The Temptation of Our Lord

A Meditation on the Word of God | Luke 4:1-13

Temptation is brought to fulfillment in three states: suggestion, delight, consent.

First, we hear the devil’s suggestion, then we delight in the thought, and finally, we consent to the deed. Temptation is essentially a negotiation. It consists in the devil’s desire to enter into a dialogue with man. The truth of this is borne out in the account of Adam and Eve’s fall into Sin. The devil approaches Eve in servant’s form, in order to begin a dialogue. The devil comes with words. The devil’s words invite man to respond. The devil begins with a question, because questions call for answers. And when Eve answers, and dialogue is begun, then the trap is set. For then the devil knows his greatest weapon will be used to great effect. His greatest weapon is to lie, to deceive, to speak words that are false and empty of reality: “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The devil makes his suggestion. Adam and Eve delight in the thought of wisdom. And they consent to the deed. Adam and Eve fall into Sin because they fail to take the power of the devil seriously. They are surprised by evil’s existence. They are caught off guard by the devil’s lies. To know evil is to know there can be no negotiation with evil. Adam and Eve’s error is not merely that they delight in the thought or consent to the deed, but that they entertain the devil’s suggestions in the first place. They let Satan set his traps. The battle isn’t lost when they bite the fruit. The battle is lost when the conversation begins.

However today, we meet a man who refuses to negotiate with the devil. Our Lord has put on flesh and blood to enter this conflict with the devil—to make war against sin, Satan, and death. The conflict does not catch Jesus off guard. Jesus has prepared for this war and is expecting it. Unlike Adam and Eve, Jesus will not heed Satan’s suggestions, nor will he delight in the thoughts, nor consent to the deeds. Instead of listening to the devil, the Seed of the Woman will crush the devil’s head by silencing his lies through the recitation of Holy Scripture. Jesus rebuffs each attack with a word of God, thereby showing all of us how the devil is overcome. Where we failed to resist Satan’s attacks, Jesus was tempted and prevailed. We are saved by his perfect obedience to the will of his Father in heaven.