Man's Chief End: Significance of Jesus' Victory Over Temptations in the Wilderness

Matthew 4:1-11 New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness

4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[b]”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]”

7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[d]”

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[e]”

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Since there is only one article I published in my blog, Man's Chief End, I decided to republished the entire content here. The article's original title is "The Meaning of Jesus' Victory for Our Time." The central idea that Matthew 4 verses 1 to 11 teaches us is about the victory of Jesus over Satan's temptations. My goal is to relate Jesus' victory for our time. To achieve this, we have to understand first the passage and relate it to man in general and then to Christian life.

The narrative speaks about Jesus' victory over three most dangerous temptations ever faced by man. Adam faced this temptation, but failed God. Israel too faced this temptation and failed God also. But Jesus faced this temptation and He came out victorious.

The first temptation centers on the meeting of man's physical needs. In Jesus' case, it was the test of meeting his hunger by giving in to Satan's temptation to turn stones into bread. Jesus was vulnerable at that time simply because he fasted for forty days and forty nights. However, he refused to give in to Satan's temptation and instead defeated His enemy in this area.

The second temptation is about the misuse of God's word. Satan was using the Word of God for his own end. This is deception. This is a distortion of God's word. Since Jesus Himself is the incarnated Word of God, He embodies truth to dispel Satan's lies. Jesus triumphed over Satanic deception and lies.

The third temptation is about the test of love and fidelity. Satan himself envied God and wanted to be worshiped and served. But Jesus defeated him for God alone is worthy of his love. He told Satan that only God deserves worship and service.

How are we going to apply this narrative to our time? Let us consider the first temptation. This temptation represents the meeting of man's physical needs using illegitimate means. These needs include housing, clothing, food and drink, payment for education, job and business. And money plays a significant role in meeting these needs. 

I think the 8th commandment, the law on private property or the prohibition against stealing has a lot to say about it. There are many contemporary violations of the 8th commandment, though they are not easily seen. 

Meeting one's needs using legitimate means is lawful and just. However, in man's sinfulness, he resorted to illegitimate means. An example of such means is the invention of a monetary system backed up by nothing. In the eyes of human law, it appears that nothing is wrong with it. But the law of God, the 8th commandment, God's law to protect private property was violated by such invention.

The absence of precise letters that identify such violation does not exempt man from the spirit of God's law. In essence, the deceit of the violation is indescribable and the consequence of such violation is colossal.

The concrete evidence of such violation is not only confined in existing financial system. The increasing popularity of an ideology that creates human laws as tools of theft is another evidence of this violation. In this case, the conflict is between the law of God and the laws of men. Human laws assume autonomy away from the law of God. Such autonomy has resulted into incomprehensible misery. 

A political economist from a classical liberal school once identified that in the human heart, there is this fatal tendency to satisfy his wants with the least possible effort. To achieve this man resorted into the perversion of human laws and made them tools for legal plunder. The number of such tools is increasing in the passing of days.

How about the second temptation? The misuse or distortion of God's word? In our days, Satan has been successful in advancing the second temptation beyond the use of deception into direct denial of God's word. Man now simply lives on "bread alone" and he does not need "every word that comes from the mouth of God" in order to live. Satan needs not distort the Word of God for such Word does not exist. I think most people uphold this kind of philosophy in life.

However, Satan's old strategy remains effective for those who still cling to the "word" of God. Such a word has nothing to do with man's economic and political life. Claiming to do so is considered a distortion of God's word. The word of God now is simply confined in matters of the "spirit", as a Sunday affair, in prayer and worship, in evangelism and mission, in the ministries of the church, but never in the "secular" life of man.

This dominant idea has resulted into the impotence of modern-day Christianity. Pastors now are satisfied with their pointless theological fora and remain clueless as to the present state of the world. The modern-day church together with the vast number of people are still living in an illusory world.

The third temptation has something to do with self-worship. Satan's deception and lies have been successful not only in convincing man to deny the existence of God's word, but also to deny the existence of the spiritual world. Man is convinced that both Satan and God do not exist. The temptation therefore to render Satan worship and service is meaningless. Jesus' decision too to worship and serve God has no meaning in an autonomous world. Man serves and worships no one, but himself.

 

The word "victory" is inappropriate to describe contemporary Christian life. Our calling in this life is to simply survive the increasing influence of evil in our society. Our only hope is the 2nd Coming of Jesus. This mindset is not in harmony with the teaching of the Bible. Jesus defeated Satan both in the desert and at the cross. Jesus himself uttered, "It is finished." He is now sitting on the right hand of the Father. He is now reigning despite of what we read in the newspapers and what we see in the world.

The apostle Paul describes Christians as "more than conquerors" (Romans 8:37). Jesus is the Conqueror and we as His body receives the benefits of His victory. His triumph over Satan's temptations to meet his physical needs, to distort the Word of God and to abandon His love for God is also our triumph. Our responsibility as Christians is to have this kind of mindset and to live victorious in all of life.