The Devils Temptation of Jesus, Part 1 | How to Fight Temptation

Luke 4:1-2

So here in Luke’s Gospel, fourth chapter, let’s enter the passage together, just starting with reading the passage about the devil’s temptation of Jesus Christ. Says there in Luke chapter 4, verse 1. “And Jesus full of the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by the devil, and he ate nothing during those days, when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, ‘If you’re 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’re 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.”

As we get into this passage it’s tempting to go right from the reading of this, right into application. We see how Jesus answered the devil’s temptations with Scripture, and only with Scripture and we want to learn to go and do likewise, that is a good instinct on our part. Not just about the use of Scripture, but also about the desire that we have, every believer has to stand firm against temptation. We don’t want to fall into sin. These are the attitudes of every true believer.

But as much as we want to learn from this passage, how to stand firm against temptation, and we will get there. We need to see that this passage is not primarily about us. It is first and foremost about Jesus Christ, and we need to see him here. Before we apply this to ourselves, we need to learn what this is teaching us about our Lord and Savior. God hasn’t willed for any of us to go out into the desert, fast 40 days to be tempted by the devil himself. That test is for Jesus, and Jesus alone. None of us are important enough to warrant the devil’s attention, personally, but Jesus is. The whole plan of redemption, decreed among the members of the Trinity before time began, the whole plan of redemption would have been completely thwarted, if Jesus had turned one stone molecule into a bread molecule. The whole plan would have been completely undone. If Jesus even considered bowing before Satan, he would have entered into temptation and if that had happened, we would not be sitting here today.

Just wanted you to see there is more at stake in this text than just asking the question about how do I get a few formulaic responses to temptations that come into my life. This is all about Jesus Christ, and the stakes here are infinitely high. If Jesus were to fail, at one point, he would not only fail to be our Redeemer, but God would fail to be God, that cannot be. We’re all here, we’re all worshipping him. God is God, Jesus is the Redeemer, he never failed and here we are. So we don’t want to jump from a superficial reading of the text to immediately applying this text into our lives.

So important to understand what the true meaning and the actual significance is of what the things we read here. We’re responsible in Ephesians 5:17, “To understand what the will of the Lord is.” That means, we need to read and make proper observations, we need to make right interpretations. And then we will understand what the will of the Lord is, so that we can rightly obey. Understanding requires good observation and study. So that we can prayerfully and thoughtfully and even slowly, knowledgeably meditate on what we’ve studied, and that is going to yield for us a careful, accurate interpretation. It’s going to yield for us the meaning of the text, so that we can understand and obey God’s will.

If this text shows us anything in this regard, particularly when we come to that final temptation of Jesus by the devil. It’s that truth is easily twisted and perverted, isn’t it? The devil is masterful in twisting the Scripture. How many of us, if we were caught in the wilderness like this by the devil, would have caught the mishandling of Scripture by the devil? Jesus caught it. Jesus had read, he had understood the Scripture, he knew what it meant by what it said and he was able to apply it accurately. He was able to use the sword of the Spirit skillfully. He was able to use that sword of the Spirit to good effect. And that’s the pattern that we will follow as we study this text together as well.

 So with that in mind, let’s get into the context of the temptation. The context of this passage is the preparation of Jesus as the Messiah of Israel and his ministry to Israel. He, Jesus, is the embodiment and the fulfillment of all the promises that God made to Israel and this passage is essential in qualifying him for all that lay ahead.

To set the passage in its context, we need to just back up, just a little bit to Luke 3:21. When Jesus came forward to be baptized. The baptism is the inauguration of Jesus ministry, when God spoke from heaven, when he sent the Holy Spirit. And it says, verse 21, “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.'”

Now, we see that Luke inserted Jesus’ genealogy right after this, but without the genealogy, connecting chapter 3, verse 22, to chapter 4, verse 1, Jesus emerges from the waters of baptism and then this, verse 1, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was being led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by the devil.” From here on, Jesus steps into the spotlight, he becomes the central focus of all the narratives in Luke’s Gospel. We have studied together already three chapters and as you know, the focus on Jesus has become increasingly clear, increasingly brilliant. Now the spotlight is shining on him in full force, he’s at center stage, and it’s going to continue to follow him wherever he goes from here on out, and that is as it should be.

We started with some other characters in the narrative. If you’ll remember the gospel started with Gabriel’s announcements to Zechariah and then to Mary. We listened in as people reacted to the news, we learned through them about the deep historical and biblical significance of the birth of the Messiah, the forerunner, John the Baptist. When Jesus was born, we saw the reaction of the shepherd, we listened in on the reactions of Anna and Simeon at the temple.

And then the Jesus we saw in those early days, those early accounts, he was just a baby. He was helpless, wrapped in swaddling cloths; couldn’t even wrap him himself, his mother had to wrap him, he was dependent on his parents. But then, immediately following that, Luke showed us something else. He showed us the boy Jesus in the temple, when he was just 12 years old and at that point, 12 years old, Jesus clearly understood his true identity.

He knows that he must be, imperative there, he must be in his true father’s house. It’s a remarkable demonstration at such an early age of his messianic self-understanding. He knew himself to be the Messiah and yet, the young Jesus also knew that his time was not yet, that he needed to wait a little while. So he withdrew with his parents, he headed back to Nazareth, he receded into the background once again.

And he waited in that backwater town of Nazareth, he waited patiently, he waited obediently until the appearance of the forerunner, the one who would come in the spirit and power of Elijah, as it says in Luke 1:17. John’s ministry was the very signal that Jesus was waiting for, according to Malachi 4:5-6. That’s how Jesus knew it was time to leave Nazareth, to leave behind his private ministry to his mother, his family. It’s time to enter into his public ministry to Israel.

So as Luke has brought us through these narratives, he has demonstrated Jesus’ own realization of his messianic role, that is, Jesus had clearly come to understand who he really is and what his purpose really was. Luke then recorded how John’s ministry of baptism, how it drew Jesus out, it brought him into the foreground, drew him into his public ministry. We saw there, God’s affirmation of him as Messiah of his messianic role, we could call that the inauguration of the Messiah’s ministry. And now as the Holy Spirit takes Jesus from his baptism at the Jordan, into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, we’re about to see his qualification for the Messianic role, Jesus, and Jesus alone is qualified to be the Christ.

This passage is essential for us seeing that, we need this here and we’re gonna learn from his example how we can withstand temptation, we look forward to learning all that we can about Jesus’ responses to temptation. I don’t want to diminish that. But ultimately, we need to acknowledge that no one but Jesus could have withstood temptation like this from the devil himself. There is no other savior, but Jesus, there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. He’s exclusively qualified.

Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested, and then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. And a report about him went out throughout all the surrounding country, and he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. The Holy Spirit, we see from start to finish, he is the one directing all of this, the Holy Spirit directed Jesus to do all of this. The Spirit descended on Jesus at his baptism, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil and then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to begin his ministry in Galilee. And what’s the result? He’s being glorified by all, it’s happening, everything is happening according to God’s plan.

This leads to another aspect of the context that I want you to see. We’ve looked a bit at the biblical context, the narrative context, but the Spirit’s abiding presence, that sets this narrative within a theological context. The Spirit here represents the abiding presence of God in Christ. And that sets the context of Jesus temptation firmly within God’s sovereign plan. All this has been carefully planned. This isn’t haphazard.

Jesus is walking according to the will of God. He hasn’t been ambushed in the wilderness by the devil. This doesn’t take the Triune God by surprise, totally opposite. God led Jesus by the Spirit, into this period of testing. There is divine purpose in all of this. In fact, if you notice the verb in verse 1, it says Jesus was led by the Spirit, doesn’t even say Jesus followed the Spirit. It says he was led by the Spirit, as if the Spirit grabbed him and pulled him along.

It’s in the passive voice, the Spirit’s in control, and Jesus is being led by him. And he didn’t just lead Jesus into the wilderness and then drop him off there. There’s an imperfect tense of the verb that indicates that the Spirit was leading him during the entire time. There was not a moment that the Spirit was not there leading him along, not just into the wilderness, but in among the wilderness. He was there at the Spirit’s bidding, and the Spirit was with him the entire time. All throughout that 40 days the Spirit was at the helm, he was leading, guiding, directing. Clearly, God, not Satan, is in charge and not just in this, but in all things God, not Satan, is sovereign.

There’s a very real devil here isn’t there? He’s a person who opposes God at every turn, and the Bible, this passage in particular, it demonstrates the personality of the devil. There are many, many people in the secular age who deny a personal devil. The Liberals have been teaching within churches this for a long, long time, that the devil is simply a metaphor in the Bible, he performs a narrative function. He’s the personification of the principle of evil. The devil is fine with all that. He loves it, he loves it whenever anything takes the attention of humanity off of the truth about him or God or the universe. He didn’t care what it is, secular distortions, liberal distortions, any kind of distortion, conservative too, he doesn’t care. As long as it diverts attention away from truth.

He is a real person. People deny the reality of the personal devil at their own peril. But he is a person who is oriented in diabolical opposition to God. Love that word diabolical because it comes from the word diabolos, devil. That’s how it’s translated here diabolos, devil means slanderer, it means blasphemer, it means someone who perverts, distorts truth. Take a look at the verbs that are used here. The devil is a subject of all these actions, and all these verbs indicate personality, verse 2, the devil temps. He speaks, verses 3, 6 and 9, he leads and he shows, verses 5 and 9. The devil even possesses a will, verse 6, he has desires, that is he wants to be worshipped, verse 7.

The devil quotes scripture, which gives him some semblance of memory, understanding, he can learn, but he uses sinful reasoning to misuse God’s word for his own purposes. So we have tempting, speaking, leading, showing, willing, desiring, quoting, reasoning, all of that, clear indications of real personality. He’s an evil rebellious, actor, one by the way, who will be held responsible for all of his actions, all of his words and yes, this temptation of the very Son of God.

The devil’s a creature, he’s accountable to God. Says in the book of Job that the sons of God were wandering to and fro from out the earth and they came to present themselves to God, why were they presenting themselves to God? Because they were accountable to him, God is holding them account. Contrary to what the devil would have us believe, contrary to what he even seems to believe about himself, devil is not sovereign. He’s not all powerful. He’s not invincible.

In verse 6, he has the audacity to tell Jesus that the world and all of its authority and all of its glory has been delivered over to me and I give it to whomever I will, well talk about delusion. Talk about overstatement. The devil believes that he is the master of his own fate. He’s the captain of his own soul. The devil believes himself not only to be free, but to be sovereign, and he wants others to believe that as well and get this, to assert his own importance, and the astounding pride that’s wrapped up in all of that, his boldness is the very thing that winds him followers among the unbelieving. But he’s hopelessly deceived, as are all those who fall prey to his lies.

Listen, if you believe you can sin and get away with it, you are sorely mistaken. You might as well join forces with the devil in the wilderness, tempting Jesus because that’s the side you’re on. Devil attempted to do something here. It’s not only audacious it’s utterly irrational. I tell my kids all the time, “Kids, sin makes ya stupid. Sin makes ya stupid.” That’s what we see here in the devil.

The height of all folly is to tempt the creator with his own creation. I mean, come on, the one who created stones and bread of all people, he knows the true source of life and sustenance. Does he really think this is gonna work? Will the God who created the entire universe, would he really agree to bow down before a mere creature, one that he himself created? Now the devil’s not sovereign, and not only that, he’s not wise, he’s foolish. What’s he there for then? The devil is a tool in God’s toolbox. He’s used to shape and to prune and to hone to perfection, the objects of God’s love and affection.

According to Hebrews 2:10, God planned all of this for the outworking of the plan of redemption, “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation” Who’s that? Jesus Christ. “Should make the founder of their salvation, perfect through suffering.”

God made Jesus perfect through suffering. He is sovereign. He is in absolute and total control. The devil is just a tool that he uses to shape all things into conformity with his perfect will. Nothing, not even the devil himself, nothing is outside God’s perfect will. Nothing is outside God’s perfect sovereign purposes and that’s the devil’s role here. He plays a role. God is using the devil to shape Jesus for his messianic role to perfect him through temptations and suffering. If I could make just a quick, maybe we might call it a devotional point here, just by way of implication for our own lives.

God uses temptations and suffering for our sakes as well. He shapes us by whatever means, using whatever tools necessary. He even uses demonic forces, as Ephesians 6:12 says, to conform us to the image of Christ, there’s a plan in all of this. “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” It’s an interesting word that Paul uses there he says, “We do not wrestle.” Ya ever wrestled with someone and not in play, but wrestled in war, wrestled to the death, wrestled with real consequence? It’s exhausting. It’s absolutely exhausting. It takes every ounce of energy. When you get done, you just want to sleep for a week.

We don’t wrestle against flesh and blood enemies. We wrestle against spiritual forces. They want to take us down, want to mangle our souls. And that is why we must, verse 13 of Ephesians 6, “Take up the whole armor of God.” Why? “That we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” We need to learn to be strong, not in our own might. We don’t have any. Oh we need the Lord. That’s why we’re to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might, not our own insufficient measly, nothing strength.

We’re like ants, before a combat boot, we got no power. We rely on ourselves, we fail, we stumble, we fall, need to learn to rely on him, always. And God will use whatever means to teach us that lesson. According to Romans 8:28. We know that for those who love God, all things, even temptations, all things, even trials, all things, even pain and suffering, even disappointed plans. Even John MacArthur not coming to our church next week, he’ll even use that. We know “That all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Though the forces of Hell should come against us.

And make no mistake they’re prowling about, at all times, surrounding us with menacing intent, and yet, they are God’s means for sanctifying, perfecting, purifying us, it’s all part of the plan. Paul says, “For I’m persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation.” Just in case you thought there was a category that didn’t apply. “Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Look, we rest in that contentment, without any fear, without any anxiety. We rest in the firm and steady hand of the sovereign God who works all things together for the good for us. And we see that first and foremost here in our Savior.