I once had a friend who was trying to diet. Caught with a bag of doughnuts, he explained, “I was passing a Krispy Kream store and prayed “Lord, if you want me to buy some donuts, please send me a sign, provide me with a parking space right outside the shop”. And guess what, the Lord answered my prayer. On my tenth time I drove past the shop, there was my parking space.” It was Oscar Wilde who made famous the phrase, “I can resist everything… except temptation.”
We all know what temptation is. Supermarkets still stack sweets at child height. Petrol stations do the same. But if you want the bread or milk where is it? Goodness knows. But the chocolate and sweets – you know where they are don’t you. They follow you all the way from the door to the checkout.
Jesus called us to be fisherman. But did you realise Satan is a good fisherman too? “First, he chooses the right bait. Satan knows us like a skilled angler knows fish. He notes our habits. He observes our hangouts. He’s had thousands of years’ experience preparing tailor-made lures and he knows how to cast them so they drop right in front of our noses. Second comes the appeal. He can’t make us bite, but he does know what happens inside us when we catch a glimpse of that tantalizing bait. We are drawn to it. We linger over it. We toy with it. We roll it over in our minds until it consumes our imagination. Third, the struggle begins. Immediately, our conscience jabs us in the ribs, warning us of the danger. We know it’s wrong to take a bite. We may even see the barbed consequences poking through the bait. But Satan’s invitation looks so delicious. What do we do? Fourth, the temptation ends with the response. Either we resist or yield. Either we swim away or we swallow it whole. When you’ve resisted you know the feeling of freedom that decision brings. On the other hand, when you’ve yielded you know the feeling of emptiness that follows and the pain of the hook in your cheek.”[i]
Whether you’re feeling elated or hooked today, we are going to see how Jesus met and overcame temptation and how, with his help we can too. Our passage breaks down into three sections:
1. The Context for Temptation
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.” (Luke 4:1-2)
We do not have time to speculate on how the sinless and perfect eternal Son of God could have been tempted. All we can note humbly is that since no one else was present, Jesus felt it sufficiently important to share this encounter with his disciples and through them, to us and for our benefit.
Nor do we have time to dwell on the origin of evil or of Satan. Suffice it to say he is most frequently called the devil, from diabolos, which means accuser or slanderer. He is also described as the ruler of this world (John 12:31), the prince of the air (Eph. 2:2), the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4), the deceiver (Rev. 12:9) and the tempter, as in this passage (1 Thes. 3:5).
Satan has never made himself more personally manifest than he did to Jesus in the wilderness. The Lord’s own account shows unmistakably that the opponent He faced was personal in every sense. In this very real struggle, we are given clear and applicable insights into Satan’s strategy and into Christ’s way of victory. Side by side we are shown the warning of danger and the way of escape, the way that leads to defeat and the way that leads to victory – in short between the way of life and the way of death, between God and Satan. Notice:
Temptation came directly after blessing
Jesus has just been baptized. God the Father had declared, “This is my son in whom I am well pleased!” What a spiritual high. Testing will invariably come on the heels of a spiritual blessing.
Temptation came with physical weakness
Jesus had not eaten in 40 days. Temptations often come when we are weak, tired or vulnerable, physically or emotionally.
Temptation came when Jesus was alone
We are most susceptible to temptation when we are alone. That is why friends are so important – why fellowship or being in a small group is so essential. The context for temptation.
2. The Nature of Temptation
In each of these temptations we hear the devil tempt and Jesus answer.
2.1 The Temptation to do it Yourself
The Devil Speaks: “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”(4:3). Satan is not casting doubt on whether Jesus is the Son of God. He literally says “since you are the Son of God.” The first temptation would be no temptation at all if Jesus were not the Son of God. You can almost sense the innocence in the devil’s suggestion – “just turn these stones into bread” – what’s the big deal? You are the Son of God – just do it! There is no law against turning stones into bread. It won’t hurt anyone, nobody is looking.” Jesus had been without food for nearly six weeks. Invoke your supernatural powers. This temptation was very real. Jesus could have done it in an instant, his hunger was real. Satan is suggesting to Jesus that there must be something wrong with the Father’s love since “His beloved son” was hungry. Satan was tempting Jesus to disobey the Father’s will by using his divine power for his own purposes. John Piper says that sin …”gets its power by persuading me to believe that I will be happier if I follow it. The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier.”[ii] The Devil speaks. Jesus Answers: “It is written, ‘People do not live on bread alone.’” (Luke 4:4). Notice Jesus uses the same phrase in each of his answers, “it is written.”
He did not allow the situation or the circumstances or even the enemy to dictate the truth. The answers to all three temptations came right out of Deuteronomy, the story of God’s pilgrim people delivered from slavery. Jesus was saying,
“I will not take matters into my own hands. I will trust my Father and his word.” We will never be tempted to turn stones into bread because the impossible does not tempt us. Instead, the Devil’s ploy is to make us believe that if we want something, we need to do it ourselves – instead of trusting God to provide. I am regularly tempted to satisfy my personal needs or desires – and all it takes is… a credit card. The temptation to do it yourself was answered by a reliance on God’s Word.
2.2 The Temptation to Take the Easy 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 splendour, 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.” (Luke 4:5-7)
The devil was not lying when he promises Jesus, “this has been given to me, and I give it to anyone I want to.” (4:6). But the devil was offering Jesus a kingdom without the cross. Why go to all the trouble and pain to win the world when it can be yours for free. No suffering, No struggle, No pain.
Just switch allegiance and join my team. But a crown without the cross would mean no forgiveness for our sins. So Jesus answers: “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” (Luke 4:8). We do not have to look far to see the application. As we grow up we are taught to avoid pain, to take the easy way, the path of least resistance. The only absolute it seems is my right to personal freedom and affluence. Even the church is infected with this assumption.
Underlying much health and wealth teaching is the common but self–centred notion that, as God’s children, we deserve the earthly best and that it is unspiritual to be satisfied with anything less. How can a child of God ever be sick or in want? Surely you must lack sufficient faith? Name it and claim it is precisely what Satan offered Jesus. What did Satan say? “All these I will give you…” I fear that much of our prayer life exhibits this pagan and materialistic notion of God. How often do we ask God for physical things like health and possessions and how often do we ask for holiness, for wisdom, for guidance, for His perfect will to be done? Much of what is called “the prosperity gospel” is based on the false assumption that our physical well–being is our most essential need. Jesus contradicts this when he answers Satan: “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only, unconditionally, unreservedly, irrespective of the consequences, without any incentive other than that we are obedient to his perfect will.
The temptation to do it yourself, and temptation to take the easy way.
2.3 The temptation that seeing is believing
Satan leads Jesus to the highest point of the Temple and quotes from Psalm 91: “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.’”(Luke 4:9-11)
For Jesus to have followed Satan’s suggestion would have been, in the eyes of many Jews, sure proof he was the Messiah. Sensationalism is always appealing, and many are willing to believe almost anyone, or anything, as long as the claims are accompanied by the supernatural. But as is so often the case, the divine promise Satan quotes is preceded by a divine command which he conveniently ignores. Psalm 90,
“If you make the Most High your dwelling—even the Lord, who is my refuge— then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” (Psalm 91:1-2, 9-12)
Notice the conditional clause? “If… then…” To ignore the divine command in order to appropriate the divine promise is presumption not faith, it is rebellion not obedience. Jesus later warned that “false Christ’s and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:24).
Such dramatic signs, even when they are from God, do not produce faith; they only strengthen the faith of those who already believe. Jesus’ miracles merely hardened the opposition of His enemies to the point where He declared that “an evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign” (Matt. 12:39). Jesus Himself was the greatest sign ever given by, yet, as Isaiah had predicted hundreds of years before, He “was despised and forsaken” (Isaiah 53:3; Luke 18:31–33). Demanding sensational proof is not evidence of faith but of doubt. To long for the visible sign, the big miracle, the dramatic proof is nothing but unbelief.
Jesus would have no part in Satan’s stunt. “It is written” he replied, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” (Luke 4:12). There are many subtle ways that we can put God to the test. We may not jump from the top of the church – but we may be tempted to think that God is only present when we see certain spiritual gifts used, or particular musical instruments played, or a particular person is involved. When we prefer a word of knowledge to the exposition of the Bible we test God. When we would rather read a newspaper or novel than memorize the Scriptures, we test God. When we think that occasional attendance and not dedicated service will keep us on the right path – we test God. When we take risks with clear moral absolutes like truth telling and honesty, we test God. Why then are we so surprised when we fall.
Think about it. If Jesus, the perfect sinless eternal Son of God, chose to rely solely on the Scriptures to defeat Satan, what makes us think we can do it any other way? The temptation to do it yourself. The temptation to take the easy way. The temptation that seeing is believing. Each defeated by the Word of God. We have considered the context of temptation and the nature of temptation. Finally,
3. The Victory over Temptation (4:13)
“When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13)
When it says that the Devil “left him” the Greek is much more emphatic. It means he “stood off.” This skirmish was over but Satan had not given up. Margaret Thatcher once said, “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” You may withstand Satan today but remember the battle is not over – he lies in wait for another opportune moment.
When you are weak – expect a major assault.
When you resist – be ready for a different approach.
When he leaves – count on another attack.
The Lord gives each one of us the power to resist Satan. “Resist the devil,” James assures us, “and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). With every temptation God promises he “will provide a way of escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
When Martin Luther was asked how he overcame the devil, he replied, “Well, when he comes knocking at the door of my heart, and asks ‘Who lives here?’ the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, “Martin Luther used to live here, but he has moved out. Now I live here.” We find help against temptation, just as we find help for everything else by “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Keeping our eyes on our Lord Jesus is our only hope of resisting temptation and running “with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). So when temptation comes, as it inevitably will, say to yourself,
“I will trust my Father; I will not presume on His Word; I will rely on it. I will take my Father’s good gifts from His own hand, in His own way, and in His own time.”
[i] Charles Swindoll. The Origin of Something Glorious: Jesus Birth and the Beginning of Ministry – A Study of Luke 1:1-6:49. Bible Study Guide. (Anaheim, California: Insight for Living. 1994). p. 83.
[ii] E. Lutzer, Putting Your Past Behind You, (Here’s Life, 1990), p.54