We have all been tempted to do various things that we know we shouldn’t, things that we know are sinful, that go against what we know God would want us to do, and what we know is contrary to His Word. All too often we have given in to those temptations. If we are a genuine Christian, and one who is striving to live our life for the Lord, we will then confess those sins to God, receive His forgiveness, and seek to avoid those sins in the future. When those temptations get strong and keep coming, we might wonder if Jesus knows and understands what we are going through. In our Gospel reading for this week, we see where the Lord Jesus was also tempted by Satan, and also what tactics He used to counter those temptations. Let’s take a look.
As we read in Luke’s Gospel, after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit led Him out into the wilderness for a period of forty days, where He fasted and was in prayer with the Father (vs 1-2). While Jesus was fasting, and was isolated from any other human contact at the time, Satan took that opportunity to tempt Him into sin. By taking a close look at these temptations, and Jesus’ response to the attacks of Satan, we can follow His examples in our fight with the temptations that we face.
The first temptation that Satan brought against Jesus was to tempt Him to turn the stones around Him into the round loaves of bread that were common in that part of the world (vs. 3). Jesus was fasting during this time in the wilderness, and was certainly hungry. A slice of nice, warm, freshly made bread would be a strong temptation! When Satan posed this temptation to Jesus, he phrased it as questioning whether Jesus really was God’s Son, “If You are the Son of God……”. He questioned Jesus’ identity as God’s Son, and also God’s willingness to provide Him with basic care. Satan appealed to His hunger, and challenged Him to take matters into His own hands
Jesus responded to this by quoting from the Bible (vs. 4). He quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3. Jesus didn’t try to match wits, or give arguments. He simply used God’s Word, which is what we are to use in our battles with the devil. The Bible, God’s Word, is our sword which we are to use in our battle against Satan and sin (Ephesians 6:17). Jesus chose to obey God over satisfying His physical desires. He trusted God completely, not by feasting on earthly food, but by abiding in God’s eternal Word. How many times do our temptations come with the desire to satisfy any physical desires which might be fine, like food, but not in the way or manner that God desires? And, of course, there are many temptations to satisfy our carnal nature in completely sinful ways, too.
The second temptation was an appeal to power (vs. 5-7). Satan tried to get Jesus to worship him, which is a direct assault on the first commandment (Exodus 20:2-3). Jesus responded in verse 8 with another quote from the Bible, Deuteronomy 6:13. Yahweh is the only One worthy of worship, not any false gods or demons in disguise. When temptation strikes, the safest and most effective response is to pick up our spiritual sword, the Word of God!
The third temptation that Luke recorded was when Satan took Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem (vs. 9) The highest point was the Royal Porch beside the Kidron Valley, with a drop of 450 ft. Satan challenged Jesus to prove His identity by jumping off the high point of the Temple, and then commanding the angels to catch or protect Him. Then Satan thought he would try another tactic. Since Jesus had been responding to the temptations with Scripture, Satan tried to do the same, and justify his temptation with a quote of Scripture (vs 10-11). He used Psalm 91:11-12, however he took it out of context, and also twisted the meaning around. When quoting Scripture, one should always consider the context of the verses. Also, it is always wrong to twist Scripture around just to try and make it seem like it advances our argument. The context of Psalm 91 is trusting in the Lord, and making Him our refuge and shelter. When we do, He will protect us. Satan’s temptation and use of this verse was a presumptuous test of God. It showed an insolent lack of faith. In response, in verse 12 Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:16.
Satan tried to get Jesus to make selfish choices instead of submitting to God’s plans. He misused Scripture, but Jesus responded with correctly used Scripture. Satan likes to tempt us when we’re vulnerable, such as when hungry, sick, or tired. Beware of any temptations that place more emphasis on our personal desires than on God’s will, and always be on alert for people who twist Scriptures for their own purposes.
Even though this set of temptations was over, Satan wasn’t done (vs 13). Satan was waiting for a more opportune time. Jesus faced temptations, and He struck down the tempter for us. God strengthens us to face fears, and then feeds our faith through His Word, the eternal feast.
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