Jesus is Tested in the Wilderness
Luke Chapter 4
Jesus, 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 you to 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.
Reflection:
Whereas John the Baptist came out of the wilderness, to be a forerunner for Jesus, Jesus now after being baptized goes back out into the wilderness. By wilderness they probably mean desert, as that is what was all around. I happened to drive to Palm Desert this past week, and it reminded me of just how desolate the desert is. A broom tree here and there, some bushes strewn along the hills, but not much there at all to look at. Jesus was there for 40 days and nights in order to prepare himself to the ministry God would call him to. Notice before he starts doing ministry, he spends time abiding with the Father in the desert. Here are a few important detail in this important passage:
1. The Spirit led him into the desert. This is the first thing the Holy Spirit, who descended on Jesus at his baptism, did. This is a distinctive of Luke's gospel, as we have already noted. Notice the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the desert where he would be tempted by the devil in every way. While the devil meant to tempt Jesus, the Spirit used these tests, to strengthen Jesus' reliance on His father through the scriptures he had memorized as a boy.
2. Whereas the devil tried to pervert and twist the scriptures to get Jesus to stumble, Jesus met every challenge with the correct interpretation of the bible. This reminds us that even the devil knows the bible and will try to use it to get us to rationalize sin by using it wrongly. Notice the power Jesus had was connected to the truth of the Word. As Paul says in Ephesians, when describing the spiritual battle believers are in says, "and the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God." The Word is the one piece of equipment we are given that is an offensive weapon against the enemy. We need to use it when we are tempted.
3. The devil left him until an opportune time. Just because Jesus won this battle, it didn't mean the battle was over. It says devil would wait for an opportune time. This reminds us that the devil and his demons do develop strategies against believers. That is why Paul says to us in 2 Corinthians 2:11,
"So that Satan won't outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes."
Jesus was ready for the temptations the devil would throw at him because he was alert in prayer and fasting. He knew God's word and was ready to use it as a weapon to defeat the devil's schemes. Though it was not the last of the temptations Jesus would face, this series of them taught him how he would fight and overcome all future ones.
Where are you being tempted? What lies does the enemy try to get you to buy into? Lies like, "you're not good enough?" You don't do enough to be a "good Christian". When bad things happen to you, "see this shows that God doesn't really love you after all!" These are a few of the ones he throws at us but there are other ones as well like, "if you keep doing the same thing over and over again don't expect God to forgive you!"
My hope and prayer is that the daily bread will so fill you with God's Word that when you are tempted, you will quickly be able to realize the lies of the enemy and defeat him soundly like Jesus did today. Amen.
Jesus, 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 you to 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.
Reflection:
Whereas John the Baptist came out of the wilderness, to be a forerunner for Jesus, Jesus now after being baptized goes back out into the wilderness. By wilderness they probably mean desert, as that is what was all around. I happened to drive to Palm Desert this past week, and it reminded me of just how desolate the desert is. A broom tree here and there, some bushes strewn along the hills, but not much there at all to look at. Jesus was there for 40 days and nights in order to prepare himself to the ministry God would call him to. Notice before he starts doing ministry, he spends time abiding with the Father in the desert. Here are a few important detail in this important passage:
1. The Spirit led him into the desert. This is the first thing the Holy Spirit, who descended on Jesus at his baptism, did. This is a distinctive of Luke's gospel, as we have already noted. Notice the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the desert where he would be tempted by the devil in every way. While the devil meant to tempt Jesus, the Spirit used these tests, to strengthen Jesus' reliance on His father through the scriptures he had memorized as a boy.
2. Whereas the devil tried to pervert and twist the scriptures to get Jesus to stumble, Jesus met every challenge with the correct interpretation of the bible. This reminds us that even the devil knows the bible and will try to use it to get us to rationalize sin by using it wrongly. Notice the power Jesus had was connected to the truth of the Word. As Paul says in Ephesians, when describing the spiritual battle believers are in says, "and the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God." The Word is the one piece of equipment we are given that is an offensive weapon against the enemy. We need to use it when we are tempted.
3. The devil left him until an opportune time. Just because Jesus won this battle, it didn't mean the battle was over. It says devil would wait for an opportune time. This reminds us that the devil and his demons do develop strategies against believers. That is why Paul says to us in 2 Corinthians 2:11,
"So that Satan won't outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes."
Jesus was ready for the temptations the devil would throw at him because he was alert in prayer and fasting. He knew God's word and was ready to use it as a weapon to defeat the devil's schemes. Though it was not the last of the temptations Jesus would face, this series of them taught him how he would fight and overcome all future ones.
Where are you being tempted? What lies does the enemy try to get you to buy into? Lies like, "you're not good enough?" You don't do enough to be a "good Christian". When bad things happen to you, "see this shows that God doesn't really love you after all!" These are a few of the ones he throws at us but there are other ones as well like, "if you keep doing the same thing over and over again don't expect God to forgive you!"
My hope and prayer is that the daily bread will so fill you with God's Word that when you are tempted, you will quickly be able to realize the lies of the enemy and defeat him soundly like Jesus did today. Amen.
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