The devil said to him, ‘If . . .’ (Luke 4:3)
The serpent said to the woman, ‘Did God really say?’ (Genesis 3:1)
The accuser brings questions of truth. In the time of temptation, the beginning point is a questioning of what we would otherwise know to be true:
- Is it really that big of a deal if I have sex with my boyfriend?
- No one will really know if I take a little extra cash for myself
- How do I know that Jesus really existed at all?
The question of truth is inevitably a question of God. For Eve in the garden it was a question of what God had spoken regarding boundaries in Eden. For Jesus in the wilderness, it was a question of his identity as the Son of God and the humble way He would take.
Where is the accuser bringing truth into question in his temptation of us today?
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Matthew Erickson 
My house group was discussing the temptation of Jesus just this week!
In particular, we spent time discussing the third – aspects of life where we may be tempted to reach the goal without investing sacrifice along to way.
That’s great, Brian. I think the human tendency is to avoid the sacrifice that comes with reaching a goal. We all would like to run a marathon without putting in the time and effort to train and prepare.
When it comes down to it, we tend toward self-protection. In itself, protecting ourselves is a good thing. However, God calls us beyond that to lay down our lives, including the call to deny ourselves and our natural desires in the face of temptation.