Jesus is led into the desert
to be tempted by the Devil.
Perhaps, because we hear it so often during Lent it doesn’t have the same impact that it should, but, if we were to look at what is being said it almost seems like an outlandish thing to say. Jesus, He who is God Himself is tempted by the Devil, one who was created by God. It is, in essence, the epitome of arrogance, to believe that he can conquer his Creator.
St. Josemaria Escriva in his homily on this same reading explains it well, he says: “The whole episode is a mystery which man cannot hope to understand: God submitting to temptation, letting the evil one have his way.”
So that, Jesus, like us in every way, but sin, submits Himself to one of the most difficult things that makes us human, one of the greatest challenges to attaining holiness, that of temptation. And, while, on the surface, they appear to be temptations to hunger and power, the greater temptation, as St. Josemaria Escriva also points out is “that of using his divine power to solve,” as he puts it, “a personal problem.” Pointing out further that: “throughout the Gospels, Jesus doesn’t work miracles for his own benefit.”
In other words, the temptation the Devil puts forth is for Jesus to use His divine power for Himself. However, if we think about it, that is what any temptation to sin truly is, to make a choice solely for ourselves to the absence of God, to use the power, or better put, the graces and gifts that He gives us for our own benefit, when they are never meant for us alone, when they are always there to show the great things that God has done within us.
It is no wonder then, that as the great theologian and Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas points out; these three temptations are the very culmination of any temptation we may experience in our lives.
For, as he says: “Scripture would not have said, that once all the temptation ended the devil departed from him, unless the matter of all sins were included in the three temptations already related.”
And, traditionally, there are seen to be three different temptations, temptations of the world, of the flesh and of the Devil, the three sources as it were, from which any temptation to sin may originate.
And since these three temptations are so powerful, becoming the very essence of temptation itself, as it were, it is Jesus who shows us how to confront and conquer these temptations, by using something that does not originate from neither the world, nor the flesh nor the Devil, but, rather, to use the very Word of God against them all.
In fact, Jesus quotes Scripture against the Devil as if to show that this is the best defense against any temptation. Because it allows us to speak the very words that God has given us, it allows us to truly see the very power that God has in the words and, as thus, the power He has over all sin and temptation.
In fact, that is why, it is quite telling, that the Devil himself quotes Scripture, because he knows its power, but, when he speaks, he tries to use it to his benefit, he corrupts it, so as to empty it of its true meaning and to make it merely another means to an end; to take something sacred and to use it as an instrument for sin, as it were.
That is why, as St. Ambrose puts it: “[Jesus] did not act as God, bringing his power into play: if he had done so, how could we have availed of his example?; rather, as man he made use of the resources which he has in common with us.”
So then Christ’s victory in the desert can also be ours as well, His triumph over temptation can become our same success. And the way that happens is by allowing ourselves to be transformed by Him, by His Word, to live in Him and by receiving Him as often as we can in the Most Holy Eucharist.
Knowing that by doing so, it becomes easier to endure temptation, not because temptation is easy to endure, by any means, but, rather, because then we have the strength of Christ Himself within us, we have the same fortitude of Him who suffered in the desert, of He who triumphed over temptation, He who redeemed our flesh, He who conquered the world and He who, at last, defeated the very Devil himself.
Perhaps, because we hear it so often during Lent it doesn’t have the same impact that it should, but, if we were to look at what is being said it almost seems like an outlandish thing to say. Jesus, He who is God Himself is tempted by the Devil, one who was created by God. It is, in essence, the epitome of arrogance, to believe that he can conquer his Creator.
St. Josemaria Escriva in his homily on this same reading explains it well, he says: “The whole episode is a mystery which man cannot hope to understand: God submitting to temptation, letting the evil one have his way.”
So that, Jesus, like us in every way, but sin, submits Himself to one of the most difficult things that makes us human, one of the greatest challenges to attaining holiness, that of temptation. And, while, on the surface, they appear to be temptations to hunger and power, the greater temptation, as St. Josemaria Escriva also points out is “that of using his divine power to solve,” as he puts it, “a personal problem.” Pointing out further that: “throughout the Gospels, Jesus doesn’t work miracles for his own benefit.”
In other words, the temptation the Devil puts forth is for Jesus to use His divine power for Himself. However, if we think about it, that is what any temptation to sin truly is, to make a choice solely for ourselves to the absence of God, to use the power, or better put, the graces and gifts that He gives us for our own benefit, when they are never meant for us alone, when they are always there to show the great things that God has done within us.
It is no wonder then, that as the great theologian and Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas points out; these three temptations are the very culmination of any temptation we may experience in our lives.
For, as he says: “Scripture would not have said, that once all the temptation ended the devil departed from him, unless the matter of all sins were included in the three temptations already related.”
And, traditionally, there are seen to be three different temptations, temptations of the world, of the flesh and of the Devil, the three sources as it were, from which any temptation to sin may originate.
And since these three temptations are so powerful, becoming the very essence of temptation itself, as it were, it is Jesus who shows us how to confront and conquer these temptations, by using something that does not originate from neither the world, nor the flesh nor the Devil, but, rather, to use the very Word of God against them all.
In fact, Jesus quotes Scripture against the Devil as if to show that this is the best defense against any temptation. Because it allows us to speak the very words that God has given us, it allows us to truly see the very power that God has in the words and, as thus, the power He has over all sin and temptation.
In fact, that is why, it is quite telling, that the Devil himself quotes Scripture, because he knows its power, but, when he speaks, he tries to use it to his benefit, he corrupts it, so as to empty it of its true meaning and to make it merely another means to an end; to take something sacred and to use it as an instrument for sin, as it were.
That is why, as St. Ambrose puts it: “[Jesus] did not act as God, bringing his power into play: if he had done so, how could we have availed of his example?; rather, as man he made use of the resources which he has in common with us.”
So then Christ’s victory in the desert can also be ours as well, His triumph over temptation can become our same success. And the way that happens is by allowing ourselves to be transformed by Him, by His Word, to live in Him and by receiving Him as often as we can in the Most Holy Eucharist.
Knowing that by doing so, it becomes easier to endure temptation, not because temptation is easy to endure, by any means, but, rather, because then we have the strength of Christ Himself within us, we have the same fortitude of Him who suffered in the desert, of He who triumphed over temptation, He who redeemed our flesh, He who conquered the world and He who, at last, defeated the very Devil himself.
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