Temptation in the Wilderness (Luke 4:1-13)

Temptation in the Wilderness (Luke 4:1-13)

 

1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:

10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:

11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

 

Intro)

 

1. There are many stories of the devil tempting, seducing, and testing people throughout the Bible. It starts in Genesis when the serpent tries to tempt Eve with the Forbidden Fruit. When we think about the devil trying to tempt and test us, we may think of a disfigured creature with long horns and a pitchfork. But the devil doesn't approach us in this way; if it did it would be much easier to see it coming and run away.

 

2. John 13:2 explains, "2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him." The devil doesn't seduce us using elaborate and showy methods. It starts with a small thought or notion planted in our minds. It can happen without us knowing and before we know it we have fallen victim to Satan's tricks. We must always remember that we are constantly vulnerable, that all of our thoughts are not ours, and our thoughts may not be the right thoughts to be having.

 

Very few of our thoughts are truly our own and formulated purely on our own accord. Most of our views have been learned from or influenced by those around us. Friends and family have a large impact, but the media is a powerful source in modern society. We are constantly surrounded by songs, movies, books, and the internet feeding us information, subliminally affecting our thoughts. 

 

Having so many outlets and sources make us vulnerable to Satan and his sneaky tricks. This is why we need to be constantly vigilant and aware of what we expose ourselves to. The devil uses clever lies and tactics to slowly separate us from God.

 

Body)

A) Satan's Temptation in the Wilderness

1. In today's scripture, we see the devil tempting Jesus in the wilderness, a place that has no water, food, or even grass. The days are hot and the nights are freezing in the wilderness. It is not a place for a person to survive. 

 

This wilderness is symbolic of our own lives. Each day is different, but life itself is not easy to maneuver. There is very little in the wilderness that allows one to survive. Yet Jesus was in this wilderness and had been fasting for 40 days. Can you imagine how exhausted Jesus must have been? He probably didn't even have the strength to stand.

 

It was at this moment, when Jesus was at his weakest, the devil started to tempt him. Verse 3 of todays scripture tells us how Satan tempted Jesus, "3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread."

 

With this statement, Satan attempts to plant dangerous thoughts into Jesus' mind such as the doubt of whether Jesus truly is God's son. "If thou be the Son of God..." holds many implications. Satan's is implying that if Jesus is indeed the Son of God, why is he in the wilderness, living in such danger? Why would God put his Son through such suffering? Maybe God has turned away, and Jesus is no longer considered his Son. Such a small phrase can raise harrowing questions.

 

2. This kind doubt and temptation comes to us as well. Satan whispers into our minds and hearts thoughts of doubt during our darkest times. He makes us question God, His love, His power, and even His very existence. The devil tries to weaken and shake your faith.

 

Not only this, but during these times of hardship, the devil tries to lead us astray by making us do things that are clearly against God's will. The doubt he plants causes us to make decisions of our own accord, rather than putting our faith in God and His path for us. 

 

He did this with Jesus by telling him he should turn stones into bread to satiate his hunger. Satan knows Jesus is more than capable of performing such a miracle; Jesus had already fed over 5000 people with merely 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. Satan's objective isn't just to make Jesus crumble. His ultimate goal is to make Jesus, and us, doubt God, doubt God's power, doubt God's plan, and finally make the dire mistake of taking situations into our own hands. He wants to turn us completely away from God, and make the foolish error of depending on our own abilities.

 

3. Then what was God's purpose for Jesus' suffering and temptation in the wilderness? Why did God allow for it to happen? It should be noted that God also let the Israelites roam in the desert for 40 years, long before the events of today's scripture.

 

Deuteronomy 8:2 says, "2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no."

 

God does not have us roam the desert because He doesn't love us or because He doesn't have the power to protect us. He does it so we can be humbled, learn obedience, and grow in Him. 

 

Jesus says in Matthew 4:4, "4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Bread by itself will not sustain us. True life is dependent on God's Word.

 

When our physical well-being is threatened, our knee-jerk reaction is to use the quickest and easiest way out, even if it isn’t honest or just. People turn to stealing and killing because they see it as the quickest solution to their problem. If such thoughts ever enter our own minds and hearts, we need to recognize them to be from Satan.

We must overcome such terrible urges and trust that God will bring us the right solution, even if it may take longer and feel more difficult. Trust God, meditate on His Word, and know that He will deliver us from these hardships.

 

B) The Second Test

Second, the devil tempts Jesus by promising him power and glory if Jesus just worships him. But Jesus replies, “Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

 

Jesus knew that all the power and glory of the world was not Satan’s to give; only God can grant someone that gift. All of the once seemingly great rulers of the world are now suffering in Hell. They chose to serve the wrong “god”. Power and glory are great, but nothing is greater or more powerful than the Words of God. God rules over all, and He has power over everything. God is the only one we should be serving and worshipping.

 

C) Do not Tempt God

The devil then tells Jesus to prove he is the Son of God by jumping from the highest point of a temple. He even uses God’s own words of Psalm 91:11-12, “11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”

Jesus once again defeats this temptation by responding, “It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” God is the one we trust, not the one we tempt. Yet many of us test and tempt Him. When we find ourselves in the wilderness, we try to runaway. But those who run are those who fail, and this is a failure that we will not recover from. It is a failure that will last a lifetime. Those who depend on Him in the wilderness are the ones who will find glory and victory.

Con)

Jesus overcame all of Satan’s temptations by using God’s direct words. First, when he was tempted to turn stones into bread, Jesus responded with Deuteronomy 8:3. When he was tempted with glory and power, Jesus responded with Deuteronomy 6:13. When he was tempted to jump from the temple, Jesus responded with Deuteronomy 6:16. Jesus didn’t defeat Satan with his own will and power; he used God’s Word and power.

This demonstrates the vitality of learning God’s Word and applying them in our lives. God’s word is our ultimate weapon and protection. God’s Word must permeate and dominate in our lives. Not only that, but we must properly educate ourselves on the word and not depend on our personal interpretations.

It is crucial to find a true church that preaches the true word. It is crucial to learn from true leaders of God. If our foundation on His word is weak, then we are susceptible to be swayed by cults and false prophets.

 

Jesus defeated Satan in today’s scripture, but that does not mean Satan left Jesus alone forever. We are told in Luke 4:13, “13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.” Satan had only left Jesus for a moment. His temptations continued until Jesus’ last breath on the cross.

 

The devil is persistent. The devil will do anything to lead you astray from God. The devil will tempt you from the moment you believe in God to the moment you finally return to God. Our spiritual battle against Satan will never end until our own last breaths on earth.

 

But none of us can defeat Satan on our own. The Word and prayer are the only way. Trust in the Word, prayer, the Holy Spirit, and fellowship with other true Christians. Make time for meditation and worship. Pray for each other and worship together. We will not survive alone.

 

Walk this week with Jesus, standing firm with Him in His Word. Put your faith in God and walk down a path of victory.

 

 

042118 By IK SUN AHN