Lesson 11: Luke 4:1- 15 Jesus in the Wilderness

Life, full of the Holy Spirit!

English Standard Version

Chapter 4

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led 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 were ended, he was hungry.

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ ”

5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.

7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God,and him only shall you serve.’ ”

9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him 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 command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’

11 and“ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

The Spirit that is with Jesus is Holy because the Bible says so! Make no mistake about where this spirit comes from, where He resides, what He does, and where He is going. He is going in the direction and under the direction of Jesus and yet He directs on His own. It is an undertaking we cannot be a part of until we meet Jesus. Then the Holy Spirit Dwells in us also. The fullness of the Holy Spirit does not guarantee a smooth sailing experience. Even walking on water with Jesus was precluded by a storm. The fact is, the fullness of the Spirit in your life may precipitate a “testing time” and or experience to arrive in your life. It does not have to happen, but sooner or later it will. Check out what this commentary says on this passage:

Warren Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament (Chapter 4)

Jesus was not tempted so that the Father could determine the Son’s character and ability, for the Father had already approved the Son (3:22) and would do so again (9:35). Nor was He tempted to give Satan a chance to defeat Him, for Satan probably did not even want this confrontation, knowing that Jesus could overcome his every tactic. Jesus was tempted so that He could personally experience what we go through and so be prepared to assist us (Heb. 2:16–18; 4:14–16) and to show us how we can overcome the evil one by means of the Spirit of God (v. 1) and the Word of God (v. 4). The first Adam was tested in a beautiful garden and failed, but the Last Adam was victorious in a terrible wilderness.

Testing, trials, and persecutions are the very thing that God uses to build leadership and character in our lives. II Timothy 2:12 says"if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us.”

The word “suffer “ in the Greek is a word that means to sustain a load of miseries, adversities, or persecutions in faith and patience with a view towards long suffering in private. In other words, no one may even know about your trial, or it may be public, but seemingly no one seems to be able to help. It is your private trouble. Or looking at it with grace you can say, this my public identity with my Savior and My God. We are in this together. This is one of the very things that teach the believer to grow and mature with endurance even as you may stand alone. Go ahead, do it this way if necessary. Not everyone can identify with you and neither should they have to. This may be your very own “alone” time with God. Cherish the quiet places where not many voices are clamoring for your attention. It is here your batteries get recharged my brothers. These quiet places(may be even lonely) are the maturing us for leadership-so that I may “reign with Him.” Reigning is an active leadership and governing role at the side of Jesus in the courts of heaven. Be ready to take your place.

Romans 8:17 firms this up when it says, “ and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with him.”

In other words, there is a greater glory for you and me on the other side of trials and testing. It may not even be an immediate glory, but there is a greater glory involved no matter what. It is the nature of our relationships. We not only share in the blessings of the house of God as His children but we are also in the public arena of trial and pain so that His glory may be revealed through us.

If Satan was testing Christ like this, may we not be tested likewise? And may not we respond as Jesus did? Satan each time led with a question that leads to doubt…1. ”if you are the Son of God..” (verse 3), 2. “ if you will worship me..” (verse 7) and 3. “if you throw yourself down from here(verse 9). Each time the full frontal assault came at the Savior, He responded with Scripture. Jesus quoted His Word to drive the tempter from His presence. He went to the book of Deuteronomy for His weapons in this warfare sequence of victory! It then says the devil departed until a more opportune time. In other words, he would be back.

Public Ministry of Jesus Luke 4:14- 15.

English Standard Version (Chapter 4)

14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

The fullness of the spirit that brought Him into the wilderness graced Him in Galilee and beyond. If John’s message was powerful, Jesus’ message was over the top. The word spread throughout the surrounding country. He was the headliner in all of the synagogues. His first year of ministry of power and joy was in response to what he Said. The second year was the start of opposition. The third year was outright battle that led to the cross and the tomb. In three years, He had changed the world as we know it. The rag tag band of followers of Jesus Christ our Lord turned the world upside down as the book of Acts tells us.

Jesus in Nazareth 4:16- 19

English Standard Version (Chapter 4)

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

18  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

This chapter is really the start of the public narrative of the life and work of Jesus. The early messages or quotes from Jesus are in both Isaiah and Deuteronomy. This is a microphone drop sort of message. God Himself unrolls the scroll and delivers. Boom! What an exciting moment. First He takes on Satan and the next place is His hometown. The hardest place in the world to be effective. Jesus is anointed, sent, ready to set at liberty, and to proclaim as Isaiah says. The result will be good news will be proclaimed to the poor, liberty will be proclaimed to the captives, recovery of sight will be give to the blind, liberty to the oppressed, and it is to be shouted that this is the year of the Lord’s favor! How do we know? Because Jesus says so. This is His official ordination service and the start of a great year of God’s goodness on mankind. Take it all in my friend, because it is still moving in the air today. Can you feel it?