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!
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!
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