In the wilderness, the tempter came and said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered the enemy with a verse from Deuteronomy: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” (Quoting Deuteronomy 8:3)
The devil then took Him into Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down...”
Jesus answered the enemy with a verse from Deuteronomy: “It is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Quoting Deuteronomy 6:16)
The enemy took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”
Jesus answered the enemy with a verse from Deuteronomy: “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” (Quoting Deuteronomy 6:13)
Jesus relied on the Torah to do battle with the devil. There are five books in the Torah He could have chosen from, but one was enough to put down the enemy.
When David went against Goliath, the account says that David “chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine. . .David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.” (1 Samuel 17:40,48,49)
David relied on these stones to do battle with Goliath. There were five stones in his bag he could have chosen from, but one was enough to put down the enemy.
It’s interesting though, because the battle wasn’t quite finished for either David or Jesus. Luke 4:13 tells us that “when the devil had finished every temptation, he left Jesus until an opportune time.” This opportune time came later, when Jesus hung on the cross. Speaking through those passing by, Satan called out, “If you are the Son of God, come down from that cross!” This is the fourth great temptation that tends to be overlooked, but it goes to show that the showdown wasn’t quite over between Jesus and the tempter.
Neither was it over between David and Goliath. After dropping him with a stone, David stands over Goliath and draws Goliath’s sword out of its sheath. Using Goliath’s own instrument against him, David severs Goliath’s head from his body.
Hanging on the cross, Jesus looks down at the enemy. Before this, He had struck down the devil with a book, but now Jesus will use something else to finalize the defeat. Death is taken up in the hands of Jesus. Using the devil’s own instrument against him, Jesus dies on the cross––and with that death, He crushes the serpent’s head.
