Temptation Conducive to Strength
Dr. Landels. Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. No man was ever worth much who did not pass through some severe ordeals. A mushroom or a cucumber may be raised in the summer-house: not so the oak. When you want that to grow you plant it on the mountain slope, where it strikes its roots deeper into the soil, and becomes more compact in its fibre, because of the resistance it offers to the passing storm. The human frame, if it is to acquire strength, must not be wrapped for years in swaddling clothes, but trained to run in the race, and wrestle in the strife. The good soldier is not made in time of peace. (Dr. Landels.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. WEB: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.