What Made Jesus Tempted?

Welcome/Series Intro

What Made Jesus _______? (Explain the idea behind the series)

So… buckle up. We got an interesting one this weekend. Because here’s what we’re asking:

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What made Jesus tempted?

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What made Jesus tempted? What tempted him?

Now, we’re gonna dive into that question—but we can’t dive into that one first. That’s actually the 3rd question we’re gonna dive into.

The first two that we have to ask as we get going this weekend, though, are these:

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What made Jesus tempted?

Was Jesus actually tempted?

What does it mean to be tempted?

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Okay. So, the first one of those questions is pretty easy:

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What made Jesus tempted?

Was Jesus actually tempted? Yes.

What does it mean to be tempted?

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Yes. Yes, he was.

Moving on. ;)

But don’t just take my word for it.

Let me give you one Scripture reference that we’ll be diving a little more deeply into here in a second. It’s Hebrews 4:14-15:

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Hebrews 4:14-15 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”

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Tempted in every way. Just like us. Couldn’t be more clear.

In fact, we’ll also be taking a look at the account in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 where Jesus is tempted by Satan himself in the desert.

So: yes. Jesus was tempted.

But let’s get to the next question:

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What made Jesus tempted?

Was Jesus actually tempted? Yes.

What does it mean to be tempted?

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What does it mean to be “tempted?” What does that mean?

Well, the root word for “tempted” in Greek literally means to “pass through” something - like, to try and pierce it or break through it.

Which is why the word for “tempt” is sometimes translated as “test:

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Tempt:

To test or attempt to prove the nature or character of someone or something: I’m going to test the strength of this rope.

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(Do rope illustration: tug of war.)

Now, the same word gets translated as “tempt” when we’re talking about a different kind of testing:

Tempt:

To test or attempt to prove the nature or character of someone (or something): I’m going to test to see if this rope will break.

To try and cause someone to sin; to be entrapped or led astray: I’m going to try and see if I can “break” you.

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(Do rope illustration: being pulled in the wrong direction.)

So that’s what it means to be tempted: to test the character of something and/or to be enticed to sin.

So: are we now ready to tackle the question we started with? What made Jesus tempted?

Not quite yet. Let’s cover one more thing.

We saw what Hebrews said about Jesus - that he was tempted “in every way,” just like we are. Jesus was a real human being who lived in the real world, and was confronted by all the things this world throws at us: greed, hate, selfishness, immoral sex, chasing power, using power abusively, failing to love, witholding forgiveness… you name it, he experienced it. Just like we did.

But there is one big difference between Jesus and us in this area—and that is this:

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We have a sinful nature. Jesus did not.

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(Rope illustration with me pulling the rope myself.)

We call this phenomenon our “sinful nature”—meaning we’ve got something in our nature, on the inside of us, that pulls us away from dependence on God, submission to God, obedience to God, and instead pulls us toward our own way.

Take a look at how James describes it:

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James 1:14 “but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.”

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We don’t long to forgive; we don’t long to give more and more of our money away; we don’t long to love our enemies. More often than not, our “gut reaction” or our first instinct is to do the opposite. Our default is to pull away from God instead of leaning in.

And this, by the way, is what our enemy, Satan, uses to our disadvantage. Take a look at this verse in 1 Thessalonians:

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1 Thessalonians 3:5 “I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain.”

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You’ve probably heard the phrase “the devil made me do it,” right? Well, that’s not correct. But the Devil certainly could be appealing to your sinful nature and tempting you or enticing you to do it. When the Devil acts as the tempter, he’s testing your character, who you are on the inside, to see where your loyalty lies.

But Jesus didn’t have that. He didn’t have this sinful nature. He didn’t have this internal pull towards sinning like you and I do. (Throw rope away.) He wasn’t born with that.

Which might cause you to go, “Wait a second. You mean Jesus didn’t have to battle these strong internal impulses to... eat too many twinkies, and... punch people in the throat (like you and me?)”

No, he didn’t. Why?

He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. You and I were conceived by our parents. We were born from people who had a sinful nature; Jesus was born of a virgin.

But that didn’t make him immune to temptation. Because think about this: was Jesus the first person in human history to be born without a sinful nature?

No. He was the 3rd.

The first two were Adam and Eve.

They were born without a sinful nature.

And yet, the not only were they tempted; they fell into temptation.

It’s kind of an interesting parallel:

In Genesis, we have two humans, Adam and Eve, no sinful nature, tempted by Satan… and they fall.

And in the Gospels, we have one human, Jesus, no sinful nature, tempted by Satan… and he doesn’t break.

Why?

Let’s take a look at the story in order to finally answer our question, “What Made Jesus Tempted?” Turn with me to Luke 4:1-13.

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Luke 4:1-13

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As you find that, we’ve already set up the parallel between Jesus and Adam and Eve. But as we dive into Luke, there’s another parable between Jesus and another Old Testament story. You’ll see it as we read our first few verses.

Luke 4, verse 1:

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Luke 4:1-2 “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 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.”

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Okay. So, here the the clues in these first few verses that point to an Old Testament story: wilderness, 40 days, and ate nothing.

Sounds a lot like the story of God leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land. From Deuteronomy 8:

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Deuteronomy 8:2 “Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.”

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See the parallel?

So here Jesus is, led by God into the wilderness, directed not to eat for a long time, and at the end, tested—

But in the form of a temptation by the Devil:

When he was at his physically weakest point.

Which (finally!) is our first insight into what tempted Jesus:

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What tempted Jesus?

Human fragility: most vulnerable at his physically weakest.

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This why the devil waits until the end of the 40 days. When Jesus is at his physically weakest, he’s going to be the most vulnerable.

Works the same way with us:

When are we the most likely to respond in anger? When we’re tired.

When are we the most likely to make poor decisions? When we’re fatigued.

My wife and I used to joke about this back in the days when our kids were still babies. When they’re coughing or congested at 2pm, you can deal with it and kinda figure it out.

But when it’s 2am… well, for some reason, it feels like they’re probably dying and need to be rushed to the ER.

We’re the most vulnerable when we’ve got the least amount of physical resources. That’s the way it works with us. That’s the way it worked with Jesus. And the Devil knows that about us.

So what does he do? Tempts Jesus at his weakest point. Here’s his first attempt, Verse 3:

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Luke 4:3 “The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

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Okay. Sooo… what? So what? Turn stones into bread? What’s so bad about that? How is that even a “temptation?” Why would that be a sin?

Well, before it has anything to do with stones or bread, it has everything to do with those first 7 words: “If you are the Son of God.”

Here’s what the devil is saying:

If you really are the Son of God, you don’t need to go hungry.

If you really are the Son of God, you don’t need to suffer.

If you really are the Son of God, you don’t need to deny yourself.

But what had God led him to do?

Go into the wilderness. For 40 days. Don’t eat.

In other words, Jesus knew that being the Son of God meant listening to his heavenly Father and obeying his heavenly Father—not doing whatever he wanted to do, whenever he wanted to do it. And what his heavenly Father told him to do was:

Go into the wilderness. For 40 days. Don’t eat.

So, what tempted Jesus?

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What tempted Jesus?

Human fragility: most vulnerable at his physically weakest.

Deepest needs: meet them your way—not God’s.

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Hungry? Make stones into bread. Doesn’t matter what God said.

For us, it can look like...

You’re lonely? Need companionship? Attach yourself to whoever, and do whatever you want with them. Doesn’t matter what God said about relationships.

Been treated unfairly? Need justice? Respond however you want. Doesn’t matter what God said about loving your enemies.

Got money? Need stuff? Yours to spend however you choose on whatever you want. Doesn’t matter what God said about being generous.

You’ve got power and a free will. Use it how you want to use it. Doesn’t matter what God said. You do you.

Besides… would God really want you to suffer? Doesn’t he want you to be happy? Isn’t that what this is really all about?

But look at how Jesus responds to this temptation. Verse 4:

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Luke 4:4 “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

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Which seems kinda like an odd thing to say—until you recall the parallel to the wilderness story.

We read a verse from Deuteronomy 8:2—but now, let’s read what is in the very next verse, verse 3:

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Deuteronomy 8:3 “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

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In the wilderness, God’s people began to grow hungry. No crops to plant or harvest; no storehouses to build up; constantly setting up and tearing down camp.

But it was in that place that God met them, provided for them, and fed them—supernaturally.

And there was the lesson—that following God’s lead might lead you into hard places, difficult places, painful places… even places of suffering.

But even in those places God is with you and will provide for you. Those are the places where you’ll be the most tempted to meet your deepest needs on your own and in your own way. But those are also the places where you need to listen to and depend on God the most. We don’t live because we meet our own needs. We live by God’s ways, and he meets them.

Let’s go to the next temptation. Verse 5:

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Luke 4:5-7 “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; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

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What’s going on here? What about this is a temptation to Jesus?

Well, earlier in Luke, in the first chapter, when the angel, Gabriel, tells Jesus’ mother, Mary, that she’s going to have a son, here’s what he says about him:

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Luke 1:32-33 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

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So, Jesus already has a kingdom coming his way. But the pathway to that kingdom is pretty difficult, to say the least. Because here’s what he knows about where his path is going to lead:

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Luke 9:21-22 “...he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

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Put it all together, and here’s what Jesus knew when he was there at the end of his wilderness journey being tempted by the devil with all of the kingdoms of the earth:

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Jesus knew that God’s path for him led to an everlasting kingdom—through suffering on the cross.

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So, maybe now, you can see what was so enticing about this second temptation in the wilderness:

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What tempted Jesus?

Human fragility: most vulnerable at your physically weakest.

Deepest needs: meet them your way—not God’s.

My little kingdom: looking out for me vs. suffering for others.

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Satan was giving Jesus an out. Why would you want to die for these people? Why go through all of that for them? They’re the ones that are going to kill you!

You want a kingdom? Done. How about all of them? Done. That’s how it works on team Satan. Maybe consider switching teams.

If you stay loyal to God, Jesus, you and I both know what’s coming for you. Switch sides, and here’s everything I’ll give you. You can rule over all of it.

Let them suffer. Avoid suffering. Sounds like a pretty good trade.

How does Jesus respond? Verse 8:

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Luke 4:8 “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

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Again, he’s quoting from Deuteronomy (chapter 6, verse 8, to be exact), with another lesson from Israel’s wilderness wandering. It’s probably worth reading:

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Deuteronomy 6:10-13 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.”

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Essentially, as Jesus quotes this passage, here’s what he’s saying:

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If God is leading me to a place of suffering, he’ll lead me through it.

I’ll stay faithful to God in it.

He’s building an everlasting kingdom on the other side of it.

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And we need to get this one. But it’s a hard one to get.

Because when I’m presented with the same options that Jesus was presented with here—suffer unjustly at the hands of people who don’t seem to care on the one hand...

Or take the easy way out, write them off, and go off on them on the other,

You know what I do way too often?

I don’t take the road of suffering.

And yet, I am so glad Jesus did.

And in the same breath, I’d say to myself and to all of you:

That is the way.

Suffering at the hands of people who don’t deserve that kind of love or patience from us… choosing love and mercy and forgiveness and patience for people who don’t deserve it and aren’t asking for it… that is the way of Jesus.

And if we say that we believe in him, which means that we are following him, then… us too.

Because on the other side of it is what?

It’s life everlasting—and maybe not just for you, but for them as they watch you obey.

Ok. Final temptation. Let’s get to it. Verse 9:

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Luke 4:9-11 “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.’”

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Now, it’s Satan quoting Scripture to Jesus. “It is written” in Psalm 90:11-12, which was a Psalm of David, Israel’s greatest ancient king and a man who was said to have a special relationship with God.

Here’s Satan’s basic argument:

Let’s take you right to God’s house, the temple. Should be the safest place on earth, where God’s protection is theoretically the strongest.

And let’s get real, Jesus: if God made a promise to David that he wouldn’t let him stub his toe, how much more would God spare you, his Son, from this fall!

Go ahead and try. You’ll find out that God doesn’t want you to suffer and fall; he wants to keep you safe and secure.

Later on in Luke, when Jesus is hanging on a literal cross, suffering and dying, mockers in the audience echo this same sentiment:

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Luke 23:35 “The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

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Here’s the temptation:

What tempted Jesus?

Human fragility: most vulnerable at your physically weakest.

Deepest needs: meet them your way—not God’s.

My little kingdom: looking out for me vs. suffering for others.

Your best life now: make God prove that he’s good to you.

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Satan ironically but very intentionally takes Jesus to Jerusalem and asks him to prove God’s goodness by keeping him safe from falling.

When just a few years later, God will lead Jesus to Jerusalem to take the fallenness of the whole world on himself at the cross.

Safety wasn’t in the plan.

But salvation was.

Look at how Jesus responds:

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Luke 4:12 “Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

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This is yet another quote from Deuteronomy, chapter 6 verse 16.

Jesus is saying back to the devil:

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I don’t need God to prove that he’s faithful.

All I need to do is obey him and trust that he will be faithful.

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Now:

Will that mean that we might suffer? Yes.

That we won’t always live our “best life now?” Yes.

That we’ll sometimes wonder if God can meet our deepest needs? You bet.

That’s all part of the journey.