Gods Sabbath

C HRIST O UR E XAMPLE

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relationship between Christ and His Father, by leading Jesus to lose faith in His divine Parent and to assume responsibilities which belonged to God alone. He therefore came in person to suggest a possible solution for Christ’s problem. In order to solve the entire trouble and escape his fate, Jesus had to take over the role of a father providing food for his children. “The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’” Matthew 4:3. Christ certainly had the power to do so which is proved, for example, by His twice feeding a great multitude of some thou sands. That was God’s plan for Him at those specific times. But had He succumbed to this temptation in the wilderness, He would have usurped His Father’s position by becoming His own problem solver. To tempt Christ to do so, Satan tried to fill His heart with doubts of His Father’s ability to be a caring parent. The following paragraph explains Satan’s mission: “The words from heaven, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ (Matt . 3:17), were still sounding in the ears of Satan. But he was determined to make Christ disbelieve this testimony. The word of God was Christ’s assurance of His divine mission. He had come to live as a man among men, and it was the word that declared His connection with heaven. It was Sa tan’s purpose to cause Him to doubt that word. If Christ’s confi dence in God could be shaken, Satan knew that the victory in the whole controversy would be his. He could overcome Jesus. He hoped that under the force of despondency and extreme hun ger, Christ would lose faith in His Father, and work a miracle in His own behalf. Had He done this, the plan of salvation would have been broken.” Desire of Ages , 119.1. Satan knew exactly what to do to tempt Jesus to sin, and he set about the process with all the determination and subtlety at his command. More than four thousand years of intense prepa ration for this conflict had developed him into a formidable foe. His successes in most instances over other humans with whom he had done battle, gave him confidence that he could also over come God’s Son. Christ also knew exactly what to do to resist Satan’s deceptive attack and maintain God’s cause. He understood that under no