The Last Temptation of Jesus
Today we will address the last temptation of Jesus and will hopefully help to dispel a popular belief that the last temptation was Mary Magdalene.
Jesu and the Adulterous Woman
In this post we will continue our series of 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.
We start with what might be a startling revelation to many people. You will not get help in the times of your testing. Why do I say this? Because even Jesus was alone when He hung on the cross:
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)
The Crucifixion of Jesus
This passage clearly demonstrates that Jesus was alone on the cross as He took the punishment of us all upon Himself. It is here on the cross that the final temptation came to Him. Let’s look at the scripture:
Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.'” Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. (Matthew 27:38 – 44)
This was in fact the last temptation of Christ; to come down from the cross, to deny His identity and mission. The last temptation of Christ proposed that He give up on the forgiveness of our sin and our destiny in the kingdom of heaven. The last temptation of Christ was to ignore what the Father told Him about who He was and what He was to do. It taunted Jesus to give up on us as it was more trickery by the devil to defeat the mission of Jesus and to keep us in bondage.
In looking at this last temptation of Christ we must ask, what have we learned? First of all, we are responsible for not giving in to the temptation of the devil. In addition, we learned that we will be all alone when tested and that we are responsible for our choices. After all, how will God know that He can trust us if we do not make the choices that demonstrate the truth that Jesus has placed in us? Jesus had to be obedient to the Father even unto death. In being faithful to the Father Jesus proved that He was obedient and worthy to go on to the next level (to sit at the right hand of the Father).
The Ascension of Jesus
Remember, resist the devil and he will depart from you.
SEEKING JESUS 
Psalm 22 starts by saying “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Verse 16 says “For dogs have compassed me; the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me; they pierced my hands and my feet.” He wasn’t talking to God. He was quoting scripture to point out that Psalm 22 was a prophecy about the Christ’s last moments. It predicted how he would die a thousand years before he lived. This is probably how he knew he would be crucified. He was tested just before his capture when he asked if this cup could pass from him. After one smote the ear off a centurion, Jesus said to his disciples that he could bring angels to save him if it was his will to do so. What would be the difference between that test and being on the cross? He had already endured being scourged and pierced, which he foreknew would happen. If he was to get out of it, it would have been before he was even captured.
In answer to you question there is no difference. They are simply different forms of temptation from the devil. In the testing on the cross the devil used humiliation in a desperate final effort to get Jesus to come down and defeat his reason for coming.
The point of this message is that if the devil will seek every opportunity possible to defeat Jesus, then he will do the same with us as well.
Right at the end though? Jesus was ready for death, as probably anyone at that point would be. After being scourged to such a degree, crucified and at the end he was tempted for the angels to get him down? At that point I strongly believe he was ready for death, and him saying that only was to refer to Psalm 22. This really isn’t that hard if you’re willing to let go of your personal doctrine. If he wasn’t referring to Psalm 22, then what is Psalm 22? Wouldn’t him accusing God of forsaking him be a sin? That was the whole point of Psalm 22 starting off with “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” That when the Messiah repeats it on the cross, it’s supposed to make you ask why that wasn’t a sin.
(I have addressed you questions and comments inside your note so that the responses can inherit the context that you present. Each of the responses is contained within parenthesis ())
Right at the end though? Jesus was ready for death, as probably anyone at that point would be. After being scourged to such a degree, crucified and at the end he was tempted for the angels to get him down?
(Yes, the devil will always attack when we are at our weakest point. If we look back at the initial temptations of Jesus in the wilderness we find that Jesus fasted for forty days and nights alone in the wilderness. He was not tempted until after this extraordinary hardship. He was tested at His weakest point not His strongest. This was the way it was for me as well. My testing came as I was dying in a hospital bed and the devil presented himself as having great power over me expecting me to cower down to him. I did not. So, at least for me, I believe there is a great lesson here. We have to continue to make the right decisions until the end and to do so without regard to the miserable state of our affliction.
Matthew 10:22
All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Hebrews 3:14
We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.)
At that point I strongly believe he was ready for death, and him saying that only was to refer to Psalm 22. This really isn’t that hard if you’re willing to let go of your personal doctrine.
(While I am reasonably sure that Jesus was ready for death I can not say that His statement was for any other reason than communicating the truth. If Jesus said it, then it is true.)
If he wasn’t referring to Psalm 22, then what is Psalm 22?
(It is a prophesy of the truth of the Christ to come.)
Wouldn’t him accusing God of forsaking him be a sin?
(I do not see an accusation here, only a question.)
That was the whole point of Psalm 22 starting off with “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” That when the Messiah repeats it on the cross, it’s supposed to make you ask why that wasn’t a sin.
(Sorry, but I just do not see it that way. It simply reflects that Jesus was alone on the cross during His testing just like He was alone in the wilderness for His testing. Jesus had to defeat the devil alone and as a man to restore what was lost in the garden.)
Why does Psalm 22 begin with that line then?
“Wouldn’t him accusing God of forsaking him be a sin?
(I do not see an accusation here, only a question.)”
That’s not an accusation if he was really speaking to God? If Jesus was asking a question without accusation, he would have asked “are you forsaking me?”, not “why hast thou forsaken me?” He said God was forsaking him, again if he was even speaking to God and not quoting Psalm 22. How is that only a question without accusation?
My friend, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. For me, the bible states in several places that Jesus was without sin. I believe that this is true. I also happen to believe that He had to be without sin to save us. Therefore, this statement made by Jesus is not a sin. This is enough for me and so I have no desire explore why it is not a sin, but rather I am prepared to leave that to God and move on.
I appreciate your comments and wish you the best in the future.
You’re not getting what I’m saying. I never said it was a sin. I did say that if he accused God of forsaking him, that would be a sin. You saying Jesus wasn’t accusing but merely asking a question is wrong if he was speaking to God. He wasn’t speaking to God. He was quoting Psalm 22. You said yourself Psalm 22 was a prophecy about the Messiah, so don’t you think Jesus said that on the cross to point it out to us? Just because you cannot see this that doesn’t mean you can purposely take what I said out of context so it seems you won the discussion. Don’t accuse me of saying Jesus sinned. I don’t appreciate it. Jesus didn’t sin and couldn’t sin if he was to remain the Messiah, but him saying that on the cross should have anyone with a willing eye ask why it wasn’t a sin. The answer being Psalm 22 since it begins with that line. If he quoted Psalm 22 since it was about him in his last moments, then how was he talking to God on the cross by quoting it?