The Temptation of Jesus

Luke 4:1-13

4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”

5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”

9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’

11 and

‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Jesus had been fasting for 40 days when the devil challenged him. How often in our lives is it that when we are tired, stressed, down – that in that moment the devil comes and challenges us, invites us to follow him down some road that leads to wrong doing, to abandoning of the Jesus way. We need help when we face temptation, Jesus had help when he faced temptation.

Notice Jesus does not face the devil all on his own, in vs. 1 twice the Holy Spirit is mentioned. The Holy Spirit gave Jesus strength in the face of temptation, the Holy Spirit will give us strength when we face temptation. We do not seek to stay on the right path in our strength alone, the Holy Spirit helps us.

Jesus responds to each of the temptations by quoting from the Bible. Again, Jesus does not face the devil all by himself, he has the Bible to help him. We too have the Bible that points us towards the right way, the right path to follow. We do not follow God on our own understanding, but rather we are people who are guided by God’s word.

The tricky part is that with the last temptation the devil also quotes from the Bible to make the temptation seem like the right thing to do. The devil will do the same with us, taking a passage of scripture and using it to try and draw us down the wrong path. In these situations, we need both the Bible and the Holy Spirit, for the Spirit will help us properly understand the words of the Bible so as to stand firm against the temptations that come our way.   

PRAYER:

Thank you, Lord God, for the Holy Spirit and the Bible which help us to remain faithful to you in the face of temptation. Teach us how to use these resources that you provide, so we might follow you all our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.