Jesus is Tempted
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Jesus is Tempted
Jesus is Tempted
We are blessed when we perseveres under trial
Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
God does not tempt, He tests
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.
How do we fall into sin?
But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
We are tempted though three avenues, the World, the Flesh, and the Devil
THE WORLD
Do not love the world nor 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 and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
THE FLESH
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
THE DEVIL
the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
Jesus demonstrates to us what faithfulness looks like in the midst of intense temptation.
Intense trials and temptations often occur during seasons of transition, even shortly after making a big decision to pursue God’s call on one’s life. This was the case with Jesus. After His temptation experience he clarifies his purpose:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
POINT 1 THE SON OF GOD IS TEMPTED TO USE HIS POWER FOR HIS OWN NEEDS (Lk 4:1-4)
TRUST GOD TO PROVIDE FOR YOUR NEEDS
Jesus’s response: Man is to live on the Words of God for provision
Notice the similarities of Jesus’ temptations and Adam and Eve’s temptation. Both had to deal with food. Both was pleasing to the eye.
CONTEXT:
Jesus just came from a mountaintop experience with God the Father audibly speaking from heaven and the Holy Spirit descending like a dove on Him. Then the Holy Spirit “drove” him into the wilderness
He was “driven” (KJV) into the wilderness. Much like a demon would be “driven” or “cast” our of a person, with force and urgency.
The Role of the Holy Spirit is significant
The Spirit’s role in driving Jesus to the wilderness shows Jesus’ face-off with the devil was ordained by God
The Spirit’s activity is a repeated emphasis in Luke’s Gospel
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness
3. The Spirit’s involvement in Jesus’s life highlights Jesus genuine humanity…Jesus would pass the wilderness test that Israel could not. Also, Jesus was being tested as the “last Adam” (1 Cor 15:45) the one would succeed where the first Adam failed
So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
NOTE: Jesus was tempted more than three times. Luke 4:1-3 says he “was lead around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil…and when they had ended, he became hungry. And the devil said...”
Jesus being tempted in the wilderness for 40 days was identical to the testing the Israelites who were tested in the wilderness for 40 years. The issue was will we trust God absolutely.
“Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice,
But craved intensely in the wilderness,
And tempted God in the desert.
NOTE: Jesus didn’t deny he was hungry. He didn’t deny he couldn’t turn stone into bread. He refocused that there were more important things to do like obeying God. Remember, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to fast.
God is not absent in the midst of our temptations. He is no absent in the midst of our pain and trials. He was present with Jesus in the wilderness as He was at His baptism. An He is present with us in our wilderness as He is on our mountaintops. Our emotions may tell us otherwise. We may no feel His presence in the same way, but that doesn’t change the reality of His promise our His character. God promised he would never leave us .
“Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”
Jesus was tempted at the end of his 40 days of fasting. Don’t underestimate His humanity. He was hungry! Satan usually attacks when we are the most vulnerable.
POINT 2 THE SON OF GOD IS TEMPTED TO PURSUE HIS REIGN APART FROM THE FATHER’S PLAN (Lk 4:5-8)
TRUST GOD TO DIRECT YOUR PATHS
Jesus’s response: We are to serve and worship God only
Matthew has a different order of temptations. The order of temptations was:
Matthew Luke
The stone to bread The stone to bread
Jump of the pinnacle Bow down and worship
Bow down and worship Jump off the pinnacle
Mark does not cover the temptations, but tells us he was tempted
Satan is the ruler of this world
“Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
However this is temporary
The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains,
The world, and those who dwell in it.
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Notice In the second temptation we see that Jesus was tempted to believe that God was withholding good things from Him. Just like in Eden.
“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Jesus chose to trust that God’s plan was better than any shortcut Satan could offer. Jesus rejected immediate gratification, even for a good thing that was rightly due Him.
Satan was offering Him an opportunity to get the results of the resurrection without the agony of the cross.
Jesus trusted God’s character would remain true, and that His words could be trusted.
POINT 3 THE SON OF GOD IS TEMPTED TO TEST HIS FATHER’S PROMISE OF PROTECTION (Lk 4:9-13)
TRUST GOD TO PROTECT
Jesus’s response: Don’t test God!
How do we test God? (Simple answer - “God owes us”)
“I’m going to follow God, so I’m quitting my job without any thought to where I might get income to care for my family, but God has to provide for me since I’m obeying Him in this new way now.” Yes God sometimes asks us to take financial risks, and yes, He will provide for our needs, but just because we’re obedient to the Lord in a hard area of life does not mean that God owes us something in return.
Context of Psalms 91
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
The idea here is Jesus was trusting in God so why not test Him! Jesus was dwelling and abiding with the Father. That’s how the chapter starts. So when we get to verse 11 and 12 we see that statement is a true statement (God will guard you) And when we get to verse 14
“Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
So why did Jesus deny Satan’s request? Because it was not necessary. Jesus would have been testing God. These verses are not ment to be “making God obey” verses, they are to be verses of encouragement if your in a difficult situation.
This is similar to Adam and Eve. They tested God by thinking they could be wise outside of God’s plan
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
All the Scriptures Jesus quoted to refute Satan was from the book of Deuteronomy. It was when the Israelites were tested in the wilderness for forty years. (Deut 8:3, 6:13, 6:16)
Israel failed this test when they were in the Wilderness
Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
As in the day of Massah in the wilderness,
“When your fathers tested Me,
They tried Me, though they had seen My work.
“For forty years I loathed that generation,
And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.
“Therefore I swore in My anger,
Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”
NOTE: Satan quoted Scripture to Jesus and it actually is the Word of God. The sin was in testing God. We are not to use Scripture to “command” God to do stuff for us! That’s what testing God means!
Jesus stayed secured in His identity (as the son of God) and didn’t hold God hostage to meet His expectations. Jesus didn’t demand that God act in a certain way to meet His own desires. You trust and obey God, you don’t test Him.
“A God is that to which we look for all good and in which we find refuge in every time of need. To have a God is nothing else than to trust and believe him with our whole heart…that to which your heart clings and entrust itself is, I say, really your God” Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Summary
When Jesus was tempted to turn stone to bread - Jesus trusted God with his provisions
When Jesus was tempted worship Satan in exchange for power - Jesus trusted God with his direction
When Jesus was tempted to jump off the pinnacle of the Temple - Jesus trusted God with his protection