(T)he devil understands Scripture well. Not only that, but he understands it well enough to change it. He understands it well enough to alter it somewhat and encourage us to hold on. Frankly, the devil understands the Bible better than we do. He has studied it for thousands of years, and he transforms the sharp sword of Scripture that discerns truth into a grenade that explodes lies and cuts and kills those who are near it.
In the first of three temptations recorded in Luke 4, the devil attempts to persuade Jesus to eat, breaking his fast. Jesus’ response is a quote from Deuteronomy 8:3. Jesus understands that He is being nourished supernaturally by God throughout this forty-day fast, similar to Moses’ account in Exodus 34, when he went without eating or drinking for forty days while on Mt. Sinai with the Lord. God sustained Moses at that time, and He is also supporting Jesus. This time spent without food demonstrates God’s vastness: He is all-powerful, all-sustaining, and meets all of our needs. The devil attempted to rob that.
So he took him up and showed him all of the world’s kingdoms in one moment. The devil said him, “I will give you their grandeur and all of this authority since it has been granted to me, and I can give it to whomever I want. If you will worship me, all will be yours.” And Jesus said, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only”.
Luke 4:5-8
With the second temptation, the devil attempts to persuade Jesus to abandon His divinity and lofty position. When the devil asks Jesus to worship him, he appeals to Jesus’ humility. Knowing that Christ had humbled Himself by becoming flesh, the devil attempts to exalt himself above Christ and exercise authority that was not eternally his. How did Jesus respond? He directly quotes from Scripture. Reciting Deuteronomy again, this time from chapter 6, he pledges his allegiance to both God and His Word. Though the devil sought to exalt himself as a god, Jesus was aware of Scripture’s teachings on the one true God.
So he took him to Jerusalem, had him stand on the temple’s pinnacle, and told him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here.” For it is written: He will give his angels orders to protect you, and they will support you with their hands so that your foot does not strike a stone.” And Jesus replied, “It is said: Do not test the Lord your God.” After the devil had finished each temptation, he left him for a time.
Luke 4:9-13
The last temptation we see is the devil challenging Jesus’ divinity. If He is the Son of God, He will undoubtedly show it, right? If Jesus were God in the flesh, He would undoubtedly be willing to demonstrate this reality. Furthermore, the devil was aware of Psalm 91’s references to the Most High’s protection. And the Son of God couldn’t deny it, right? Jesus’ response is straightforward: Don’t test God. Jesus understood just how to react because He was well-versed in the Scriptures.
In the first temptation, Jesus is challenged to demonstrate His divinity by turning stones into bread and breaking His fast. The second temptation begs Jesus to submit to someone unworthy and unholy. The third temptation urges Jesus to prove that God’s Word is true. The devil utilizes Scripture to back up his requests in two of Jesus’ three temptations. And whenever Jesus is tempted, He responds with Scripture.
If any of these elements sound familiar, they should. In Genesis 3, the Serpent employs nearly identical tactics to tempt Adam and Eve. The serpent first persuades Eve to question God’s Word, then entices her with the promise that rebelling against God will make her “like God,” and finally she takes and eats the forbidden fruit. The serpent instilled doubt in Eve, leading her to wonder if God was withholding something from her–did she have the whole revelation of God? Or was He trying to conceal something wonderful from her? These tactics have been used since the beginning. Adam and Eve surrendered to temptation, but Jesus triumphed. Adam and Eve doubted God’s Word, but Jesus trusted it. Jesus demonstrated that the fall was avoidable by faith and confidence in God’s Word.
The devil wasn’t just tempting Jesus to eat. He was not simply asking Jesus to prove Himself. He was asking Jesus to call into question God’s deity and trustworthiness. He was pushing Jesus to abandon His identity as God’s Son in order to be elevated by earthly standards. He tried to twist Scripture, sow doubt, and reap devastation. The devil was urging Jesus to abandon the only thing that can be trusted.
How did the devil do this with Adam and Eve but not Jesus? Because Jesus confronted the devil’s lies and temptations with God’s Word. When the devil attempted to pervert Scripture, Jesus responded by reciting what He knew to be infallible, accurate, and trustworthy. Jesus understood that God’s Word could not contradict itself, so he trusted what came from God’s mouth over what came from the devil’s.
The value of understanding our Bibles cannot be emphasized. Jesus is our great sympathizer, having passed through temptation sinless, and we should follow in His footsteps. We can only fight temptation effectively if we know Scripture and believe it to be true. Knowing only a portion of the Bible is insufficient. Knowing only paraphrases will not suffice. To avoid temptation, we must delve over the Scriptures, feasting on each letter. We have to completely rely on it. We must recognize its sufficiency in our lives. We need to understand it. We need it. We need it.
