What We Learn From the Temptation of Jesus
Before beginning his ministry, Jesus Christ went to the wilderness to be with God in private prayer. To completely understand this story, we need to recognize there are some translation problems here. The Bible, of course, was not written in English, and we are often dependent on the translations of people who never claimed to be prophets, but were simply translating according to their academic knowledge of a language. For more on translation challenges, read our related article on The Bible.
Although the Bible says he went there to be tempted, we know Jesus would never intentionally put Himself in temptation’s path. He commanded us all to avoid temptations. Prayer, fasting, and preparation for His mission was His purpose for going into the wilderness, as we can see by His actions once He arrived.
He fasted and prayed for forty days, and when this fast ended, but before the Savior had eaten, Satan came to Him, and tried to get Him to violate God’s laws. First, He tried to play against the Savior’s hunger by trying to convince Him to turn rocks into food. Jesus Christ refused, and instead said it was God’s word that served as food for righteous men.
Mormons teach that Jesus Christ held the priesthood of God, as did many others in the history of the world. It was through His priesthood power that He performed many of His miracles, and we are taught not to use the priesthood for personal gain or to show off to others. Jesus Christ, who held the greatest priesthood of all, would never use His priesthood powers for selfish purposes. This is why He refused to use it to produce food. It stands as an example to all people to use their God-given gifts only for righteous purposes.
Next, according to the translation currently found in Matthew, Satan took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple. Joseph Smith, the first modern day prophet of the Mormons, says this is a mistranslation. Jesus never allowed Himself to be controlled or led by Satan at any time. It was the spirit, and not Satan, who took Jesus to the pinnacle. Satan then challenged Jesus to throw Himself off the pinnacle and let angels save Him. This would supposedly prove He was really God’s Son. Jesus refused, saying we were not supposed to tempt God.
Although Mormons believe God hears and answers prayers, and that He watches over us and can protect us from danger, we are not allowed to turn this gift into a game. We’re expected to always do our part to remain safe. God does only that which we can’t do for ourselves. If we intentionally put ourselves in harm’s way without a noble purpose, we can’t expect God to rush in and rescue us. In addition, this is not how people are converted to Christianity. In the Book of Mormon, we read of two brothers named Laman and Lemuel. Although the sons of a prophet, they refuse to do the hard work of gaining a testimony and sacrificing for God. Even when angels appear to them to teach them what is true, they almost immediately return to doubting the truthfulness of God’s word. People aren’t converted by miracles, but by quiet hours of prayer that lead to a witness of the Holy Ghost.
Finally, Satan tried to tempt Him with power. He promised to give Jesus worldly gifts and power if He’d worship Satan instead of God. At this point, Jesus Christ sent Satan away, vowing only to worship God. He knew the blessings of God were better by far than anything Satan had to offer. Today, many people are tempted away from the kingdom of God by the promise of wealth or glory. It is Satan who convinces them the temporary rewards of worldly goods are worth the sacrifice of eternity with God.
From Jesus’ experiences with Satan, we can learn how to avoid the temptations of Satan in our own lives. Jesus prepared for this encounter by fasting and praying. This kept Him in a spiritual frame of mind, which gave Him the strength to withstand pressure. We can make sure we live our own lives in accordance with God’s teachings, always praying for strength and guidance.
Jesus didn’t have to stop and think about how to respond to Satan’s offerings. He had decided long before that He would live the gospel no matter what temptations were placed in His path. This is what we have to do in our own lives. We have to decide today how we’re going to live. Once the temptation is placed in front of us, it will be much harder to resist.
A careful study of Jesus’ encounter with Satan can teach us how to remain safe in our own, everyday lives.
