Powerpoint Pictures: Children running in corridors; Plate of cookies; Hands over mouth; Cheating on a test; Pinocchio

What is a temptation?  It is wanting to do something, especially something that is wrong or unwise.  Are you ever tempted to do any of the following? [Run in school corridors; Steal a cookie; Mutter under breath when someone tells you off; Cheat on a test; Lie to get out of trouble].

One of the most common temptations that God’s people have in the Bible is the temptation to disobey God’s Word.  Adam and Eve were tempted to do this in the Garden of Eden and Israel was tempted to do this throughout the Old Testament.  Both Adam and Eve and Israel gave into this temptation.

After Jesus was baptised, “[He] was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1)

Jesus was tempted three times by the devil, and each of these temptations was a temptation to disobey God’s Word.  The first temptation was to show that He was the Son of God by turning a stone into bread.  The next temptation was to show that He was the Son of God by throwing Himself off the highest point of the temple and calling out to angels to save Him.  The final temptation was to receive all the kingdoms of the world by bowing down to the devil.

Would Jesus disobey God’s Word like Adam and Eve, and Israel, did?

No, each time Jesus responded to the devil’s temptation with the words: “It is written…” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10)  Instead of disobeying God’s Word, He quoted God’s Word.

He was saying that instead of disobeying God’s Word, He was going to do what it says.

By doing this Jesus was showing that He was the promised King who would perfectly obey God and the only one who could save people from their sins.

Find out next time another way Jesus showed that He was this Saviour.