break his hold by divine power, to fight the apostate, to dispute his right to rule, and to wrench his spoil from him. Satan expected to overcome him as he had overcome Adam and others, but Jesus faced the adversary on humanity's behalf and challenged his claim to power over the race.

By covenant made in heaven, having taken humanity he was not to work miracles in his own behalf but to stand as a man among men to bear burdens as substitute and surety. Satan tried to induce him to work a miracle to prove he was the Christ and to use divine power to relieve his hunger and take himself out of the Father's hands, especially through the suggestion that God had abandoned him. He did not doubt his Father or use miraculous power for his own benefit, but meekly endured and relied on the Father's approval given at baptism. His miracles were all for the good of others, and his divine mission did not require satisfying demands for a sign. His refusal to provide for himself stands in contrast to his willingness to perform a miracle for others, as at the wedding.

Though the spotless Commander of heaven, he met Satan in humiliation with dignity questioned, authority disputed and allegiance assailed, with Satan allowed apparent superiority under a prescribed limit while heaven watched. All heaven watched with burning love, with angels standing guard ready to act if Satan passed his prescribed limit. He proved no taunt could move him from allegiance, and when offered all the world and its glory for worship divinity flashed through humanity as he commanded worship and service to God only. As Captain of salvation he overcame in human nature and left Satan a conquered foe, placing the race on vantage ground and making every advantage he had available to man.

In behalf of the race he volunteered to undertake the work man could not do in human strength, to bear the burden and overcome the power of appetite by standing the most powerful test on that point alone with none to help, comfort or uphold him. He felt the overwhelming tide of woe deluging the world and realized the strength of indulged appetite and unholy passion that had increased since Adam until the race was too feeble in moral power to overcome in its own strength. He showed in man's behalf self-denial, perseverance and firmness of principle paramount to growing hunger, a power of control stronger than hunger and even death. His trial came after Satan had repeatedly used appetite and passion to lead people into sin for four thousand years, while appetite and passion, love of the world and presumptuous sins ruled the earth, and Satan expected to defeat him as he had others.

In humbled human nature with heavenly glory no longer visible he met Satan face to face as head of humanity fighting for the deceived race. Satan's temptations aimed to draw him away from loyalty and undermine his principles, so that victory in the first would have given Satan advantage in the rest, and the contest was decisive because Satan could not rightly claim the kingdoms unless he overcame Christ. He met Satan in a disloyal world seared and marred by rebellion, where men were corrupted and God's character was misrepresented by Satan claiming mercy, goodness and truth for himself while attributing his own attributes to God. By withstanding under a hundredfold severer trial as the deceiver presented himself as an angel of light, he proved the misrepresentations false, redeemed Adam's disgraceful fall and saved the world.

The wilderness meeting was face-to-face combat continuing the war begun in heaven with the same foe who had been the covering cherub next in power to Christ. That foe through jealousy over Christ's place wanted to be one with the infinite God, originated sin, sought to change God's government and fix his own seal to its rules, rebelled, led angels with him, and was cast out to set up an earthly kingdom and win man to his side. Christ had pledged himself as man's surety against him, stepped from his royal throne as Prince of heaven, clothed himself with humanity to be tempted on every point on which man would be tried, and appeared to be alone though angels surrounded him as they minister to those under assault. The combat ended in Satan's defeat.

Threefold Test and Victory

Jesus endured a threefold test on behalf of those he came to redeem, facing alone the three great leading temptations that assail humanity and from which all others grow: appetite, presumption, and love of the world, pressed with bribes of honor, riches and glory. The conflict was the foundation of the plan of salvation, beginning his mission of redemption after prayer for strength, and his refusal to yield on a single point kept his integrity firm in moral power on which the salvation of the race depended until Satan left him a conquered foe. His victory gives fallen people the key and power through his name and the divine grace and strength given from the Father to individually resist and overcome those same temptations to the end of time.

The first test met the same point where humanity's ruin began and Adam failed, the temptation of appetite through which Satan had often overcome humanity. The length of the forty-day fast shows how sinful and powerful debased appetite had become, a powerful means by which Satan weakened and corrupted humanity. By denying appetite where Adam indulged it, Jesus overcame where the human race had fallen, broke appetite's hold, and began redemption where ruin began, uniting divine power with human effort so people could overcome through strength he gives and not by their own. His victory assures that people can also overcome when they cooperate with Christ and divine power joins the effort, teaching self-denial and temperance beginning with food and extending to every part of life.

Presumption is a common temptation by which Satan gains victory nine times out of ten, when professed followers plunge without thought into temptations from which only a miracle could bring them forth unsullied, rashly claiming God's promises while recklessly rushing into danger in violation of nature's laws and in disregard of prudence and judgment. Meditation and prayer would have preserved them and led them to shun the critical dangerous position giving Satan advantage, and this rash course is the most flagrant presumption. Jesus refused to imperil his life by casting himself down from the pinnacle of the temple to prove he was the Son of God, answering that the Lord must not be tempted. His refusal to work a miracle for himself to satisfy hunger or prove identity stands in contrast to his willingness at the wedding feast to perform a miracle for others.

He rejected the offer of the world's dominion in exchange for worship and refused earthly power at the cost of integrity, even when Satan came as an angel of light with rigid self-denial required to conquer him. He chose instead the suffering and death appointed by the Father to redeem what Satan possessed and become the lawful ruler receiving the kingdoms as an everlasting possession, and Satan will ultimately be given into his hands and destroyed. Satan's promises of apparent advantage in exchange for submission are deceptive, not worth even the least departure from God's word, and come at loss of what is good and holy, so temptation must be firmly resisted in whatever form it comes by standing on God's word.

The temptation was the decisive contest over Satan's claimed dominion and the promised kingdom, with Satan's power, glory, empire and prosperity depending on drawing Christ from allegiance by every artifice and full force. Satan feared Christ would overthrow his power and break his kingdom, boasted he could defeat him and thwart God's plan to save humanity, and thus began the direct contest over that plan with the destiny of the race at stake. The kingdom foretold for the Prince of Heaven would not come by earthly triumph, honor or display but would embrace the kingdoms of the world and end Satan's power, bringing him retribution for sin and misery caused.

The conflict unmasked the deceiver, revealing blasphemy in demanding worship and homage, presumption in bearing him to the mountain summit and temple pinnacle, malice in urging him to cast himself down from the height, and hatred opposed to the love and mercy by which Jesus represented God's character. That warfare continued in hunting him from place to place and at last in the cry for his crucifixion, uprooting Satan from the minds and affections of heavenly angels and the whole loyal universe and exciting their amazement and indignation. He repulsed the fiercest and most subtle temptations in every conflict, meeting the united forces of evil with temptations more intense and subtle than those assailing fallen humanity, and put the tempter to flight as conqueror over the powers of darkness on humanity's behalf. The trial demonstrated to fallen and unfallen worlds that Satan could find nothing in Christ answering his evil designs, and though Satan may distress and cause agony he cannot control the will or force sin or defile without consent, showing he cannot go beyond set limits.

Had he failed on a single point the whole battle would have been lost, and had he yielded even slightly the human family would have come under Satan's control. His holding ground shows the victory given to one who heeds light, humbles the heart, denounces Satan and turns in repentance with confession and changed management making God supreme. The contest ended in complete victory matching the completeness of Adam's failure, with Satan's presence withdrawn and Christ free of his powerful adversary with angels for a season. The tempter left him for a season but returned during the ministry toward the final trial in Gethsemane, where everything was at stake for Satan, for if he failed there his hope of mastery was lost and the kingdoms of earth would finally become Christ's who would bind the strong man and cast him out.

Stronger than Satan, he came to help the human family and measure weapons with the prince of darkness in this world as one great general against another. Satan was seeking to seduce men to disloyalty as his companions in rebellion to establish a kingdom in opposition to Christ's kingdom with laws in defiant opposition to God's laws, and if the Son of God had not pitied man and undertaken redemption Satan would have had the whole family at war with God. Christ is mightier than Satan, who will ultimately be defeated, and he conquered in the wilderness to bring salvation within reach so sons and daughters of Adam might be brought back to Eden, though at great cost through forty days and nights without food or drink until fainting and apparently dying when angels ministered with food. Man cannot overcome in his own strength, so Christ came in person from glory as man to bear the test Adam failed, and though all powers of hell were aimed at him from desert to Calvary the more mercilessly the storm fell the more firmly he clung to the Father with spotless character shining purer, bearing sins, reproach and shameful death to give eternal life.

His conflict bears on the test of whether he would act independently of the Father, for Satan urged him to take paths the Father had not appointed and an easier way than trial and suffering. By covenant made in heaven, having taken humanity he was not to work miracles in his own behalf but to stand as a man among men to bear burdens as substitute and surety, so he refused to use divine power to relieve hunger or prove he was the Christ. He did not doubt the Father or the baptismal voice, meekly endured taunts, relied on the Father's approval, and remained steadfast to carry out redemption in spirit and letter to save and bring hope and life to others rather than spare himself hardship. His temptations and victories reveal the greatness of overcoming, for Satan regarded success against Jesus as victory over the entire race that would establish his life and kingdom.

He was tempted in isolation without human voice and surrounded by demons pretending to be angels from heaven, pressing most deceiving sophistry and wily insinuations against God to undermine confidence, destroy faith and trust, keep the mind on strain, and allure him into controversy as with Eve. Weakened by fasting he endured severe mental suffering through forty days and nights in which all great leading temptations were artfully presented and assaults were most fearful, yet Satan could obtain not one word to lead him on, for he answered point to point only with it is written and fiery darts found no lodgment. He placed himself in the sinner's stead passing over Adam's ground with temptation a hundredfold stronger than any ever brought upon the race, resisting in the same manner every soul may resist by saying it is written. Weakened by prolonged fasting he fought on behalf of humanity, breaking Satan's power and making divine strength available to conquer appetite and every unholy passion.

He entered as part of saving humanity, enduring and overcoming for humanity temptations concerning appetite, love of the world and honor, and pride leading to presumption, because people could not overcome by themselves, providing help and example so followers may overcome. The verse introduces a testing in which Satan exerted every artifice and full force because his rule and power were at stake, while Christ stood as humanity's representative, met the strongest test, and conquered the most subtle temptations on humanity's behalf, showing those relying on him need not be overcome. The verse shows Christ entering as human champion in the conflict between the Prince of life and the prince of darkness, with Satan following every step to overthrow him, exhaust God's patience toward the human family and ruin humanity, in a battle fought on earth before the watching heavenly universe.

Meeting Temptation with Scripture

He would not enter into controversy even with the devil, but met every temptation in the wilderness with God's word as an unerring guide, weapon and sword. He remained affirmative, holding to affirmative truth without argument, railing accusation, or repeating the tempter's claims. Weakened by fasting and enduring forty days and nights of severe mental strain, He faced the great temptations that assail humanity and the fiercest assaults of the prince of darkness, and answered each test with Scripture. When challenged whether He was the Son of God and urged to turn stones into bread for His own relief, He would not work a miracle for His own benefit to prove His identity, but gave no other answer except to quote that man lives not by bread alone but by every word from the mouth of God.

He spoke only words God had inspired earlier writers to record, so Satan could draw nothing from Him to advance the temptation. He gave the enemy no word to misinterpret or misrepresent and no chance to use against Him. He answered, It is written, rather than matching Satan's arguments with arguments of His own. His confidence rested on the firm authority of God's Word as the weapon that repels Satan, proving the Word's power over the strongest temptations, and His example teaches believers to know, remember and commit God's Word to memory so they can meet temptation with it. The enemy has no power over those who rely on Scripture, for It is written was the only weapon by which He could conquer, and those words were inspired by the Spirit of God.

He held ever to the affirmative instead of meeting opposition with argument, and did not repeat what His opponent said, because repeating an opponent's words strengthens his arguments. Had He not held to the affirmative He would have lost all He desired to gain, so keeping always to the affirmative lets sensible truth reach the understanding so that even the man opposing may carry those words home and be converted. He never gave the enemy an advantage by entering into controversy, never repeated Satan's words, and refused to be drawn into argument with the foe, answering with Scripture, It is written and Thus saith the Lord. His replies did not enter into controversy or attack Satan's theories but affirmed the truth of Scripture.

His example teaches that opposition should be answered by plainly presenting biblical truth rather than centering the response on objections or getting drawn into arguing over them. He did not act in self-sufficiency and did not meet Satan with Satan's own manner of weapons, but spoke only words of pure truth and righteousness. Losing sight of His example and manner of teaching makes men self-sufficient and leads them to use Satan's weapons, and Satan turns those weapons upon those who use them. In that contest recorded for the help and encouragement of God's people today, Christ worked no miracle and gave no sign, but depended only on God and His Word.

The same dependence is needed when Satan comes down with great power to work by signs and wonders, bringing down fire from heaven before his followers and proving his authority to those who have left the Word of God as the only true foundation, seeking to deceive if possible the very elect. Those who stand firm on the Word of the everlasting God will meet Satan with the same weapon Christ used, It is written, which has more power than the working of miracles. God's people will conquer through the working of the Holy Spirit, which is stronger than miracles or anything else, and power is to be obtained from the Word. Meeting the enemy's advances with God's written Word provides the pattern for resisting temptation, the pattern of the soul nourished in Christ.

Believers fight the good fight of faith by trusting Scripture as armor and weapon, becoming alert to Satan's devices, holding firmly the same spiritual weapons day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute with constant watching unto prayer in order to resist and overcome. His warfare was spiritual, not carnal, and His victory in conquering on every point with the Word of God as the Sword of the Spirit is the example for all beset by manifold temptations. His example teaches to disappoint the enemy by planting the feet on the eternal platform of truth and standing on the affirmative instead of trying to prove truth. Armed with the Word with no guesswork, He stopped the enemy, saying in effect, Thus far shalt thou come, and no farther.

The same trials and temptations will come to His disciples, so they must stand ever on guard, as true as steel to principle, walking and working in His spirit, giving Satan no encouragement by letting him make them miserable. They must refuse to leave the Word for something new and strange, reject doctrines and opinions of even learned men that have not It is written for their foundation as mere human suppositions, and accept only teaching in harmony with the great Teacher on the platform of eternal truth. They must meet enticements with power from above in answer to prayer. Believers must keep the Word of God as abiding treasure in the soul so that when the host of hell seeks to destroy with temptations they have sharp perception to discern Satan's wiles and meet him the same way Christ met him.

Victory comes when feeling personal weakness and depending on Christ and not on self; then the tempted one has unseen heavenly agencies working in his behalf to lift up the standard against the enemy, saying to satanic agencies, Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther. He gained victory over appetite for the whole world, giving every person an example to follow and showing the need to keep God's Word in the heart so one can discern and resist temptation. In resisting, He did not rail against the devil but answered with the Lord's words. His example teaches victory by restraining natural, angry speech when provoked and keeping words from causing another to lose ground with God, relying on Scripture rather than speaking in anger.

The record of His experience in the wilderness is given so that people may understand Satan's methods and plans for confusing minds that seek to understand God's Word and divert them from truth. In weakness when tempted He refused to answer back with His own words and said only It is written. Temptation is met with the Bible, and no one should frame up words for themselves but take the Bible to know how to meet temptation.

Victory Securing Human Salvation

The wilderness victory laid the foundation of the plan of salvation, for man's salvation hung on whether Satan or the Redeemer would conquer. After four thousand years of Satan working against God's government, all was at stake in that conflict over whether he or Christ would be victor. The test centered first on appetite, where though brought to great physical suffering Christ gained the victory, then met flattering inducements and bribes of all honor, riches and glory if He would acknowledge Satan's claims, though Satan was clothed with the livery of heaven. Christ refused to yield on a single point and kept His integrity firm in moral power, on which the salvation of the race depended, until Satan left Him a conquered foe to the joy of heaven.

His divine power united with humanity won an infinite victory on humanity's behalf and raised humanity's moral value before God. That victory placed the race on vantage ground with God and made every advantage He had available to man. It gives fallen man the key and the power, through Christ's name and the divine grace and strength He gives from His Father, to individually resist and overcome the very same temptations of Satan to the end of time. Yet it does not replace personal victory, for all face temptations like those He overcame and strength is available to them only through Him as each also gains victory.

He gained victory where Adam fell, redeeming Adam's failure and disgrace and making a second trial possible. He passed over the same ground where Adam fell but remained steadfast, facing the tempter as the second Adam, physically weakened by fasting but unwavering in allegiance to His Father. Satan came with deceptive temptations to get Him to question the plans and law of God and to take an independent position, testing Him first through appetite and challenging His identity as the Son of God, but was foiled. He refused to use His divine power apart from the Father's will and relied wholly on God's power and word, not on a special power unavailable to people, obeying as human beings must obey. His victory was a real human victory, for if He had resisted by divine power He would have been tempted as God rather than as a man.

So human nature united with divine power by faith can withstand temptation, partake of the divine nature, escape corruption and stand pardoned through His merit and righteousness. By not yielding He ensured the plan was carried out and the price of redemption paid. He lived a completely sinless life and came through more than conqueror over the powers of evil while bearing the weight of Adam's guilt and that of his descendants. Though sinless and more than that the Prince of heaven, on man's behalf He became sin for the race, wounded for transgressions and bruised for iniquities to bring peace and healing.

As the tried, sure foundation stone who never disappoints those who trust Him, He bore every test imposed on Him, enduring the pressure of Adam's guilt and that of His posterity without failing, and came off more than conqueror. Because He endured, the entire world can lay burdens and griefs upon Him and build upon Him with perfect safety, and those broken by falling upon this rock have their guilty hearts relieved in Christ and rest in perfect security. His sufferings as victory gained for man belong to the atonement and the mystery of godliness, with His life the true standard that greatly strengthens Christians when earnestly and frequently compared. His victory stands against the claim that people can earn God's favor through their own power or merits; salvation depends on the atonement and on the crucified and risen Saviour.

Though He was fainting and apparently dying, the conflict was watched by unfallen worlds, and Satan left defeated. His victory opened the way for people to overcome through His merits. He bore the test as the veritable coming of the coming One foretold by sure prophecy, proving He is the Son of God. His victory elevated humanity and shows Christ is the sinner's only hope, so that through His name, strength and merits those enslaved by liquor or tobacco can overcome their habits, abundant grace in Christ makes overcoming possible, and humanity can keep God's law.

His victory demonstrated to the fallen and unfallen worlds and to heaven that Satan could find nothing in Christ that would answer his evil designs against the Father. He faced the test to wrest humanity, which Satan claimed after Adam's fall, from the usurper; where Adam failed through appetite, Christ endured and won victory for the human family, making it possible for people to overcome through Him. He fought these battles on humanity's behalf and gives strength to those who seek it; Satan may distress and cause agony, but he cannot control a person's will or force anyone to sin without consent. Satan assailed Christ with the same temptations that had led Adam and Eve into sin, and Christ's victory stands against their fall, for the Son of God pledged His life to restore God's moral image in humanity.

Example and Help for Believers

Meeting temptation as a man proves to angels and men that man may overcome and that in every emergency the powers of heaven are ready to help, for there is nothing for men to endure that he has not endured, and by taking human nature with all its possibilities and experiencing in himself the strength of Satan's temptation and of human sufferings and infirmities he reached to the very depths of human woe and knows how to succor those who put forth efforts to help themselves. His victory over appetite after the long fast reversed Adam's failure and brought salvation within reach, and his example points the way for followers while his experience shows he sympathizes with human weakness and gives moral power to those who turn to him. His followers, especially those working to rescue people from Satan, can expect attacks like those he endured, and being severely tempted does not mean abandonment by God, for he overcame for them and by his grace they too can resist through steadfast reliance on God's Word as he did, and when they remain unshaken Satan leaves and angels minister to them. He endured temptation so he could succor the tempted and serve as faithful High Priest, identifying himself with those who suffer under temptation.

His victory came through uniting divine power with human effort, for he faced the severe test of appetite in human nature while bearing the weight of human sin and gained a victory people could not win by their own strength, coming to unite divine power with human effort so that people could overcome through the strength he gives. His first test met the same point at which Adam failed, and though Satan had used appetite to overcome many, Christ resisted and defeated him, assuring that people can also overcome when they make effort to cooperate with Christ and divine power joins that effort. People are not hopelessly bound by appetite but can overcome through strength from him, for he is ready to help those who cannot win alone.

That victory provides fallen people the example and means to overcome in his name, for the wilderness conflict laid the foundation of the plan of salvation, yet it does not replace personal victory since all face temptations like those he overcame and strength is available through him only as each also gains victory. His long fast left him physically weak but he resisted every temptation, especially through appetite, despite severe suffering and inducements of honor, riches and glory, and angels watched the conflict and after it ended cared for him in his faintness. His trial is an example of temperance and a pattern for resisting Satan, showing temptation can be resisted through divine grace and strength, but each must choose to resist for themselves and deny appetite and endure to the end, leaving no excuse as Adam's disobedience warns and Christ's life exemplifies.

His battles were fought and his victories won on behalf of followers to make it possible for them to conquer, and he gives strength to those who seek it, for Satan may distress and cause agony but cannot control the will, force the soul to sin, or defile it without consent. His victory over appetite after the forty-day fast broke the power of bondage and showed no case is beyond recovery, providing pattern and help for people to work with divine aid, preserve moral integrity, and be free from slavery to perverted appetite and passion. Through his victory Christians may gain moral power to resist Satan and overcome temptation themselves, and through his name, strength and merits people enslaved by liquor or tobacco can overcome, including dependence on narcotics and stimulants, though each must choose whether to let him accomplish it.

His conflict bears directly on every human life and is repeated within every heart when one leaves evil for God's service and meets Satan's assaults, showing the way through conflict, self-denial and sacrifice rather than inclination. The enticements he resisted are those hardest to withstand, pressed upon him in far greater degree with the terrible weight of the world's sins upon him, upon appetite, upon love of the world, and upon love of display leading to presumption, the same that overcame Adam and Eve and readily overcome us, and by passing over the ground every person must travel he prepared the way so believers need not be intimidated or discouraged. The same kind of battle faces every person throughout life, and though he had divine power he did not use it to provide for himself but met each temptation with God's word, showing safety lies in studying and being filled with Scripture and that God gives grace to help overcome. With the same power by which he took the Redeemer to an exceedingly high mountain and showed all kingdoms and their glory, Satan now presents temptations appealing to reason by elevating themes, delighting fancy, enlisting affections by portrayals of love and charity, perverting the senses of all not shielded by divine power and drawing the educated and refined by refined intellectual Spiritualism.

His experience after close communion shows trial can come after rich blessings, for after the heavens opened and the Spirit rested on him the Spirit led him into the wilderness where the devil tempted him, teaching that victory comes through combat and that God prepares his people by a clear sense of his presence, compassion and love. Because he was tempted as we are, people can overcome through his strength and draw near to God by prayer and fasting, walking humbly and using God's Word as weapon, meeting temptation through power imparted from above in answer to prayer and repeatedly declaring it is written with the sword of the Spirit. His victory is example and assurance especially for those rescuing souls, who can expect like attacks and buffeting, for after prolonged fasting had weakened him Satan tried to defeat him but he overcame, showing preachers can also overcome by relying on the One who conquered the enemy. Severe temptation does not mean abandonment, for those who remain steadfast can overcome through Christ's grace by relying on God's Word, and when Satan is defeated angels minister as they did to Jesus, while those who follow Christ may be buffeted for a season yet resistance is followed by grace and strength imparted through angels.

His followers are to continue the struggle against the powers of darkness following his example, for there he conquered to show how they may overcome, beginning the contest against Satan's power that he and his followers were to continue. He is the Conqueror who overcame on behalf of others, and believers are to overcome as he did, relying on God's grace and persevering through conflict to receive the eternal reward. His victory pledges that people may also overcome through his name, and by trusting Christ and relying on his merits they may overcome seductive snares, for he triumphed over the adversary, understood Satan's power, and conquered on behalf of humanity because humanity could not conquer in its own behalf. As Overcomer he gives the advantage of his victory, so that in resisting temptation human weakness united to his enduring might may resist the strongest temptation in his all-powerful name and gain victory as he overcame.

His victory gives followers an example to follow with power to stand victorious in the conflict between Christ and Satan, strengthening weak purposes and resolves against temptation, but if they fail to follow it will leave them without excuse at the judgment. Those who fail to connect with God to receive wisdom and grace to overcome will fall by Satan's temptations, drag others down by influence, and be judged for good they might have done but failed to perform. As a shepherd goes before sheep to meet dangers, wild beasts, robbers and even death while guarding the flock, he went before disciples, lived as child, youth and man, overcame Satan and all temptations so they may overcome, guards his flock, died to save them, and though now in heaven does not forget them for a moment but will safely keep every sheep so none following him can be taken.

Though divine, in human nature he needed prayer and fresh strength from the Father to meet trial, sharing human weakness without sharing sin, and in need depended on his heavenly Father for what was required. His experience shows Satan keeps changing temptations, and withstanding them requires continued earnest prayer and fresh light and strength from God each day for new temptations and responsibilities. He was truly tempted with a body like ours, enduring temptations and suffering greater than any person's for he bore the sins of the whole world, and therefore knows human need, knows how to deliver the tempted, and calls people to follow him and overcome through his strength not their own. His overcoming in the wilderness was human obedience to God's holy law, the same obedience required of man, not by a power impossible for man to have, for as the Majesty of heaven become true man humbled to present human nature he laid hold of divine power by faith in every emergency, bridging the gulf sin made and connecting finite man with the infinite God. In that way he is the example of what man can do through faith, so that every son and daughter of Adam through faith in Christ, partaking of the divine nature, can serve God in human nature, overcome every besetting temptation, and stand pardoned through his righteousness as though never sinned, proving human nature united with divine nature by faith can withstand Satan.

His victory is the pattern for overcoming and for the character to be attained, showing how to walk in conformity with God's will, and those hoping to share his throne must earnestly overcome as he did. His resistance is an example of the highest education in which human nature united with divine power enables people to follow his teachings and resist evil, and his conquering of the mighty foe is ground for confidence that his power can sustain those facing opposition. Resisting as he resisted requires studying the Bible more fully and meeting its requirements in preparation for the day when every case is decided, laying aside story magazines for the Word which brings angels to strengthen understanding, brings God into families so children are saved, and shapes schools to teach escape from corruption through lust. When tempted he gave no place to Satan, remaining exact in principle and upright in conduct and wide-awake to wiles, and his course is the pattern to copy in walk and work so dealings are strict and character becomes tender, charitable, meek and lowly.

He faced the devil with perfect steadfastness that no threat could intimidate, no peril awaken fear, no hardship exhaust and no temptation allure from duty. Wrestling alone in the wilderness at the beginning of a conflict continuing to the cross, Satan tried to fill him with his own attributes but every attempt failed, and he advanced through humiliation and self-sacrifice without yielding. The wider assault continued from childhood to Calvary to prevent a perfect childhood, faultless manhood, holy ministry and unblemished sacrifice, with numerous plans to lead him into sin, discourage him and ruin his work, but he could not be led into sin or driven from his work, clung to his Father, pressed on in the blood-stained path, and the attacks only revealed his spotless character more clearly. The same foe later assailed him with fierce subtle temptations to turn aside and avoid death, yet he resisted and remained steadfast to go to Jerusalem to give his life at the appointed time, and no one else would be called to live so holy a life amid temptation so severe.

In humiliation while Satan appeared superior and all heaven watched with burning love, his dignity questioned, authority disputed and allegiance assailed, with angels standing guard ready to act if Satan passed his prescribed limit, no taunt moved him from allegiance though purity of principle was assailed. When offered all the world and its glory for worship he revealed divinity flashing through humanity and commanded departure with the written command to worship and serve God only, and as conquered Satan left the field his strained humanity lay as one dead until angels encircled him, rested his head, gave food and poured divine consolation into his soul. His victory vanquished the enemy, placed the race on vantage ground, made every advantage he had available to man, enables all partaking of the divine nature to resist satanic power and keep God's law, and promises men will become victors and heirs if they use their advantages, though God will not save against the will. Moved by great love even to infinite sacrifice to elevate man to his throne, his nearly six weeks' fast overcame Satan in behalf of degraded man, giving sympathy with weakness and calling man to take hold of divine power and with determination resist, working with human power aided by divine power to overcome as he overcame and become joint-heir partaking of his glory.

He faced temptation as human beings are tempted when at his weakest, and the tempter was the one who had once stood beside him in loyalty in the heavenly courts, this wilderness trial being part of attacks throughout his ministry culminating in agony on the cross, all suffered for humanity. The conflict at the beginning shows Satan's kingdom opposed to God's kingdom and calls people to be on the Lord's side. He resisted on humanity's behalf as example strengthening weak purposes, and his withstanding in hunger and weakness prepared him to sympathize with hungry, suffering and needy who can entrust themselves to his care because he suffered want, serving as faithful High Priest identifying with sufferers. He faced and overcame without being turned from loyalty or stained by sin, remaining steadfast and morally pure through meekness, humility and reliance on Scripture, for Satan sought to make him sin as he had Adam and Eve but failed to draw the Son of God away unlike his success with fallen humanity.

Led into the wilderness and tempted forty days he overcame every temptation, showing those facing Satan's temptations can also resist through him, for the temptation over appetite was a powerful test but he was victorious as a living Savior ready to help. Satan came as a beautiful young man more like a monarch than a fallen angel, using Scripture to gain advantage over weakened suffering humanity after he had taken human nature, but Jesus answered scriptural claims with Scripture, rejected the kingdoms and commanded departure, showing authority and preserving salvation, for had Satan succeeded humanity would remain in hopeless misery. Satan seeks to repeat against people what he failed against Christ, and may come to people as an angel of light as he came to Christ. The wilderness trial included a long fast endured as part of the sacrifice made to redeem humanity, led by the Spirit to face the devil's temptation.

Temperance and Faithful Resistance

Matthew 4:1 is to be kept uplifted before the people as a call to temperance, for the long fast and self-denial there expose indulgence and leave an example against pleasure gatherings, feasting, gaiety, display and craving what God withholds, condemning church gatherings held for indulgence and leaving no sanction for socials that tempt to overindulgence. Indulgence at the expense of health excites the nervous system, enfeebles brain power, makes calm rational thought impossible, unbalances the mind, perverts its higher nobler faculties to serve animal lust, dulls perception of sacred eternal things and gives Satan ready access, impairing the faculties so duties become impossible and eternal discernment is blunted. That call means rejecting tobacco, liquor, narcotics and stimulants that destroy God-given reasoning power, with victory over established tastes coming in His name alone and giving light on diet and health reform. Controlling appetite is one of the highest attainments in Christian life, and victory over temptation is necessary for the hope of heaven.

The victory is a pattern requiring self-denial, temperance, endurance of conflict, reproach, derision and shame, and ruling appetite rather than becoming its slave. Ministers above all others are to form habits of strictest temperance, keeping His life before the people by lives of self-denial, self-sacrifice and active benevolence, for those who do not engage in overcoming on appetite will fail to secure precious victories they might have gained and will become slaves to appetite and lust. He began redemption where ruin began, for Adam fell through indulging appetite and lost Eden, while Christ reformed physical habits, impressed obligation to obey God's law and made recovery through temperance possible by firm denial of appetite and passion. The only hope of regaining Eden is through abstemiousness in diet and control of all the passions to preserve intellect, give mental and moral vigor, bring propensities under control of the higher powers, and discern between right and wrong, the sacred and the common.

His hunger after forty days and nights without food was real, and Satan began tempting as soon as that suffering commenced, adapting offers to circumstances and presenting apparent good as a bribe, yet His example teaches complete victory is possible in His name. His anguish included knowing that indulgence of appetite and passion could enslave people, lead them to forget God and obstruct salvation, and though God permitted Satan temporary power to test Him, He trusted God would give strength to endure and, if needed, send an angel to relieve Him, teaching that appetite must be governed by reason and temptation resisted through patient endurance and reliance on God. He suffered the keenest pangs of hunger to break Satan's power, and the same Jesus looks on when one centering hope in Him joins despisers in lifting beer, wine or stronger drink, which disregards His suffering, shows weak moral perception of drink's influence on self and others, and violates the most solemn pledge.

After the long fast to break appetite's power including that leading to intoxicating liquor, at the wedding He provided pure non-intoxicating grape juice whose effect brought taste into harmony with healthful appetite. His wilderness example of denying appetite and overcoming its power was a lesson for all time that strengthened Him to endure where ruin began, encouraging every struggling soul that resistance is possible by the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony, so that all who would live godly lives may overcome as He overcame. He overcame appetite through self-denial and self-control while suffering hunger and faintness, rebuking dissipation and gluttony and showing the need to control appetite, for His forty-day fast was a test endured on humanity's behalf teaching temperance and resistance to indulgence that clouds reason, weakens spiritual perception and had gained almost unlimited control over people. His long fast was an effort to break appetite's power over humanity, making His example a rebuke to indulgence and a call to self-denial and temperance.

His victory gives hope to those struggling with appetite to look to Him who faced the ground they must travel and endured what they may bear, because His victory is theirs and they need not be intimidated by assaults. Appetite must be governed by reason and conscience, since indulging it weakens resistance, hinders discernment of evil and prevents a consecrated heart, so regaining self-control lost through apostasy is necessary for real progress. Satan also tempts people through reasoning that can distort judgment and weaken fairness, as he did with Christ. Satan's promises offering world's advantages, honors and favors to draw toward temporal concerns are deceptive, not worth the least departure from God's word and coming at loss of what is good and holy, for accepting concedes to darkness and brings disaster no compensation offsets, testing integrity even in ventures lawful by human standards.

These temptations draw people away from spiritual and eternal things to keep them under delusion and bondage, and unless minds and hearts are filled with pure unselfish love they are in danger of being deceived and falling. The enemy tempts believers as he tempted Jesus by urging them to protect own interests, withhold generosity and seek greatness, and looking to Jesus strengthens resistance. When tempted He instantly rejected suggestions and bribes, which is the pattern for rejecting worldly ambitions, plans and methods, refusing to listen to Satan or unite with a world that cannot discern Jesus lest sight of truth's beauty be lost. Satan assails when weakest, seeking to exploit weakness, distress, weariness, doubt and shaken faith to undermine confidence, so the tempted must meet him as Jesus did without parley, avoid recklessly entering danger, and remain watchful in meditation, prayer and humble obedience barricaded by Scripture with no weak points.

The Christian must have no weak points but be barricaded by the support Scriptures give to one doing God's will, bearing away victory by meeting the tempter with It is written and standing securely in Thus saith the Lord. Meditation and prayer would have preserved those who rashly rush into danger claiming promises in violation of nature's laws and disregard of prudence and judgment, plunging without thought into temptations from which only a miracle could bring them unsullied, which is most flagrant presumption by which Satan gains victory nine times out of ten. His meekness, humility and reliance on Scripture overcame Satan's attempt to make Him sin as he had gained advantage over Adam and Eve, and the attempt to exercise power failed once Christ answered from Scripture and did not turn from allegiance. The fierce temptations brought against Christ are still brought against people in the same way and in various forms, using the strategy by which he had gained victories over people.

Many accept them and thereby concede to powers of darkness, which is disobedience bringing dishonor and disaster no honor or favor can compensate, and Satan watches his chance and comes in human form speaking entrancing words unless minds are filled with sanctified love. Satan targets people in hardship, sorrow, poverty, distress and weakness, using them to challenge sonship and confidence in God's love to lead to distrust and taking matters into own hands, so they must make peace with God, keep the heart pure, wait submissively for His time and trust His care. He came in poverty and endured temptation so no one can claim He does not know what it is to be poor or tempted. Bearing the temptation on appetite as matchless love, His condescension in taking human nature shows how to conduct the battle and leaves the work in human hands, so believers are to work with more than human energy, lay hold of God, wrestle day and night for unseen power, endure as seeing Him invisible, and rescue souls enslaved by appetite and drink.

He met the devil's temptations in human life and overcame through power from above in answer to prayer, repeatedly declaring It is written with the sword of the Spirit, God's Word. Christ directs people to God's Word so they can answer as He did, for the living testimony sends truth home to the heart, drives Satan back and leaves him powerless over the relying soul. He overcame appetite by answering with Scripture, an example of overcoming appetite and passion in repeated conflict, and believers are to study how He met trial to form like character and gain victory. His temptation is part of God's great gift teaching temperance.

Satan tempted Jesus but failed in his design to bring Him under control and disqualify Him, and was not overcome. Satan's deceitful temptations against people accomplish what he failed to accomplish with Christ, and the wilderness temptation exemplifies his attacks which he continues to set before people. Satan came quoting Scripture and will come to souls in the most trying times just ahead as he came to Christ, appearing in angel robes quoting Scripture to bind in unbelief unless life is hid with Christ in God. Those who live by every word from God's mouth will not be deceived by pretensions of sanctity, for God will not accept willful imperfect obedience, and those turning ears from the law show carnal hearts not subject to God.

Those who distort Scripture to support error follow Satan's pattern of replacing God's Word with misleading statements, which Christ in humanity withstood as example. Meeting the adversary who works by wiles to betray into sinful neglect of duty requires making Christ first in everything, feeling weakness and dependence, seeking strength and wisdom daily instead of leaning to own understanding, and keeping God in all thoughts, meeting him with It is written. Satan is powerful and deceptive but not invincible, for Jesus met temptation with humility, dependence and the forever-standing Word, and those keeping close to Christ, relying wholly on God and standing on Scripture can overcome. His meeting and conquering shows how people may overcome and how temptation tests character, with faithfulness to God taking priority over wealth and worldly success, refusing Satan's offer and declaring God alone is to be worshiped and served.