Jesus' Temptation

Jesus' Temptation
Acrylic on Canvas
50cm x 50cm
2 hours

I have not posted in awhile. I have been so distracted trying out all sorts of other alternate art mediums, as well as focusing on work and music, so I have regretfully not focused on this ministry as much as I would have liked. Please pray for me to be able to stay focus and continue painting passionately to share the gospel!

Anyway, I painted this artistic impression of a painting that I found online. This depicts Jesus’ testing in the desert, and is meaningful to me because I personally struggle in resisting the devil and am very inspired by Jesus’ strong testimony!

The temptation of Jesus in the desert is detailed in Matthew and Luke, and noted in Mark:

Jesus was led by the Spirit in the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and nights he was hungry. The devil came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

Then the devil left him.

These are my thoughts and applications:

1.       The devil is a liar and is completely untrustworthy. Time and again he tries to tempt us to follow his way our way, against God’s instructions and divine laws, by making us doubt that God has the best plans for us. This happened in the Garden of Eden, and it happened to Jesus when he was weak and vulnerable in the desert. There is no telling when he may attack us, and we have to be constantly vigilant as well as in tune to scripture in order to be able to identify and resist his attacks.

2.       The devil tempted Jesus in 3 ways.

a.        Physical needs and desires: The devil knew that Jesus was hungry. He knew that Jesus had the power to turn stone into bread, and enticed him to do so. However, Jesus did not give in. While it is not wrong in itself to satisfy his desire for food, Jesus chose not to do so because he had been led by the Holy Spirit to the desert to fast (and not to feast). Jesus was experiencing the fullness of humanity and was withholding His divinity during this period. Thus, while it may seem totally harmless to want to satisfy a physical desire that we have, there is a God-glorifying time for everything. As such, we should follow Jesus’ example to resist satisfying our human wants (even if we have the means to satisfy them), if acting on satisfying them is not God-glorifying. For example, it was not God-glorifying for Jesus on a fast in the desert to listen to the devil and create food for himself to eat during the fast. Likewise for us, it would not be God-glorifying to spend our free time on pornography, on prolonged mindless entertainment that has no value to God’s kingdom, on pre-marital sex, on stealing food to satisfy hunger etc. Jesus’ example moves us to focus on the eternal kingdom instead of our physical needs and desires by assuring us that God and His word is enough.

b.       Miracles and testing: The devil tempted Jesus to test God’s faithfulness by jumping off a cliff, assuring Jesus that God would carry Him up as He is the son of God. However, Jesus rightly responded that we should not test God. In our context, this would mean not praying conditional prayers such as “God if you love me can you please show me ___” or “God please do ___ if you love me” or “God if you do ___ I will believe in you”. Our key to the heavenly kingdom is not through witnessing God’s miracles but through faith expressed in love. As such, these tests and demands for miracles in our lives are not from God but originate from the devil. For if we make such requests, we are doubting God’s unconditional love and perfect plans and the sovereignty of His ways above ours.

c.         Power, possessions and pride: The devil tried to seduce Jesus by offering Him all of the splendor of the world if Jesus worshipped him, in the hope of distracting Him from God’s greater plans and purposes. However, Jesus chose God above all of this – even though He knew that would lead Him to the cross. This resulted in Him being exalted beyond measure and seated at the right hand of God’s throne. How often do we choose to worship material possessions and power over God? How often do we choose to satisfy our pride over bringing glory to God’s kingdom? As seen from this testing, the devil is more than able to quote scripture in his attempts to seduce us. However, if the underlying desire that we seek to satisfy relates to power, possessions and pride as opposed to solely on building the glory of God’s kingdom (regardless of our earthly standing), our desires are NOT biblical and we may have unknowingly been seduced. This may manifest itself in many ways. Do we compare ourselves with others and wish to have more talents or slimmer bodies or a better paying job or greater popularity or more recognition? Do we enjoy reading scripture passages suggesting that God will grant worldly prosperity to his faithful followers? If so, we may not be looking at the entire bible in context. If we crave anything other than God, we need to relook our inner desires and remember that we are to worship only Him. 

3.      The importance of understanding and applying scripture: The devil was able to quote scripture as well, and this makes me realize the importance of understanding the whole context of scripture in order to fully know how each verse is to be properly applied. I realized that there is no shortcut to this but a serious dedication to God’s word with God’s people. Having DG group sessions where biblical wisdom is shared, as well as daily personal quiet time, has personally helped me in the process of understanding God better. The other learning point was that the devil can be defeated through scripture. I had experienced this firsthand myself when I struggled with severe pride issues and had printed out bible verses on pride out to help me overcome them. I realized that I was very empowered by these verses (through my recurrent attacks) and that re-reading these verses would help to realign my heart towards God.

4.      Affirmation of Jesus’ humanity and God’s ministry: That Jesus could be tempted and fully resisted temptation showed how He was fully Man and God at the same time. This is very encouraging for He will be always able to understand us, and is also able to empower us with His strength and wisdom to resist the devil if we walk close to Him!

May we continue to grow in Christ-likeness and walk in God’s glory!