First Sunday in Lent, 2025

Scripture

Luke 4:1–13 NIV

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. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” 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.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” 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.’” Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

Sermon:

A couple months ago my newsletter article talked about handling temptation as we looked at the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. Now as we are moving into the season of Lent, this morning, we look at the temptation of Jesus. This occurs at the very beginning of Jesus’ transition from private life to public ministry. It’s right after His baptism and during the time Jesus spends in the wilderness.

Now, I don’t know what your mental picture of this scene looks like but this passage says, “where for forty days he was tempted by the devil”. In just a few minutes we will look at the three very specific temptations but this text gives me the idea that the devil didn’t wait but was tempting Jesus from the very beginning. At least from the time He entered the wilderness, if not, before that.

Now, this text tells us something else dealing with temptation. Luke records that in those 40 days, “He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.” If you know anything about fasting, especially about fasting for 40 days, you know that not only was Jesus hungry but He was physically weak. And it’s at this point where the conversation about the specific temptations is recorded. So there are two principles about temptation for us to consider:

First, temptation is a reality of everyday life. As long as you and I are breathing, we are going to be tempted.

Two, temptation will seem greatest when we are at our weakest.

Now, as I’ve already said, there are three distinct temptations Jesus faces mentioned in this passage. But these temptations aren’t just Jesus’ temptations, in fact, these temptations are common to all of us. So let’s look first at the way they are described here and then we will look at the implications for us.

The first temptation is to turn stones to bread (Luke 4:3-4), to satisfy His hunger. Now, there isn’t anything inherently wrong with eating. Most of us do it every day. But Jesus is fasting because He has been led by the Spirit to do so. To break the fast before the Spirit told Him to, in order to sastisy His hunger would have been disobedience. For us, this is the temptation of “provision”. Some examples of what this looks like:

Prioritizing work, money, or material comfort over spiritual practices like prayer or worship.

Seeking shortcuts to meet needs rather than trusting in God’s provision.

Allowing physical desires (e.g., food, indulgence, or comfort) to take precedence over spiritual growth or discipline.

The second temptation is when the devil takes Jesus to a high place and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and offers them to Him if He will bow down and worship him. Jesus is being offered a “shortcut” to power and authority. (Luke 4:5-8) For us this is the temptation of “power”. Some examples of what this might look like in our lives are:

Seeking power, influence, or success at the cost of integrity and faithfulness.

Manipulating others to get ahead rather than serving humbly.

Compromising values for political, social, or financial gain.

The third temptation takes place when the devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. (Luke 4:9-12) He tells Jesus to throw Himself down, trusting completely on God’s ability to save Him. For us, this is the temptation of “presumption”. Here are some examples of what that might look like for us:

Expecting God to prove Himself through signs rather than trusting in His word.

Acting recklessly, assuming God will always bail us out.

Demanding answers from God instead of submitting to His timing and will.

Now, after these days in the wilderness and the temptations the enemy challenged Jesus with, we note that Jesus overcame without giving in to the temptations. And we might ask, “how?” In each of the temptations given to Him, Jesus quotes from the word of God. He stands on the authority of God’s word to equip Him to refuse to give in to the temptation.

Which might lead some of us to think that if we are going to stand up to temptation when it comes, we need to memorize the entire Bible so we know what to say and how to respond. And yes, I would suggest you and I should know as much of God’s Word as we can but even more, we need to know Jesus Christ. Because for us, when temptation comes to us, we should be able to say, satan, you have no power over me. Christ died on the cross for my sin and I don’t owe you anything. But I owe Christ everything.