Tools for tackling temptation – “It is written”, “be gone”

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Jesus was in the wilderness fasting for forty days and forty nights. After a prolonged fast he was hungry. Though his spirit was strengthened by the communion with God, the flesh was weak and weary craving for a piece of bread. Then the tempter arrived in a manner much similar to how he did with Eve in Eden garden presenting the stone on the ground pleasing and delightful to the eyes.

“If you are the Son of God, command these stones to becomes loaves of  bread (Math 4:3)” asked satan to Jesus.

Hunger is the best mode of temptation on a hungry man. For a bowl of stew, Esau had sold his covenantal birthright when he returned hungry from the field. Unlike what Eve did by indulging in a friendly dialogue with satan where he led her to her downfall systematically, Jesus launched a scathing attack on satan by quoting the scriptures for he knew, Word is the sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17). Jesus replied, “it is written man lives not by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God”, quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3. Satan could not trap Jesus quick like how did with Eve.

Knowing that Jesus was quoting scriptures to beat him down, satan began to quote the same. He took Jesus to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said, “If you are the son of God, throw yourself down for it is written, he will command his angels concerning you and on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone (Math 4:5)”. 

A craft Satan quoted from Psalms and he was also quick in using the expression “it is written” which Jesus used.

Jesus struck back again by quoting the Word, “it is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” (Deut 6:6).

In a ditch attempt the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and said to him, “all these I will give you if you will fall down and worship me” (Math 4:9).

Jesus delivered a final blow here. “Be gone satan, for it is written “you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve” (Math 4:10)

There the devil fled.

When satan tempted Eve, she could have resisted him by saying “it is spoken by God (as the written word was not available by then) that you shall not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” 

Satan today gains an entry through our thoughts. He would say, you are a person of depression. We must be quick to resist him by saying that “it is written, the Joy of the Lord is my strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

When he reminds you that you are an extremely sinful person, you could launch a merciless attack on him by reminding him that it is written “In Christ, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7).

Finally when he tells you in a desperate bid that you are failure, you may slap him by saying be gone you devil for it is written “I am God’s workmanship” (Ephesians 2:10).

By now he would have fled.


Author – Prakash T John


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