Dear Parents,
After Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness. Jesus fasted for 40 days, and He was hungry. There in the wilderness, the Devil, who is the agent of temptation and father of lies, appeared to Jesus. The Devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
If You are the Son of God? The Devil knew who Jesus is. He challenged Jesus to prove it. The Devil wanted to ruin God’s plan of redemption which was set in motion in Genesis 3. In the garden of Eden, Satan used a seemingly innocent question to arouse doubt in Eve: “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). Adam and Eve ate the fruit God had forbidden them to eat, and sin entered the world.
Jesus came to reverse the curse, to succeed where Adam failed. The Devil’s aim was to use a similar trick as in Eden to get Jesus to sin, to disqualify Him from the role of sinless Savior.
The Devil targeted Jesus in His weakness. He tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread, to put Himself in danger, and to worship him as a way to fulfill Jesus’ mission without going to the cross. “Go away, Satan!” Jesus replied.
Jesus was tempted, but He trusted God and never sinned. Jesus is perfect and righteous. A perfect sacrifice was required to take away sin. Jesus was that perfect sacrifice. He died on the cross to free us from sin and to give us the power to say no to temptation.
The writer of Hebrews said that Jesus, our High Priest, can sympathize with our weaknesses because He was tested in every way we are, yet He never sinned. Jesus’ actions are an example for believers, but what happens when we do give in to temptation?
Emphasize to your kids that we can boldly approach God’s throne to receive grace to help us through temptation, and mercy and forgiveness when we sin (See Heb. 4:14-16.) We have hope because Christ died for sinners.
FAMILY STARTING POINTS
● Babies and Toddlers
○ Jesus is God’s Son.
○ Jesus was tempted in the wilderness.
○ Jesus always obeyed God’s words.
○ God sent Jesus because He loves us.
● Preschool
○ What makes Jesus different? Jesus is God’s One and Only Son.
○ Jesus was tempted.
● Kids
○ What makes Jesus different? Jesus is fully God and fully man.
○ Jesus was tempted and never sinned.
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