THE SON IN THE DESERT

Luke 3:21-22

Luke 4:1-13

Luke 4:1–13 ESV

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ ” And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 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. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ” 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, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

There are many things we could talk about in this text. But we are fixating on one facet of the diamond.

Forty days is reminiscent of Israel’s 40 years of wilderness wandering (Num. 14:34) and the 40-day fasts by Moses (Ex. 34:28; Deut. 9:9) and Elijah (1 Kings 19:8). See note on Matt. 4:2 and we are to look at the 40 days of Jesus’ temptation through the same lens (hands together).

During this temptation period, we need to remember He was affirmed as God’s son, filled fully with God’s Holy Spirit, yet He was led there, subject to the elements and the weakness of His humanity; and that is when the Devil comes.

I am just a man also, I am not immune. I have suffered in the sun, been chilled in the cold, I have been hungry, I have been thirsty, I have suffered with illness and infirmity. I need to ask myself, as you must as well, how am I responding when this happens to me? Will I grumble and fear? Will I understand myself to be God’s child?

One final step is required before Jesus begins his ministry proper.

He must go into the wilderness to establish his true sonship.

William Lane used to say, “True sonship is always established in the wilderness.”

Israel would wander in the wilderness for two periods of forty years and yet ultimately fail the test.

Jesus now enters for a period of forty days.

Having heard the voice of God declare his sonship (Lk 3:22),

Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert to demonstrate that he is indeed God’s true Son

The canvas is painted thickly with the Holy Spirit. In one breath

Luke tells us Jesus is both “full of the Holy Spirit” and is being “led by the Spirit.” The specific purpose is made clear from the outset: he is going to be tempted by the devil.

The word used by Luke to denote Satan is diabolos.

It is a name that paints a picture for our imaginations.

Dia means “across,” while ballō is a verb that means “to throw.”

The devil is the one who “throws across” accusations,

as in the throne-room scene in the early chapters of Job when Satan (which means “accuser”) is hurling accusations at Job. Now, in the waterless waste of the desert, he is hurling the best he has at Jesus.

When those days were over...

After Jesus has fasted for forty days, the devil attacks him where he is weakest.

“If You are the Son of God,” he hisses, “tell this stone to become bread.” Certainly, Jesus has the power to perform such a miracle. In chapter 9 he feeds thousands.

The temptation is not simply to perform a miracle but to renounce trust in God.

Israel failed this test in the wilderness. When they were hungry they began to grumble, saying God had only brought them out of Egypt to let them starve in the wilderness (Ex 16:3).

But to truly be a son or daughter of God is to completely depend on him.

And this is precisely what Jesus is prepared to do. He combats the temptation of the devil with the same weapon any believer can use: Scripture.

Though Jesus quotes only a segment of the verse here, its entirety is implied: “He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then He gave you manna to eat, which you and your fathers 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” (Deut 8:3).

In Luke 23, the crowd torments Jesus on the cross by shouting, “He saved others; let Him save Himself” (Lk 23:35). Indeed, Jesus will save others precisely by refusing to save himself. Likewise, he will feed others but he will not feed himself. He will completely trust his Father to care for all his needs.

The imagination reels at the next temptation. Luke simply says “he took Him up,” and yet what that means can hardly be imagined. From wherever Jesus has been taken, he is able to see all the kingdoms of the world at one time. Everything that can be offered [Luke, p. 67] is offered to Jesus. It will all be given to him if only he will worship the devil. This is another test that Israel failed in the wilderness. In Exodus 32, after Moses received the law, he returned to find the Israelites worshiping the golden calf. Although the land flowing with milk and honey was promised to them, they deliberately chose to worship the golden calf instead.

Once again, Jesus responds to the accuser by simply quoting the Bible, something any newborn Christian can do. “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” Again Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy, a book that, for many of us, is becoming more and more obscure. Yet when Jesus is faced with temptation, it is the book to which he flees. He refuses a momentary temptation, although we must realize that in his weakened condition, it must have been a powerful one. No, Jesus is the true Son of God, and he will demonstrate his sonship in the wilderness by refusing to worship anyone but God alone.

Finally, Jesus is taken to the pinnacle of the temple. From this dizzying height he is tempted to throw himself off, trusting the angels to protect him. Having been twice thwarted by Jesus, who has used the Scriptures to defend himself, the devil now resorts to quoting or misquoting Scripture. He uses Psalm 91, which speaks of the angels’ protection and of trusting God through any calamity. And yet once more Jesus will not yield. You can almost see Jesus shaking his head, remembering Psalm 91 in its true context. It is almost as if Satan has quoted the psalm that will strengthen Jesus in this, his calamity in the wilderness. Once more Jesus will go to the Scriptures.

It is Deuteronomy again, this time Deuteronomy 6:16, which speaks of the failure of the Israelites in the wilderness. In Exodus 17, they came to a place called Rephidim. Because there was no water there, the people began once more to complain against Moses. He renamed the place Massah, which means “test.”

Now, as Jesus comes to his final test in the wilderness, he will triumph because of his complete dependence on the Father.

Now that his sonship has been fully established through testing in the wilderness, he is ready to begin his ministry.

Romans 8:16–17 ESV

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Romans 8:16–17 AMP

The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God. And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory.

Galatians 4:4–7 (ESV)

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

We have a good father who loves us and will care for us and supply our needs for all eternity.

Our purpose now, as the children of God, is to develop into our full stature and unique potential by becoming like Jesus: “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters”

Psalm 34:19 ESV

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

1. You Are an Heir of God Because You Are a Child of God

2. You Are an Heir Because You Are Redeemed.

3. You Are an Heir Because You Are a Joint Heir With Jesus.

4. He will never leave you, nor forsake you; despite what you think about what you are going through.