To understand these temptations of Jesus and to recognize how they might apply in our own lives, we must see that these are temptations designed to assault a particular kind of person: they are the temptations the devil brings against someone whose heart is set to serve the Lord. They are the temptations of a minister. Each temptation strikes at a different aspect of our Lord's commitment to serve God. Last week we saw Him tempted to break away from ministering only at the leading of the Holy Spirit. Was God going to let Him starve in the wilderness? Should He do a miracle that the Spirit hadn't led Him to do to save His life? His answer from Scripture meant that He would trust God's care for Him and God's power to speak what He needed into existence. On this episode we see the second and third temptations intended to undermine the Lord's ministry. In the second temptation the devil shows his success in corrupting the hearts of the human race. He tries to convince Jesus that it is impossible for Him to fulfill His calling without compromising with the sinful ways of the world. God's method of ministering in humility and suffering would never work. And trying to turn the world around using only the simple people who would follow Him was an impossibility even for God. Satan was trying to get Him to be more "realistic" and turn away from the path of suffering and rejection.
 
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