Three Temptations of Christ
It is foolish and possibly fatal to enter open combat, face to face with Satan, the adversary of mankind. On occasion there have been pastors who “come against” him by ranting and raving; making a feeble attempt at a personal show of force in order to advertise their prowess in the power of the Holy Spirit. It might be best to see how the genuine servants of God, invested with His authority handle this situation in accordance with the Word of God. For instance the scriptures give evidence of this;
The Prophet Zechariah:
“He [the Holy Spirit] showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD [Messiah/Jesus], and Satan [Lucifer] standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD [Jesus, the Angel of the Lord] said unto Satan, The LORD [JHVH/Yahweh] rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem [JHVH] rebuke thee: is not this [Joshua, the high priest] a brand plucked out of the fire” [A spiritual type of Christ]?1 – Zechariah 3: 1,2
Michael the Archangel:
“Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. – Jude 1:9
Satan confronted Jesus on his return from the forty day fast in the wilderness and tempted [resisted] him with the three temptations written in Matthew 4: 3-10. Jesus parried the temptations of Satan with the [sword of the Spirit] word of God. “Turn these stones into bread”…(1)“Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” cast yourself down for he has given His angels charge over you… lest you dash your foot against a stone”…(2) “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” Fall down and worship me and I will give you these”…(3) “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
When Pontius Pilate confronted Jesus, asking him “Art thou a king then?” Jesus rebuked him with the words; “you say that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth hears my voice.” – John 18:37 Pilate answered “what is truth?” With this answer he affirmed what Jesus had just said. Yet, the truth that Jesus proclaimed was derived specifically from the scriptures given by the prophets and the law givers, who were God’s servants, writing God’s word by His command. It was these words that he used to defend Himself in all circumstances. In this way, he too affirmed “the Lord rebuke thee.”
A head to head confrontation is unadvisable for the Christian. Rather, it is wise to call upon He who is able to have a confrontation and succeed. This is why we are taught to pray like this: “Our Father, who is in heaven…”
- It’s important to note that the Godhead or “Trinity” [Father, Son and Holy Spirit] appear here in a single passage of the Old Testament
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