How To Survive Satan’s Attacks

How to survive Satan’s Attacks

Luke 4:1-13

Rabbi Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz

Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. 3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE.’” 5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 “Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘aYOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’”

9 And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said 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 GUARD YOU,’ 11 and, ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’” 12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’” 13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

I had a great uncle that when he turned 80 years old, he never left his apartment until he died. He lived in that apartment with his wife for five additional years. He lived in the Bronx, which is in New York City, and was not the safest place to be living in the 1980s for a person of Jewish descent. He felt that evil was out there in the world, and it would eventually manifest itself in his death. Today I wonder if he had understood the power of the Holy Spirit through faith in the works of Jesus Christ that might’ve made a difference to him.

I want you to be careful about what I just said because evil is out there in the world, and we must be on our guard for it. Even though you are believers in Jesus Christ, our enemy Satan is still out there in the world, infecting people. One thing we must be very careful about is not to be infected. One could say that Satan's power has infected us like a pandemic since Adam and Eve were placed in the garden of Eden and will continue to infect us until the end of time.

This narrative about Jesus’ temptation in the desert refers to three theological points: (1) the nature of evil; (2) the power of temptation; (3) the nature of Christ. The nature of evil is doing anything which is contrary to the Word and Will of the LORD. It’s like having two angels on your shoulders. The good angel is on the right shoulder and the evil angel is on the left shoulder. Every time the good angel directs you to do something good, the evil angel tells you how absurd it is to do and suggests something else which may sound good but is pure evil. Evil clothes itself in good and we must recognize this and beware not to fall into the trap of evil. Committing sin can make us feel good. Getting away with something that we shouldn’t get away with can make us feel like we have power. The power is false and eventually the act of evil will come back to haunt. Through faith in Christ that sin is removed from our soul by our prayers.

The power of temptation is strong, especially for humans. Jesus was in a weakened state when Satan approached Him. The temptation to get food after forty days must have been strong. Yet Jesus resisted with all his might. Satan did not win. For us today, temptation comes in many forms. Peer pressure exists at all ages and can become a powerful force pushing us to do evil. We must learn from Jesus that those who place their faith and trust in Him will find the inner strength from the Holy Spirit to fight temptation.

What we learn about Christ from the narrative is that even in a human form, Jesus never forgot who He was. Jesus could not fight and defeat the forces of Satan if he had given into him. Jesus always remained loyal to the mission that God sent Him on. If we become 100% dedicated to the mission of Christ, we will develop a “shield” against the forces of evil in the world.