Why Was The First Temptation of Christ First and The Last Last?

Temptations are uncomfortable. The possibility of failure makes us afraid because some temptations have eternal consequences if we yield.

The Temptation of Christ Jesus was even worse. This is because of two reasons:

One, the consequences of His failure were irreversible. If He failed, he would have been eternally lost, for there was no backup plan. Christ committed Himself to save us from sin and from ourselves, at the risk of eternal loss!

Two, He had no advantage over us. Christ had no advantage over us in resisting the devil. His divinity was quiescent in tempting situations. He faced them as the man Jesus, son of Mary. He took humanity with its liabilities.

Four thousand years of conflict and failure had weakened humanity. Conquests and loss further eroded human strength. Revivals followed by even deeper apostasy almost made humanity a slave to sin.

The Savior had been fasting for forty days and was famishing. So, when the devil got a chance, he found it a good opportunity to tempt. He decided to harass and annoy.

He (the devil) always takes advantage of our weak points and he destroys us. You need to be more careful when at your low points.

The order of the three-fold temptations involved turning stones into bread. This action was meant to prove His Sonship to God. The second temptation was jumping from the pinnacle of the temple. Finally, worshipping the devil was proposed in exchange for the World and its magnificence.

There’s much that can be learned from this passage, but I won’t serve all that today. Let’s focus on the order of occurrence. Is there something important about this? Why the first first and the last last?

We’ll cover:

• The First Temptation; Appetite
• The Second Temptation; Presumption.
• Final Temptation; Worship

The First Temptation; Appetite

Appetite refers to urges of the flesh. This is exactly where Adam failed. And this must be the way out for humanity. Notable victories and failures of man have a foundation in matters of appetite.

Uncontrolled appetite led to the fall of man in Eden. It necessitated the deluge that cleansed the world of the Antediluvians. It brought about the fires of Sodom and Gomorrah. Indulgence of appetite messed up Samson and wreaked-havoc in the family of King David.

On the hand, victory over indulgence of appetite made a huge difference in many lives. Joseph rose from a slave to the prime minister of Egypt. The same victory made Daniel serve in the highest authorities in one kingdom after the other. By the same victory, Christ qualified for the final showdown at Calvary. In that event, the kingdom of darkness was eternally discomfited.

“The controlling power of appetite will prove the ruin of thousands, when, if they had conquered on this point, they would have had moral power to gain the victory over every other temptation of Satan. But those who are slaves to appetite will fail in perfecting Christian character. The continual transgression of man for six thousand years has brought sickness, pain, and death as its fruits. And as we near the close of time, Satan’s temptation to indulge appetite will be more powerful and more difficult to overcome.”

– Maranatha 62.5

The Second Temptation; Presumption.

Christ was tempted by the devil to jump from the pinnacle of the temple. He was assured that God would protect him, as the Psalmist records.

The devil quoted Scriptures to back up this. Quoting the same Scriptures from the Pentateuch, Christ reminded him that we must not tempt God. We must not just listen to people who are quoting Scriptures, they must quote it right.

No one tempts God like misguided religious people, who sin deliberately with intentions of repenting later. See this: (Let me Sin for the last Time). The greatest danger with this is that ‘later’ may be too late, or not be there at all.

After yielding to uncontrolled appetite, we will definitely doubt God’s word. We may fail to comprehend it the same way gluttons sleep under the burning truths of God’s word. We must be prepared to face the devil and all the enemies of truth with a thus says the Lord. The truth is being trampled underfoot by false and enslaving systems, but in the end, the truth will triumph gloriously.

Final Temptation; Worship

The devil promised all that the world can offer in exchange for Christ’s worship. While Christ is King, in his humanity he was one of the poorest. He had no place to lay his head.

This is where most of us have fallen headlong. Someone promises a young lady lunch, she gives him her virtue. A slight promotion, and we forget our marriage vows. We readily give everything for a small part of what Christ was offered. He refused it for the glory of God.

The world is becoming more corrupt than ever before. It is hostile to righteousness and godliness. Despite all these, we are not excused to do as we wish. The law of cause and effect has not been revised. The wages of sin is still death, and obedience perfect and perpetual is still the foundation of eternal life.

Joseph refused to yield to Potiphar’s wife and qualified for greater responsibilities. He even saved his family from the marauding famine. Daniel refused to eat the Babylonian diet and qualified to stand before great men, empire after empire. Christ refused to yield on the point of appetite and the devil could not get His worship.

You need to realize that it’s appetite and worship in the extremes.

“He who is in charge of your appetite, will definitely get your worship. God cannot get your worship, if the devil is in charge of your appetite!”

“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.”

– The Desire of Ages 122.