Jesus sends Satan away.
There are many similar temptations for Today's Christian. The world and its glory are inviting. Why not use the means available to satisfy every physical and emotional need? The problem with this is that it results in spiritual poverty. No earthly glory or possession can replace the words of God mentioned by Christ in his refusal of the first temptation. Life is about more than personal and material gain. Life is about growing spiritually and preparing for the final glory to be found in eternal life with Christ.
5. West, 28.
Critics have focused on the role of Satan in the temptations (5). In the New Testament, the devil, like God, has taken on a new significance for human beings and their lives. With Christ, he has become a much more personal force than he has been experienced in the Old Testament. Indeed, he appears very prominent in his attempts to prevent the crucifixion and thus the resurrection. It is however in the three temptations of Christ that the devil becomes most significant for Christianity during the time of Christ and thereafter.
Indeed, perhaps the most significant lesson from the three temptations of Christ in the desert is the fact that he was tempted as a result of his human nature (6). This is the core of the Christian faith: Jesus was human and it was with his human nature that he overcame temptation and evil. It is through his victory that all Christians since the death and resurrection of Christ have the hope to achieve the same.
The fact that Christ was both human and divine places him in a unique position in relation to Satan and...
Christ's human nature means that he was in a position to be tempted. He was also in a position to choose. His divine nature helped him to choose the correct path, regardless of the fear and pain of the cross. In the same way he inspires his followers to face danger and even death for the sake of choosing the right and spiritual path.
Of course few Christians today are required to actually physically die for their faith. Nonetheless, Christ's death and his resistance to temptation are no less meaningful today than 2,000 years ago. The message is to resist evil, and to turn away the Satan too often to be found in human nature for the sake of the divine, correct way. This gives meaning to Christ's death, and it gives meaning to temptation and its resistance.
W.E. Best. Christ Could not be Tempted. Houston, Texas: WEBBMT, 1986.
Bibliography
Best, Ernest. The Temptation & The Passion. 2nd edition. New York, Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Best, W.E. Christ Could not be Tempted. Houston, Texas: WEBBMT, 1986.
Calloud, Jean. Structural analysis of narrative translated by Daniel Patte. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
Stigall, Frank. "The Three Temptations of Jesus." In The Law is Not of Faith. Christ-life Fellowship, 1992. http://www.peterwade.com/articles/christlf/temptat.shtml
Stegemann, Wolfgang (ed). The social setting of Jesus and the Gospels Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress Press, 2002.
Thomas, Geoff. "The Temptations of Christ." Alfred Place Baptist Church, 2002. users.aber.ac.uk/emk/ap/sermons/mark4.htm
