This would be public recognition that Jesus was a superior being and did have a message from on high. Surely leaping from the dizzy heights of the temple turret and landing in the courtyard unhurt would be such a feat. There lurked in this appeal from Satan another temptation of the human side of mortal nature-the temptation to perform some dazzling feat, some astounding exploit which might bring crowds of amazed and attentive onlookers. “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” ( Matt.

He took Jesus into the Holy City, to the pinnacle of the temple overlooking the spacious courts and people below, and quoted scripture: Realizing that he had utterly failed in his attempt to induce Jesus to use his divine powers for personal, physical gratification and having seen Jesus defer totally to the will and spirit of his Father’s sustenance, Satan went to the other extreme and tempted Jesus to wantonly throw himself upon the Father’s protection. His reply to the tempter was crystal clear: “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” ( Matt. The temptation was in the invitation to turn stones into bread miraculously, instantaneously, without waiting or postponing physical gratification. Satan’s temptation was to have him eat in a spectacular way-using his divine powers for selfish purposes.

Had he suggested, “Go down out of this wilderness and obtain food from the bread maker,” there would have been no temptation because undoubtedly Jesus intended to eat at the close of his fast. Satan was not simply tempting Jesus to eat. In such a devoted spirit, bodily appetites were subdued and superceded, but now the demands of the flesh were inevitable. 4:3.) During the long weeks of seclusion, the Savior had been sustained by the exaltation of spirit that would naturally accompany such meditation, prayer, and communion with the heavens. “If thou be the Son of God,” he said, “command that these stones be made bread.” ( Matt. It was a temptation of the senses, an appeal to appetite, and in many ways the most common and most dangerous of the devil’s allurements. Satan’s first temptation was to entice Jesus to satisfy his craving for food, that most basic, physical, biological need. This was an hour of danger-the kind of moment in which many men fall and succumb to the subtle allurement of the devil. Such a time is always the tempter’s moment-when we are emotionally or physically spent, when we are weary, vulnerable, and least prepared to resist the insidious suggestions he makes. That, too, was to be part of his preparation. When Jesus had completed the fast of forty days and had communed with God, he was, in this hungry and physically weakened state, left to be tempted of the devil. Throughout these days in the wilderness he chose to fast, that his mortal body might be completely subjected to the divine influence of his Father’s Spirit. The greatest task ever to be accomplished in this world lay before him, and he needed divine strength. There he remained for forty days and nights, preparing himself for the formal ministry which was then to begin.

Soon after his baptism Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wild, uncultivated wilderness. A lesson for us lies in the account of the life of the Savior. There are times in our struggle with the adversities of mortality when we become weary, weakened, and susceptible to the temptations that seem to be placed in our pathways.

Led by the spirit into the wilderness