Victorious Son of God

Last week we examined Jesus as the Son of God.

We did that by looking at the baptism of Jesus and the Father’s approval of who Jesus was.

We also looked at his sonship through the genealogy that Luke presents for us.

That genealogy is a beautiful picture of the providence and sovereignty of God as he moved his story of redemption forward.

And this morning we are going to look at a different aspect of Jesus as the Son of God.

We are going to examine his victory over temptation

The temptation is the last preparatory event before Jesus begins his ministry.

And the placing of this event is extremely important to.

He had just been declared the son of God in both the Baptism and his genealogy.

And now he gets to prove his sonship through obedience to the Father.

Obedience to the Father means not getting distracted by the offering of the World.

Jesus’ temptation offers him an opportunity to fail.

This is theologically important.

This isn’t simply a story about Jesus’ temptation.

It’s important for a few reasons.

First, it demonstrates to us that Jesus was both truly human and truly divine.

I’ve said this a lot over the last few weeks, but it’s so easy for us to harp on only one aspect of Jesus.

There are some that want to downplay or ignore Jesus’ divinity b/c they don’t have a category to put him in.

There are others that only want to focus on his divinity b/c they believe that examining his humanity downplays his importance.

But the reality is Jesus came, as God’s grand plan of redemption, as both fully God and fully man.

Secondly, This event serves to remind us that Jesus can sympathize with us.

He knows what it is like to be hungry, thirsty, and tired.

He knows what it is like to grow in wisdom and knowledge.

He knows what it is like to develop friendships and feel the sting of betrayal.

He has experienced life as a human.

He was in every way like us.

Jesus wasn’t a simulation.

He didn’t just appear to be human. He was truly God and truly man.

He was like us in every way, Yet, as the author of Hebrews says, he is without sin.

Thirdly, his temptation in the wilderness shows us that he truly can overcome sin and eventually death.

The trial he faces shows us that he will overcome.

Temptation will have no hold on him and therefore he will continue to be without sin.

Jesus will do what Adam could not.

He will completely submit to the will of the Father.

What we know is that at his temptation Jesus was fully aware that he was the son of God, and he is going to withstand the onslaught of temptation as a real man.

One of the things I want us to take away from this morning is that being tempted by the things of this world isn’t sinful.

Being tempted to lie, cheat, steal, or to bypass God’s good design is natural.

Temptation is real. It was real for Jesus and it’s real for us.

The problem is when we give into the temptation.

When we look at the temptation and give into it is when we dishonor God.

Sin is failure to resist temptation.

There is hope.

In this account, Jesus shows us ways that we can fight temptation.

We know that temptation will never stop coming, but we also know that the Lord has provided a way for us to resist temptation as well.

The primary purpose of the temptation narrative is to show us that Jesus, unlike Adam, is capable and will overcome all temptation.s

And at the same time, practically it shows us how we too can overcome temptation and the tactics of sin and the devil.

Now, let’s pray before we get started looking at the text.

Luke 4:1–2 CSB

1 Then Jesus left the Jordan, full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over, he was hungry.

The Wilderness

Luke opens by setting the stage for what’s going to happen.

We see here that after Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river, he was led by the HS into the Wilderness.

The role of the spirit here is important for a couple of reasons.

First we see that the temptation of Jesus was ordained and orchestrated by God.

The battleground was set and Jesus was now going to prove his obedience to the Father throughout the next forty days in the wilderness.

Notice that Jesus didn’t decided to prove his sonship to God by going in the wilderness on his own accord.

He was already described as God’s son, so Jesus wasn’t trying to prove his sonship rather he was simply being obedient to the Father.

Submitting himself to the spirit’s leading.

We also need to remember that Luke often speaks about the spirit’s presence in his Gospel.

This reminds us that the spirit of God is active and moving.

He isn’t stagnant or far off, but is continually involved in the Work that he has been set apart to do.

Finally, Jesus being full of the spirit again reminds us of his human nature.

Which is going to be important for us to remember as we journey through the temptation story.

It would be easy to disregard the temptation of Jesus if all we appeal to is his divinity, but we must remember that Jesus was both truly God and Truly man.

In fact, Luke highlights this point in these opening verses.

Jesus was hungry.

and why was he hungry?

B/c he didn’t eat anything for the forty days he was in the wilderness.

The hunger of Jesus is going to play a big role in the first temptation, but we will look at that in a minute.

I want us to see that Jesus is in the wilderness for 40 days.

Now the gospel authors highlight the 3 temptations from the devil in their gospels.

However, the language used here in v. 2 tells us more.

It’s hard to see in English, but in the Greek “to be tempted” is a present participle.

I know we don’t remember a lot from our English class, but suffice it to say that using this verb from means that Jesus wasn’t just tempted these three times, but was continuously tempted during his time in the wilderness.

I also want us to know that the number 40 carries with it some significance as well.

Often, not all the time, but often the number 40 in the Scriptures represents a time of testing or trial.

Israel wandered around for 40 years.

Moses was on mount Sinai for 40 days.

Elijah spent 40 days in the wilderness of Horeb.

So the spending of 40 days in the wilderness for Jesus ties him back to the nation of Israel and a couple of their great prophets.

And his time in the wilderness also ties him back to Adam as he is being tempted, but not giving in to those temptations.

This simply goes to show us that Jesus is definitively different and better than all who have come before.

The temptation also prepares Jesus for his future ministry that will eventually lead him to the Cross.

Now there are the three temptations covered in Luke’s text and we are going to look at them individually.

But as an overview I want us to know that these temptations were messianic in nature.

What I mean is that each one of these temptations were meant to demonstrate Jesus’ sonship as only the divine Son of God could do.

The first temptation of turning stones into bread would show the miraculous work of the Messiah.

The second temptation of ruling over the kingdoms of the earth would show the divine rule of the messiah.

The third temptation to jump off the temple and call on the angels would show that God is protecting his son.

But I want us to see that all of the temptations that are offered are short cuts to the promises that God made.

Jesus was going to perform miracles like raising the dead, healing the lame, and making the broken whole.

He is currently ruling over the earth through his death and resurrection. He holds all authority.

And he is protected until it was time for him to lay down his life.

However, the devil wants Jesus to bypass obedience to the father.

And isn’t that what the devil has been doing forever.

Promising the world by bypassing obedience to the Lord.

Sin is always the shortcut to God’s good design.

So as followers of Jesus, we need to know both the devils schemes and the way to over come the temptations.

And Jesus does just that.

So let’s look a the first temptation.

Luke 4:3–4 CSB

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 But Jesus answered him, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone.”

Stones into Bread

Notice how the devil first speaks to Jesus.

“If you are the Son of God.”

It seems like a challenge.

Possibly the devil trying to cast doubt on Jesus’ identity.

In fact, twice we see this same phrase in the Temptation of Jesus.

Here in the first temptation and in the last.

However, we know that Jesus’ identity as the son of God has been affirmed explicitly at his Baptism.

there is no “if” about it.

Jesus is the Son of God.

Yet the devil wants to challenge that truth.

Through these temptations satan is tempting Jesus to question God’s Goodness.

He is tempting Jesus to rebel against the Father.

And here what we see is that the Devil is appealing to a true need.

Jesus was hungry.

The Devil knew just when Jesus would be weakest of body.

After 40 days of no food, Jesus was hungry.

I have family members who can’t go 3 hours without eating before they turn into ravenous beasts, so I can only imagine the type of hunger that Jesus’ was experiencing after 40 days without food.

Jesus, as the Son of God, had the power and authority to turn the stone into bread.

But he wasn’t going to be goaded by the Devil.

So what Strategy does Jesus use to fight against the temptation.

He uses the word of God.

He quotes part of

Deuteronomy 8:3 “3 He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then he gave you manna to eat, which you and your ancestors had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

Bread, though truly important, isn’t the most important thing in life.

Relying on and trusting God is.

Why is that?

B/c ultimately he is our provision.

He is our provider.

And though we may enjoy a warm sourdough loaf of bread, it is nothing compared to the satisfaction that we get knowing the Lord.

One of the tactics of sin and temptation is that it wants to attack our basic needs.

Food is something that we need for survival.

If we don’t eat we will die.

And as far as self-preservation goes many will go to extremes to make sure that their needs or the needs of their family are met.

But the question is, do we truly trust God to be the provider of these things.

I love that Jesus quotes from Deut.

Deut. is basically a retelling of Israel’s history before they cross over into the promised land.

And in chapter 8, Moses is reminding the people of God’s provision in the wilderness.

They were hungry wandering around and the Lord provided for them manna from heaven.

Each morning there would be fresh manna on the ground.

Their needs were met, b/c God was faithful.

What God was teaching the Israelites was to rely on him for provision.

That’s a lesson that we need to learn today.

And part of it boils down to the reality that we think things are needs that truly aren’t.

We chase after material possessions.

New cars, phones, homes, kitchen gadgets.

Whatever it may be.

And I know this b/c I am as guilty as the next guy.

Rather than finding out satisfaction in the Lord we attempt to find our satisfaction in things.

We think these new toys will fill our desires, only to find out that they don’t satisfy.

We take on more payments.

Go into more debt.

Chasing the filling of wholeness.

All the while missing the point of life.

To love God and Enjoy him forever.

To realize that he is the ultimate provider.

We need to recognize that true joy and satisfaction comes from loving the Lord.

Living on his word.

Communing with him.

Too often we believe that we can go beyond the parameters of God’s word to seek satisfaction.

And one of the reasons we think that is b/c we don’t know what God’s parameters are.

We don’t dine on the hearty meat of God’s word so we are content with twinkies that leave us hungry and simply craving another one.

The reason that Jesus could combat temptation was b/c he knew the word.

He was steeped in what God had said and commanded.

So he was ready for combat.

He was ready to fight against the devil’s ploys.

And we will see this the the other temptations as well.

Jesus always turns it back to the Word of God.

It is foundational for us as believers to imitate Jesus in knowing and relying on God’s word to sustain us.

And what temptation and the devil try to do is take our eyes of the Lord and point them to the things of this world.

You need this new toy.

You need a bigger house.

You need a better job.

You need, fill in the blank.

No what you and I need is to find contentment in the Lord.

Luke, Vol. 1—That You May Know the Truth Jesus Answers

In essence, by alluding to Deuteronomy Jesus was saying, “I will not complain. Neither will I take matters into my own hands. My Father has not willed to immediately provide bread. But I will trust him and his word.” In doing this Jesus demonstrated that no need would ever drive him to draw back from his humble human existence as a real man who lives by trusting God’s Word.

The devil saw that tempting Jesus to turn Stone into bread didn’t work so he switched tactics.

Luke 4:5–8 CSB

5 So he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 The devil said to him, “I will give you their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. 7 If you, then, will worship me, all will be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

The Crown without the Cross

Here we read that Jesus and the devil take a moment to go and view the kingdoms of the world.

The devil then offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus bows down to worship him.

So we run into a theological conundrum.

Does the devil have the authority to give Jesus the kingdoms?

Doesn’t God own all the earth and kingdoms?

The devil claims that he has been given the authority over the nations and he is offering it to Jesus.

And in a way that’s true.

The devil has been given authority over the nations.

But notice what I said.

The authority that the devil had isn’t his sole authority.

Rather he had been given derived authority.

All the authority that he had, had been given to him by the Lord.

The devil had temporary rule over the nations.

And now he is offering it to Jesus simply for worship.

Now, there was an ancient Israelite belief that the different nations were ruled by supernatural powers.

And these supernatural entities had been given authority by God to rule over these territories .

But they rebelled against God and sought not to rule as God had established and caused the people of the earth to worship false gods and idols.

So God chose for himself a people that would be His people. That would be the Israelites

And from this line of people the messiah or savior would come to make the nations his footstool and rule over not just God’s people, but all people.

This belief even carried over to some of the early Christians.

And they see Christ’s coming and victory over sin, death, and the grave as a defeat of these evil supernatural powers.

And I know that this is the first time some of you are hearing this and maybe your head feels like it is about to explode.

But when the devil tells Jesus that he has the authority to give him these nations some believe that he is acting on behalf of all the nations that had rebelled against God.

But Jesus knows that all the nations are his inheritance.

That the whole of the world belongs to him.

And he knows that the way to inherit it means that he has to go to the cross.

So here, the devil is offering Jesus what is rightfully his but is inviting him to bypass the suffering that must occur.

The devil is offering the crown without the Cross.

And all it takes is for Jesus to worship the devil.

All the pain, heartache, blood, sweat, and tears can be avoided if Jesus worshiped the devil.

Let’s talk about worship for just a second.

The devil isn’t simply asking Jesus to bow down.

The worship that the devil is asking for here is allegiance, devotion, service, and glory.

The devil wanted what belonged to God Alone.

He wanted to usurp the glory of God and wanted it all to himself.

This really goes back to what the true idea of worship actually is.

To often we have a very short or small view of worship.

We think of it as the time we come to church or the time that we sing songs.

But truly worship is a life style.

We all worship something.

And we can never forget that.

Our lives are a life of worship.

We worship the things of the world.

We can worship comfort, money, relationships, family, government, and the list could go on and on.

Worship can really be boiled down to one simple idea or concept.

What do you live for?

What gets you up in the morning?

For the follower of Jesus the only true answer is that we exist to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

And let me tell you if we lived our lives this way.

That our family is an opportunity for us to glorify God.

That our work is an opportunity to glorify God.

That our time spent is an opportunity to Glorify God.

That the way we spend our money, time, and energy is a way that we glorify God.

Our whole outlook would change.

And honestly it will be painful.

We will have to sacrifice something to worship God with our whole mind, strength, and heart.

We will have to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him.

We may have to sever relationships.

We may have to give up the things that we want.

We may have to reorient how we spend our time or money.

It will take work.

It will take sacrifice.

But sin and temptation offer the pleasures of life without sacrifice.

Just like the devil is offering to Jesus right here, he can have the crown without the cross.

Sin promises us that it can deliver satisfaction, joy, and hope.

All we have to do is forfeit our worship of God and worship sin.

How does Jesus respond to this temptation?

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

The only one worthy of any and all worship is God.

He is the creator, sustainer, and provider of the world.

Any shortcut to bypass his will or design is abandoning his rightful worship and worshipping sin and self.

Again, Jesus takes us back to the scriptures.

He takes us back to the truth of God’s word to withstand temptation.

Here’s the thing, you can worship anything.

If you want to worship money, fame, fortune, family, or even comfort.

Go ahead.

But you will forsake eternal life.

You will sacrifice life eternal for temporary happiness.

Or as Jesus says in

Luke 9:25 “25 For what does it benefit someone if he gains the whole world, and yet loses or forfeits himself?”

So the temptation of food for the hungry stomach and ruling over the world doesn’t work for the Devil, so he tries a different tactic in this last temptation.

Luke 4:9–12 CSB

9 So he took him to Jerusalem, had him stand 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 give his angels orders concerning you, to protect you, 11 and they will support you with their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” 12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said: Do not test the Lord your God.”

Test The Lord

The devil and Jesus make their way to Jerusalem.

They are standing on the temple overlooking the promised Land.

The place where they are standing is said to be about 450 feet above the ground.

That’s roughly 45 stories high.

Ancient Jewish Historian Josephus said, “if any looked down, his eyes would grow dizzy, not being able to reach to so vast a depth.”

And again, the devil tries to goad Jesus into a response by pointing out and questioning his identity “If you are the Son of God throw yourself down from here.”

Then something interesting happens.

The Devil quotes scripture to Jesus to prove or justify his point.

Luke 4:10–11 “10 For it is written: He will give his angels orders concerning you, to protect you, 11 and they will support you with their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.””

This is taken from Psalm 91:11-12 about the protection of the Lord.

Doesn’t that strike you as odd.

Why is the devil using scripture to try and convince Jesus to jump.

B/c he will try and use any tool as his disposal to distract Jesus from fulfilling his mission.

Don’t miss this, even the enemies of God can quote Scripture.

It’s not hard to take God’s word and manipulate it to prove a point or justify a behavior.

The Serpent did it in the Garden with the simple words “Did God really say?”

And the devil is doing it here with Jesus.

There are those who are alive today that use those same tactics.

Tools of the enemy to try and convince believer’s that God’s way isn’t the good or right way.

And here’s the thing, the devil’s use of scripture here isn’t denied by Jesus.

It’s definitely the words of Ps 91, but Jesus does stand against the application of the scripture.

In fact, the words of this Psalm were seen as messianic to the Jewish people.

Meaning that these words were about Jesus the promised Messiah.

However, for the word of God to carry the truth of God then it must be interpreted correctly.

Other wise the words are a simple manipulation.

That’s what the devil is doing here.

He is manipulating God’s word to serve his own agenda of tempting Jesus to fail.

And unfortunately, this is the same tact that he has used in many “churches” today.

There has been an abandonment from the proper understanding of God’s word for one that will fulfill our individual and personal needs.

Rather than the understanding that God’s Word is primarily about showing us the character of God and his redemption plan.

Many believe that they can go around quoting the scriptures while ripping them out of their context and adding meaning.

Obviously God was going to protect his Son.

He was going to guard Jesus until the fullness of time came.

But that didn’t mean that Jesus could test that out and jump off the temple just to see if God will protect him.

True worship and understanding about who God is does not allow us to dictate how God will fulfill his promises.

We must understand that we cannot force God’s hand.

We can’t, by our actions, words, or service cause God to act in a way that doesn’t align with his own character.

Jesus understood this and that is why he responded with a quote from Deut 6.

Luke 4:12 “12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said: Do not test the Lord your God.””

Testing God in such a way would be a mockery of who he is.

This would be a lack of recognition of God as the King sovereign over the universe and essentially views him as a toy or child’s play thing.

But Jesus isn’t having any of it.

He refuses to disgrace the name of God.

He refuses to bypass his mission and calling.

He refuses to rely on himself for strength.

So the devil is unsuccessful in his attempt to tempt Jesus.

Victorious Jesus

Luke 4:13 CSB

13 After the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.

Try as he might, the devil couldn’t thwart God’s plan.

He couldn’t convince Jesus to step away.

And so what Happened?

The devil left.

At least for a time, in Luke’s gospel there’s not a mention of the character of the devil until Luke 22, when he enters into Judas to move forth the crucifixion of Jesus.

He’s not completely gone.

Any opposition that Jesus receives is at the hands of Satan, but he comes back full force in Luke 22.

But here after the temptations of Jesus we see that he is victorious over the schemes of the devil.

What countless others had failed to do, Jesus did.

Adam sinned, Moses Sinned, David Sinned, even Mary and Joseph sinned.

It was only the spotless lamb of God who was without sin.

He’s the only one who had been able to overcome the temptations of the devil.

The second Adam is ready to begin his ministry and accomplish his purpose of drawing men to himself.

And though Jesus is the unique Son of God and this processes of his temptation in the wilderness was unique to him I do believe that we can glean from it some practical ways for us to combat the temptation that wants to sever our communion with God.

First, we need to know God’s word.

As Jesus demonstrated it was through the knowledge of the Scriptures that he was able to combat the devil’s attacks.

We also saw that we need to know God’s Word so that we fight against those who try to change or manipulate it for personal gain.

I hear often that people want to hear from God and yet they rarely listen to where he has spoken.

And he has spoken through his word.

The Scriptures are where we learn more and grow closer to the Lord.

Second, we need to recognize the tactics of the evil one.

He attacks us when we’re weak.

He attacks when there are real needs that need to be met.

He entices us to take shortcuts or to discount God’s Goodness in the process of sacrifice.

Finally, we need to stand firm.

It would be so easy to give into sinful temptations.

But I would remind you that sin takes you further than you want to go and keeps you there longer than you want to be.

And it offers promises that it could never fulfill.

Stand firm on the promises of God.

Stand firm on scripture.

Stand firm knowing that trusting in God is better than any temporary sin.

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