Christ and Temptation

We live in a world that is full of temptation. However, today in my New Testament class, I learned something that changed the way that I look at temptation and how to combat it.  We read the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan in Matthew 4: 1-11.  We learn that immediately after Christ’s baptism, the travels into the wilderness to fast and to be with God.  I can imagine that he was receiving instruction on what he was going to have to accomplish over the next three years.  After Christ had fasted for “40 days and 40 nights”, we learn that Satan started to tempt him.  He starts by saying, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”  The key word in this sentence is the word If.  If Christ wanted to, he could have turned the stones into bread and eaten – he was fasting for 40 days after all.  But that wasn’t the true temptation – Satan was tempting Christ to prove himself as a God, to use his God-given power to satisfy a carnal desire, and to hearken to his voice.  The second temptation came when Christ was “on a pinnacle of the temple.” Satan tempted him to throw himself off and have the angels catch him.  It never made sense to my why that was such a big temptation, but Brother Griffin explained why today in class. He said that during the Festival times, there were thousands and thousands of people in Jerusalem, and most likely thousands of people surrounding the temple.  Christ knew that he had the charge to bless their lives, call disciples, and serve those people – it was a very daunting task.  What Satan was really tempting him to do was to take the easy way out. Jump off the temple, have angels catch you, and instantly have a following of disciples.  The third temptation came on an “exceedingly high mountain,” and Satan showed Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.”  Satan wanted Jesus to worship to him, and he would give Jesus those kingdoms.  However, Jesus technically already has worlds without number, and so Satan is trying to tempt the mortal side of Jesus – again, he is trying to give him the easy way out.  In each of these three temptations, Satan is following the exact same pattern.  He is trying to give you instantaneous gratification.  When God commands you to do something, He never promises that it will be easy; however, he always provides a way for you to do it and promises future blessings.  God’s way often includes short-term suffering and struggles in exchange for long-term glory, salvation, and exaltation.  Satan, however, does just the opposite. He wants to give you short-term happiness and ease in exchange for long-term suffering and tribulation.  When Brother Griffin finished explaining that, I thought back on many experiences I’ve had, and he was exactly right.  Satan always tempts us to take the easy way out and give into our carnal desires. God on the other hand requires us to overcome those desires, follow his commandments, and reap the eternal benefits in the future.

            The other lesson from this account is taught by Jesus through the way that he refutes each temptation.  Jesus quotes scripture every time.  Brother Griffin paraphrased Elder Ballard and taught that either quoting scripture of singing hymns is an extremely effective way to ward off Satan and his temptations.  There were many ways that Christ could’ve responded to Satan, but he chose scripture each time.  Because of this teaching, I am going to memorize more scriptures that are meaningful to me so that when temptation comes, I will be able to combat it more easily.