The Devil tries to cause Jesus to do wrong things
1 Then the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. While he was there, the Devil came to him. He tried to cause Jesus to do wrong things. 2 Jesus did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of this time, he was very hungry.
4:1The Devil is a bad angel. He was once a good angel but he refused to obey God. Now he is the leader of all the bad spirits. He is also called Satan. He tries to cause people to do wrong things. Jesus was alone when the Devil came to him. He told his friends about it later.
3 Then the Devil came to Jesus and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, speak to these stones. Tell them to become bread.’ 4 But Jesus replied, ‘No! The Bible says that food alone cannot cause people to live. They need to hear every word that God speaks. That is what gives them true life.’
4:4Jesus was very hungry. The Devil knew that Jesus could make stones become bread. He also knew that Jesus was God's Son. God had not told Jesus to make bread, so he did not obey the Devil. Jesus used God's word from Deuteronomy 8:3 to answer the Devil. 5 Then the Devil led Jesus to Jerusalem. He made him stand on the highest part of the temple. 6 He said to Jesus, ‘If you are the Son of God, jump down from here to the ground. You know that the Bible says:
“God will tell his angels to keep you safe.
They will hold you safely in their hands.
They will not let you hurt your foot on a stone”.’
4:6The Devil was using the words from Psalm 91:12. But the Devil was using the words in a wrong way. 7 Jesus replied, ‘No! The Bible also says, “Do not test the Lord God, to see if he will save you”.’
4:7Jesus was remembering God's words in Deuteronomy. Jesus was standing on the highest part of the temple. This place was 600 metres above the ground. God had not told Jesus to jump down. We must not do dangerous things if we do not need to. We must obey God. Then he will take care of us.
8 Then the Devil led Jesus up a very high mountain. He showed Jesus all the countries in the whole world. They were very great and beautiful. 9 The Devil said, ‘I will give you power over all these countries. Just go down on your knees in front of me. Worship me and I will give it all to you.’
10 Jesus then said to him, ‘Satan, go away from me! The Bible says, “Only worship your Lord God. He is the only one that you should obey”.’
11 Then the Devil left Jesus alone. Immediately angels came to Jesus and they took care of him.
