Luke 4:1-13 Satan Tempts Jesus
“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.
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.’”
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.’”
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.’”
Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.”
God’s timing is always perfect. Even though Jesus has already been filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in a special way during John’s baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. Jesus needs that special anointing, for he is about to face one of the most severe temptations anyone can possibly face.
Jesus withdraws to the wilderness to fast and pray before beginning his earthly ministry. But after 40 days without food, Jesus is hungry, hot, and exhausted. That’s when Satan shows up.
Why does Satan tempt Jesus at the beginning of Jesus’s ministry? Both Satan and Jesus know that Jesus has come as the spotless Lamb of God to sacrifice himself for the sins of the world. Although there are three different temptations, the underlying theme for all three temptations is simple: Satan is tempting Jesus to take shortcuts to power and world domination. Jesus, on the other hand, knows that God’s way is the only way that will work.
First, Satan tempts Jesus to feed himself by changing stones into bread. Later Jesus will multiply bread and fish to feed thousands of people; however, Jesus knows now he must depend on God’s will and not on his own efforts.
Next Satan brings Jesus to a high mountain and shows him all the nations of the world in a moment of time. The temptation: Authority over all the nations of the earth if Jesus will only worship Satan. But Jesus is playing for bigger stakes than world domination, for he is the Son of God and knows that he has come from God and will return to God once he has fulfilled his mission on earth. Why settle for earthly power when that decision means eternal damnation and separation from a beloved Heavenly Father forever? Jesus perfectly answers Satan, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
Finally, Satan brings Jesus to the top of Herod’s temple, a height of possibly 450 feet or 150 meters. The temptation here is simple: See if God the Father will deliver God the Son from dying if he throws himself off the top of the temple. But Jesus easily sidesteps Satan’s manipulations. “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”
What makes this final temptation so important? Satan is not simply tempting Jesus but also trying to tempt God the Heavenly Father. Satan is thumbing his nose at the God who has cast him out of heaven for his rebellion, hoping that Jesus is going to aid him in this act of heresy. But Jesus foils Satan’s nefarious plans by refusing to cooperate with Satan.
Luke completes his account by saying, “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.” Satan is an opportunist and always times his temptations for times when we are at our weakest or least guarded. We must always be on guard, for Satan will take every advantage, particularly when we are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. The acronym HALT stands for those four conditions and is used extensively by those dealing with people addicted to substances or behaviors such as gambling, shopping, etc. Those recovering from addictions are warned to avoid any one of these situations and to correct them whenever possible to avoid falling back into addiction.
In the story recorded by Luke, Jesus is hungry and tired; however, he has just spent weeks praying to his Heavenly Father so he is neither lonely nor angry. And more than anything else, Jesus wants to please his Heavenly Father and resorts to accurately quoting Scripture.
Notice that Satan also quotes Scripture; however, he mis-quotes it. When we don’t study the Word of God, we won’t recognize when Satan is twisting Scripture to fit his own purposes. We must study Scripture to protect ourselves and those around us. We also must remember to avoid becoming hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, lest we fall prey to temptation.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to study Your Word so that we will be prepared for temptation, for it will certainly come. Help us also to come closer to You every day and to love You more each day than we have the day before. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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