The Temptation of Christ

 The 3 Approaches used by Lucifer:

-1- Intellect (materialism)
-2- Utilitarianism (using God for your own purpose)
-3- Imagination (pleasures of this world/hedonism)

1. Stones to bread

.......An appeal to LUST

2. Pinnacle of the temple

.......An appeal to PRIDE

3. Offered the world

.......An appeal to GREED

"The great leading temptations that would assail man,

Christ met in the wilderness of temptation.

There He encountered, single-handed,
the wily, subtle foe, and overcame him.
--The first great temptation was the indulgence of appetite;

And the devil said unto Him,

If thou be the Son of God, 

command this stone that it be made bread.

Luke 4:3

-- the second, presumption;

Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy city,

and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple,

And saith unto Him, 

If thou be the Son of God,

cast thyself down:

for it is written, 

He shall give His angels charge concerning thee:

Matthew 4:5,6

-- the third, love of the world."

And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain,

shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world 

in a moment of time.

And the devil said unto Him,

All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them:

for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it."

Luke 4:5,6

E.G.W.

"But 

--as to how temptation takes place 

--and how it is overcome, 

is all very beautifully pictured to us here in Christ.

--The first is the temptation of misfortune, by which man is stirred to anger, impatience and unbelief;
--the third and last, the temptation of prosperity, by which man is enticed to lust, honor, and whatever is high.
--The second or middle temptation is spiritual and deals with the blind tricks and errors that mislead reason from faith."
Martin Luther

The Will

"The tempter can never compel us to do evil. 

He cannot control minds unless they are yielded to his control. 

The will must consent, 

faith must let go its hold upon Christ, 

before Satan can exercise his power upon us. 

But every sinful desire we cherish affords him a foothold.

All are personally exposed to the temptations

 that Christ overcame; 

And all must, for themselves, individually overcome."

E.G.W.

"Christ's response to his wicked insinuations was, “It is written.”
When Satan presumed to claim the ownership of the whole world, and asked Christ to worship him as God, He who with a word might have called to His assistance legions of angels, merely said, “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve” Matthew 4:10." 

E.G.W.

The 3 Temptations:

Daniel / Christ

1) Diet
Tested over unclean food /Turn stones to bread
2) Bow Down
Bow down to statue / Cast Yourself down
3) Worship the "king"
Pray only to the king / Bow down at feet of Lucifer as king
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 4:15 NKJV

And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto Him. Mark 1:13

The "Wild Beasts"

And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto Him. Mark 1:13

"With the wild beasts - This is a curious circumstance, which is mentioned by none of the other evangelists; and seems to intimate that 

---He was in the most remote, unfrequented, and savage part of the desert; 

---which, together with the diabolic influence, tended to render the whole scene the more horrid. 

Mark observes this circumstance of his being in the wilderness—that he was with the wild beasts.

It was an instance of His Father's care of Him,

that He was preserved from being torn in pieces by the wild beasts, which encouraged Him the more that His Father would provide for Him when He was hungry." 

Adam Clarke

SUMMARY:

"Of all the lessons to be learned from our Lord's first great temptation none is more important than that bearing upon the control of the appetites and passions. In all ages, temptations appealing to the physical nature have been most effectual in corrupting and degrading mankind." 

E.G.W.