Jesus Versus Satan Series

Today we conclude a series entitled, The Man Who Won’t Go Away. As we examine Luke 4, we see a telling snapshot of the temptation of Jesus. There is so much in this story that I want to get right to work.

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led 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 were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” 9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him 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, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” 12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:1-13).

There are too many amazing things to say about this passage. There are so many angles and so many rivers that could be traced out in this passage. But I want to talk about temptation and how to fight against it. Along the way, allow me to introduce you to three main characters in today’s story.

1. Jesus Is the Better Adam

There are two stories Luke wants you to see behind the scene in the desert. If this were a movie script, then the director would flash back to Adam in the Garden of Eden. Luke writes this story very much consciously in direct contrast to Adam’s story in the Garden of Eden. Jesus was the Second Adam and where the first Adam failed, the Second Adam succeeds. Let me show you…

Luke has taken us through the genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3 and he showed Jesus’ connection to Adam (whom he calls a son of God). Adam had a unique relation to God in that he was directly created. Adam was directly the Son of God. But Jesus has an even greater unique relationship to God as He is born of a virgin (Luke 1:35). Adam had a unique relation to humanity as the source from which all of us came. But Jesus has an even greater unique relation to a new humanity for He both creates and redeems us.

Adam was tempted and failed, bringing all of his people into misery. Jesus, the Second Adam, is tempted, but will not fail; so he will bring all of His people to victory. By taking the genealogy of Jesus all the way back to Adam and showing Adam as the direct son of God by inserting this genealogy between the announcement where Jesus is God’s Son and now the temptation of Jesus. Luke shows that Jesus is a new Adam, entering a new battle to redeem a new people.

When we read the account of Jesus' temptations, we must realize how much is at stake here. If He fails, He will be in the same class as the old Adam and there will be no new people. There was a great deal at stake in the desert. Had Jesus lost to Satan here, God’s whole plan to save humanity would have been destroyed.

Jesus Never Sinned

As we enter into the story, we’re able to see that temptation itself is not a sin. For if being tempted to sin is wrong, then Jesus Himself would have sinned. Jesus was spotless from the inside out but this didn’t mean He wasn’t tempted. Jesus was tempted just like every one of us. Although Jesus did not have a sinful nature like us, He was very much human. He resisted the things that all of us desire. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus is the Second Adam. Where Adam failed, Jesus succeeded. Again, Luke wants you to look past the scene in the desert to see the first Adam in the Garden. It’s noteworthy that Jesus was hungry. Where the first Adam had everything he needed in the perfect Garden of Eden, the Second Adam had nothing but dust in the desert. Adam could have satisfied his hungry from the choicest of menus in the Garden. The Second Adam had nothing to eat in the desert. Adam had not fasted at all. Unlike Adam, Jesus faces Satan’s test in an extremely weakened condition. Your surroundings are not the determining factor in overcoming temptation. The first Adam has a companion to help him, but Jesus had no one with Him. The first Adam failed in the Garden and succumbed to temptation. But the Second Adam succeeded and defeated temptation in the desert. It’s noteworthy to know that Jesus’ firm resistance to temptation stood despite His hunger. Not only are we to view the first Adam in the Garden through the story of Jesus in the desert, Luke also wants us to see a second story through the scene in the desert, Israel’s failure in the wilderness.