The Temptation of the King

Thoughts from Matthew 4

 

Wouldn’t it be great if we could stop doing things wrong? If our lives were perfect and we never disobeyed God?

Unfortunately, it does not take long to find out that that is not the case.

Even when we belong to God, we still doubt Him and try to get what we want without Him.

We still challenge God, asking Him to meet our agenda, as if we are more important than the God of the universe!

We still look for shortcuts to meet our needs, ignoring God’s plan.

Life is a never-ending battle with temptation. And sadly, we often lose.

The Bible opens with Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, falling to temptation. They disobeyed God’s law, and the entire world descended into chaos (see here).

David, the greatest king over Israel, is well known for his fall into temptation. It only took a short walk on the roof with his wandering eyes, and we next find out that he was guilty of adultery, murder, and lies to cover up his actions (see here).

But there are also notable victories over temptation. Joseph chose to run away naked when his master’s wife tried to seduce him (see here). Daniel was taken away from his home, yet he chose to follow God and not get caught up in the idol worship of his peers (see here).

But by far, the greatest example of victory over temptation was Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus had just finished an incredible start to His ministry. He was baptized by John the Baptist, the greatest prophet in history! The Holy Spirit came visibly down upon Him, and God the Father Himself spoke from heaven to announce the Son of God!

But then the Holy Spirit took him immediately into the desert. Jesus was there for 40 days with the burning sun and the barren rocks, and with absolutely no food to eat. But He was not alone. Satan dogged His every step, trying to get Him to turn away from God.

The Bible shows Satan’s strategy for tempting people to turn away from God. They are small in number and very predictable, but extremely effective:

1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life —is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Satan’s three ways to tempt us are:

• The desires of the flesh — what makes us feel better?
• The desires of the eyes — what looks good to us?
• The pride of life — what gives us importance?

There in the desert, he used all three of these weapons against Jesus Christ.

First, he challenged Jesus personally. Jesus had not eaten for 40 days and was very hungry and physically weak. But He was the Son of God — why not do a miracle to feed Himself? This temptation was akin to the desires of the flesh — suggesting that Jesus answer His own needs for hunger.

Eating bread is an innocent activity, but the message from Satan was much more insidious. He was saying to Jesus, “Since you are the Son of God, you should be able to take care of yourself now. You no longer need to rely on the Father, and you can feed yourself!”

Jesus responded by quoting scripture back to Satan. Deuteronomy 8:3 says that, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” We need to depend on God, not only for our food, but for our very existence!

Satan’s next attack was at Jesus’ role as the Messiah, the King of the Jews. He took Jesus to the rooftop of the temple overlooking the steep valley below. Satan himself then quoted scripture (Psalm 91:11-12), showing that God would never let the Son of God get injured. Instead, Jesus would descend safely down to the worshippers below, and be hailed as their king. This temptation was akin to the pride of life — Satan was attempting to get Jesus to turn away from God and seek glory on His own.

Jesus had defeated Satan in the first temptation by totally trusting in God. This time, Satan used His trust in God to try and get Him to force a miracle.

Jesus responded again with a quote from Deuteronomy, this time Deuteronomy 6:16, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test”. We trust totally on God for our needs as we do His will. But we are testing God when we create a crisis of our own design and then demand that God get us out.

Satan was not easily overcome. He next took Jesus to a high mountain for a final challenge. Showing Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world, he offered them to Him. All Jesus needed to do was to bow down to Satan — once! This temptation was akin to the desires of the eyes — he was trying to tempt Jesus by what looked good to Him.

Satan offered Jesus a shortcut to glory. No longer would He need the three-plus years of ministry, concluded by the suffering on the cross. He could have the worship of the entire world immediately!

This is also the boldest of Satan’s temptations. He no longer couched his suggestions with “since your are the Son of God…” Now, he directly insisted that Jesus bow down to him.

Jesus’ response to Satan was decisive and direct. He quoted Deuteronomy 6:10, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”It was wrong for Jesus to try and shortcut God’s plans, but it was especially wrong to ever bow down to Satan!

Jesus also finally commands Satan to leave him, “Be gone, Satan! ” Satan then left Jesus for a more opportune time.

Jesus was attacked in every way by Satan’s temptations, but he emerged victorious! Jesus never disobeyed God, and when challenged, he always answered His challenges with God’s word.

What can Jesus’ example teach us about temptation?

 

Expect temptation to come!

Temptation is a part of our life when we belong to Jesus Christ. The closer we get to Him, the more Satan will attempt to pull us back.

But we need to anticipate the temptations, knowing that we can win. Defend yourself when you are weak, and be ready to answer back when temptation comes.

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

 

Answer temptation with God’s Word!

Jesus relied totally on God’s word when confronted by Satan. Immerse yourself in God’s word, keeping Him on your mind and heart for when the tempter comes.

Psalms 119:11
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.

 

Resist the devil!

Jesus sent away Satan after the attack. We have the same promise that he will flee from us when we resist him. Note, however, that it is not enough to simply stand up against the devil. We need to first submit to God. We need to let God fill the place in our life that was formerly taken over by the devil.

James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

 

Pray!

Jesus went through the same temptations as us, so He understands when we are tempted. We need to make it a habit to first come to God when temptation comes. Stay close to Him and ask Him for the grace and the strength to get through it.

Hebrews 4:14-16
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

Previous post: The Initiation of the King

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Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”
Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

 

Mark 1:12-13
The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

 

Luke 4:1-13
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.’”
And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

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Matthew 4:1-2
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

Mark 1:12-13a
The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals,

Luke 4:1-2
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.

All three of the gospel accounts show that Jesus was taken into the wilderness immediately after His baptism. Mark’s account is the most forceful — the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness! The meaning is that Jesus was taken suddenly by the Spirit into the wilderness.

We do know exactly where Jesus was taken, but the traditional belief is that He was in the wilderness of Judea, the dry, barren, desert land to the west of the Dead Sea.² Mark’s account says that He was with the wild animals, indicating a very remote and desolate location. He ate nothing during this time (he did drink), bringing him to his physical limits.

Jesus was tempted by the devil during these forty days. Although the subsequent verses in Matthew and Luke show the climax of the temptations at the end, all three accounts indicate that the temptation was ongoing during His entire time in the wilderness.

Why was Jesus tempted this intently in the beginning of His ministry? The same word is used for both temptation and testing: peirazō (πειράζω). This word describes the temptation to sin (e.g. James 1:13), and this shows Satan’s activity toward Jesus Christ. But this word also describes the testing of your faith (e.g. James 1:12), and this shows the activity of the Holy Spirit in taking Him to the wilderness. Satan was allowed to tempt Jesus to sin, but the entire activity was directed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus started His ministry with a direct confrontation with Satan, and with a victory over his devices.

“it was imperative that His holiness be demonstrated from the very beginning of His ministry” – H.A. Ironside ¹

It is important to also note that Jesus was the only human present. Therefore, he must have related His temptation account to His disciples at a later date.

Theologians debate whether Jesus would have been able to fall to Satan’s temptations. One side of the dilemma shows that, since He was sinless God, He must not have been able to fall. However, the other side of the dilemma asks the point of the temptation if Jesus was impervious to Satan’s attacks. Scripture also shows that Jesus was “in every respect tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Therefore, Jesus did not sin, yet he was not invulnerable to Satan’s temptations.

Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

How do we reconcile this dilemma? How was Jesus able to be tempted, yet not be able to sin? The best explanations for this are given in two other passages in Scripture:

1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life —is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

1 John 2:16 explains the three points of temptation as, “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life”. All temptations come through one of these channels. When it says that “Jesus was tempted as we are”, it shows that Satan used these same three channels to tempt Jesus in the wilderness.

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

In 1 Corinthians 10:13, God promises a way of escape for each temptation. This escape is to turn in obedience to God. ³ This is where Jesus’ temptation differs from you and I. We have our fallen, sinful nature inside us crying out to give in to temptation. Jesus did not have that. Instead, he was the Son of God. He had a relationship with God that was so close, that it was never an option to not obey. Satan could never break through that.

We can easily contrast the temptation of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3) with the temptations of Jesus Christ. Eve was also tempted by the desires of the flesh (the tree was good for food), the desires of the eyes (it was a delight to the eyes), and it was desired to make one wise (the pride of life). ¹ Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, with every possible advantage. Jesus Christ was in the wilderness, with every possible disadvantage. Yet Adam and Eve fell, while Jesus emerged victorious. ¹²

“There was no lurking traitor within to answer to the voice of the enemy without. He was tempted as we are, sin apart, that is, there was no sin within to tempt Him.” – H.A. Ironside ¹

 

Matthew 4:3-4
And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Luke 4:3-4
The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”

Satan’s first approach was to address Jesus’ personal needs. Jesus has not eaten for 40 days and was hungry. Therefore, he suggested that Jesus use his power to turn the stones into loaves of bread.

This suggestion seems innocent enough. What is wrong with feeding yourself to meet your needs? The temptation was for Jesus to separate Himself from the will of The Father and to use his power to take care of himself. It was suggesting that God was not taking care of Him and that He should fend for Himself!

Jesus had given up all independent use of Divine attributes ⁴, including the ability to perform miracles. He was relying totally on the Holy Spirit.

“The first desert-temptation had been in the grey of breaking light, when to the faint and weary looker the stones of the wilderness seemed to take fantastic shapes, like the bread for which the faint body hungered.” – Edersheim ³

Note that Satan never challenged Jesus’ role as the Son of God. Instead, he directed his temptation at Jesus’ position, implying that since He is the Son of God, he should be able to create food.

“This involved the love of God and the will of God. “Since You are God’s beloved Son, why doesn’t Your Father feed You? Why does He put You into this terrible wilderness?” … But there was another suggestion: “Use Your divine powers to meet Your own needs.” When we put our physical needs ahead of our spiritual needs, we sin.” – Wiersbe ⁵

Jesus responded with a quote from scripture (Deuteronomy 8:3). The context of Deuteronomy 8 was that Moses was reminding the Israelites about how God provided manna for them in the desert. Whether or not our needs seem to be met, we need to depend on God for our very existence. Jesus was confirming His absolute trust in the Father’s care. ⁶

Many commentators also point out that Jesus replied with “man shall not live by bread alone”. Although Jesus was God, he was committed to trusting God as a man.

Deuteronomy 8:2-3
And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

“He can do miracles – put an end to present want and question, and, as visibly the possessor of absolute miraculous power, the goal is reached! But this would really have been to change the idea of Old Testament miracle into the heathen conception of magic, which was absolute power inherent in an individual, without moral purpose.” – Edersheim ³

Matthew 6:31-33
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 

Matthew 4:5-7
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Luke 4:9-12
And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Satan next took Jesus to Jerusalem itself, and sets Him on the pinnacle of the temple. ⁸It is from this point of the temple that a priest would come to offer prayers every morning. It was also from that very spot on the temple, according to Jewish tradition, that the Jews expected the Messiah to appear. ³

This temptation addressed Jesus’ national needs as the Messiah. Jesus already affirmed that God would take care of Him, so now He only needed to jump off the temple and the angels would protect him. He would descend from the heights of the temple to the onlooking crowd below and forever gain their worship as the Messiah!

If the pinnacle of temple was over the southeastern wall, it would have overlooked the steep Kidron valley. According to Josephus, it would have been a sheer drop of almost 500 feet! ⁷

Tradition states that Simon the Magician (Acts 8:9-24) believed that he was the Messiah and jumped from this height, plummeting to his death. ⁹

Satan quoted scripture to Jesus (Psalm 91:11-12) as evidence that God would protected Him if He jumped off. Psalm 91 speaks of God’s protection for those who follow Him.

What would have been wrong with Jesus trusting The Father’s protection and jumping off the temple? Jesus overcame the first temptation by absolute trust in The Father. But it would be presumption to manufacture a crisis in order to force God’s protection.

Jesus replied by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah”. This was a reminder to the Israelites about a time when they were out of water and doubted God (Exodus 17:1-7). It is wrong to demand that God provide miraculous protection as a proof that He exists. ⁷ God does not live on our terms, we live on His terms.

“We tempt God when we put ourselves into circumstances that force Him to work miracles on our behalf.” – Wiersbe ⁵

“Jesus had overcome in the first temptation by simple, absolute trust. This was the time, and this the place to act upon this trust, even as the very Scriptures to which Jesus had appealed warranted. But so to have done would have been not trust – far less the heroism of faith – but presumption.” – Edersheim ³

 

Matthew 4:8-10
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”

Luke 4:5-8
And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.’”

The final temptation was on a high mountain, where Jesus could see all the kingdoms of the world. ¹⁰ This time, Satan removed all pretense. He will give all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus if He worshipped him.

The temptation addressed Jesus’ global needs to be the ruler of the world. This was giving a shortcut for Jesus to the glory due Him.  If He bowed down and worshipped Satan just once, He could enjoy all the glory without enduring the suffering. ⁵  It would all instantly be His!

Was the world Satan’s to give? He is the ruler if this world for temporary time. But his time is limited, and he will meet his end in the lake of fire (John 12:31, John 14:30, Revelation 20:7-10).

“What Satan sought was, ‘My kingdom come’ – a Satanic Messianic time, a Satanic Messiah; the final realisation of an empire of which his present possession was only temporary, caused by the alienation of man from God.” – Edersheim ³

Jesus replied with Deuteronomy 6:13. This was a warning to the Israelites to be careful when they are successful that they do not neglect God. It would be easy for them to praise themselves and forget about God. But God is the only one deserving of our worship. We worship no other!

Deuteronomy 6:10-13
“And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you … and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.

Jesus also finished with a command for Satan to go away, “Be gone, Satan!” James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

“The third temptation is the temptation to use your own ambition to get what God has already promised you, but on your own terms and in your own timing.” – MacArthur ⁶

“God’s pattern is to start with suffering and end with glory (1 Peter 5:10), while Satan’s pattern is to start with glory and end with suf­fering. Satan wants us to sacrifice the eternal for the temporary and take the ‘easy way’.” – Wiersbe ¹¹

 

Matthew 4:11
Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Mark 1:13b
and the angels were ministering to him.

Luke 4:13
And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

The temptations were over, and Jesus emerged victorious! The devil did not leave permanently, but he left until another time.

Matthew and Mark’s account simply say that “angels came and were ministering to him”. Jesus had not eaten for 40 days and was at His physical limits. The angels doubtlessly came to give Him strength to recover and to restore Him to health.

“He Whom God had anointed by His Spirit had conquered by the Spirit; He Whom Heaven’s Voice had proclaimed God’s beloved Son, in Whom He was well pleased, had proved such, and done His good pleasure.” – Edersheim ³

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[1] H.A. Ironside, Ironside Expository Commentaries, Matthew 4, The Testing of the King

 

[2] The traditional site of the temptation has been identified as Mount Quarantania, near Jericho. However, there is no Biblical evidence to the specific location of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.

 

[3] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Book III, CHAPTER I: THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS (St. Matthew 4:1-11; St. Mark 1:12, 13; St. Luke 4:1-13), https://www.ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/lifetimes.viii.i.html

 

[4] Stephen Davey, First Things First, Mark 1:9-13, 10/4/1987

 

[5] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, David C. Cook, 2007, Matthew 4:1-11, Pages 16-17

 

[6] John MacArthur, The Crisis of Temptation, Part 2, Matthew 4:1-11, 5/28/1978

 

[7] D.A. Carson, Editor,The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Zondervan, 2010, Matthew 4:1-11

 

[8] The order of the temptations are different between Matthew and Luke’s account. Matthew’s account has the order of (a) bread, (b) temple, and (c) mountain. Luke’s account has the order of (a) bread, (b) mountain, and (c) temple. It is common for the gospel writers (especially Luke) to arrange the content in a non-chronological order. Most Bible scholars expect the order in Matthew to be correct and that Luke’s account switched the order of the last two temptations. Matthew’ account also concludes with Jesus rebuking Satan and sending him away, indicating that the final temptation in Matthew’s account was the end of the time of temptation.

 

[9] Stephen Davey, The Battle of the Princes, Luke 4:1-13, 11/25/1990

 

[10] Bible scholars debate about how Satan could show all of the kingdoms of the world to Jesus at once. There is no mountain on earth that would show all of the nations of the world. The most common possibilities are:

• The kingdoms were a representative sample. Jesus did not see every nation on earth, but was able to see enough of their grandeur to capture the image of them. This would be similar to Moses viewing all of the promised land from Mount Nebo in Deuteronomy 34:1-4.
• Satan showed Jesus a supernatural vision. This supernatural vision allowed Jesus to see all of the first century kingdoms of the world: Greece, Rome, China, etc. Some commentators have also included past and future kingdoms (e.g. Babylon, America, etc.), and others have stressed that the “moment of time” in Luke’s account indicates that it must have happened in less than a second.

After studying this passage, I prefer the first explanation, that the kingdoms were a representative sample. However, there is not enough evidence to conclusively prove one possibility over the other. Scripture is not diminished by understanding this passage to be simply physical, nor is there any reason to deny supernatural occurrences during the temptation. However, it most important to realize that these were real, bodily, physical temptations in the wilderness and we should reject any attempts to “spiritualize” them. Therefore, we should allow for the supernatural but stay with the simple and physical explanation until we have reason to believe otherwise.

 

[11] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, David C. Cook, 2007, Luke 4:1-13, Pages 147-149

 

[12] The contrast between the temptation of Adam by Satan (Genesis 3) and the temptation of Christ by Satan:

• The devil challenged Adam; it was Satan who took the initiative.
  • Christ challenged the devil; the Spirit led Christ into the wilderness, and there the devil was compelled to tempt Him to sin.
• Adam had every possible advantage (paradise, food, companionship, every need met).
  • Christ was at the most serious disadvantage, wanting every human comfort and need (hungry, alone).
• The devil emerged victorious (That is, victory was won for a time by Satan; it was not established as secure or permanent).
  • Christ emerged finally and fully victorious; victory was established as ultimately secure, though not yet entirely won.
• Adam responded to human desire, refused to depend upon the truthfulness of God’s words, fell into sin.
  • Christ trusted in the Word of God, stood true to God, resisted sin.
• Adam stood at the head of the race of men; that race fell into sin with him.
  • Christ stood as the Head of all those who believe and lifted that number to forgiveness and life.

From Doug Bookman, Life of Christ, Audio Series, Lecture 4. http://www.jesus.org/life-of-jesus/harmony-of-the-gospels/8-john-the-baptist-jesuss-baptism-and-the-temptation.html