Matthew 4:1-11
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[n]”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
” ‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[o]”7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[p]”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[q]”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Jesus has just begun his ministry, announced by God himself at his baptism. Now he goes off to the wilderness to fast and pray. The devil comes to tempt him. But here’s the thing: the devil tempts him with things that Jesus can do by himself. He doesn’t need the devil to provide these things for him. Bread? Jesus doesn’t need bread, he can live forever by re-writing his cellular code and keeping his body alive. Next the devil tries to get Jesus to force God’s hand by throwing himself off the tower. But Jesus could, again, call upon his Heavenly God-ness to save himself. And last, fame and fortune? Jesus can snap his fingers and everyone in the world would immediately become his servant and worship him unconditionallly.
But that’s not what Jesus wants, nor is it compatible with his character to act in this manner. When Jesus left heaven, he set aside his god-hood and was only able to do miracles which advanced God’s agenda.