Please open your Bible to Luke chapter four. Our text today is found in verses 14-30.

     Before we read the text together, I want to remind you of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus at his baptism in the form of a dove. At his baptism Jesus was formally anointed by the Holy Spirit. John bare record saying this sign confirmed Jesus as the Son of God, the promised Messiah.

     It is interesting to note the title Messiah only appears twice in the Bible with both found in Daniel chapter nine where we read:

     “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”

     The title messiah means “anointed one.” Speaking of the coming Messiah, Psalm chapter two says: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh.”

     Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one. We, of course, call Jesus the Christ. The name “Christ,” meaning “anointed,” is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew messiah. There are over 500 instances in the New Testament where Jesus is referred to as “the Christ.”

     Immediately following his baptism Luke says he was “full of the Holy Ghost” and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. And in our text today we shall note following his temptation our Lord returned from the wilderness in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. It is important to take note of what John the Baptist says of Jesus in the gospel of John chapter three. Speaking of Jesus, John said: “For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God: for God gives not the Spirit by measure unto him.”

     The picture of Jesus set forth by the title Messiah, the Christ, the anointed One, is that of the perfect Spirit filled man. Although Jesus was God incarnate, he came in the form of a servant. Thus, he chose to perform his earthly ministry as the anointed servant of his Father. He ministered in the power of God the Holy Spirit.
 
     Now look at our text: Luke 4:14-30.
 
14And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

15And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.

16And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

17And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

18The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

19To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

20And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

21And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

22And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?

23And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.

24And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

25But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;

26But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

27And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

28And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,

29And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

30But he passing through the midst of them went his way.”
  
   Now look again at verse fourteen: Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. He taught in their synagogues and the people spoke well of him. His fame began to spread through-out the region. It is important to remember Jesus was anointed to deliver the Word of God to the people. Those who heard him speak experienced the convicting work of the Spirit in their hearts. They wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth.
 
   Jesus spoke with the unction of the Spirit. Jesus communicated the love of God for a lost and broken world. He preached a message of hope as he came to heal the broken hearted and declare deliverance to the captives. He preached in the power of the Spirit and his anointed words opened the eyes of the spiritually blind and sat at liberty those who were bruised. He came with the good news that it was the day of God’s favor. A day of God’s grace, indeed, it was the acceptable year of the Lord!

    And so, he came to his hometown of Nazareth where he was brought up. Look again at verse sixteen. It says he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as his custom was. That is very interesting. All during his youth Jesus attended synagogue. Then in his young adult years this habit persisted. We might take a lesson from our Lord’s example. If gathering around the Word of God was important to our Savior, then it ought to be important to us!

   Now, as set forth in our text on this occasion Jesus stood up to read from the book of Isaiah. Look again at verses eighteen and nineteen containing the words which Jesus read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

    He then closed the book as every eye in the synagogue was fastened on him. Jesus then declared unmistakenly, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” My friends, Jesus was telling his hometown crowd, “I am the Messiah. I am the one of whom the prophet spoke!”

     And how did they react? They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” My friends, Jesus was telling them plainly he was NOT Joseph’s son, rather, he was the promised Messiah. I need to issue a warning to each of you today. Be careful. When you are confronted by the Holy Spirit, who convicts the heart of the sin of not believing on Jesus, it is time to repent. Instead of rationalizing unbelief it is time to bow the knee!

     Now look again at verses 28-30:

     “And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way.”

​     Why did they become so angry? They became angry because Jesus told them they were in the same spiritual condition as where the people of Elijah’s day and the people of Elisha’s day (Cf. 25-27). Jesus was saying to them, if you don’t believe upon me then you are going to miss the blessing.

      Please open your Bible to Luke chapter four. Our text today is found in verses 1-13.

     Before I read the text and pray allow me to introduce this section of Luke’s gospel by reminding you of the unique person of Jesus the Christ. From the moment of his conception, through-out his life and ministry, on the cross, in the realm of the dead for three days and nights, at his resurrection and currently in his ministry as our great High Priest at the right hand of the Father, Jesus was and is the God-man.

     He is fully God and fully man in one person as he faces Satan in the wilderness. Thus, the outcome of his temptation, or testing, was never in doubt. He was altogether holy and undefiled. He was sinless in his human nature as the last Adam, and he was not liable to sin as touching his Divine nature. He was and is the impeccable Christ.

     Next, in a moment we shall see the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested by Satan. Why? It is Satan who must be defeated on the testing ground of obedience to God. The Scripture says, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

     Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh (that is, he was fully a man although without sin) to condemn sin in the flesh. His sinless life prepared him to be the perfect sacrifice for sin as our substitute on the cross. Thus, the Spirt drove him into the wilderness to face Satan. And by the time that experience was over, Satan knew he was in trouble. He was facing the Son of God who came to crush his head just as the Lord said back in the Garden of Eden.

     Now look at our text: Luke 4:1-13.
 
“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:

For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:

And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.”
 
 
    One of the first things that ought to be obvious from our text is the reality of Satan. Satan is the great deceiver. Furthermore, Satan is the enemy of your soul and if you are not saved, he holds you in bondage to death. However, our Lord came to destroy Satan’s power to hold us in bondage to death. This he would do by his sinless life and subsequent vicarious death on the cross.

    Now our text says Satan attempted to deceive our Lord by casting three temptations into his thinking. Satan is making his bid to lead the last Adam into disobedience to God the Father.

     Perhaps the first test seems harmless. After all, what was wrong if Jesus proved he was the Son of God by working a miracle, and what is wrong with eating bread when one is hungry?

     The problem is our Lord was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to resist Satan and not yield to him. He must conquer the tests put forth by Satan. He must be tested to prove he cannot and will not succumb to disobedience. His obedience to the Father is the proof he is the Son of God, not some miracle performed at the whim of God’s adversary.

     Next, Satan presents a test that is quite insightful as to how he ensnares many men. He invites the Son of God to bow the knee to him so as to gain the kingdoms of the world, but he was rebutted by the obedient heart of the Son of man who said, “. . . it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” 

     Sadly, many a man today sells his soul for a piece of this world. Satan is glad to give you the world if you refuse to worship the true and living God. Be careful my friend. If you do not bow the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ in essence you are bowing the knee to Satan. It may not seem that obvious to you, however, the spiritual reality set forth in Scripture is very clear. You are either a child of God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, or you are of your father the devil.

     Finally, Satan takes Jesus to Jerusalem and once again questions his identity as the Son of God. Again, he tests Jesus by inviting him to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and proceeds to quote scripture in his bid to lead our Lord into disobedience.

     Satan said, “For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.”

     I need to point out to you that Satan is masterful at twisting and misapplying scripture. Sometimes he blatantly denies the truthfulness of Scripture, or he may cast doubt on the trustworthiness of Scripture, but he is also a master at instigating and promoting Scripture out of context. He causes men to wrestle with the Scripture to their own destruction.

     Our Lord was too wise for his craftiness and rebuked Satan soundly saying, “It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” Jesus was victorious over Satan and did not disobey his Father during these tests, nor did he ever disobey his Father.
 
     While the greater lesson of the temptation of Christ is to show us we have a sinless Savior who could die as our substitute, we can learn from his example. As noted in our text, Jesus meet each test by quoting scripture. This is a very important lesson we need to learn. In each case our Lord quoted Scripture to resist Satan. Likewise, we must fortify ourselves with the truth of Scripture to stand against the wiles of the devil. We must resist Satan with the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God!