The Second Temptation of Jesus
In this post we continue with our presentations addressing the temptations of Jesus. Remember that our aim here is to gain insight into the realm of spiritual warfare and our goal is to help you to adequately prepare for the battles that surly will come your way. Today we will address the second temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
We will start by looking at a writing of Luke:
And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Luke 4:9-11
Again, this is more cunning trickery from the devil, who is not above using the Word of God to deceive Jesus into aborting His life as well as His identity and purpose. One key thing to remember is that God has always given us the freedom to choose. This is because love requires choice. God know that we can love Him only if we have choice. Everything else would be slavery. It was for this very reason that God gave us choice in the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, we were decieved and our poor choice led to our seperation from God and our loss of our domain in the Garden. In the above scripture the devil was hoping that a poor choice by Jesus would result in His defeat as well.
So if the above scripture is true then what did Jesus have to lose by complying. First of all, it is never a good idea to do anything at the suggestion of the devil as he seeks to destroy you. Jesus came to the earth as a man with the intention of regaining what was lost in the Garden.
Adam and Eve in the Garden
Since the dominion of man was lost by a man it would require a victory by a man to restore what was lost. The assistance of angels would not prove that man could resist the temptation of the devil and therin defeat him in spiritual warfare. Therefore, angels could not fight for Jesus. Jesus had to win the victory on His own initiative.
This axiom applies to us as well. When we are tested we will be totally alone also. There will be no help from angels, God or anywhere else. Think about it, If you’re not alone then who is being tested? How will God know that you are ready to go to the next level or not? Also consider that the angels only came to the support Jesus after His temptation, not during it. Jesus came to the earth as a man to defeat the devil. This battle was not one that could be won by angels but only by Jesus the man. Do not choose the trickery of the devil but rather, choose the truth of the word of God. This is exactly what Jesus did when He answered:
And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Him for a season. Luke 4:12-13
It is up to us to defeat the devil and pass the test. Ever wonder why all of us are still here on earth if in fact, Jesus redeemed us from our sin? The answer is that we still have to choose. We have to choose between God and the devil, our own interests or the welfare of others, to love or to hate, life or death, light or darkness, and between good or evil. These are choices that we make everyday. Do not be fooled, stay the course to the end. The good news is that Jesus gave us power over all the evil of the enemy.
SEEKING JESUS 
Was jesus like me and you when he was first born, devoid of Godly or divine traits? Was he above temptations or prone to temptations like you and me? Was he able to defeat sin and temptations because he was Jesus (God) or because he was an ordinary yet extraordinary man who was able to avoid sin and temptation through the hardwork of prayers and fastings ?
Wow! This is another tough one to answer.
To start with I would say that Jesus was different than all men except possibly Adam. This is because he was not conceived from an earthly Father. Rather He was born of the Holy Spirit who came over Mary for the conception. Therefore, He was born of the Spirit and was not born from man into original sin.
Other than this I believe that He had the same human traits and desires as the rest of us. He had the same spiritual traits as the rest of us as well. Fundamentally, Jesus came to the Earth as an ordinary man (although I believe that most of us have far more spiritual capabilities than we ever explore or develop.) He was subject to all the same temptations that you and I are, and most likely much more.
Yes, I think prayer and fasting helped a great deal. He would often go off by Himself to pray prior to making key decisions in His ministry. He obviously communicated with the Father and knew His mission and purpose on this earth. He knew that He had come to save us from the domination of the devil and a life in Hell forever. I like to think that His love for us that made the difference. He could invoke the power of the Holy Spirit because of His true compassion for us. So when He went to the cross He endured because of a true love for us. He also knew that if He could endure on the cross that the same Holy Spirit that empowered His ministry would be available to empowers the ministries of His disciples as well.
It is this love for others that was His commandment for us. If we can tap into that then I think all things are possible. In fact, Jesus even said so. He said;
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. John 14: 12-14
Thanks for your most excellent question. I hope that I have helped you with my answer.
God bless,
Papa Joe