At the beginning of His public ministry on earth, Christ was led by the Spirit of God into the desert to be tempted by the devil for 40 days. This event is reported in all three synoptic Gospels. Mark briefly mentions it (see Mark 1:12-13) to quickly introduce the ministry of the Servant of God. In contrast, Matthew and Luke provide several details about these 40 days of testing (see Matthew 4 and Luke 4). The Gospel of John does not mention this event.
**The Significance of the 40 Days**
Before we delve into the accounts of Luke and Matthew in more detail, we should highlight the significance of these 40 days in Jesus’ life. This duration symbolizes a complete period of testing, illustrating Christ’s absolute righteousness as a human being. He is the only person who could resist all the temptations from the enemy because He is the Righteous One (see 1 John 2:1). As stated in Hebrews 4:15, “He has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet without sin,” revealing His sinless perfection.
In Jesus’ life, there was another 40-day period after His resurrection when He remained on earth following His work on Calvary. This time was meant to showcase not only His true righteousness, as seen in the desert, but also His perfect grace toward His followers. He graciously cared for individuals like Peter, Mary, Thomas, and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus before His return to heaven. As stated in John 1:17, “grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.”
Interestingly, there is a remarkable parallel with Moses, who also spent 40 days twice on Mount Sinai. During his first stay, he experienced God’s righteous demands through the Law. The second time, after the people sinned with the golden calf, he experienced God’s grace for 40 days, during which God renewed His Law for the disobedient people without destroying them. Moses’ face shone for a time after he left the mountain the second time because he had witnessed God’s great mercy. However, Christ is greater than Moses; His glory shines continuously like the sun in its strength (see Revelation 1:16). He is the perfect fulfillment of all models!
**The Perfection of Christ**
Thus, in the desert, in the face of the adversary’s temptations, the perfection of Christ was revealed. The first man, Adam, encountered the tempter and failed his first test. In contrast, Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, enjoying favorable conditions. Christ, the last Adam, faced temptations in a barren desert, surrounded by wild animals (see Mark 1:13), and He was hungry (see Luke 4:2). How perfect He is that, in these adverse circumstances, He resisted every temptation presented by the devil (see Luke 4:13)! Christ was tempted in every way just as we are, yet remained without sin (see Hebrews 4:15) because, unlike us, He, as the Righteous One, could not sin.
**The Principles of the World**
Satan consistently uses the principles that shape the world as a tempter. He exploits “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (cf. 1 John 2:16). What “is in the world” is exposed here as if under an X-ray. We see this clearly in the desert when Jesus was tempted. Only three temptations are reported to us, each corresponding to the principles previously mentioned:
– “The devil said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread'” (Luke 4:3). This represents temptation through the lust of the flesh.
– “And the devil showed Him in a moment all the kingdoms of the world” (Luke 4:5). This reflects temptation through the lust of the eyes.
– “He led Him to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 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'” (Luke 4:9-10). This is temptation through the pride of life.
It’s noteworthy that Luke presents these three temptations in the same order as mentioned in 1 John 2. In contrast, Matthew’s Gospel recounts the last two temptations in a different order. This indicates that Luke organizes events in his Gospel according to a moral framework.
It’s not surprising that Satan employed the same tactics with Adam and Eve. In the Garden of Eden, it is recorded that “the woman saw that the tree was good for food (lust of the flesh), that it was pleasing to the eyes (lust of the eyes), and that the tree was desirable to make one wise (pride of life)” (Genesis 3:6). The enemy’s strategies have remained unchanged for thousands of years. He continues to use them with craftiness.
Christ’s Example for Us
If Satan confronted Christ, the perfect and righteous one, he will certainly attempt to do the same with us today. However, Christ is also our perfect example for how to respond to the enemy.
It is written:
First, we see that the Lord confronts the enemy with the words, “It is written.” This serves as an excellent example for us! When we are tempted, the only effective weapon against these attacks is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (see Ephesians 6:17). Just as the Lord had the right word for every attack, we should also utilize God’s Word against the enemy.
This necessitates a brief, precise word. The sword mentioned in the armor of God in Ephesians 6 is a short sword for close combat. For such battles, it is essential to know God’s Word intimately so that we can have the right verse available at the right moment, even when Satan contradicts or manipulates the very words of God. He did this with Jesus (“for it is written” (see Luke 4:10)) and originally with the first human couple (“Did God really say?” (see Genesis 3:1))—and he still does today.
We should be mindful of how dangerous these attacks are, which we can only effectively counter with the Word of God. This should motivate us to read God’s Word diligently, apply it to our lives through prayer, and internalize it so that we may wield it in our battles against temptation.
It is also striking that in all three cases, the Lord Jesus quotes from the fifth book of Moses. This is significant because the last book of the five books of Moses could aptly be titled “The Book of Obedience.” God calls the people to obey His Word about forty times throughout this book! Thus, the quotations from the fifth book highlight that we can effectively use God’s Word in battle only if we are obedient to it.
May the Lord grant us new grace each day to confront the adversary with the words, “It is written.”
… For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1 John 2:16