An Escape Route

Helen Dowd

Have you ever been in a situation where you were tempted, you thought, beyond your endurance? I am sure you have. You wouldn't be human if that hadn't happened to you.

Matthew 4 1-11 and Luke 1-13 tell this story: Just after Jesus, baptism, He was led into the wilderness, and there He was tempted of the devil for forty days and forty nights. For the whole time He ate nothing. We all know that when we are hungry, we become weak, not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. Satan knew this too. Jesus was human, and so His temptations were just as great as ours. But God wanted mankind to have no excuse for giving in the devil, so He allowed Jesus to be tempted even more than He allows His people to be.

At the end of the forty days, when Jesus was weak with hunger, Satan started to come at Him with temptations. He started with a kind of taunt. He told Jesus to prove to him that He was the Son of God. He said, "Make these stones bread." Jesus could have--and remember, He was hungry--but instead He rebuked Satan, and told him "Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word of God."

Then Satan took Jesus up into the highest mountain around, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. In case we forget, Satan is very powerful. Sometimes I think we downplay his power. Remember, at one time he was the highest angel in heaven. He was Lucifer, the angel of light. And at this time, while he was tempting Christ, he used all the supernatural power he had. He told the Lord that if He would worship him, all the kingdoms would be His. I'm not sure what Satan was thinking, because, as the Son of God, the kingdoms were His anyway. However, Jesus was being tempted as a man, not as God; so the Father allowed Satan to exploit his power on Jesus. But Jesus resisted. He said, "Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."

Satan still was not ready to give up. He took Jesus next to the highest pinnacle of the temple, and told Him to jump. And then he even quoted Scripture (Satan is good at quoting Scripture). He said, "For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou shalt dash thy foot against a stone." Jesus overcame the temptation to yield to Satan to show him how powerful He was. He resisted the temptation to prove God's protection to Satan. Instead, He again rebuked Satan, telling him, "Get thee hence, Satan." I think in our language we might have said, "Get lost!" or "Take a hike!"

At last Satan left Jesus, and an angel came and ministered unto Him. By that time He was drained to the very limit. God the Father allowed Jesus to go through all these temptations so that He would understand human frailties. He was tempted like we are. And in all His temptation, He did not sin. That makes Him eligible to be there for us. I Corinthians 10:13 tells us that "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."


So remember:
When the TEMPTER comes behind you
with his flattery and wiles,
Jesus Christ is there to help you overcome.
He will take your hand and lead you.
He will steer you down His path.
Put your trust in Jesus Christ; He'll lead you home.


The Lord is our strength. He'll be there for us. He has been through any temptation that is thrown at us. He knows our frailties. Although we may stumble, God will be there to pick us up. He has made an escape route for every temptation that comes along.

© Helen Dowd