Luke 4:1-13

Bobby desperately wanted a new bicycle. When his parents told him he would have to save his money and buy it himself he was not terribly surprised or disappointed. Instead, Bobby vowed to save his nickels, dimes and quarters until he finally had enough to buy a bicycle. His plan began well enough, but one hot summer day it hit a snag. At the end of a disastrous day, you could sense his dilemma in his prayer. Kneeling beside his bed, he poured out his heart, “Dear Lord, please help me save my money for a new bike, and please, Lord, don’t let the ice cream man come down the street again tomorrow!”

How many times do we let the sound of the ice cream truck get to us?

Turn to Luke 4. Today we come to the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness. This passage tells us that Jesus had to deal with the same type of things in life that we have deal with. Another important thing to glean from these verses is that temptation itself is not sin. The problem is when we allow the temptation to grow past the being tempted to the lust stage or the action stage.

Jesus was tempted but never sinned.

Remember, this passage takes place immediately following his baptism in the Jordan by John.

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 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)

Notice that Jesus was led to the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. Jesus didn’t take a wrong turn and found himself in this situation. No, this took place under God’s leading and direction. He spent forty days praying and fasting.

Forty is an important number in the Bible.

Moses spent forty years in Egypt and forty years in the desert before God selected him to lead the Israelites out of slavery.

Moses was on Mount Sinai for forty days and nights, on two separate occasions, receiving God’s laws.

Moses sent spies, for forty days, to investigate the land God promised the Israelites as an inheritance.

The Israelites spent forty years wandering in the wilderness after they refused to enter the Promised Land.

The prophet Jonah warned the Ninevites that in forty days destruction would come because of their many sins.

The prophet Ezekiel laid on his right side for forty days to symbolize Judah’s sins.

Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days.

And Jesus appeared to the disciples for forty days after his resurrection.

You get the idea. The number forty shows us 146 times in the Bible, often symbolizing a period of testing or trials.

It is important here to note the difference between three kinds of tempting and testing. First, the devil tempts people in order to lures them into disobeying God and doing evil. God never tempts us to evil nor can he himself be tempted in this way. James wrote:

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. (James 1:13)

We should also remember that not all temptations come directly from the devil, often it comes from our own desires.

14 But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:14–15)

Second, people can put God to the test by provoking him with unreasonable demands. That’s what the Israelites did in the desert. Moses warned the new generation that was about to enter the Promised Land:

Do not put the LORD your God to the test as you did at Massah. (Deuteronomy 6:16)

The Israelites came to Massah or Meribah after leaving Egypt. It was located between the Wilderness of Sin and the Wilderness of Sinai. When the Israelites ran out of water they began to complain.

But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” (Exodus 17:3)

God then directed Moses to a rock which he was to strike with his rod. When he did, water came from the rock. The place had originally be called Rephidim, but the name was changed because of their grumbling.

And he called the place Massah [which means testing] and Meribah [which means strife] because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7)

In verse 12 of our text, Jesus was referring to this and other times when the people tested God in the wilderness.

The devil tests or tempts us, we test God, and third, God tests (but does not tempt) his people. God tested Abraham:

1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love – Isaac – and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” (Genesis 22:1-2)

God tested the Israelites in the wilderness.

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. (Deuteronomy 8:2)

It is the first example we find in Luke 4, the devil is tempting Jesus to disobey God and do what was wrong.

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ ” (Luke 4:3-4)

Jesus had not eaten in forty days. He could certainly have made the stone become bread. It wouldn’t be long before he turned water into wine (his first miracle). Later he made five loaves and two fish feed five thousand men plus their wives and children. I think turning stones into bread would have been pretty simple. So what was wrong with it? How would this have been a sin?

There are at least two problems with this suggestion to perform a miracle in order to feed himself. First, the reasoning. The devil wants Jesus to do it to prove he’s God’s son. In the last verse of the previous chapter, Luke stated that Adam is God’s son. Earlier in that chapter, just before the genealogy section, Luke included how God said that Jesus is his son. Now the devil says to Jesus, “IF you are the son of God, if it is really true that you are God’s son turn this stone into bread.” Did Jesus believe what God had told him forty days earlier or did he need some other proof? We think Jesus did believe it so did he need to prove it to the devil? No. Remember, it’s not just what we do but also why we do it. Our intentions and motivations are as important as what we do. We can do all the right things for all the wrong reasons.

The second problem with this suggestion by the devil is he is circumventing Jesus’ dependence on God. Did Jesus trust God to prove for what he needed? Compare the situation Jesus faced to that of Adam. Adam was surrounded by everything he needed. Is there anyone else who thinks the Garden of Eden would have been an enjoyable place to live? There was no traffic, no politics, no crime, no bills, or health issues. There was plenty of food and water, a companion, and an intimate relationship with God because there was no sin. Yet, Adam and Eve wanted more and gave into the temptation to eat from the tree of life.

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:6)

Out in the barren wilderness, Jesus had almost nothing but he was content and refused to give into the devil’s temptations. Too many think they’d be happier if they could only have more or if they weren’t so constrained by the commands of God. It’s not true.

It’s hard to read this temptation and not be reminded of the Israelites traveling through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land, a land described as flowing with milk and honey. In other words, it was a land of plenty and abundance. Along the way they would need to learn this lesson of dependence on God. They would have to trust God for their next meal. Moses reminded them of this in 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. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

God not only provided them with food and water, Moses reminded them that God provided them with everything else they needed.

4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. (Deuteronomy 8:4)

They needed to learn that we do not live by bread (or food) alone. Israel had a difficult time learning this lesson and often grumbled.

And how did Jesus respond? He quoted that verse from Deuteronomy 8:3 we just read: Man does not live by bread alone. Jesus affirmed his reliance on God to provide for him while the Israelites persisted in doubting.

5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 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. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ ” (Luke 4:1-8)

Here, the order of the temptations differs from that of Matthew. There are lots of explanations for why they may have different orders. The truth is we don’t know and any attempt to explain the differences is only speculation. Therefore, I’ll just note that in Matthew this is the third temptation. The order is not really that important. What matters is that as the author Hebrews states, Jesus was tempted and resisted.

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

In this temptation, Jesus is taken to a mountain top where he can see for miles in any direction. Just before Moses died, God called him up on Mount Nebo where he could look out over Canaan, the land God had promised to the Israelites.

Because Jesus is shown the kingdoms of the world it is presumed he had a vision. All of that would be given to Jesus if he would only bow down and worship the devil. Of course the devil couldn’t have made good on his promise. The devil may have some power but not that much.

The problems with this temptation are obvious. The devil wants Jesus to worship him which breaks God’s commands about worshiping anyone or anything other than God. One day, Jesus will rule over all the earth. God has promised that. The devil just wants to make it sooner than later, easier rather than harder. Why suffer and go to the cross when he could have it all now? That’s what the devil still does. He offers us what we want now without having to wait for God’s timing. But in so doing, we also miss God’s way for achieving it.

If Jesus had accepted the devil’s offer, what would that have meant? It means Jesus wouldn’t have died for our sins and we wouldn’t have forgiveness or salvation.

In answer to the devil’s generous offer, Jesus responds that we are to worship and serve the Lord only. Again, he quotes from Deuteronomy.

Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. (Deuteronomy 6:13)

This too was a lesson the Israelites struggled to learn. Israel had a tendency to chase after idols. God warned them not to forget him once they had settled into the land and become comfortable. In the next verses in Deuteronomy 6, Moses had warned the people:

14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. (Deuteronomy 6:14-15)

But that’s exactly what they did. They saw the idols the nations around them worshiped, the offers those idols made and followed them in addition to worshiping God. It only led to disaster just like Moses warned. Today we don’t have those idols or wood, stone, or gold but we still have them. In his book “Counterfeit Gods” Tim Keller defines idols this way:

An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, and anything that you seek to give you what only God can give.

Jeff Curtis (not to be confused with Helen’s son Jeff) identifies these ten idols of today.

1. Identity: who we think we are or what we want people to think about us

2. Money/Material Things

3. Jobs/Status

4. Physical Appearance

5. Entertainment

6. Sex

7. Comfort

8. Phones/Technology

9. Family/Children

10. Influence/Fame

We still need to careful that we don’t fall into the trap of seeking what we need or want from anything other than God.

For the third temptation, the devil took Jesus to the temple. Isn’t that an interesting place for a temptation?

9 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. 10 For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” (Luke 4:9-12)

Just what was the highest point on the temple? Some have suggested the highest place would have been on the southeast corner of the temple mount overlooking the Kidron Valley.

Traditionally, the suggestion has been that the devil took Jesus to the top of the temple. Here’s an artistic depiction of what the temple may have looked like when the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem. That looks pretty high too.

Jewish tradition said the Messiah would appear on top of the temple though the tradition didn’t say anything about jumping from it. Jumping would have been a spectacular display of power and authority. In the first two temptations Jesus quotes scripture. This time the devil tries his hand at it, quoting Psalm 91:11-12. If these verses apply to anyone, don’t they apply to the Messiah? Wouldn’t God want to protect him? Therefore, it would be OK to jump. God would rescue him in midair and prevent him from dying in that way. And think what the people who saw it would say. That would immediately know the Messiah had come and tell everyone. All Jesus needed to do was trust God and jump.

Jesus once again quotes scripture, again from Deuteronomy 6 which we read earlier. We are told not to put God to the test. Jesus was not going to repeat the sin of the Israelites and test God. This request for a sign would be a sign of unbelief.

13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:13)

There’s a question that’s been debated for which the Bible gives no answer. How often did the devil tempt Jesus? Was Jesus tempted at the end of the forty days with just these three temptations or was he tempted the entire forty days? Most believe the devil was tempting Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane to run away to escape the cross, but how about in the three years in between? Do you think Jesus was tempted during his ministry? What about when he was growing up? Could he have been tempted to sneak a cookie from the cookie jar or lose his temper with a younger sibling? There’s no reason to believe he wasn’t tempted every day even as we are. The difference is Jesus didn’t give into the temptations he faced.

I want you to remember why Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. He was there because the Spirit had led him there. Jesus was following God’s will for his life and it led to forty days of fasting and temptations by the devil. We should not expect our lives to be much different. We will always have temptations.

The good news is the devil can be defeated. Jesus defeated him and with the Lord’s help we also can as well.

John Burroughs said that when a hawk is attacked by crows or king birds, he does not make a counterattack but instead soars higher and higher in ever widening circles until his tormentors leave him alone. The secret to overcoming the devil is to soar higher, to go higher. How can we do that? Each time the devil attacked Jesus, he answered with scripture. If we don’t know the word of God we will have a difficult time overcoming. The word of God is powerful, our weapon, and our defense mechanism. Peter wrote:

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (1 Peter 5:8-9)

Our faith in Jesus is the only thing that will save us when it comes to the temptations the devil throws at us. Our faith, our study, our worship, our knowledge of God’s word, and our surrender to Christ will help us.