Lessons on the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ and His Apostles
Lesson No. Six

The Temptations of Jesus and His Testimony that He is the Living Christ

The JST clarifies the temptations of Jesus – The JST makes important corrections and reveals remarkable details about the circumstances surrounding the temptations of Jesus. At His baptism the Holy Ghost personally appeared as a Spirit Man (see Lesson 5), now the same Spirit Man led Jesus “into the wilderness to be with God” (JST Matthew 4:1). Like the King James, most modern translations of Matthew 4:1 incorrectly have it that Jesus was taken into the wilderness to be “tempted of the devil.”

The temptation of Jesus

JST Matthew 4:5 teaches that after fasting and communing with His Father, He was taken “into the holy city, and the Spirit setteth him on the pinnacle of the temple.” Then the devil appeared tempting. Next, “the Spirit taketh him up into a high mountain, and he beheld all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time” (JST Luke 4:5). Other translations teach the devil took Jesus to the temple and to the mountain. It is important to know that it was the Spirit, not the devil who took Jesus to these places.

I believe what Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught: “We must assert that this was a personal appearance, one in which the spirit Lucifer, who was cast out of heaven for rebellion, came in person and spoke to Jesus face to face. It was no mere placing of thoughts in his mind, but an open and spoken conversation” (Mortal Messiah 1, p. 411).

Satan tempted Jesus, as he does each of us, through the desires of the flesh, the desire for public recognition and acceptance, and the desire for power and riches –

  • Desires of the flesh – After forty days of fasting Jesus hungered, yet He withstood because Satan had made the providing of food a test of His divinity. “If thou be the Son of God” do this thing. It is important to remember that Jesus experienced all the appetites of the flesh that mortals do. “And He shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptation of every kind…that he may know according to the flesh how to succor this people according to their infirmities” (Alma 7:11-12).

  • The desire for public recognition and acceptance – This maybe the most subtle of the temptations. Jesus was tempted to cast Himself off the temple and then rely on divine intervention to save Him. In this way He would gain public acceptance. Mortals often desire success through a miraculous delivery from the consequences of our actions. There are many examples – a person wants a productive career and prays for divine help, but does not get the education or training necessary to qualify for the work desired.

  • The desire for power and riches – “In practical reality this must have been the crowning test of the three. Jesus was a mortal man, and every mortal has planted in his heart the desire for wealth and power. One of the great purposes of mortality is to bridle this desire…” (Mortal Messiah, vol.1).

Jesus testified that He is the Living Christ – As we study the Gospels it is important to notice how often Jesus testifies of Himself as the Son of God. The following are examples in the first part of His ministry:

  • When Satan tempted Him, Jesus said: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matthew 4:7).

  • Jesus testified to Nathanael that He was the Son of God, saying, “Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man (John 1:51).

  • When cleansing the temple (see John 2:13-22) He referred to the temple as “my Father’s house.”

  • When Jesus taught Nicodemus about “belief on the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18) the JST adds an important and concluding phrase, “which was before preached by the mouth of the holy prophets; for they testified of me” (JST John 3:18).

  • To the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well, “Jesus said unto her, I who speak unto thee am the Messias” (JST John 4:26).

  • At the synagogue at Nazareth Jesus quoted a Messianic prophecy from Isaiah and applied it to Himself by saying, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21).

  • Peter, Andrew, James, and John are called to the full time ministry – “And he said unto them, I am he of whom it is written by the prophets: Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they believing on his words, left their nets, and straightway followed him” (JST Matthew 4:19-20). A year had passed since these men were called to be disciples. They had been fishermen, but now, holding the Melchizedek priesthood, they entered into the full time ministry. He later ordained these men, and others, as apostles “that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils” (Mark 3:14-15).

Jesus is either the Living Christ or the greatest fraud that ever lived – There are only two choices. We can believe the many testimonies He gave of Himself, and accept Him as the Messiah. Or we can reject His testimony of Himself as the Messiah, and conclude that He is the greatest fraud who ever lived. There can be no middle ground. If He is the Living Christ He is far more than a great philosopher. If He is a deceiver He cannot be a great teacher or example.

I add my testimony to the testimony of modern Apostles, “that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God.He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son” (The Living Christ – The Testimony of the Apostles).