Attacked But Not Destroyed

Everyone faces temptation to sin. Hebrews 4:15 even says that when Jesus walked the earth, he was “tempted in every way, just as we are, yet he did not sin.” It might seem crazy to think that even Jesus has been tempted to sin, but it’s true. It’s important to know that Jesus didn’t rely on his own strength to beat temptation. He relied on the power of his Heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit, and Scripture (aka, the Bible) to help him fight temptation. 

One of the times we see this clearly displayed in the Bible is when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil. We see this story captured in Luke 4 and also in Matthew 4. After Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness. This was a place that was away from the rest of the crowds making it easy to be attacked both physically and spiritually.

The devil saw this opportunity and took it, and in this encounter with Jesus, he tried to tempt Jesus with a false sense of satisfaction, worldly authority, and even physical harm. But Jesus doesn’t give in, in fact, it’s interesting the way he fights back. We don’t read about an anger-filled fist fight, but instead, we see that Jesus fought back with the words and power of Scripture. Every time he was tempted, he came back with the truth of Scripture that applied to the situation. He knew Scripture, he believed Scripture, and he used the power of Scripture to fight the battles that came his way. Can the same be said about you?