Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States

Be Gone Satan!


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After the Lord Jesus Christ was baptized underwater in the calm blue-green Jordan River by the young man, St. John the Baptist, son of Zechariah the priest, the Holy Spirit led the Lord Jesus in to the quietness of the desert near the river.

In the quietness and the stillness of the desert land, the Lord Jesus was alone for 40 entire days and 40 entire nights to spend time with God His Heavenly Father. The Lord Jesus prayed to the Father the entire time both day and night. He fasted as a soul from Heaven and ate nothing until the end of the 40 days and 40 nights. How hungry would you be if you ate nothing for 40 days and 40 nights?

At the end of the 40 days and nights of fasting, along came the evil Satan knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ must surely be very hungry and therefore very weak as well.

While the Lord Jesus Christ was presumed to be weak by the very bad thoughts of Satan, Satan tried very hard to tempt the Lord Jesus to do evil. But Satan was going to discover that the Lord Jesus could still stand strong against the ungodly desires of Satan.

Satan said, "If You are the Son of God command these stones (of this desert) to become loaves of bread" (Matthew 4:3). The Lord Jesus even though very hungry replied, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).

Still determined to make the Lord Jesus weak, Satan led Him to thinking about Jerusalem, the Holy City, and said to him "Show all the people that You are the Son of God and throw Yourself from the top of the high tower on the Temple to the ground..." and Satan quoted a Holy Scripture from the Holy Bible (Matthew 4:5-6).

Can you believe that the demon-like Satan could quote Holy Scripture? Satan said to the Lord Jesus if You take that jump, "His angels will have charge over You and upon their hands they shall bear You up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone."

The Lord Jesus again replied, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God" (Matthew 4:7).

Satan was persistent and did not give up again and this time led the Lord Jesus to a very high mountain and stirred a vision of all the wondrous kingdoms of the world and their glory to present itself to the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Satan deceptively said, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me" (Matthew 4:8).

AND...the Lord Jesus Christ emphatically said to Satan, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve'" (Matthew 4:10).

There was no way the Lord Jesus Christ was going to worship the devil and He said so outright and with such determination that it caused Satan to turn away and leave.

Satan left the Lord Jesus because the Lord would not do as Satan said, he would not obey Satan for glory, for riches, for kingdoms. The Lord kept His mind directed at doing the thing He knew He must do to please God. Because the Lord Jesus did the right thing and made God happy, beautiful white, shining winged angels of God were sent to the Lord Jesus in the desert to give Him food and make the Lord Jesus hungry no more.

Questions:

  1. Name who baptized the Lord Jesus Christ.
  2. Explain why the Lord Jesus was taken into the desert.
  3. How many days and nights did the Lord Jesus Christ spend with God?
  4. Discuss why Satan tempted the Lord Jesus.
  5. Recite what the Lord Jesus said to Satan to finally make Satan go away.

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