Satan’s Three Temptations: The Pride Of Life

Third Temptation: The Pride Of Life

In the previous two posts we discussed the “lust of the flesh” and “lust of the eyes“, as two of the three ways Satan tempts us. The third way that Satan tempts us is through the “pride of life”. Back in the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert, Satan brings Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple. He challenges Jesus to throw himself off the peak to prove He is the Son of God. Anticipating that Jesus would use scripture to refute him again, he quotes Psalm 91, where it states that God would send His angels to save Him (Psalm 91:11-12). But Jesus responds with Deuteronomy 6:16, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test”. This temptation exemplifies the “Pride of Life” because it involves two key sins, had Jesus succumbed to it:

First, it is an act of testing God. By deliberately putting His life in danger to force God’s intervention, Jesus would demand that God perform a miracle to satisfy skepticism—treating the Creator like a servant and putting Him “on trial.” By inverting this divine relationship, Jesus would be operating out of selfish pride, not from God’s will. And the skepticism of God’s character would demonstrate a lack of faith.

Second, it is an act of disobedience. Satan was trying to trick Jesus into obeying him. Jesus would implicitly obey Satan’s instruction to prove His sonship, an act of submission that effectively enthrones Satan as the one who determines the conditions of faith. To follow Satan’s instruction would be to submit to his authority, placing him above God the Father.

Satan tried to appeal to Jesus’ pride in this temptation. The response he was hoping for from Jesus was “Oh yeah? Of course I’m the son of God! I’ll show you!”. While that response may not appear sinful on the surface, the prideful desire to elevate one’s self as important over God is a problem. Satan himself was guilty of this thing. Even Adam and Eve had succumbed to this same temptation after Satan similarly twisted God’s instruction to them, planted doubt in their minds, then tricked them into obeying him instead. He was successful because he appealed to their pride, telling them that eating from the forbidden tree will make them like God.

Thankfully, Jesus resisted this temptation by exercising perfect faith. By obeying the Scripture, which commands that we do not test the Lord our God (Deuteronomy 6:16), He affirmed His complete trust in God’s established character and love, rather than demanding a performance as proof to either Himself or to Satan. While Adam and Eve doubted God’s instruction to them, Jesus obeyed God’s Word in faith. Jesus succeeded where Adam and Eve failed simply by obeying God’s word and not entertaining ideas from Satan.

The Pharisees Demand A Sign

Compare Satan’s temptation to Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees. In Matthew 12:38-45, the Pharisees likewise demanded a sign or miracle from Him to prove His sonship. Jesus responds that this “wicked and adulterous generation” asks for a sign but will only be given the sign of Jonah, referring to His death and resurrection. He also recounts that on Judgement Day, the ancient city of Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba will both condemn this generation for their lack of faith. Why did Jesus respond this way? It is because the Pharisees had already seen several of Jesus’ miracles and yet still refuse to believe. Jesus understood that the Pharisees were not sincere in their request so that it was pointless to attempt prove them otherwise.

The Pharisees already had more than enough evidence. Jesus had publicly and repeatedly healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, and taught with unmistakable authority. On top of that, His actions fulfilled messianic prophecies they knew extremely well (Isaiah 35, Isaiah 61, Micah 5, etc.). Their problem wasn’t lack of data—it was refusal to accept the conclusion. Recall that the Pharisees and teachers of the law have been frustrated with Jesus’ growing popularity with the people and their potential waning influence, so they sought ways to somehow get rid of Him by attempting to get Him into trouble with authorities. It is more likely that their demand for a miraculous sign was a trap. These signs could be used against Him to accuse Him of blasphemy, demonic power, or political rebellion. And on the other hand, if He refused to perform the signs they could claim He didn’t have authority. They could discredit Him either way.

The sign-seeking demand was an attempt by the Pharisees to stay in control. By demanding a sign on their terms, they positioned themselves as judges, deciding whether or not they were good enough. It was not faith; it was an attempt to dominate the encounter. Their actions indicated their spiritual pride.

The Pharisees’ demand for a miracle to prove His Sonship echoed Satan’s temptation of Jesus to do the same. Both Satan and the Pharisees already had sufficient knowledge, knew scripture, tried to shift the burden onto Jesus, and were not seeking relationship, but leverage. The Pharisees’ demand for a “sign” wasn’t about discovering truth; it was about forcing God to act on their terms, just like Satan tried to do with Jesus earlier by asking Him to jump off the peak. They were not only trying to get Jesus to put God to the test, they themselves were essentially putting God to the test by testing Jesus, who they already knew was the Messiah. Their action was a direct violation of Deuteronomy 6:16. Jesus refused their requests because true sonship does not require theatrical proof. Trusting the Father means obedience, not spectacle.

How Does Testing God Relate To “The Pride Of Life”?

The “Pride of Life” is not pride in being alive — it is boasting in what sustains or elevates your earthly life outside of God. It is having a self-sufficiency mindset with one’s confidence or measure of worth rooted in their wealth, status, power, success, or reputation, rather than dependence on God. It is pride in worldly security instead of God. This could take the form of having confidence in one’s beauty or charm to get through life. It could be deriving one’s worth from their wealth or possessions. Or basing their identity on their job or title. No matter what form “the pride of life” takes, it serves to distract us from God and causes us to be so self-focused to the point of idolatry. It is worth noting that these things alone aren’t evil. They are only evil if we prioritize them over God. Every time we choose something else over God, we put Him to the test.

The Danger Of Pride

And pride remains a significant barrier to a relationship with God. It often manifests as self-righteousness. This attitude is evident in the Pharisees, who, despite their extensive knowledge of the law, believed their adherence to rituals and traditions made them spiritually superior. They focused on external observances, neglecting the deeper matters of justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23). Their self-assuredness in their own righteousness blinded them to the true essence of God’s will.

Jesus frequently criticized the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and spiritual blindness. He likened them to whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but full of dead bones and uncleanness on the inside (Matthew 23:27). Their prideful assumption that they were “experts” in the things of God made them inhospitable to Jesus. Their focus on the external observance of rules and traditions, rather than an internal, repentant heart, prevented them from recognizing Jesus as the Incarnate Son of God. God, they believed, only worked in the context of their limited understanding. It is clear then that they had not sought the Holy Spirit for understanding. They pridefully interpreted scripture themselves for their own benefit. This pride gave way to self-righteousness.

Their self-righteousness led to their downfall. In John 9:41, Jesus tells the Pharisees, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” This statement underscores the danger of spiritual pride: those who believe they have all the answers are often the most blind to their own shortcomings.

In addition, God holds individuals accountable only for the knowledge they possess, yet He holds them fully responsible for how they act upon it. Those who consider themselves wise and claim spiritual insight will be judged accordingly (James 3:1). This is particularly true for individuals like the Pharisees, who, despite their knowledge, deliberately choose to disregard it. And their spiritual pride caused them to harden their hearts and ultimately reject the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32).

Why We Need The Holy Spirit To Understand And Apply Scripture

But consider that Satan is familiar with scripture and will weaponize it against us to get us to sin, just like he attempted to do with Jesus using Psalm 91. This is why cherry-picking scripture and not understanding its context is dangerous. It can leave us with an incomplete picture of God’s design and purpose, leaving us vulnerable to Satan’s deception. The Holy Spirit reveals to us the truth and complete meaning behind all scripture. Because Jesus knew all scripture and understood it by the Spirit, Satan could not manipulate Him. Jesus did not rely on his own understanding, but relied on the Spirit of God, who is the Spirit of Truth. Jesus didn’t even use His own words, but the Word of God to refute Satan in all three occurrences of Satan’s temptations!

It is imperative that believers follow Jesus’ example, not only by reading all scripture, but also relying on the Holy Spirit for understanding, rather than our own understanding. Proverbs 3:5–6 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Since the Holy Spirit inspired Scripture, we should look to Him for its meaning. When we lean on our own understanding, we reject God’s wisdom in favor of our own. Assuming that we can interpret scripture from our own minds without His help is yet another example of the “pride of life” at work, even in believers. Like Adam and Eve, we want to define what is good and evil for ourselves instead of relying on what God says.

Conclusion

This last temptation from Satan demonstrates that some of the most dangerous temptations often sound religious, scriptural, and reasonable—while actually inviting us to test God instead of trusting Him. And this testing comes from the spiritual pride of relying on self rather than the Word of God. When we put God to the test, we tell Him that we trust ourselves or resources instead of Him. Our pride leads us to believe that our ways are better than God’s ways, so we elevate ourselves (in our minds) above God, just like Satan did, and just like Satan tricked Adam and Eve into doing. It is an idolatrous mindset that we must repent of. We were created to live in communion with God and our fellow believers as we humbly follow Him in obedience and glorify Him in our world. To do this, we must surrender our prideful ambitions and self-reliance and choose to depend on Him to help us work on His plans for our lives, His way.