Jesus Opposed the Devil

Jesus provided a fine example of opposing the Devil and causing him to flee. After being baptized  and fasting for 40 days, Jesus was tempted by Satan.  (Matthew 4:1-11)  The first temptation sought to use the natural  hunger that Jesus felt after fasting.  Satan invited Jesus to perform his first miracle to satisfy a physical need.  Quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, Jesus refused to make selfish use of his powers and placed spiritual food above physical food.

An interesting thought with regard  to this temptation is that the Devil did not seek to have Jesus commit a sexual sin. Hunger, which naturally  arouses a yearning for food, seemed to be the strongest physical desire to use in tempting  Jesus in this instance.  What temptation does the Devil use to lure God's people today?  They are many and varied, but he is using sexual temptations as one of the main crafty acts  in his effort to break the integrity of Jehovah's people.  By imitating Jesus, we can oppose the Devil and resist temptations. Just as Jesus thwarted Satan's  advances by recalling appropriate scriptures, when tempted we can recall such texts as Genesis 39:9 and 1 Corinthians 6:18.  

Next, the Devil challenged Jesus to leap off the temple wall and test God's ability to protect him by means of his angels. Quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, Jesus refused  to put his Father to the test.  Satan may not tempt us to jump from a temple battlement, but he can tempt us to test Jehovah. Are we tempted to see how closely  we can imitate worldly fads in our dress and grooming without being counseled?  Are we tempted in the area  of questionable entertainment? We might then be testing Jehovah.  If we have such inclinations, instead of fleeing from us, Satan may linger with us, incessantly trying to lure us into taking sides with him. 

When Satan offered Jesus all the kingdom of the world in exchange for a single act of worship, Jesus again opposed him by quoting Scripture, taking his stand  firmly for the exclusive worship of his Father.  (Deuteronomy 5:9; 6:14; 10:20) Satan may not offer the kingdoms of the world to us, but he constantly tempts us with materialistic glitter, even a vision of a little personal kingdom. Do we respond as Jesus did, giving our exclusive  devotion to Jehovah?  If so, what happened to Jesus will happen to us.  Matthew's  account states:   "Then the Devil left him ."  (Matthew 4:11)  Satan will leave us if we take a firm stand against him by remembering appropriate Bible principles and putting them into practice.  The disciple James wrote:  "Oppose the Devil and he will flee from you."  (James 4:7)   A Christian wrote to the branch office of Jehovah's Witnesses in France:  "Satan is truly cunning. In spite of my best intentions,m I find it very difficult to master my feelings and my desires. Nevertheless, with courage, patience, and above all Jehovah's help, I have managed to pull through and hold fast to the truth." 

Next time: Fully Equipped to Opposed the Devil 

From the Watchtower magazine, 2002