Silencing temptation

Why give your consent to sickness or sin?

THE BIBLE'S ACCOUNTS of Jesus's temptation in the wilderness include no indication that the tempter-described as Satan-found the slightest acceptance in the Master's thought. True, the temptation to betray his God-ordained mission came to Jesus a second and a third time. But Jesus immediately and unequivocally rejected all three.

When the third temptation came in the form of a blatant invitation to break the First Commandment, Jesus responded, "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Then the devil left him, and "angels came and ministered unto him" (Matt.4:10,11).

How could the Master so readily resist temptation? Perhaps because he was consistently conscious of his own identity as the Son of God. There was no trait or quality in him to be influenced by deceitful persuasion. Jesus refused the notion that a material kingdom and temporal power could add one whit to the God-given dominion he already possessed.

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