Luke 4:1-13
1 Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness
2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ ”
5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory, for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I want.
7 Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”
8 Jesus replied to him, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’ ”
9 And he brought Him into Jerusalem and had Him stand 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:
‘He will give His angels orders concerning You, to protect You,’
11 and,
‘On their hands they will lift You up,
So that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ”
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been stated, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
13 And so when the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.
The Temptation in the Wilderness
The purpose of the temptation
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. The wilderness is a place to withdraw in order to hear the voice of God. There, Jesus fasted and prayed for forty days. At that time, it was not the voice of God but the voice of Satan that came. Some may think that Satan has immense power, but that is not the case. Satan only tempts. It is we ourselves who commit sin. The same Satan who tempted the first Adam also sought to tempt the last Adam, Jesus. The temptation was to use His own power to satisfy His personal needs. But God had a different purpose apart from Satan’s intent. This temptation served as a proving ground to determine what kind of Messiah Jesus would be. Would He be a Messiah who gives bread, promises political prosperity, and performs miracles, or a Messiah who walks the path of the cross? Jesus rejected every temptation of Satan and chose the way of the cross. There is no other way for people to be saved but through the cross. When you share the gospel with others, have you placed the cross at the center? If the priorities are mistaken, the gospel ceases to be the gospel.
Victory over temptations
1 John 2:16 lists the three temptations that confront us as human beings: “the lust of the flesh,” “the lust of the eyes,” and “the boastful pride of life.” Jesus faced these three temptations and overcame them on our behalf. But the significance of this victory goes beyond that alone. Jesus overcame Satan’s temptations by quoting the Scripture. What is noteworthy is that all the verses Jesus quoted are found within Deuteronomy 6:13 to 8:3. Deuteronomy chapters 6, 7, and 8 refer to the experiences of the people of Israel in the wilderness. The people of Israel faced testing in the wilderness. Jesus also faced testing in the wilderness. In both cases, the number 40 is significant (the Israelites for 40 years, and Jesus for 40 days). From these details, we can conclude that Jesus overcame temptation not only on behalf of all humanity, but also as a representative of the people of Israel. Just as our sins were atoned for by Jesus, so too were the failures of the people of Israel atoned for by Him. If we are in Christ, His victory is our victory, and what He has done is counted as what we have done. Hallelujah!
Today's prayer
Holy God of Israel, I thank You that Jesus overcame the temptations in the wilderness and atoned for the failures of the people of Israel. I also thank You for atoning for our sins. Just as the Lord chose the way of the cross, please strengthen me so that I too may take up my cross and follow Him. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.