17. Who will be the strongest, Jesus or the devil?

WHO WILL WIN?

Jesus had just been baptized by John and the Spirit of God is going to take Him to a place where neither you nor I would want to live. It is a sad and miserable place in the desert where nothing grows, there are only pebbles and a few wild animals. For forty days and forty nights, Jesus neither ate nor drank. He was very hungry and the devil knew that, he seized the opportunity to tempt Him. He wanted to get Him to disobey God. The devil said to Jesus: – If you really are the Son of God, command these stones to turn into bread! Yes, Jesus was very hungry, but would He obey Satan? No! He replies: – God says that in order to live, man does not only need to eat bread, but he also needs to feed on God’s Word. The devil was very angry, he hates the Word of God because he knows it is the truth and he prefers lies, cunning and deceit, for he is God’s enemy. He took Jesus to Jerusalem, the capital, and placed Him on the top of the Temple and said to Him – If you are really the Son of God, throw yourself down because it is written that God will give orders to his angels to carry you in their hands so that you do not hurt your foot by hitting a stone. The devil always has bad intentions: Why would Jesus throw himself into the void? Jesus did not come to obey him, to put on a show. The Temple was a house of prayer and not a place for extravagance. The devil uses the Word of God as a weapon but Jesus also knows how to handle it and use it as weapon at the right time. He answered: – It is also written in the Word of God that you must not tempt the Lord your God. And here is a new battle won, but the devil is not discouraged all that. He, then he took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of world, all their riches and all their glory. It was an amazing and spectacular sight to behold. The devil said to Jesus: – I will give you all this wealth if you kneel before me and worship me. Just imagine what it would be like to own all the riches and splendour of the world…… what a terrible temptation. But Jesus did not come to earth for that reason. He came to do good to men, to heal the sick, to deliver from sin, and to give His life. Enough is enough! The devil dared to ask Jesus to worship him! So with a firm voice full of authority, Jesus ordered him simply to leave! – Go away, Satan! He said to him. Get out my sight! For it is also written: – You must worship the Lord your God and serve only Him The devil was forced to obey, he was defeated and he fled from Jesus. Jesus was victorious in all these temptations, He won the fight. He said “No!” to hell every time. The Angels of God then come to Him to serve Him.

1, 2 3, 4 AND YOU AND ME! It reassures me to know that Jesus was able to overcome all these temptations. Before Him the devil had to flee! The devil is terribly wicked; he always tries to attract men, women and children to him to make them unhappy. He has great powers but God is so much more powerful, He is almighty and … never forget him, Jesus conquered him. You can read this story again in chapter 4 of Matthew’s Gospel. Now let’s answer the question: “Who is victorious in this great battle of the devil against Jesus? Yes! It’s Jesus, of course!

4, 3, 2, 1 AND WE PARENTS! Jesus, who was of divine origin, was also a man of the same nature as us, but He was clothed with the power of Holy Spirit. The devil wanted to trick Him into disobeying God so that the plan of salvation for men would not come to pass. When Adam and Eve were tempted they were defeated! Jesus however was victorious in all of these temptations. We can experience times of temptation. To resist and be victorious, we need the Word of God and the help of the Holy Spirit. By regularly sowing the Word of God in the hearts of our children, we “equip” them to resist and say “No!” to evil.