Temptations

In Matthew chapter 4 we read about how Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil. During His time in the wilderness the devil tempted Jesus in three areas that I believe pastors are tempted today. The Bible talks about how Jesus is our mediator and how He understands our struggles and I believe when you look at these three temptations we can see clearly how He can understand struggles we go through in 21st Century ministry.

The first temptation thrown as Jesus was a physical temptation, Jesus was hungry and the devil wanted Him to perform a miracle that would satisfy a physical drive or desire. A physical drive that affects many pastors today is their sexual drive. It is becoming more and more common to hear stories of pastors having affairs with their secretary or a woman in the church. These stories of temptation destroy families and churches but the sexual temptation that the internet provides is even more common and less likely to be found out. Jesus understands our physical desires and is their for us.

The second temptation the devil brought at Jesus dealt with pride. The devil took Jesus up to the pinnacle of the temple and told Him the angels would catch Him because of Who He is and therefore nothing bad would happen to Him. In our North American church culture where pastors become celebrities because of books or conferences it is very easy for a pastor to get caught up in how cool he is or how influential he is. Many pastors start to believe the hype and lose track of who they really are and who Jesus is. Pride is what caused the devil to fall originally and he realizes that we as pastors and leaders are so easily caught up in that same struggle. Jesus understands our tendency toward prideful thinking and is their for us.

The third temptation the devil brought at Jesus dealt with accumulating material possessions. The devil showed Jesus all of the lands and promised them to Him if He would simply worship him. This temptation follows right along with the previous temptation because for many pastors the material possessions come at the same time pride starts to creep in. We live in a materialistic world where everyone is trying to have the bigger house and the nicer car. So many pastors try to figure out a way to get more money so that they can have the nicer things in life but how many times in order to get more money do we have to sacrifice the truths of Scripture. So many pastors are okay with not preaching the hard things of Scripture so that more people will come and then we'll have more money in the offering. Jesus understands our desire to have more material possessions in life and is their for us.

Matthew chapter 4 deals with how Jesus was tempted by the devil and overcame him by speaking Scripture and trusting in His Father but it is also a good place for us pastors to go today and realize that Jesus truly does understand the struggles we go through as pastors in North America today and He wants us to know that we can still go to Scripture and trust in Him for strength through those times when the devil tries to tempt us.