Luke 4

Satan Tempts Jesus

  Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, ² being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

³ And the devil said to Him, “ If you are Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

⁴ But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”

⁵ Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶ And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. ⁷ Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

⁸ And Jesus answered and said to him, ^]“Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

⁹ Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. ¹⁰ For it is written:

¹¹ and,

¹² And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”

¹³ Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

 

Satan and his demons, fallen angels, and minions know that Jesus is who He proclaims to be (Luke 4:34), (Luke 10:18)  but it was mankind that Jesus had to convince, because it is the souls of mankind that are at stake.

Here was an opportunity to show everyone in the city that He was under the Father’s protection. Here was a chance to publicly remove all doubt, without all the rigors of ministry, the unwashed multitudes clamoring for healing, with only a few giving thanks to G-d for their blessings and miracles.

At the end of a 40 day fast, our Lord, being fully man, was tired, weak, hungry, and hot in the desert sun. He likely looked every bit of it, and now, the Father allows the enemy to assail Him, to see if His obedience was worthy of the times to come, and it is in this moment that the very salvation of man is on the line, because if the Messiah gives in, His death on the cross is no longer necessary, and we die in our sins with no chance of repentance, no grace or mercy, with our filthy righteousness reeking in G-d’s nostrils.

So the Accuser engages the Christ in a war of words, of the Father’s Word, no less, using the Father’s prophet’s own words to get Jesus to fall. The third temptation is most like the one Jesus endured when He was finally crucified. Indeed, the words are almost identical:

Matthew 27:39-43

³⁹ And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

⁴¹ Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, ⁴² “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. ⁴³ He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

This was the opportune time, and though Satan wasn’t physically there, his spirit was moving among the crowd, among the religious leaders, as Jesus, this time dying as He hung and bled, once again resists the temptation to deliver Himself from the pain.

Indeed, He’d already sought to ask. (Matthew 26:39)  

Does He not tell us that all things are possible with G-d? It was entirely possible to find another way, but then, we’d have no one to stand before the throne and intercede for us, we’d have no holy blood to plead, and no grace to operate in. And while, as Gentiles, we’d not be under the law, we’d certainly be under His wrath, which is the fate of unbelievers.

It is through faith, praise, thanks, and obedience that our Lord operates, and He will not put on a show for the unfaithful. (Matthew 16:4)

He also refrained from acting on that which Satan quoted to Him earlier about being kept by the angels. (Matthew 26: 50-53) though it was confirmed for us earlier that what Isaiah prophesied was true (Matthew 4:11)

Let us be glad then, that we have a Savior who moves in, and is sustained by, the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let us give thanks, praise, and obedience to a Son who has pleased His Father, and obeyed him in all things concerning our salvation.

Therefore I pray:

King Jesus,

We can’t hold fast to the promises by faith. Even as You ministered, and with all the miracles You performed in the power of the Holy Spirit they said to You: “Help my unbelief,” “Increase our faith,” “Teach us to pray,” “Show us the Father,” and other such phrases that probably wearied Your own spirit. 

Our hearts are hard, and our spirits feeble. We are a wobbly lot, and yet we have Your words to not be afraid, or worry, for we are of value to the Father who knew us before the womb, and would see us reconciled through You, our Savior, Brother, Friend, King, and ultimately, Judge. 

If we are to ask anything in Your Name, You have said that the Father will do it, and with all that we ask, from the big to the small, we ask this above everything: We never doubt that You are the Son of G-d, that You are the only Name under Heaven by which we are saved, that You are the Way, Truth, and Light, and that there will be weeping and unquenchable fire for the unfaithful and disobedient.

Let us never tempt the Father to put on a show for the sake of ourselves, for we have no power in ourselves that does not come through, and from, the Holy Spirit and His grace to us through Your sacrifice.

You have said to us that we will perform greater works, but like Your disciples, we really don’t understand this saying, or we would act on it to do better than we are. Bring it to mind when we are struggling in our own abilities to be more like You, and let us be still before You as we gather strength from You through prayer. 

We ask, also, that You come to us at the opportune times we give so often to our enemy to remind us that as You withstood temptation, we also must stand, abiding in You that we might resist the devil, and have him flee from us, as He did from You, as it is our sake that You bought us at a steep and awful price. 

Let us prove ourselves, in You, through You, and by You, worthy of the cost.

May it done to us as You have said.

Amen.