Hi George, it sure is an interesting passage.
Matt 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
The Spirit lead Him into the wilderness, as it was time before His ministry began, to be tried and tested. It was necessary for Him to go through this as a proving, that He would have first hand experience, so to speak. And it seems that those temptations He faced, gave the full range of possible worldly lusts.
Heb 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus is God, so He needed to put Himself in a position or make Himself somewhat venerable, so He went into a secluded area alone and put Himself through a rather extreme process to get His flesh to a weakened state. Though not carnal, He was certainly effected by what happened to His flesh.
Matt 4:2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.
v. 3 And the tempter came and said to him...
This was all certainly literal. I think most people could not survive being without food for 40 days, I also would think He was near actual physical collapse. So perfect time for Satan to move in... do remember Satan is a spirit being, he cannot be seen, he influences the mind/thinking.
http://bible-truths.com/lake2.html -----------
[Ray's reply]
Satan is a spirit being, seeing that he has been around for thousands of years. He is called a devil, serpent/snake, dragon, etc. We are not exactly sure what a dragon looks like, but supposedly it is in the reptile family as are snakes.
Nowhere that I can think of, did Satan ever appear visibly to anyone. Therefore his serpent/dragon qualities (or lack thereof) must be spiritual. Satan is a SPIRITUAL SNAKE. He has the secret, stealth qualities of a snake moving unseen in the dark. Although he is "like" [in certain characteristics] a roaring lion, he is not a lion, but "as" a lion he goes about seeking whom he may devour [Gk: 'swallow up' as in 'swallow a camel']. Spiritually devour/swallow.
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So Satan, who is so very cunning, right off the bat hits Jesus where he is the most physically weak, His extreme hunger.
Matt 4:3 And the tempter came and said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."
This would have been so easy for Him to do and would seem justifiable for Jesus in His condition, but He knew what was going on... this was a temptation involving the lust of the flesh (1John 2:16).
Matt 4:4 But He answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
v. 5 Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple
v. 6 and said 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, lest You strike your foot against a stone.'"
Since Jesus had just used Scripture to answer the first temptation, now Satan turned to Scripture as well with Psalms 91:11-12 to tempt Him, and a "IF you are the Son" slight. I do not believe that He literally went to the pinnacle of the temple, but as Jesus knew it well, it was brought to His mind in a vision.
Matt 4:7 Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Satan surely could not get one over on Jesus, He knew exactly what Satan was trying to do and certainly could not best Jesus with His own Scripture. So He came right back with another Scripture in answer.
v. 8 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
v. 9 And he said to Him, "All these I will give You, if You will fall down and worship me."
So here is the ultimate test... and I believe this was represented in a vision as the other must have been, as Satan influences the minds eye. I believe Satan showed/tempted Jesus with the idea that He did not really have to go through that horrible crucifixion and the humiliation of it all, that He could stop right there and could actually take over the world at once. He could start His reign at once and the salvation of the world as Satan seductively offered. Satan could not actually "give" that to Jesus, all is God's, but he certainly would be displaced if Jesus did.
This was a real temptation before Jesus and I guess He certainly could have done it... BUT the plan of salvation would be greatly altered/compromised, without 'His' resurrection as a firstfruit, wouldn't all the dead be lost? Satan tried to disguise it as a victory for Jesus, but in reality it would be his victory, as it was his most treacherous and devious hope of what could happen... Jesus was well aware of this!
Matt 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.'"
Certainly this is a lot of speculation, it's my take on this passage, it may give you something to consider.
mercy, peace and love
Kat