I never tire of reading this part of Scripture. I think, in part, because it gives me comfort on so many levels. Jesus, being driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for one purpose only......to be tempted.
Placing himself in such a situation not to reveal failure or struggle, but to declare that the Son of God, the one the devil had been looking for every since Genesis 3:15 was now on the scene. The Kingdom of God was now being brought to bear in the affairs of humanity.
It is interesting to read the dialog between Jesus and the devil and I would encourage you to do so using a Greek translation. I am currently using The New Testament by Kenneth S. Wuest.
Most Bibles, including the King James uses the following statement when the devil encounters Jesus.
KJV
Matthew 4:3
Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones become bread."
Wuest Greek translation reads:
And having come, facing Him, he who puts to the test by his solicitation to do evil said to Him, 'In view of the fact that you are Son of God by virtue of your participation in the divine essence of deity, speak to the end that these stones become loaves of bread."
In the Greek, we see that the devil knew who Jesus was. After all, the devil had served around the throne of God and was familiar with Jesus.
The devil was trying to get Jesus to take matters into his own hands and not rely on the Father for direction. It was such a petty thing, making bread out of stones. The world did not hinge on this act. There were no major threats involved in simply turning stones to bread and it would bring nourishment to Jesus who had been without food for 40 days and nights. But here in was the rub. Doing what your flesh cried out for....."Give me food." Listening to the flesh rather than the Father. The devil was trying to take Jesus' focus and attention away from communion with the Father and turn it toward listening to his own desires and needs. Not only listen, but shun the provision of His heavenly Father to take matters into his own hands.
How many times do I fail this test? How many times do I neglect God's guidance and will in order to carry out my own wishes? Too many I fear. I am grateful for God's forgiveness and willingness to teach me when I fall prey to my flesh, and I want to learn to wholly lean on Jesus and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Here in is the true walk with God as we learn to forsake the call of the world and flesh to answer only to the wooing of God's Holy Spirit.
God on you............
mb
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