Christ is baptized to show us the way back to home to our Heavenly Father. He leads by example. After Christ was baptized he went into the wilderness and fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of his fast, Satan appeared and tempted him three times. Christ again leads by example and shows us how we can avoid temptations.
This week I wanted to dig into the story a
little deeper and look for some symbolic teachings showing me how to do
this. I decided to explore being in the wilderness, fasting, and the
temptations.
AND HE WITHDREW HIMSELF INTO THE WILDERNESS
The baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of His ministry. What does he do first? He withdraws Himself from society to commune with the Father. We observe Jesus doing this many times. Frequently He left His disciples and followers to pray and be alone.
He went to the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt.
26:36)
He went to the Sea of Galilee (Mark 1:16)
He went to the mountainside (Matt. 14:23)
He went by boat to a solitary place (Matt.
14:13)
He went to a high mountain (Mark 9:23)
He went to the Mount of Olives (Mark 14:26)
He went to the grainfields (Mark 2:23)
He went beside the lake (Mark 2:13)
He went beside the lake (Mark 2:13)
He went privately into a desert place (Luke
9:10)
Do you see a pattern? Many times when
Christ retreated from others it was out in nature, whether it was a lake, a
sea, mountains, or desert.
Christ
chose places that were away from distractions of urban life. Even today,
people like to getaway into the mountains to escape daily living.
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But I don't think Christ was doing it necessarily to escape, but for a specific purpose. Often these scriptures will tell us that Christ went alone to pray—to talk to His Father in heaven.
Do we? Do we take time from our busy days
to turn off the noise from the world to communicate with our Heavenly
Father?
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As
members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we have the
opportunity to retreat to a special kind of wilderness, the temple. This
is where we can leave the world behind and enter into Heavenly Father's world,
a celestial world and commune with Him. Are we regularly taking advantage
of this opportunity as Christ did?
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| Source |
When we take the time to ponder and commune with
our Father, we can be strengthened to resist temptations.
HE HAD FASTED FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS
The LDS Bible Dictionary describes fasting as "a voluntary abstinence from
food." In Biblical times there were different types of
fasts.
The
Daniel fast is mainly only eating nuts, fruits, vegetables, and drinking
water.
A full fast, like what Esther asked the Jews to do for 3 days, was no food or water.
A regular fast is no food but can drink water.
A full fast, like what Esther asked the Jews to do for 3 days, was no food or water.
A regular fast is no food but can drink water.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints set aside one day for full fasting. Once a month, usually the first Sunday, is designated as a time
for a 24-hour period of no food or water. This is also known today as dry
fasting.
When I was little and heard this story about Jesus fasting in the wilderness, my question was always, "How did he go 40 days without water? How did he not die?" The answer always came back, "Because he was the Son of God."
Did Jesus
do a full fast, or a regular fast? I don't know if it really matters;
however, I do find it interesting that Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus was
hungry but says nothing about His thirst. I personally think Jesus did a regular fast and went without food but had water.
Note: We should never try to fast for extended periods of time without seeking a medical professional. Dry fasts should not go for more than 3 days.
Note: We should never try to fast for extended periods of time without seeking a medical professional. Dry fasts should not go for more than 3 days.
I've
researched what prolonged fasting does to a body. Once the body realizes
that it isn't getting a food source, it starts to use its own reserves for
energy. This can cause a person to lose muscle and become very
weak. At around 35 to 40 days the body is considered to be in starvation
mode.
For more
information about the effects of prolonged fasting, click here.
I've also
researched what prolonged fasting does to the mind. After a few days the
intense hunger goes away. The person then starts to feel energetic.
Many report a feeling of mental clarity and spiritual awareness.
Note: Many religions, not just the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, utilize fasting in order to feel closer to God.
So while I can't say for sure what was happening to Jesus Christ at the end of his 40 day fast, I feel fairly confident in saying that while His body was weak, His spirit was strong. He most likely felt closer to His Father than ever before.
Regular fasting gives us an opportunity to be more spiritually in tune, helping us to recognize and resist temptations.
Note: Many religions, not just the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, utilize fasting in order to feel closer to God.
So while I can't say for sure what was happening to Jesus Christ at the end of his 40 day fast, I feel fairly confident in saying that while His body was weak, His spirit was strong. He most likely felt closer to His Father than ever before.
Regular fasting gives us an opportunity to be more spiritually in tune, helping us to recognize and resist temptations.
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THE TEMPTER CAME TO HIM
Then his younger brother shows up.
It's easy for me to forget when I read about the devil that this was Lucifer, the second born of Heavenly Father. This was Jesus Christ's brother in heaven. They knew each other really well. When was the last time Jesus had seen him? What was it like for them to reunite?
It's easy for me to forget when I read about the devil that this was Lucifer, the second born of Heavenly Father. This was Jesus Christ's brother in heaven. They knew each other really well. When was the last time Jesus had seen him? What was it like for them to reunite?
Anyway, let's look at the temptations one by
one.
TEMPTATION #1 - STONE INTO
BREAD (APPETITE)
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| Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness by James Tissot |
Jesus has been fasting for a long time and we
know he is hungry. Satan tries to tempt his older brother to turn a stone
into bread.
Jesus answers the devil with
scripture:
It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matt. 4:4)
The devil and Jesus now go to the top of the
pinnacle of temple. Satan tries to tempt him to throw himself off the
temple so that the angels will catch him and he won't even touch a single stone
on the way down. All of Jerusalem would have seen this great feat and
marveled at the miracle.
Jesus answers the devil with scripture:
It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. (Matt. 4:7)
TEMPTATION #3 - KINGDOMS OF
THE WORLD (POWER AND WEALTH)
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Next the devil shows Christ all the kingdoms of the world. Satan tempts Christ
to worship him and all the kingdoms would be His.
Jesus answers the devil with scripture:
...for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Matt. 4:10)
LESSONS FOR TODAY
As I think about these temptations, I realize
that Christ is teaching us how we can overcome the temptations of appetite,
pride, power, and wealth. We can't do it alone, but we can resist these
temptations with Christ.
APPETITE
I think
this temptation encompasses quite a few challenges we face today.
Addictive behavior is all around us whether it is social media, pornography,
food, etc. Society is trying to entice to "feast" on
these pleasures.
Jesus says that He is the bread of life (John
6:35) and that those come to Christ will never hunger.
While the devil was trying to tempt Christ to
satisfy His hunger by turning stone into bread, Christ teaches us that we
should partake of the Bread of Life.
If you or someone you know if struggling with an addictive behavior, the February 2019 edition of the Ensign has an article written by a therapist who gives tools for relying on the Lord to overcome addiction.
You can view the article by clicking here.
PRIDE
One day I might write an article about this, but
I believe that both high and low self-esteem are different forms of
pride. Pride can look down in the form of arrogance, but it can also look
up in the form of jealousy. We want to feel important; we want to be
famous.
Christ did indeed perform many miracles. His fame grew as a result. But we see that the miracles were preceded by faith, the miracles didn't cause the faith. He did not act out of arrogance or jealousy, but rather doing what it was His Father desired of Him.
Christ did indeed perform many miracles. His fame grew as a result. But we see that the miracles were preceded by faith, the miracles didn't cause the faith. He did not act out of arrogance or jealousy, but rather doing what it was His Father desired of Him.
So while the devil was trying to tempt Christ to
gain fame and glory by showing his great power, Christ teaches us that all
glory belongs to Heavenly Father and we are just instruments in His
hands.
To read President Benson's talk titled Beware of
Pride, click here.
POWER AND WEALTH
You don't have to watch the news for very long
before you find an example of someone trying to gain or keep power and/or
wealth. They are enticing mistresses.
Jesus said, "What does it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36-37).
Jesus said, "What does it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36-37).
Christ Himself was not a wealthy man. As
an itinerant rabbi he had to rely on the generosity of others for his food and
shelter. He told us when He ascended into heaven that He was preparing a
mansion in heaven for us.
The devil was offering Christ all the wealth in the world, but Christ teaches us that we can have far more through Him—everything the Father has.
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To read Elder Maxwell's talk about submitting to the will of the Father, click here.
ACTION PLAN
Since resisting temptation is an ongoing
process, I think I'm going to keep my action plan fairly simple for this
week.
1. Recognize that temptations come from the adversary
and not because I'm a bad or weak person. If even Christ can be tempted,
I shouldn't beat myself up just because I feel tempted.
2. Identify what category the temptation falls
under and look to Christ's example. I think just about everything we are
tempted with falls under either appetite, pride, power, or
wealth. Once I identify what the temptation is really about, I can learn
from what Christ said and did in that particular instance.
If you liked this post you might also like:
Presenting the Christ Child at the Temple: A Story of a Golden Calf,
Turtledoves, and Groundhogs
This is not an official publication of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
All photos are from lds.org unless otherwise sourced.
This is not an official publication of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
All photos are from lds.org unless otherwise sourced.
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