Why Did Satan Tempt Christ If Defeat Was Certain?

To address this question, we must consider both the character of Satan and the nature of the authority he claimed during the temptation of Christ.

subsection*1. Satan's Pride and Free Will

Scripture portrays Satan as originally a high-ranking cherub who fell through pride. While certain key passages (such as those traditionally associated with his fall) are debated, the biblical pattern is clear:

• "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."

Satan's rebellion seems to stem from a desire to exalt himself, to seek a place that belongs only to God. Whatever his exact original status, he clearly exercised real free will and chose to rebel.

Pride has a well-known effect: it causes rational beings to do irrational things. In human experience, people often say, "I knew it was foolish, but I did it anyway," driven by pride, ego, or a desire for glory. Satan, though more powerful and intelligent than humans, is not exempt from this principle of moral psychology. Pride can override clear evidence and lead to actions that are, from an objective standpoint, doomed.

Thus, even if Satan knew that opposing God was ultimately futile, pride could still drive him to attempt the impossible---tempting Christ, seeking to derail God's purposes, and striving to maintain or expand his own rule.

subsection*2. Did Satan Know He Could Not Win?

Could Satan, with access to the Hebrew Scriptures and long experience, have understood that God's purposes would not fail? Very likely yes. The Old Testament, available by the time of Christ's temptation, contains multiple affirmations of God's unshakable sovereignty and faithfulness.

Yet:

• Knowledge does not always result in obedience.
• Pride blinds and distorts judgment, producing a kind of moral insanity.

So while Satan may have known, at one level, that he could not ultimately defeat God, his pride still pushed him to contest God's plan at every stage, including attempting to lure Christ from His mission.

subsection*3. Satan's Claim to Worldly Authority

In the temptation narrative, Satan offers to give Jesus authority over the kingdoms of this world, implying that such authority is his to bestow. Why could he say this?

Several factors likely converge:

1. Humanity's Intended Dominion Humanity was originally given dominion over the earth. Through sin, humans came under the influence and sway of Satan. Over time, human societies, in rejecting God, effectively aligned themselves with Satan's rebellion. In that sense, the world system came under his control.
2. A Usurped Dominion Satan is sometimes described in terms that suggest he has real, though limited and illegitimate, authority over world structures and systems. This authority is not rightful in a moral sense, but it is real in a practical sense. He is a usurper, but a powerful one.
3. Christ's Response to the Claim Jesus does not mock Satan's assertion as absurd, nor does He deny that Satan possesses some level of authority. Instead, He rejects the offer on the grounds of worship and loyalty to God. This implies that Satan's claim to wield authority over the kingdoms of the world has at least some substance. However he obtained it---by human rebellion, spiritual deception, and God's allowance---he wields real influence.

Thus Satan could, without complete falsehood, speak of giving authority over the world's kingdoms. The offer was wicked and conditioned on worship, but it was not necessarily a pure bluff.

subsection*4. Why Tempt Christ Specifically?

The temptation of Christ must be seen in the broader context of Satan's opposition to God's redemptive plan:

• If Satan could induce Christ to act independently of the Father, to seek glory apart from the path of suffering, or to violate the will of God in any respect, the mission of Christ would be compromised.
• The temptations targeted real aspects of Christ's humanity: hunger, the prospect of suffering, the offer of apparent shortcut to glory.

Satan's goal appears to have been to divert Christ from His ordained path, whether through appealing to legitimate needs in illegitimate ways, twisting Scripture, or offering worldly authority in exchange for worship.

Even knowing that God's purposes would ultimately stand, Satan could still attempt to interfere, delay, corrupt, or derail at a given stage. His strategy is to resist God at every point, not merely in one final confrontation.

subsection*5. A Bottom Line Perspective

In sum:

1. Satan tempted Christ because of pride and rebellion. Pride drives rational beings to make irrational choices. Satan's fall was rooted in pride; his ongoing opposition is consistent with that character.
2. He likely knew that God's purposes could not ultimately be defeated, but pride and hatred pushed him to oppose those purposes anyway. Knowledge does not necessarily produce submission.
3. His claim to authority over the world's kingdoms had some real basis, stemming from humanity's fall and the resulting usurpation of dominion. His offer to Christ was a corrupt bargain, not a meaningless boast.

Satan's actions during the temptation of Christ thus reflect both his real authority within a fallen world and his fundamentally proud, rebellious nature, which persists in contesting God's will even when the outcome is, in the end, certain.