From Creation to Restoration · Lesson 05
How did Jesus meet the temptation humanity failed to resist?
50-minute class · Adults and older teenagers · Full KJV readings included
No Bible needed: full KJV passages appear below and in both printable downloads. Bible text is separate from the teaching notes.
Words to know: Tempt means test or entice; hence means away; Esaias is the KJV form of Isaiah.
Jesus remains faithful to the Father under temptation. Paul sets Adam’s disobedience beside Christ’s obedience, directing our hope toward the One who brings righteousness and life. Following Him means learning trust, worship, and service from His faithful life.
Provide each student with a worksheet and Scripture reader. Read the passages and teaching guide in advance. Invite participation without requiring personal disclosures.
50-minute flow: Welcome and opening prayer, 5 minutes; Scripture and teaching, 25 minutes; discussion, 10 minutes; weekly response, 5 minutes; closing prayer, 5 minutes.
Recall Lesson Four: God makes Himself known through Christ. Ask: “When is a shortcut tempting even though we know it could damage something important?” Keep examples ordinary and voluntary.
1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Read: Luke 4:1–13. See the class or supporting readings on this page.
Luke describes Jesus as full of the Holy Ghost and led by the Spirit into the wilderness. After forty days without food, He is hungry. The temptations address real vulnerability, identity, power, and trust. Being tested does not mean the Father has abandoned Him.
The devil tells Him to command a stone to become bread. Jesus answers with Scripture about living by God’s word. His hunger is real, and His response places that need within faithful dependence on the Father.
Ask: What makes the first temptation more than a question about whether food is good?
Read: Luke 4:1–13. See the class or supporting readings on this page.
The devil offers the kingdoms in exchange for worship, then urges Jesus to throw Himself from the temple while quoting Scripture about protection. Jesus refuses both. He will worship and serve God, and He will not turn trust into a demand that God prove Himself through a spectacle.
Scripture can be quoted within a misleading appeal. Jesus’ responses help us examine the purpose of a quotation and the conduct it is being used to justify. Luke records the devil’s claim about authority; the lesson should not turn that claim into a complete account of every human government.
Ask: How can a religious-sounding argument encourage an unfaithful action?
Read: Genesis 3:1–7; Romans 5:12–19. See the class or supporting readings on this page.
Genesis describes humanity turning from God’s command. Romans 5 places that disobedience beside the obedience of Christ. The contrast reaches beyond two isolated decisions: Paul describes condemnation and death through Adam, and the gift of righteousness and life through Jesus Christ.
Our hope rests in Christ’s saving obedience. His example teaches us, but Paul’s message includes what He accomplishes for those who receive the gift of grace. We will examine His death and resurrection more closely in the next lesson.
Ask: What does Paul say Christ brings that humanity cannot supply for itself?
Read: Luke 4:14–21. See the class or supporting readings on this page.
Jesus returns in the power of the Spirit and reads from Isaiah in Nazareth. The passage announces good news to the poor, deliverance, restored sight, and liberty. He identifies the Scripture as fulfilled in their hearing.
The One who refuses a bargain for worldly power proceeds with the work entrusted to Him. His ministry directs our attention toward people who need the life and mercy of God. For disciples, faithfulness should become visible in truthful worship and practical care.
Ask: How does Jesus’ announced ministry connect obedience with care for people?
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
1 All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.
2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
What needs or desires are addressed by the temptations?
Hunger, identity, authority, protection, and the appeal of a shortcut to recognition or power.
How does Jesus distinguish trust from testing God?
He depends on the Father while refusing a stunt intended to force a demonstration of protection.
What contrast does Romans 5 make?
Adam’s disobedience brings condemnation and death; Christ’s obedience brings the gift of righteousness and life.
How can our response become more faithful?
Examine the appeal in light of Scripture, refuse a bargain that compromises worship or truth, and choose a concrete act of obedience.
Ask students to name privately one recurring shortcut: an untruth, a demand for control, or a choice made only for approval. Choose an appropriate response grounded in the passage. Then identify one practical way to serve someone who is overlooked. The purpose is faithful response to Christ, not proving personal superiority.
Father, thank You for Jesus Christ, the faithful Son. Teach us to trust Your word, worship You alone, and recognize the shortcuts that lead us away from obedience. Help us receive Christ’s grace and follow Him in service. Amen.
Lesson Six follows Christ toward the cross and asks why the grain of wheat must die before bearing fruit.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Scripture: King James Version. Bible text is presented separately from teaching notes and prayers.