Temptation in the wilderness

Temptation in the wilderness

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to he tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written "Man does not live on bread clone, but on every void that conies from the mouth of God.' Matthew 4:1-12

Jesus defeated Satan by overcoming three temptations in the wilderness, the last of them on a mountaintop. Yet we should realize that when Jesus journeyed to the wilderness, after being rejected by the chosen one, John the Baptist, a situation that made likely his rejection by the Jewish nation as well, he carried a heart of sorrow the like of which no one on the earth had ever experienced. 

Jesus appeared as the only Son of God, who came to resolve the 4,000 year history of God's providence. He came as the seal of victory that God could boast about before that generation and countless generations to come. Yet Jesus walked into the wilderness alone with a sad heart, without a fiend, leaving behind the people, the chosen John the Baptist, and Joseph's family. 

Jesus was filled with the determination and sense of mission to pay the debts of history. What did he think about during his 40 days of fasting? He felt an acute sense of responsibility to restore through indemnity by himself, the rueful course of his forbearers. As he walked through the wilderness, Jesus must have thought about how all humankind, the descendants of Adam and Eve ever since their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, have been roaming about a wilderness of sorrows in search of the Garden.

What did Jesus think about as Satan led him to the top of the mountain? He climbed the mountain with a serious heart, under pressure to subjugate Satan by holding up the shield of victory knowing that on that outcome would hang the entire historical course of 4,000 years. He also recalled the history of the mountain he was climbing. He must have remembered the loyalty of Noah, who built his ark on a mountain, enduring hardships for 120 years... Jesus thought about how it was for the sake of the Messiah, Jesus himself, that Noah labored.

Jesus reflected on Abraham, who journeyed to a mountain after he was commanded to sacrifice Isaac. He thought of Abraham's heartbreak as he led his son up Mount Moriah. For whom did Abraham have to offer his only son Isaac as a sacrifice? Jesus must have reflected upon the fact that it was for Heavenly Father, and ultimately for the Messiah, for him.

Jesus then recalled Moses. He imagined the scene in which God appeared to the sorrow-stricken Moses in the burning bush, by the foot of Mount Horeb, and formed an unchanging bond with him... When God ordered Moses to lead the Israelites from Egypt to the blessed land of Canaan, he was an old man of eighty years, exhausted from his life in the wilderness of Midian. Yet his gaze and figure were consumed with the heart of heaven. 

On the top of that mountain, Moses fasted and prayed for 40 days, and he came down with God's Word. For whom did Moses pray and fast for 40 days? Jesus reflected that it was only for the sake of Heavenly Father, only for the sake of establishing a restored nation through the chosen people and of paving the road for the Messiah.

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, `throw yourself down. For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' "

Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "

For whom did Elijah confront the satanic priests of Baal on Mount Carmel, standing on the mountaintop and praying before heaven in that dramatic showdown? Jesus reflected that it was for the sake of God and himself. Reflecting on such historical connections with mountains, Jesus felt a serious heart.

No one ever had a more serious heart toward God's will than Jesus Christ. He went to the wilderness with a burning heart to capture and subjugate Satan. He stood alone on that mountaintop with a firmer determination than any ancestor in history.

From the speech of Sun Myung Moon: The Sorrowful Heart of Jesus as He Went to the Mountain January 25, 1959

After Jesus completed the 40 day fast in the wilderness, Satan appeared before him and tempted him, saying, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread". Jesus' answer to this temptation was, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Originally, human beings were created to live on two kinds of nourishment. The body lives on the nourishment obtained from the physical world, while the spirit lives by receiving the love and truth of God... Jesus defeated Satan because he spoke and acted in full accordance with God's Principle. By his victory over this temptation, Jesus fulfilled the condition to restore the individual nature to perfection and thereby established the basis for the restoration of God's first blessing.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor "All this I will give you," he said, "If you will bow down and worship me."

It is written that after forty days, Satan tested Jesus three times. What was Satan's purpose in giving Jesus the three temptations? In the beginning, God created human beings and gave them three great blessings, perfection of individual character, multiplication of children, and dominion over the natural world, by which they might accomplish the purpose of creation. By inducing the first human ancestors to fall, Satan deprived humankind of the three great blessings and thus prevented the fulfillment of the purpose of creation. Jesus came into the world to accomplish the purpose of creation by restoring these blessings. Therefore, Satan tempted Jesus three times in an attempt to pre-vent him from restoring the three blessings and accomplishing the purpose of creation.

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Jesus said to hint, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve hint only"'

Next, Satan brought Jesus to the pinnacle of the Temple and challenged him, saying, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down." Jesus referred to himself as the Temple, and it is written that Christians are temples of God and members of the body of Christ... When Satan dared Jesus to throw himself down, it meant that he wanted to usurp Jesus' position as the Lord of the Temple by enticing Jesus to fall from that position to the lowly state of a fallen person...

Finally, Satan took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all things under heaven and all their glory, saying, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." By overcoming the second temptation, Jesus, the main temple, the bridegroom, and the True Parent of humanity, opened the way for all people of faith to be restored to the positions of branch temples, brides, and true children. Jesus thus established the basis upon which to restore God's second blessing. 

Jesus replied, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve." Angels were created as ministering spirits to revere and serve God, their Creator. By his answer, Jesus indicated that according to the Principle, even a fallen angel like Satan should worship God; by the same token, he should honor and attend Jesus, who came as the body of the Creator. By prevailing in the third temptation, Jesus set up the condition to restore dominion over the natural world, God's third blessing.

Exposition of the Divine Principle: Moses and Jesus 3.2.1.2