In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

Scripture says that the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. The devil tempted Eve and then Adam to fall into sin. The results were devastating. Now we have weeds, war, disease, and death. Yet, already then, in the Garden of Eden, God promised a Savior from sin’s eternal consequences. That Savior would have to do what Adam and Eve didn’t do, and what we cannot do. He would have to overcome the devil’s temptations and remain sinless. We read the good news here.

1. HE DID NOT DOUBT;

The devil was on a roll. He had rolled up quite a long streak of victims. First he led Adam and Eve into sin. Then, every one of their descendants. But, Jesus was still perfect. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus was holy and sinless. But the devil would do his best to tempt Jesus to fall into sin too.

Right after Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert. For forty days, the devil had been relentlessly tempting him, working him over, trying to get him to fall into sin. What we have before us today seems to be the climax, the grand finale of Satan’s temptations.

The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread” (3). He tries to cast doubt on Christ’s true identity, saying, “IF you are the Son of God.” When Jesus was baptized, God the Father had said from the cloud, “You are my Son” (Lk 3:22). There was no doubt! Then, the Holy Spirit had led him into the desert. But now, Satan tried to make him doubt. After fasting for forty days, Jesus was really hungry. The devil said, “Tell this stone to become bread.” It sounds so simple, almost innocent! But it wasn’t. The devil was trying to lead Jesus to doubt the Word of his heavenly Father, to doubt the love of his heavenly Father, to doubt that his heavenly Father would take care of him.

Christ could have just said, “No” and that would have been enough. But, instead, he said, “It is written” and quoted a Bible passage from Deuteronomy chapter 8 where Moses reminded the people how God provided them with manna from heaven. Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Jesus did not doubt. Our Savior conquered the devil with Scripture.

2. HE REFUSED TO WORSHIP THE DEVIL;

For his next temptation, the devil began by showing Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, all their authority, and all their splendor. Just imagine all the power in the world, all the glory, and all the gold and silver! There was just one string attached. Jesus would have to bow down to the devil in worship. There was nothing subtle about this temptation. The devil wanted Jesus to break the First Commandment!

This one seems easy, doesn’t it? But it must not be. Many people have fallen for this. Have you? Have you sought riches more than you’ve sought God’s will in the Bible? The devil said that if Jesus would worship him once, just once mind you, it would all be his. He could skip the cross and all that suffering. We can be thankful that Jesus didn’t take the bait. Again, he began with the words, “It is written.” He quoted from Deuteronomy chapter six, “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only” (8).

Jesus won again. One little word, one Bible passage, can defeat the devil. When the devil tempts you to sin, do you say, “It is written!”? There is a big difference between “it is written,” and the words, “I think” or “I feel.” We have no business doing battle with the devil. He’s too smart for us. But we can beat him. We can beat him as long as we use God’s Word as our sword! Then, one little word, one Bible verse can fell him! That’s what Jesus did. And so, Jesus refused to worship the devil. Once again, our Savior conquered the devil with Scripture...

3. HE WOULD NOT “TEST” GOD.

The devil realized that Jesus had been beating him by quoting the Scriptures. Now the devil tries using the Bible too. You have to know your Bible pretty well to know when someone is misquoting the Bible. That’s what the devil was about to do. He misquoted the Bible and he did it on purpose. He took Jesus to the highest point of the temple. It was a dizzying height (cf. Josephus). He said: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here” (9). Then he quoted from Psalm 91. He claimed that a believer should be able to jump off of a cliff, and the angels would have to catch him. But, Satan cleverly omitted these key words, “to guard you in all your ways,” namely, as you go about your ways in the Lord, and not as you purposely jump off from dizzying heights. God never promised that we could go ahead and jump off of cliffs and expect soft landings.

Jesus corrected the devil by quoting yet another passage from Deuteronomy chapter 6. “It says: Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (12). Don’t tempt God or test his patience. It would have been sinful for Jesus to take a dive from that dizzying height. Jesus refused. He had defeated the devil again. So, the devil left Jesus until a more opportune time would come. He left. But, he’d be back. We don’t know how often he came back, but we know for sure that he was heavily involved as Christ approached the cross. The devil would be working behind the scenes. But Christ never did succumb to a single one of those temptations. Jesus came out unscathed.

Our Savior conquered the devil with Scripture. He remained sinless! He lived that perfect life that God demands of us. Then, he suffered and died on the cross and atoned for all sin. He rose from death, victorious over sin, death, and the power of the devil. You are forgiven, thanks to Jesus. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved!

May we thank and praise him all our lives. When we are tempted, may we say, “It is written,” and quote the Scriptures. But how can you do that, if you don’t know the Scriptures? Let us help you. Join us for Bible study. We want to give you the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s Word. Then, wield the Sword of the Spirit and attack the devil! One little word of God can fell him. Our Savior conquered the devil with Scripture! Thanks be to God, he gives us the victory. Amen.