THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS Luke 4:1-12 Lars ... - Vital Christianity

1
THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS
Luke 4:1-12
Lars Wilhelmsson
No person knows the force of temptation until he resists it, just as no one knows the force
of a strong wind if he lies down flat on the ground. Only when you stand and walk against the
wind can you understand its power. Therefore the more righteous you are, the more you will
understand the intensity of temptation.
There is then only one Person in human history who has felt the full force of
temptation—our Lord Jesus Christ. The temptation of Jesus, as recorded in both Matthew (4:1-
11) and Luke (vv. 1-12), is important to us not only in relation to Christ Himself but in its
applications to God's people in every age.
The devil in this challenge is brazen and orthodox; brazen in thinking that he could
cause the king of righteousness to sin; orthodox in that he knew he was tempting not only the
Son of Man but the very Son of God who came from heaven. And so he tempted Jesus, not on
the basis of His humanity, but on the basis of His deity.
Luke points out that Jesus approached His temptation "full of the Holy Spirit" and that
He was "led by the Spirit" in the desert (v. 1). It states that it was in the desolate, God-forsaken
desert that Jesus was "tempted by the devil" for forty days. Luke points out that Jesus had not
eaten anything during those forty days and at the end of this ordeal He was therefore hungry (v.
2). The climax of this forty day ordeal of hunger and temptation is Satan's frontal attack.
THE FIRST TEMPTATION
So Satan addresses a hungry and fatigued Jesus with his first suggestion that He, as the
Son of God, would turn rocks into wholesome bread:
"The devil said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.'
Jesus answered, 'It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone'" (vv. 3-4).
The human need for bread is universal, and people will do desperate things when they are
really starving. They will steal, cheat, lie and even kill for sustenance. And it is so easy to doubt
the providence and care of God at the agonizing moment when you feel neglected and forsaken,
a condition brought on by hunger.
Jesus' baptism had confirmed that Jesus was especially dear to God the Father, who had
said on that occasion:
"You are My Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased" (3:22).

2
But Satan taunted Jesus by asking how He could believe that He was so special, precious,
loved, if He was left in the desert with no provision for creature comforts and no food to keep the
body and soul together.
Israel, God's firstborn son, was miraculously kept alive in another wilderness as God sent
manna from heaven on a daily basis. In fact miracles followed them all through their wilderness
ordeal. But for You, Satan insinuated, there is no special provision.
Why not take the matter into Your own hands? Work Your own miracles and then
announce to the people, struggling on the borderline of poverty and economic hardship, that the
new age of God's abundance and generosity has arrived? Feed Yourself and the crowds and win
their immediate allegiance. Meet their physical needs and You will have the world at Your feet
overnight. They will hail You as the great Architect of a utopia of peace and plenty for all.
Jesus saw the danger. It was a bribe to get a following. It a shortcut, an appeal to
shortcircuit God's timing and thus God's plan. It offered an easy road to popularity knowing
that whatever panders to the human appetite—physical, emotional, aesthetic, volitional—is
bound to be applauded.
But for Jesus this was not the way ahead. People need bread. He acknowledged that fact
in His feeding the crowd; but there is no guarantee that any person wants to hear the divine word.
And so, when they came—at the conclusion of the feeding miracle—to abduct Jesus and forcibly
to crown Him King, He fled from their enthusiasm (Jn 6:15). He would not be their King in
that way. Shortly thereafter Jesus challenged them to follow Him as the Suffering Servant, the
one who would give Himself as a sacrificial Lamb, but they refused "never to follow Him again"
(v. 66).
Jesus answered instead with Scripture which states that man shall not live on bread alone,
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Dt 8:3).
Man was not made to live on bread alone. While animals can live by bread alone, human
beings—made in the image and likeness of God—can exist on bread alone, but they cannot live
on such bread. Rather man is to live by God's Word. That is, he shall live by truth, justice,
righteousness, and grace. He shall live by kindness, mercy and love. He shall live by taking up a
cross daily, denying himself and doing good to everyone, even to those who hate him. That is
LIFE as God meant it to be.
Definition
The essence of temptation is to take a thing for which there is a proper use and put it
to improper use. Put another way, it is doing the right thing in a wrong way.

3
THE SECOND TEMPTATION
The second Satanic "try" may be called playing to the gallery.
Luke describes it this way:
"The devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the
kingdoms of the world. And he said to Him, 'I will give You all their
authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to
anyone I want to. So if You worship me, it will all be Yours.'
Jesus answered,
'It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only'" (4:5-7).
Satan urged Jesus to provide a spectacle. Create a sensation in the temple courts by
leaping into empty space from the pinnacle of the Temple tower and gently float down to a safe
landing, upheld by the arms of God's angels.
Think (the devil whispered) of what You will accomplish in a single stroke! You will
fulfill Scripture to the very letter; You will confirm the teaching of the Jewish rabbis who
expected the Messiah to show Himself on the Temple roof; You will exhibit a marvelous trust
in God's keeping power and put Your faith to work; and above all, You will capture this
nation for God in a way which no one will or can dispute.
It is a natural desire to want to have the appreciation or approval of our fellow-men.
Jesus, above all, had a right to this. "Messiah" is a title that assumes a responsive people, just as
the shepherd needs a flock and a king requires a country. For Jesus, the Kingdom of God was
everything--and that included the allegiance of God's people, their devotion and services.
But Jesus refused Satan's ploy. Both in the desert and throughout His ministry, he would
give no sign (Mk 8:11-13). This is not God's way of calling for the allegiance of people. Such a
method is compulsion rather than faith as it is a fleshly attempt to force God to act. To jump
out into space for our convenience is presumption. No, Jesus replied, I won't make a convenience
or a cheap advertisement of the power and providence of God.
Defeated at two tries, the devil does not give up but comes back the third time in a more
direct, downright, no-nonsense approach. Luke's description is as follows:
"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. For
it is written:

'He will command His angels concerning you to guard you carefully;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot
against a stone.' (Ps 91:11)
Jesus answered, 'It says:
'Do not put the Lord your God to the test'" (4:9-12).
Satan even resorts to using Scripture (Ps 91:11) in this third desperate attempt to lure
Jesus. In effect He says: You claim to be the Messiah, the one who is to free Your people. But
they are in bitter bondage to an alien and wicked power. They need someone who can turn the
tables on Rome, someone who shows the patriotic spirit of the heroes of the past—Joshua,
David, the valiant freedom-fighters of the Maccabees (during the 400 silent years between the
Old and New Testaments).
Just give me Your allegiance and the kingdoms of the world will be Yours. Do it my
way and You will be on top. You will be able to make not only Rome but all the kingdoms of
the earth subservient to You and Your people.
Once again Jesus quickly responded with a decisive "No!" When it comes to those who
resort to bloody revolution, who want a new holy war or a fresh Inquisition, to soldiers who
carry the cross into battle with the attitude "God with us," to militants who would take the
kingdom by violence and out-do the Zealots, they may sincerely profess to act in My name,
but they do not share My spirit.
4
Forcing the issue is Satan's method, not God's. Cloak it with highly attractive
garments—patriotism, nationalism, freedom, peace—but it is simply an invitation to bow down
to Satan's battle methods and strategy.
It is still the same. Satan attempts to get us to bring in God's Kingdom by methods so
alien to Him that it turns out to be the very antithesis of all that Jesus came to be and to do. It is
the hallmark of Antichrist.
Today we have the choice of the same easy alternatives offered to Christ two thousand
years ago. The alternatives to physical appetites, power, and popularity are ever before us.
They come to us in various forms:
● Win people by ministering to their bodily and social needs alone,
● Gain cheap success by conjuring tricks and manipulations of what is claimed as
compelling evidence; and
● Pursue the line of freedom and peace, but deny it by the methods you use.

5
That is exactly how Jesus saw Satan's insinuations, and why He rejected them as denying
the lordship of God and the fulfillment of His will in His way.
No, Jesus told Satan three times. I'd rather die than follow your suggestions.
And He did. He chose against the easy, false ways and went to the Cross—a disappointment
to fanatics and zealots in every age.
APPLICATION
While Adam and Eve succumbed to temptation, Jesus did not. What made the difference?
Wad it the fact that Jesus was divine? Definitely not! Jesus did not overcome temptation by
drawing upon His divine nature and power. He faced temptation as a man. This is the reason
why He is an example for us when we are tempted.
Jesus faced and resisted temptation first by having just spent forty days in fasting and
prayer. But He also resisted temptation by His use of Scripture. Notice in each instance when
Jesus was tempted that He resisted Satan by the use of the Word of God. The first temptation
Jesus countered with Deuteronomy 8:3, the second He answered with Deuteronomy 6:13, and
the last temptation He countered with Deuteronomy 6:16.
Jesus overcame temptation the same way we can overcome temptation—by prayer and by
God's Word. So we need to learn to pray as Jesus prayed and know and use the Word as Jesus
did. Then, and then only, will we, like Jesus, experience victory over our temptations.