Let's look at the Biblical story of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness:
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days
and forty nights, and afterwards was famished. The tempter came and said to him, 'If you are the Son of
God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Then the devil took him the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "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, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"
Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their
splendor, and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Jesus said
to him, "away with you, Satan, for it is written, "worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
Matthew 4:1-11 (NRSV)
Notice that the Devil does not tempt Jesus with evil, but with good. If Jesus were to turn stones into bread, he could eliminate hunger. If Jesus
were to dazzle the world, with his showmanship and exercise power over the kingdoms of the world think of all the good he could do. The
message within the story is about the means by which a good end is attained.
This story of Jesus' temptation is important to us on our spiritual path because it prepares us to expect a testing
period after we reach a new level of spiritual consciousness. I call it "the knock on the door." As soon as we
proclaim something new to be true in our lives, there is this knock – a moment when it is as if the Universal
Presence asks "Are you sure?" This happens when we declare we are quitting smoking, and everyone offers us a
cigarette. We resolve to give up sugar, and everywhere we turn there is chocolate cake. We decide to commit to
coming to church, and something happens every Sunday morning to deter our commitment.
We are to become masters of our thoughts. This testing period is an opportunity to prove that we have accepted a
new thought into our minds and can put it into practice in our lives. There is a difference between having a new
thought and being the master of it and ably applying it to our lives. As we expand our minds, we have to live by
new universal rules. The old rules don't apply anymore. Jesus' experiences in the wilderness are to show us how
to deal with our thoughts and desires in our everyday lives. He demonstrated how to bring those thoughts and
desires under the control of our Christ Spirit. This requires spiritual discernment and unselfish commitment to do the highest and best in our current situation, whatever that may be.
The temptations of Jesus are actually typical of the kinds of temptations that come to us when we realize we have spiritual power. How are
we going to use this power? To benefit the personal self, or to nourish, grow, and expand the spiritual self?
The forty-day fast was Jesus' transformation time. It was a rite of passage for him. He was moving from Jesus the man to a Christ in the
making. Jesus met the three temptations within His own consciousness; he had to have the spiritual tools within himself. This is also true for
you and me. We have to develop and practice with our spiritual tools to master them and use them to better our lives. We cannot find these
resources outside ourselves. It is an inside job. Jesus met each of the three temptations by speaking the word of Truth. Jesus quoted from
Deuteronomy in the Old Testament, a part of the Torah, showing his familiarity with the holy writings of his time and his religion.
The metaphysical definition of the devil is "adverse consciousness that has been built up in ignorance and disregard of the divine law."
(Metaphysical Bible Dictionary) In Unity we believe the temptations came from within Jesus' own mind, not from an outside personification of
evil. This story demonstrates the principle of the Law of Mind Action: both the challenge and the solution came from within Jesus'
consciousness. This was the proving moment when he reached for and demonstrated the power of the higher thought rather than succumbing to the temptation to receive temporary relief in the moment.
It is helpful for us to know some Bible verses and their meaning in order for us to be confident and feel comforted in times of challenge. When
we realize our unity with God and know that we achieve development of consciousness by being single-minded on spiritual Truth, the
temptations in our lives will leave us. When this happens, we experience release and joy that is physical, mental, and emotional. We become free at last.
Namaste`
Rev. Robin
Let's look at the Biblical story of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness:
