03 February 2025

“If you 𝘢𝘳𝘦 the son of God…”

In two of the three temptations the devil tried out on Jesus, Satan began them with the words, ܐܶܢ ܒ݁ܪܶܗ ܐܰܢ݈ܬ݁ ܕ݁ܰܐܠܳܗܳܐ/on bará anát d’Alahó, or as the Greek New Testament puts it, Εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ/ei yiós ei tu Theú, “If the Son of God you are.” The KJV renders this, “If thou be the Son of God,” and the GNT goes with “If you are God’s Son,” but most of us know it as, “If you are the Son of God,” as the ESV, NASB, NIV, NKJV, NRSV, and other popular translations put it.

Matthew 4.3 NIV
3AThe tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God…”
Matthew 4.6 NIV
6A“If you are the Son of God,” he said…
Luke 4.3 NIV
3AThe devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God…”
Luke 4.9 NIV
9B“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.”

The devil skipped it when it was tempting Jesus with the kingdoms of the world… which kinda makes sense. “If you are the Son of God, bow before me.” Really doesn’t work. So you can see why it skipped those words in that particular temptation. But it’s in the other two.

Okay, so why’d Satan think those particular words were gonna prod Jesus to fall for its temptations?

Well you gotta remember what happened to Jesus just before the Spirit had him go to the wilderness. He had his relative John baptize him in the Jordan, and the skies open up and a voice said, “This is my beloved Son.” God publicly declared Jesus his son. And of course Satan wanted to sow a bit of doubt in Jesus’s head: “Y’know, maybe you’re not.”

Worked on Eve. Ge 3.4-6 Maybe it’d work on Jesus?

But Jesus knows who he is.

Was Satan’s tactic gonna work on Jesus whatsoever? Nah.

Ever since he was a kid, Jesus knew precisely who he is. Remember when his parents lost him in Jerusalem, found him later in temple grilling the rabbis, and he told his folks this?

Luke 2.49 NIV
“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

Jesus’s parents likely told him everything: All about his miraculous birth, all about the popular expectations Jews had for their Messiah, and of course encouraged him to go to synagogue and learn as much as possible. And now he clearly knew so much, he wowed the Jerusalem teachers. Then he went back to Nazareth with his parents and learned even more. Lk 2.52

Plus there’s that whole divine nature Jesus happens to have. It makes sin totally foreign to him. Makes him entirely uninterested in committing it. Makes him resistant to anyone who entices him into doing it. It’s a nature he offers to share with his followers, 2Pe 1.4 provided we follow the Holy Spirit, grow in the Spirit’s fruit, and learn from him how to live like Jesus and resist sin.

We have to learn the divine nature. Jesus didn’t; he always had it. Never sinned. He 4.15 Tempted to, but he dismissed those temptations same as I easily dismiss all the times people try to entice me to do something I’ve no interest in. Jesus has the nature of his Father, which makes it so obvious he’s his Father’s son.

And remember: When you’ve been fasting, y’might be physically weak, but you’re gonna be spiritually strong. Jesus had 40 days to intensively contemplate his baptism experience; 40 days to intensively meditate on what it means to be God’s son.

Really, for Satan to start its temptations with, “If you’re God’s son…” when Jesus absolutely knew he’s God’s son, makes Satan look like an idiot; like it had no clue with whom it was dealing. And maybe it really didn’t; I’ll discuss that at another time.

Do we know who we are?

So Jesus knows who he is. Now the question for us is whether we know who we are.

Are we truly aware we’re daughters and sons of God? Part of his family? Heirs of his kingdom? Bearing his grace and promises of salvation? Sealed with his Holy Spirit?

Or do we think we’re just weak, fleshly humans, unable to withstand any satanic attack because… well, look at what the devil does to people in the movies; how on earth are we to withstand such an assault?

Satan’s tactics weren’t just stupid in the temptation story. Satan’s tactics are usually stupid. The reason they work on us is because we’re usually just as stupid, and give up before the battle even starts. I’ve heard way too many Christians give up on the idea of resisting temptation, and offer all sorts of rubbish excuses. “I’m only human.” “I have a fallen nature; I can’t help but sin.” “The bible says ‘For all have sinned,’ Ro 3.23 and that means I’m destined to sin.” Pathetic stuff like that. But it explains why they’re gonna lose every spiritual battle they’re in: They won’t even fight.

Well, let’s fight. And let’s make sure we first understand who we are under Christ Jesus. If the devil tests us with, “If God has even saved you; you don’t even know”—well we should know, ’cause we’ve been interactively following the Spirit and seen him at work, and why would he bother to work with us if he’s not saving us?

If the devil tests us with, “You’re no child of God; you certainly don’t act it”—okay, fair, I suck. But we don’t earn salvation anyway. I’m his kid because he says I am when I trust him, and I do, so I am. Yes, I got work to do when it comes to behaving like God’s kid. And I’m certainly not gonna get any better at it if I give in to temptation!

If the devil plays with your doubts… well now you know where you need the Spirit’s help! So ask him for help. Don’t just give in to those doubts; neither should you suppress them and pretend they’re not there. Both are foolish behaviors, and the Spirit wants us to pursue his wisdom for many reasons; resisting the devil with godly wisdom is just another one of those reasons.

Oh, and don’t forget to pray. It’s been my experience that a lot of those questions and doubts that come up when we’re tempted, tend to get dealt with preemptively when we regularly talk to God about the stuff which might tempt us. In prayer he’s often teaching us about his divine nature, and if you want that sin-resistant nature, keep on striving to be closer to God.