Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13
Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” (Matthew 4:3)
Two of Satan’s three temptations began with the words, “If you be the Son of God.” Jesus was God, but He did have a human body that had to grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God. (John 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:16; Luke 2:52). It took faith for the physical mind of Jesus to believe the witness of the Spirit within Him that He was the Messiah.
In Matthew 4:3, Satan attacked the most basic of Jesus’ beliefs: who He was. Satan also knew He was hungry. Turning stones into bread must have been a temptation for Jesus, or Satan would not have used it.
Satan is very subtle in his temptations. It looked like he was trying to get Jesus to perform a miracle, but he was actually trying to make Jesus waiver in His faith concerning who He was. He tried to get Jesus to draw on the supernatural power of God to confirm His own identity, but it didn’t work! Jesus knew who He was and never wavered in believing it.
Unlike Jesus, we sometimes fall for this trick of the devil. We may say we are arguing what we believe, but we are hoping to convince ourselves. Someone who really knows who they are in Christ does not have to prove anything to anyone because they have full assurance from God’s Word that He loves them and values them.
Isaiah 30:15 says, “For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.’” Today meditate on God’s Word and let the Holy Spirit build your confidence in who you are in Christ Jesus.
