Lesson 12 – The Temptation of Jesus

The devil tempted Jesus to sin, but Jesus, true God and true man, did not sin. He kept God’s law on our behalf and became the sinless sacrifice for our sins so that we might have forgiveness and new life.

Opening

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

This lesson will use the Bible and the Lesson 12 Leaflet from the Student Pack. The front cover shows how the artist sees Jesus while he is being tempted. Also paper and pencil or crayons will be needed.

 Prayer: O Lord God, we ask that the Holy Spirit give us understanding of Your Word. Help us by the power of the Holy Spirit to live as Your children. Help us to resist temptation as Jesus did, and graciously forgive us whenever we sin and fall short of Your commands. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God Speaks

A research study was once done to discover whether or not very young children could resist temptations to do something they were told not to do. Several children were tested. One at a time, each child was seated at a table in a room that had a one-way mirrored "window." The child was told not to eat any of the cookies from the plate or touch the toy on the table. When the child was left alone, the researchers could see through the one-way mirror how the child squirmed and fidgeted in the chair as if trying to decide what to do. The child turned around to see if anyone was watching, eyed the cookies and toy several times, and looked around again to see if anyone could see.

Do you think the children resisted the temptation to take a cookie or touch the toy? Several children were tested and all were unable to resist the temptations placed before them.

This lesson takes place right after John baptized Jesus, just as Jesus' public ministry is beginning. This Bible account, "The Temptation of Jesus," helps set up the whole point of Jesus' life on earth. First, Jesus resisted the devil for us. Then He lived a perfect life as our substitute. He then sacrificed His perfect life on the cross to pay for our sins and the sins of the whole world.

 Read the Faith Words on page 4 of the leaflet.

Note that  the High Priest offered up sacrifices for the people's sin in the temple, Christ is the perfect High Priest, offering up one perfect sacrifice of His life on our behalf, and thus making all future sacrifices for sin unneeded

Read Luke 4:1-13 as paraphrased in the rebus on pages 2 and 3 of the leaflet.

Right after Jesus was baptized, He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, where He was tempted by the devil. Jesus ate nothing during those forty days. Jesus was hungry. The devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread".  Jesus answered the devil by quoting Scripture: "Man shall not live by bread alone."

The devil took Jesus and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil said to Jesus, "If You will worship me, I will give You all the authority and glory of the whole world".  Jesus fought the devil's temptation by quoting Scripture: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve."

The devil set Jesus on the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem and tempted Him: "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. God has promised that He will send His angels to guard You and bear You up, so You won't even strike Your foot against a stone".  Jesus fought the devil's temptation by quoting Scripture: "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test."

When the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Jesus until a better time.

We Live

Did Jesus ever give in to the devil? No. Jesus, as true God, did everything perfectly for us. He did all the Law required. He fulfilled all of the Law.

Which temptation do you think was the hardest for Jesus to resist?

What did Jesus use to fight the devil's temptations? We see from Jesus' example that He used God's Word to counteract the devil's temptations.

God provides protection against the devil and his temptations. God also gives us powerful weapons to fight against the devil.

First, let's see what God has given to protect us. Read Ephesians 6:14-17. Label each piece of armor pictured on the child on page 3 of the leaflet.

Answers are:

• Helmet – Salvation
• Breastplate – Righteousness
• Belt – Truth
• Shoes - Gospel of Peace
• Shield – Faith
• Sword of the Spirit – The Word of God

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Which of these items is used as a weapon to fight? The sword

What does the sword represent? The Word of God

In His Word, God gives you all you need to resist the devil. Jesus used the Word of God to answer the devil when He was tempted. You have the Word of God to speak, as well, when you are tempted.

Read the verses on the sword at the bottom of page 2 and 3 of the leaflet.

The Reproducible Page at the end of the lesson has two skits about resisting temptation. If possible, act out the skits with parents or brothers/sisters. If not just read through the skits.

Skit A

You should play the part of Emma.

What was (you as) Emma tempted to do? Take and eat a cookie.

What did (you as) Emma do? Why? If she took the cookie, people because of their sinful nature do not really want to resist temptation. She did what our sinful human nature causes us to do naturally. While Christians struggle between the flesh and the new Adam given at baptism, our flesh, by its very nature, gives in to temptation. If Emma didn't take the cookie, Jesus resisted temptation perfectly. And as His children through the Holy Spirit in our Baptism, the new Adam exists in us and enables us to make good choices.

How did Jesus respond to the devil? He used God's Word to fight Satan.

The Good News for Emma and for us is that Jesus did everything perfectly for us, including resisting Satan. Jesus overcame all temptations. He died on the cross to pay for all the times we give in to temptation.

Skit B

You should play the part of Rick.

What was Rick tempted to do? Jana and Justin wanted Rick to play out on the thin ice.

What did Rick do? Why? If Rick went out onto the ice with his friends, people because of their sinful nature, do not really want to resist temptation. Rick would be testing God. We test God when we do dangerous things that we don't have to do. Being a soldier or a firefighter is a dangerous job. But soldiers and firefighters are not testing God. They have important work to do work that pleases God. On the other hand, Rick and his friends had no need to play on the ice.

What might have happened if Rick had walked on the ice? He might have fallen through, or maybe nothing would have happened.

Does God protect and help us even when we test Him by doing dangerous things? God always loves and protects us. He sends His angels to help us, but sometimes He allows us to suffer the consequences of our sin. He might have allowed Rick to fall through the ice. But, in spite of our dangerous behaviors, God, in His mercy, still loves and cares for us. When we fail, Jesus doesn't hold it against us, because He has already lived a perfect life for us and forgiven us.

If Rick walked away and his friends followed him, again point out that Jesus resisted temptation perfectly. It was impossible for Rick to do it perfectly. When we know that Jesus was perfect for us, then we also know there is nothing left we have to do.

Closing

Jesus knows and has experienced the temptations we face. Like us. Jesus was tempted by Satan to sin. Yet, for us, He overcame all temptation because we cannot. In the Lord's Prayer, there are two petitions that ask God to help us fight the devil and temptation. They are "And lead us not into temptation" and "But deliver us from evil:"

God never tempts us, but when we pray "And lead us not into temptation," we ask that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice.

When we pray "But deliver us from evil” we are asking that our Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul.

God answers these petitions by providing a full suit of protective armor and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Sadly, we still sin every day. The devil tempts us because he wants to take us away from Jesus. The devil continued to oppose Jesus, to try to keep Him from fulfilling the promise God first made in the Garden of Eden. It didn't work. Satan lost.

In the Garden of Eden, in the wilderness, and in our lives today, the devil tries to separate us from God. He continues to lie, to twist Scripture, and to appeal to our sinful natures to sin against our Father.

He will not stop attacking us as long as we live here on earth. The good news is that he's fighting a battle, but he has already lost the war! Christ is our victor. He was caring for us in the wilderness when He was being tempted. He was caring for us on the cross. He is caring for us today. He watches over us, sending angels to protect us. He provides for us now in His Word and Sacraments and for eternity with Him in heaven. He forgives us when we fall into temptation. He is "the way, and the truth, and the life" now and forever.

Read the Bible Words on page 4 of the leaflet. Jesus was speaking to Thomas, one of His disciples, at the Last Supper.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, we are sorry for the many times we give in to temptation. Please forgive us. Thank You, Jesus, for never giving in to the devil. Thank You for earning heaven for us by living a perfect life and dying on the cross. Thank You for the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Help us to faithfully learn more and more of Your Word so that we can better fight temptation. In Your name we pray. Amen.

Listen to the hymn "O Lord, throughout These Forty Days" .