LUKE 4:1-13Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,2 where for forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them He was hungry.
3 The devil said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
5 The devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.6 And He said to Him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
9 The devil led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.10 For it is written:
“‘He will command His angels concerning youto guard you carefully;11 they will lift you up in their hands,so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left Him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:1-13 RESISTING TEMPTATION
Springford Baptist Church: January 15, 2023.
Our 2023 Theme: BECOMING. And so we ask, How does God work with us in BECOMING more of who He wants us to be as we learn to resist temptation?
Luke 3:21,22 Jesus had just been baptized and, as He was praying the Holy Spirit descended on Him and a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son whom I love; with You I am well pleased.”
Then right after this significant affirmation for Jesus and evidence of the Spirit of God resting on Him comes what? (Luke 4:1-13) TEMPTATION.
How many times have we experienced strong temptation and interference from Satan directly after a wonderful time of blessing? It seems as if the devil does not want us to enjoy times of blessing and growing deeper in our appreciation of God and our faith in Him. The devil wants to derail us.
For Jesus, His time in the desert, the wilderness, the wild is an intense time of temptation. There are repeated attempts by Satan to draw Jesus away from His purpose and mission. Satan tries to draw Jesus away from depending on God’s Spirit Whom we are told was leading Him (Luke 4:1).
We can gain reassurance about how to deal with temptation which inevitably and frequently comes to all of us, as we consider Jesus’ experience of temptation and how He responded.
Often temptation comes most aggressively when we are vulnerable.
The first temptation comes for Jesus when He is hungry. Did I say hungry? This is not just “missed breakfast and feel like I can’t wait for lunch” kind of hunger.”
We know that Jesus had nothing to eat for 40 days! (Luke 4:2)
If we were that hungry, it would be difficult to think of anything but satisfying our hunger.
For Jesus, this was a time of relying on the Holy Spirit not His own physical, human strength.
If we are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, we are particularly vulnerable to temptation. It is hard to stand strong against temptation when we feel weak.
However, these are also the times we will be most keenly aware as Jesus was of needing to rely on God’s Spirit. It is a deliberate relying on the strength that only God’s Spirit can provide.
Trying to resist temptation and the suggestions of Satan is impossible in our own capacity. We need Divine assistance.
(vs. 3) Human physical hunger is such a strong impulse. We are conscious of this when we are trying to control our intake of food.
Jesus quotes Scripture to answer Satan’s temptation to turn a stone into bread. NIV (vs. 4) “Man/people do not live on bread alone.” (Deut. 8:3)
The Message Translation: “It takes more than bread to really live.”
Human physical hunger is such a strong impulse, but there is certainly more to life than food. Our hunger for God and a desire to please God can be a stronger influence than physical hunger. It truly does take more than bread to really live and Jesus chooses in this moment to rely on God’s Spirit and to make that His priority.
What will be our priority in BECOMING more of who God invites us to be?
We will know from experience that resisting one temptation does not mean that it is over. As with Jesus, the devil quickly moves on to another potential temptation.
(vs. 5) I want us to notice here that we are told that the devil led Jesus up to a high place and in an instant showed Him all the kingdoms of the world.
We want to be led by God’s guiding hand, not by the devil!
If the devil is doing the leading, we are already on alert.
(vss. 6,7) Sure enough, the devil is presenting his next temptation as simple and attractive. Showing Jesus in an instant all the kingdoms of the world, the devil says, “I will give you all their authority and splendor… if you worship me it will all be yours.” Typical of Satan- he doesn’t reveal the implications.
What are the implications?
The devil was tempting Jesus to avoid the sufferings of the cross, which was His purpose in coming to earth. This temptation offered an easy shortcut to world dominion.
Jesus’ answer comes just as quickly as the temptation was presented (quoting form the 10 commandments) (vs. 8)“It is written: “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only”. (Deut. 6:13)
Jesus is again choosing to be led by God and not to let anything or anyone interfere with that leading. He is choosing to give God first place!
Still the devil persists with temptation…
We can never let our guard down and not be relying on God’s leading and protection.
(vs. 9) Up on the highest point of the temple, Satan tempts, “If you are the Son of God(and Jesus certainly is-that part is true) throw yourself down from here.”
Couldn’t this be a dramatic demonstration that would attract public attention?
Couldn’t this highlight God’s power? It is not God’s plan!!
Satan, even uses Scripture from Psalm 91 although he misuses it… Jesus answers, It says (Deut. 6:16) “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
When Jesus answers the temptations of the devil with Scripture, the devil has nothing to say.
From this whole encounter, we are reminded not to attempt to deal with temptation on our own, in our limited capacity for wisdom and strength.
We must turn to God’s Spirit and the truth of God’s Word if we are to resist and to deal with temptation effectively.
Temptation is tiresome and persistent isn’t it?
We might wish for a one time solution that would eliminate temptation forever. The reality is that every time we realize our dependence on God and our deep need for Him to combat temptation, we grow closer with our God.
If we successfully deal with temptation or if in our weakness we give in and have a sense of weakness, perhaps even failure, God’s loving Presence remains with us. God’s willingness to lead us and to guide us is always there.
God is for us, a constant source of love and direction!
(vs. 14a) Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.
Reflection from my daily journal writings: Is there a power that comes from God’s Spirit when we have resisted temptation? Is it a power that is always available, but we would be more keenly aware of needing God and depending on God when dealing with strong temptation? Is there a similar clinging to God when facing crisis, struggle, illness, grief? How can we be regularly accessing God’s Spirit no matter what us happening?