The Gospel accounts of the Christ’s temptation in the wilderness point readers back to the temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve succumbed to the lies of Satan and rebelled against the will of God. Jesus demonstrated perfect obedience to the will of God the Father. Adam represents fallen humanity; Jesus represents the fullness of humanity living in complete obedience to the will of God. Adam disobeyed God and fell from his created state of goodness. Jesus obeyed God and was exalted by the Father (Phil. 2:8-11).
We look at the contrast between Jesus’ obedience and Adam and Eve’s disobedience, we do not find an example for dealing with temptation. What we do find is what true humanity, lived out in Jesus Christ, looks like—the sons and daughters of God living in complete and perfect obedience to the Father.
| Temptation in the Garden (Gen. 3) | Temptation in the Wilderness (Mt. 4:1-11; Lk. 4:1-13) |
| Satan tempted Adam and Eve by questioning the goodness of God (Gen. 3:1) | Satan tempted Jesus by questioning the goodness of God (Lk. 4:3) |
| Satan tempted Adam and Eve to challenge God to follow through on his threatened punishment (Gen. 3:4) | Satan tempted Jesus to challenge God to follow through on his promises when he quotes Ps. 91 (Lk. 4:9-11) |
| Satan tempts Adam and Eve to disobey God for personal gain—that they might be like God and know good and evil (Gen. 3:5) | Satan tempts Jesus to disobey God and worship him for personal gain—that he might gain authority over the kingdoms of the world without suffering (Mt. 4:8-9) |
For further reading see the second chapter of The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament by Edmund P. Clowney
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