Anyone going into battle against an enemy would be well advised first to study their movements and habits.
No doubt the NATO forces in Afghanistan studied very carefully the strategies of the Taliban before they launched Operation Moshtarak. They would have worked out where IED's were most likely to have been laid, and where snipers might be sited. And equally the Taliban will have studied the movements of NATO helicopters, and worked out the best place for booby traps. You study your enemy, and try to understand how they think.
I remember even at boarding school we studied very carefully the movements and routines of the housemaster and dormitory matron before we got up to mischief. First, study your enemy.
And, as Christians, we would be wise to study the strategies of Satan. Peter warns us, in his epistle (1 Peter 5:8) to "be alert. Because your enemy the devil," he says "prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."
It is not popular nowadays, even amongst Christians, to believe in the devil. And that is one of his most effective strategies - to get people to disbelieve in him. You don't fight against, you don't take precautions against, an enemy that you don't believe even exists. Jesus certainly believed in the devil, and confronted him. And Lent is a perfect time for us to take stock. So what can we learn about the devil and his strategies from this account of Jesus' temptations in the wilderness?
1) The first thing that strikes me is the timing of it.
Jesus had just been baptised by John in the river Jordan. He had had that amazing supernatural experience, when heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove, and a voice came from heaven:
"You are My Son, Whom I love; with You I am well pleased."
It was an amazing moment for Jesus, - when the Father confirmed to Him His identity - when the Father expressed their special relationship. It must have been, for Jesus, a spiritual high, a very special moment. He returned from the Jordan "full of the Holy Spirit", and no doubt elated. So did the Holy Spirit continue to build on that special moment?
To give Jesus further affirmation? More spiritual highs? Not at all!
The Holy Spirit led Him straight from the river to the desert. Straight from the Jordan to the wilderness of Judaea.
Straight from ecstasy to a time of terrible testing. And Satan took full advantage of the situation.
It often seems that for us Christians he strikes soon after some sort of spiritual high. Perhaps we have been on a retreat, or on a special holiday, or at a special time of worship and teaching. We have had a spiritual "high" of some kind. We have felt especially close to God. And we come away feeling great; really buoyed up.
And then - bang! An anticlimax. Back to all the problems of life. And the devil is right there, on the attack, undermining all that we have experienced. We need to be aware of this, and prepared for it.
This year there may well be spiritual highs for us. It could be the Celebration of Faith and Science week. Or maybe Lifepath, or Lee Abbey. Or the Renewal day at Cropthorne with Nigel Tween on March 2nd. Or some other time of spiritual blessing. Beware! Beware in the days and weeks afterwards. The devil loves times of anticlimax.
And another thing he loves is times when we are weak. Note it was at the end of Jesus' 40 days of fasting that the devil struck. He waited until Jesus was at His most vulnerable.
Equally for us - danger times are not only after a spiritual high, but also times when we are weak - perhaps very tired, burnt out, under pressure, physically unwell, anxious. He's no fool, isn't the devil!
As the saying goes "Give him an inch and he'll be a ruler." He chooses his timing, and we need to be aware, and be prepared.
2) His second strategy that comes out of this passage is that of sowing seeds of doubt.
Jesus, at His baptism, had heard His Father's affirming voice: "You are My Son, Whom I love." They are words that must have been resonating in His head during those 40 days in the desert. And now Satan comes and introduces, adds, just one little word - "If …" "IF You are the Son of God …" (v3) and again in v9: "IF You are the Son of God .."
Oh yes! - he was using the very words of the Father, but insinuating a slight doubt, a question mark, an "if".
As though to say: "IF …… then prove it!" The suggestion that "Perhaps You are not the Son of God after all".
Implying that perhaps that episode at the Jordan was all a bit of an emotional hype, a psychological aberration.
"If .."
Do you ever have doubts about your faith? About God and His love? Do you sometimes feel a bit spiritually shaky? Especially when things in life are not going smoothly? I know I do. I guess, if we're honest, many of us do.
And there's nothing wrong with that - it's not our fault. But we do need to recognise doubt for what it is - Satan undermining our assurance, our faith. "If …"
At times like that we need to cry out, like the father who brought his child with epilepsy to Jesus, and say:
"Lord, I do believe. Help my unbelief." (Mark 9: 24)
Sowing seeds of doubt - another of Satan's strategies.
3) And the third strategy which strikes me in this passage is the subtlety of his temptations.
The apparent reasonableness of them.
Jesus was famished, after 40 days without food. He was starving. So why not turn stones to bread? Why not?
Where's the harm in that? He had the power to do it, so why not use that power to satisfy His hunger? Why wait to eat until He got back to civilisation? It would be done in private. Nobody else would know. So why on earth not?
And then, in the second temptation, the devil showed Him the world - stretched out before Him. nd said "You can have all that! It's Yours! If first You just worship me - that's all I ask!" Fair enough! What would it matter, just to give Satan a bit of worship? God had sent Jesus to be Lord and Saviour of the world. His mother Mary had told Him what the angel had told her:
- that He will be great
- the Son of the Most High
- given the throne of His ancestor David
- that He would reign for ever, and of His kingdom there would be no end.
So, here is the short cut to all that! Go for it, in one easy stride! Worship Satan, and have now what You came for!
All perfectly reasonable!
And then the third temptation - to jump off the top of the Temple. Why not? The angels would protect Him.
It would be spectacular - a miraculous stunt. It would gain Him an immediate following. It would attract wide attention - be, no doubt, on the 10 o'clock news, and on the front page of the Jerusalem Journal and the Galilee Gazette next day! "Superman jumps from Temple roof and survives." So why not? Why not demonstrate His supernatural powers before the crowds at the very centre of Jerusalem?
You see, the devil's suggestions were all very plausible, very reasonable. And similarly he tempts us too tempts us
- with the desire for material things
- tempts us with the desire for power and influence
- tempts us with the wish to impress, to be popular
And often they seem very reasonable temptations. "It won't harm anyone else!" "Nobody else will know!"
"It'll satisfy my need - I owe it to myself!" "It will further my progress in life!" "It'll boost my self-esteem - and self-esteem we are told is very important!" And so on .. So why not?
Temptation can be very subtle - in fact so much so that we may not even recognise it as temptation. Just a rather good idea. And that can be a slippery slope. One compromise leads to another, and before long the devil is laughing.
4) A fourth strategy of Satan was to disguise himself with religion.
He actually had the cheek to quote Scripture to Jesus! Oh yes! Satan knows his Bible. He quoted from Psalm 91: 11,12: "It is written that He will command His angels to protect You. On their hands they will bear You up, so that You will not dash Your foot against a stone."
Satan may come in the cloak of religion. He can use the language of heaven, and be ever so plausible; ever so religious; ever so deceiving. But Jesus knew His Bible even better, and He countered each temptation with words of Scripture Himself: "It is written …" "It is written …" "It is written …"
That's why it is so important for us to read, and study and know our Bible. To get a grip on what we believe and why.
As Peter urges us: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have." 1 Peter 3:15.
Jesus had seriously studied the Scriptures in His first 30 years of life. He had prepared Himself. And we too need to do that. That is why Housegroups, and Lent Courses, and Alpha, and Christianity Explored are so helpful. They equip us to answer Satan back.
We need to have God's Word engraved on our hearts and minds. After all, it's our best defence. As Hebrews 4:12 reminds us: "The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword." It's our best weapon.
And so, using God's Word, Jesus beat Satan back.
But of course that wasn't the end of the story. We read: "When the devil had finished every test he departed from Jesus until an opportune time." We can almost imagine Satan's departing words: "Don't worry! I'll be back!"
He's always on the look-out for opportune times. He's on the prowl, like a lion, waiting to pounce. Lions, when they hunt, are not obvious. They lie low, and blend in with the grass. They stalk. They plan. They are subtle. They wait for opportunities. So does Satan.
For us Lent is a time to take stock. To do an appraisal - a good in-word nowadays. It's a time to study Satan's tactics; to be enemy-wise. To look at our defences, and to ask the Holy Spirit to reinforce us. It's a time to remember that Jesus got His identity, not from what Satan wanted Him to do, but from what God said and thought about Him.
Giving up chocolate isn't going to win the war - any more than shouting "Boo!" at the Taliban is going to win that war.
It is far more serious than that. We are involved in spiritual warfare. Our war with Satan involves hearts and minds and souls.
So, this Lent, whether we give things up, or do extra positive things, let's take the battle seriously. Let's study Satan's tactics. Let's ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit, so that we will be equipped, and ready, for attacks that will surely come.
David Webster
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