The Gospels’ account of Jesus’ temptations by Satan and how He overcomes them during His 40 days and nights of fasting in the Judaean Desert reveals to us practical ways to overcome our own temptations. Among the three Gospels that provide the account – Matthew, Mark and Luke – the narration in Mark is a single-sentence report of the incidence (Mark 1:12-13 12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.) The detailed account of how Jesus repels Satan are given in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
Matthew 4: 1 – 11
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
The verses 4, 7 and 10 are the responses that Jesus gave to repel Satan. Surprisingly, the sum of identifiers of these verses is exactly 153:
| Matthew 4 | Book# | Chapter# | Verse# | Sum |
| 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” | 40 | 4 | 4 | 48 |
| 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” | 40 | 4 | 7 | 51 |
| 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” | 40 | 4 | 10 | 54 |
| 153 |
Luke 4: 1 – 13
4 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,’
11 and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
The identifiers of the verses 4, 8 and 12 corresponding to Jesus’ responses give the sum 162.
| Luke 4 | Book# | Chapter# | Verse# | Sum |
| 4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” | 42 | 4 | 4 | 50 |
| 8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” | 42 | 4 | 8 | 54 |
| 12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” | 42 | 4 | 12 | 58 |
| 162 |
Astonishingly, when we add 153 from the Gospel of Matthew to 162 from the Gospel of Luke, we get 315. We have therefore the direct proof that when we are tempted, we pray the MOST POWERFUL prayer that carries the POWER that Jesus has to repel Satan!
Conclusion. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer. we have the POWER of Jesus Christ to overcome temptation and repel Satan.
The Lord's Prayer: A Mathematician's Creed 