David Mitchell
1. We may learn from Christ’s temptation the doctrine of satanic influence. We believe that no doctrine is more neglected by professing Christians than this doctrine of satanic influence. Some deny it absolutely, and the conduct of many demonstrates that they disbelieve it in practice. Some ministers of the gospel scarcely ever select it as a subject for their discourses and, when it is chosen, it is often treated in general terms. There are classes in the community who treat the subject with scorn, and many of those who use the name of Satan freely will scarcely admit his existence when they are put to the test.
But if words are capable of conveying meaning to the mind, we must at once admit that the agency of Satan in this world is extensive and pernicious. He is the subtle enemy of man, going to or fro with the rapidity of lightning. We are not to ascribe omnipresence to him, but he seems to possess a power which enables him to examine all places and all men. Hence we find him called the prince of the power of the air, and he is extremely subtle. He has been studying the constitution and history of man for nearly 6000 years. He presents his temptations to our understandings, our consciences, our wills, and our affections. He studies our constitutions, our desires, our mental powers, and the train of our thoughts. Peter said to Ananias: “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” He is intent on destruction – as a beast of prey goes in quest of food after being long deprived of it – ever raging with boiling wrath against God and man, ever seeking where he may devour, ever destroying and never satisfied, ever standing like a thief at the door and ready to dart forward when he finds an opening, perpetually panting after the work of destruction, although every victim he seizes will bring a new accession to his punishment, and every attempt that he makes to dishonour God will add a coal to the flame that is to scorch him for ever. So full is he of rage and mischief that he is called in Scripture the destroyer; “and they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon,” that is, the destroyer.
2. We learn, not merely the existence of Satan’s influence, but also the character and work of Christ, who “was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil”. It appears to have been Satan’s aim to have placed man in a position whereby it would be impossible for him to be restored to the favour and enjoyment of God; and he was not only frustrated in his attempts, but he was vanquished in a manner which must have been galling to his pride. He was not only conquered and compelled to flee; he was vanquished on the theatre of this lower world, the place he had chosen for man’s disgrace and intended ruin. Trophies were not only to be prepared to crown the head of the victorious Saviour, but these trophies were to be selected from the victims of Satan’s rage and seductions. Satan was not only to be vanquished and laid prostrate, but he was to be overcome by the heel of the woman’s seed. Christ came into the world to break in pieces the bulwarks of superstition, to destroy the temples of idolatry, to rescue man from the vile drudgery of Satan, and to rear upon the ruins of the Fall a goodly structure against which the gates of hell cannot prevail.
But if we would behold Christ in a proper attitude, we must look on Him as our deliverer from sin as well as from Satan. We must behold Him, not only as exposed to the hatred and enmity of Satan, but also as enduring the wrath of an offended God. We must behold Him as the substitute for sinners, bearing the indignation of the Lord, satisfying inflexible justice, bringing in everlasting righteousness, pleading the cause of His Church before the throne, and presenting His people’s supplications before the mercy seat. We are called to consider Him as the great High Priest who has passed into the heavens, who was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin; who in that He suffered being tempted, is able to succour them that are tempted.
3. There is a common lesson to be learned from these three temptations of Christ, and that is to resist the enemy of souls. In the language of James: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”. The instrument by which we may defeat him is the Word of God. As this Word is the sword of the Spirit, we can only be expected to use it aright when under the influence of the Holy Ghost, under the direction and illumination of the same Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
We may learn from the first temptation the necessity of guarding against being led astray when we are in straits and labouring under temporal needs. Strong inducements may be held out to us to cross the line of demarcation and to find a supply for our needs. We may be tempted to say, like the Israelites, Is the Lord among us or not? We may be tempted by the urgent necessity of our case. We may be tempted to think that the thing suggested is only a very small crime – that it is nothing more than what our stern necessities demand. But let us remember that God knows that we have need of these things. Man shall not live by bread alone.
Again, we may be set upon a pinnacle of the temple, we may occupy an elevated position among men, and we may be surrounded by the breath of popular applause; our mountain may appear to stand strong. Powerful incentives may be presented to our minds to induce us to make a rash, wanton and unscriptural exposure of ourselves to danger under the plea that even the Word of God is on our side. Let us not be led astray by these dangerous seductions; for while God has promised to be with His people in all their trials and send them deliverance, we are not to expect His aid if we go out of the way, for it is written: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God”.
4. Let us guard against being led away by the gilded baits of Satan, by false colouring and by the deceitful mirage of this world. If we have been correct in the exposition we have given of the last temptation, we see that Satan, under the guise of great friendship, may be plotting your overthrow and utter destruction. Such will be many of the seductions to which we are exposed; such have been the temptations of the Church in all ages. The persecutors of the Church have often pretended to cherish regard for those whom they were torturing and preparing for death. This was the kind of friendship which the Pope pretended to cherish for Martin Luther; and even where guilt has a less glaring aspect, men will be in danger of being led away by a similar temptation.
The natural man goes in quest of a kingdom. His treasure is upon earth. It may lie in the learning of the wise and in the knowledge of the ancients. It may consist in choice silver and the gold of Ophir. It may consist in acquiring fame or in the empty plaudits of an admiring multitude. Men may risk their all on a vain and sinful speculation; the prize may appear great and attractive, the risk small and trifling, and the results magnificent and enduring. The steps to obtain this prize may be plausible; they are such steps as are taken daily by hundreds of competitors; and if there is any deviation from the path of rectitude, it is only by a hairbreadth, and weighs no more than the dust in the balance when compared with the prize at stake. Alas, the man is entangled by the meshes of the enemy. Satan’s line is placed before him, and the language of the tempter is, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.”
Such a kingdom as this will crown trespassers with confusion. Its honours will terminate in shame, and its pleasures in tribulation and woe. But, blessed be God, there is a kingdom which is no phantom, a goodly land where joy reigns. There is a kingdom whose possessions are divine, where the plant of renown shall never wither, and where the tree of life shall never fade. There is a court where there is no intrigue, a king whose glory no one can eclipse, an advocate always ready to plead the poor man’s cause, and a mansion of bliss for everyone who passes through the gate into the city.
And who grants admission? Who but the Son of God? No adversary or accuser of the brethren, no framer of deceit, but He who is the pillar of truth, the foundation of rectitude.