Jesus becomes a “new Moses” when he leads us all to freedom from the bondage of sin. An important moment in his life is the desert when he confronts the temptations that every human person faces — the temptations of the body through bread, the temptations of the mind through pride, and the temptations of the heart through greed for power. Christ answered each of Satan’s temptations with Scripture and absolute trust in what those Scriptures contained. He did not allow himself to be persuaded into fearful doubts. 

When we are faced with temptation, do we root ourselves in the truth of the sacred Word of God that has been handed down to us, or do we grasp for temporary pleasure, distraction, and power?

^{_{Image Credit: Benjamin West, (American, 1738-1820) The Compassion of Pharaoh’s Daughter for the Infant Moses, ca. 1771, Oil on canvas, Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame. Gift of Walter and William Klauer, by Exchange, 1970.024.003.}}