The Temptation of Jesus

Luke 4:1-15

*Thank you brother Chad for last week’s message and thank you for the men from the Grove Church for helping us serve/minister to our community this week

(READ LUKE 4:1-15)

As we continue in Luke, within in vv 23-38 of Chapter 3, Luke provides for us the biological line of Jesus Christ. In doing so, Luke aligns for us how, as the Davidic heir (from the line of David), from the Adamic heir (from the line of Adam), and the Godly heir (God’s only begotten Son), Jesus Christ was qualified as the Messianic King, prophesied through the Old Testament. Christ’s geneology, in and of itself, places our focus on the centrality of Jesus Christ.

It is here we pick up our discussion—The Temptation of Jesus Christ

To give us some markers during our conversation on temptation, lets take a look at the word “temptation” itself:

Temptation is taken from the Greek word, “perirazo,” and in its application, it used in both a good sense and bad sense

(GOOD) It carries the idea a person is NOT tempted/seduced/enticed/and pulled into sin by the Holy Spirit, rather a person’s faith IS tested, proved, strengthened, reinforced, and qualified through endurance of temptations.

(BAD) While faith is to be tested, the pull of temptation is away from God and towards sin.

Temptation’s origin, is often misunderstood

(First) Temptation NEVER comes from God

James 1:13 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.”

(Second) Temptation and Satan:

Who Satan does: The Bible tells us many things:

The Bible says he is a thief, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10)

The Bible says he is the greater tempter (1 Thes 3:5)

The Bible says he is a liar—the father of lies (John 8:44)

The Bible says he walks around as a roaring lion, looking for prey to devour (1 Peter 5:8-9)

What are the Devil’s tactics?

Forgetfulness of God and His Word

(J.D. Greaer) “Satan’s go-tactic in our lives is to break the hold of the word of God over us…he takes what God has declared and casts doubt on it. Satan puts question marks in your life where God has put periods.”

(Dietrich Bonhoeffer) “At this moment (lust or anything else)…God loses all reality.. Satan does not fill us with hatred for God, but with forgetfullness of God.” In the grip of temptation and sin, the reality of God fades.

Doubt—

He brought doubt to Eve in the garden, who then shared that doubt with Adam in Genesis 3.

He brings doubt into our lives today, luring us to question God and question the intentionality of His heart towards us.

“Does God really have my best interest at heart?”

“Does God really know what’s best for me?”

“Does God really understand what I am going through?”

Distraction—Satan’s tactics become effective when we are not thinking about God at all

Though unsuccessful, it was the tactic used by Sanballat and others as Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 4)

There’s a myriad and mountain of distractions we

The root of all Satan’s tactics?

“To get us to establish our identity on something other than God’s declaration over us through Christ. The moment he gets us to insert that question mark into our lives, our security disappears.” (J.D. Grear)

(Third) Satan’s tactics, how he lures us, draws us to temptation’s root:

James 1:14–15“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

Satan’s tactics, the lures he uses against us, are designed to see us drawn and enticed to our own desires, so believers will become uneffective and unbelievers effectively dead.

It is a mistake to think the enemy doesn’t know or isn’t aware of our fleshly desires or appetite. He goes to and fro looking for ways to distract/deter/deceive us (see Job 1-2).

Now. When it comes to the temptation of Jesus, why was He tempted?

(First) To teach us that obeying God’s will brings victory over temptation

(Second) In His temptation, Jesus, as Warren Wiersbe states, “exposed the tactics of the enemy and revealed to us how we can overcome when we are tempted.”

(Third) So that in conquering them all—perfectly—He would be our great Intercessor and High Priest

(Fourth) To show us what we have at our disposal when we are faced with temptation:

Prayer & the Father’s Love

The power and supply of the Holy Spirit

The Word of God (“It is written”)

(Lastly) The temptations Jesus encountered, appear as a parellel to 1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”

Lust of the flesh—stones into bread

Lust of the eyes—the world’s kingdom and glory

Pride of life—jump from the pinnacle of the temple

I. (v.1-2) Temptation’s purpose in God’s economy; preparation for service

Luke 4:1–2 “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.” :

(CONTEXT) Remember: Jesus was about to launch the most important work ever, the work of the cross for the remission/forgiveness of sins. He needed strengthening and preparation--Christ was being prepared to serve God

Jesus was, “led by Spirit.” God never tempts, but He tests.

(David Jeremiah)“Sometimes believers think that encountering difficult circumstances means they have somehow missed God’s will, but the Spirit of God may lead the faithful to the wilderness, just as Jesus. When God led Israel into the wilderness in the Exodus, He did so to test the nation (we went thru this ourselves a while back); they failed but Jesus conquered.”

God’s plan for His Son, was always the way of the cross—b/c through His death, man could see their sin forgivens and their lives restored

Jesus, therefore had to be totally committed to fullfil God’s plan—no matter what happened

Jesus was constantly tempted to choose an easier course, but here He needed a strong and definitive moment of victory to demonstrate He could conquer the temptation

Personal need for strength and assurance (This can seem to go against what we know of Christ—but remember at the same time He was fully God—He was fully man)

Jesus, in being prepared to accomplish His Father’s will—needed strengthing and assurance—the only way for Jesus to be strengthened and gain assurance was to be tempted;

Persevering and enduring through temptations would toughen, strengthen, and bring about assurance of conquering the trials of life

(BIBLICAL APPLICATION—YOU and ME)

God’s plan in our lives includes the allowance of temptation: To what end?

Through patient & steadfast endurance against temptation we are living out and accomplishing His primary purpose as believers—sanctification, being conformed more and more into the image of Jesus Christ

2 Corinthians 3:17–18“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification...”

Through patient & steadfast endurance against temptation we give room for the Holy Spirit’s to reflect more of God’s intended workmanship in our lives

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Through patient & steadfast endurance against temptation, we bear more and more spiritual fruit.

James 1:2–4 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

God’s plan for us (as believers) is to serve Him and minister to others. In enduring temptation we too are better prepared to do His will. Listen close to what these verses teach us:

Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit

Salvation—in all that it is—provides us the necessary foundation and source for overcoming the trials/temptations of life

Jesus was led to spend time alone with God.

Time alone with God is necessary for preparation

Time in His Word:

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

James 1:22–24 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.” :

Time with Him in prayer

James 1:5–6 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.”

The genuine prayer from the “poor in spirit” believer, who knows that apart from Christ, they are spiritually bankrupt, is the prayer that brings about the same power which rose Christ from the grave..the power to overcome through the Holy Spirit

Time alone with God must include:

Submission to God and resistance of the devil.

(For you and I) Repentance and confession

Biblical humility

James 4:7–10 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

II. (v.3-4) Temptation #1—To meet the necessities of life with our own/in our own strength:

Luke 4:3–4 “And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ””

(CONTEXT)

“If You are the Son of God...”; affirmative in context, this statement means, “in view of the fact that You are the Son of God”

Satan, in his tempting of Christ is saying, “Since You are the Son of God, why be hungry?”

Satan wanted Jesus to go against His Father’s will and use His own Divine Power to meet His need(s).

Remember the situation:

In those 40 days, He endured the harsh environment of the wilderness

In those 40 days, He endured hunger

In those 40 days, He endured being tired/weary

Note this is “where” the temptation was centered, in a harsh environment, hungry, tired/weary

Satan was looking to exploit the circumstances Christ was enduring and lure Him away from His dependency on God

Christ’s response, ““It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ””

What we see: “It is written...”

Jesus Christ was relying on the promises and truths of the Word

Jesus Christ was stating something more important than physical food was needed; the need of spiritual nourishment

(BIBLICAL APPLICATION—YOU and ME)

There’s the application of when/where/what/why

When:

Believers often times find ourselves tempted during times of weakness/fatigue/when we are lacking nourishment. This is “when” the enemy loves to attack; like a “roaring lion,” he lurks, searching for the weak/unprepared/or malnourished

1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Where we find ourselves:

In times of weakness and weariness, we can find ourselves in a wilderness experience; alone, isolated, without strength, and in need

What happens:

In times of weakness and weariness, when in the wilderness, we are lured away from dependence on God to dependence on self to see our needs met:

The pride of self-reliance and self-sufficiency says:

I can do this myself

I can work harder to get myself out of this wilderness/this temptation/this trial

The pride of self-righteous living

If my good outweighs the bad

If my good is better than another’s

If my bad isn’t as bad as another’s

If other’s see me as good and having it all together

The pride of immoral living

Escaping into various addictions (drugs, alcohol, sexual immorality, even food/gluttony)

Escaping into immoral relationships or friendships

A Biblical warning about prideful living, via the New Living Translation

Proverbs 29:23 “Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.”

There is truth of what the Bible teaches: In the Sermon on the Mount, humility underscores the disciplines we see the Beatitudes, especially in the first Jesus speaks of

Matthew 5:3 ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

In the humilty to know that apart from Christ, we are spiritually bankrupt, we learn thru the lens of His Word:

The nourishment of Christ is all we need:

John 4:14 “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.””

John 6:35 “And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”

The yoke of Christ is what we should seek:

Matthew 11:28–30 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.””

The rest we need is found in Christ:

Matthew 12:8 “For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.””

The greatest need that we have is not phyiscal. The greatest need we have is spiritual and it is Christ alone who can meet and satisfty this need.

III.(v.5-8) Temptation #2—To seek His ambition through compromise

Luke 4:5–8 “Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ””

(CONTEXT)

Remember the ambition and purpose Jesus had: (1) to save man eternally; (2) to establish an eternal kingdom not an earthly kingdom, and (3) to secure man’s acceptance and approval of God

The ONLY means by which this would occur was by way of the cross

Now note the temptation of Satan:

Satan flashed across Jesus’ mind all the kingdoms of this world in their enormous glory

Satan made the claim that he controlled the possessions and glory of the world

Satan then offererd Jesus all of it--he would give it to Jesus on one condition, that Jesus worship him; in other words, Christ would have to compromise Himself:

Compromise His standards and behavior

Compromise His loyalty and faithfullness to God

Compromise His ministry and mission

Jesus’ response, “ “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ””

This was a quick and decisive response

This was a quick and decisive response, totally dependent upon Scripture (NOTE THE TREND)

This was a quick and decisive response, totally dependent upon Scripture, that He must worship, follow, and serve God alone and not the standards of evil within the world

(BIBLICAL APPLICATION—YOU and ME)

The systems of this world

Offer us opportunities

For instant gratification/satisfaction with

Immoral living

Idolatrous living

Passing pleasures of sin

To create and build kingdoms for ourselves.

To make a name for ourselves.

Sport jersey example:

What’s written on the jersey is who the athlete represents, who they stand for, and who they play for

What’s on your jersey? Whose name is sewn onto the chest, yours or Christ’s

Who do you represent, stand for, and race for?

What’s stamped on your jersey?

“Look what I’ve done or look what the Lord’s done

“Look at the image I’ve created or look at Who’s image I’ve been created in”

To define what love, marriage, and orientation as we see fit

The systems of this world go so far as to encourage us to develop false belief systems and make religions out of anything:

Religion is defined as a set of organized beliefs, practices, and systems that most often relate to the belief and worship of a controlling force, such as a personal god or another supernatural being.

Religion is anything man assigns “ism,” “ist,” or “ic”

Hinduism or Buddhism

Cathothism or Judiaism

Mormonism or Agnostism (being an agnostic), and more close to home:

Nationalism (nationlist): “…the responsibilty of the Church is not to advance the kingdom of this world.”

Believers ought to and should be thankful for the freedoms and liberty we have;

Believers, even though we cannot “vote in righteousness,” must and ought to vote for the Biblical truths we believe in;

Believers, as we must use the freedoms/liberty we have, to further God’s kingdom, must understand:

All of this, all of where we live, is under the umbrella of God’s sovereign hand, and no matter how we label or disquise it, placing religion at the side of Jesus, is creating a culture of Jesus plus something, rather than a culture of Jesus plus nothing.

The temptation to live under the systems of this world, tempts a person to compromise

Living according to God’s standards and His Word

Our trust in and faithfulness to God

Our witness and testimony of God

We are often times taken up to a mountain by Satan shown the things of this world—where he says, “Go ahead and live for the now, get what you want, and live how you want,” believe in whatever you want (so long as it’s not Jesus Christ)”

But while on the mountain, as we look at those things of the world, his “promise” is deceitful, just as someon who holds their fingers behind their back.

1 John 2:15–17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

1 John 5:19 “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”

IV. (v.9-12) To prove Himself through sensationalism

Luke 4:9–12 “Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ””

(CONTEXT)

Three-fold temptation

The temptation for Jesus to choose some way other that God’s way

God’s “way” was the cross

God’s “way” was for Christ to identify with man in his trials and sufferings to provide for us a way of escape

The temptation for Jesus to misuse Scripture by twisting it suit His purposes

While it’s true God would take care of His Son, God’s extension of grace/mercy/protection is not to be taken advantage of

The temptation for Jesus to give people sensations, a “religion of feelings.”

People don’t want a life of self-denial and sacrifice

People don’t want a life of “too much discipline and control.”

People want what’s spectacular, something with a quick fix, something which (1) stirs emotions and the flesh

Jesus’ response:

Was straightforward and decisive; “It has been said, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”” (see again, “it has been said…”)

Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 6:16 (““You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massah.”)—the Old Testament context, aligns with our discussion today

“The great concern of God was that when His chosen ones entered the land (Canaan), they would absorb the culture of the Canaanites.”

Reveals there is no other way but God’s way, we are to pursue and follow Him and Him alone

(BIBLICAL APPLICATION—YOU and ME)

The way of the cross is hard and it is difficult---but it is the only way to God.

The cross insists that we must die to ourselves

John 12:24–25 “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

The cross insists that forgiveness/remission of sins is found there:

Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”

1 Peter 2:24 “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”

The cross insists the grace and mercy of God are found through it

Ephesians 2:4–5 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),”

We must not adjust God’s standards to meet our prideful living—we are not to take His Word and manipulate it

To excuse sin:

Rather we are to allow God’s Word to convict us of our sin thru the Holy Spirit:

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

To excuse disobedience:

Rather we are to give ourselves to immediate and absolute obedience to His Word

Proverbs 2:1–5 “My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.”

Proverbs 2:10–13 “When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;”

To excuse compromising of faith for passing pleasures,

Rather, living with “earnest expectation” of what faith is

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.”

Rather, we should live out wild and bold faith

Hebrews 11:24–27 “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.”

To presume upon or test God is sin

1 Corinthians 10:9 “nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents;”

The message of Christ is not a message of “feelings,” nor is it a “religion of feelings.”

What man doesn’t want

A life of self-denial

A life of “too much” discipline and control

To be told, “no one is good, no not one.”

What man wants, is a quick fix

Something to stir emotions and the flesh (this is why I am not a “raise your hand and repeat after me guy”)

Something to stimulate feelings and give gratification

Something to meet their needs with little or no effort…man would love to have a type of salvation where there’s a license void of restrictions and boundaries

Something to feed their body and soul, without it causing them to count the cost

If belief in God, faith in God, was dependent on sensationalism, miracles, and quick fixes, wouldn’t we come to expect more and more of these things to believe consistently in God, when faith should be solely squared on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross?

1 Corinthians 1:18–19 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.””

Hebrews 9:14 “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

1 Peter 1:18 “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,”

V. (v.13-15) Satan departed from Jesus…for a while

Luke 4:13–15 “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.”

(CONTEXT)

What we see:

Satan, “departed for a season,”

Many scholars agree (I tend to as well), amidst all the temptations Jesus would face, the greatest temptation would come at His crucifixion:

Matthew 26:39 “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.””

There was a victory over temptation; temptation had been conquered

Note the victory came with immediate knowledge and reliance on God’s Word

Note the victory came in trusting God’s Word, “going through” the temptation, not in avoiding it.

Jesus power was demonstrated

Jesus’ fame was spread about

Jesus’ great ministry was admired

(BIBLICAL APPLICATION—YOU and ME)

Victory over temptation DOES NOT mean a person is freed forever from temptation. Temptation will always return, how do we know this?

Because it did for Jesus—these temptations were not the only ones He faced

The Bible says Jesus, “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Victory over temptation can and will lead to great results in our lives

We gain strength

We gain a greater testimony

We gain a greater ministry/witness

We gain a great reward

James tells us we will receive the crown of life (James 1:12)

Jesus tells John that for whoever endures, He, “will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Revelation 3:21)

Revelation 3:10 “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”

CLOSING/WORSHIP:

We will be tempted (to meet our needs ourselves instead of in Christ; to make earthyl kingdoms for ourselves; to find other ways to God when there’s only one)

We will be tempted and we must not be shocked—if we are for God than Satan is always set against us

1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you)

James 1:2 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,”

We are not alone in our temptation:

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man...

We are always given a way of escape:

1 Corinthians 10:13b”...but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

We have a great Intercessor who is compassionate towards us

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Hebrews 2:17–18“Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.”

We must remember temptation’s purpose:

To test, try, and prove

We must remember that God provides us a way out

Through His Word and our trust and obedience to His Word

Through the Holy Spirit

Through, the cross