Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterwards an hungred. And when the tempter came to him... (Matthew 4:1-2)
This passage is read as meaning that a being called the “devil” tempted Jesus to sin by suggesting certain things to him and leading him into tempting situations.
1. Jesus “was in all points tempted like as we are” (Hebrews 4:15), and: “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James 1:14). We are tempted by the “devil” of our own lusts or evil desires, and so was Jesus. We are not tempted by an evil being suddenly standing next to us and prompting us to sin — sin and temptation come “from within, out of the heart of man” (Mark 7:21).
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Author: Duncan Heaster
Keywords: Temptation, Yezer Ha-Ra, Yezer Hara, Yetzer Hara, Yetzer Ha-Ra, Evil Inclination, The Evil Inclination, Satan, Evil one, Deliver us from evil, The Evil One, Jesus' temptation, Jesus' temptation in the wilderness, Jesus's temptation, Jesus's temptation in the wilderness, Tempted of the devil, Tempted of Satan, Satan tempts Jesus, The devil tempts Jesus, Tempts Jesus, Christ's temptation, Christ's temptation in the wilderness, Satan tempts Christ, The devil tempts Christ, Tempts Christ, Temptation from within, Wilderness temptation, Temptation in the wilderness, Sin within
Bible reference(s): Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:13, Luke 4:2-13, Hebrews 4:15
Source: Bible Basics.
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