jesus' temptations

Matthew 4:1 reads, "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." In the midst of this occasion, Matthew 4:5 says, "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple." Bear in mind, Jesus was being tempted, and James 1:14 tells us, "Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away." Jesus was not physically transported to the "pinnacle of the temple," but He was "drawn away" in His mind. 
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Matthew 4:8 states, "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world." There is no physical position where you can see "all the kingdoms of the world." The enemy took Jesus in His mind. He never left the wilderness while He was in temptation. Mark confirmed that in Mark 1:12-13, writing: "And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan." Jesus never left the wilderness the entire time He was tempted. The enemy carried or transported Him in His mind.

Earl R. Borders

From the July 2025 issue of The Gospel Trumpeter