Introduction:
This series is drawn from the story of Jesus as told by Luke, and in it we're looking at the man Christ Jesus. We kicked the series off by studying Jesus' origin story, and we learned that Luke didn't try to hide the shameful circumstances that surrounded Jesus' birth. We learned that Jesus understands what shame feels like. But we also learned that no matter how much you may have failed, how untrue you've been, or how insignificant you feel, Jesus is the shame-lifter.
Now we're continuing our examination of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. Of course, there's no way we can do Jesus' story justice in four Sunday messages. The best we can hope to do is hit a small sampling of highlights that help us understand Jesus as a man, and that help us in our desire to be more like Jesus.
This message is drawn from Luke 4:1-13, a selection of Scripture that describes what is known as the Temptation of Christ. As we look at how Jesus dealt with temptation, we'll recognize some of the fundamental choices that each one of us must make in our walk with the Lord.
You Will Be Tested
I think it's very important to say right off the bat that if you're going to follow Jesus, you will be tested. A lot of people think that's patently unfair somehow; that testing shouldn't form a part of heaven's curriculum. But you can't be a disciple without testing. After all a disciple is a learner, and all learning will at some point involve a form of testing to see if the requisite knowledge has been acquired. So right away in this message you need to understand that you will be tested.
Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. These temptations seem to have been tests of Jesus' resolve to fulfil his purpose. In them he had to make deliberate choices about what mattered most, about staying on task, and about refusing to seek out spiritual shortcuts.
Rest assured that you, too, will be set up by God to endure times of isolation, loneliness, and barrenness so that your mettle can be tested. In your walk with God, you need to know what's in you. You need to know if you're able to discern what matters most. You need to know if you're able to stick to God's purpose for your life in spite of anything. And you need to know if you've got what it takes to soldier through the rough spots instead of looking for an easier way.
You will be tested.
The First Temptation: Stones into Bread
Jesus had fasted forty days, and the Bible says he was hungry. That must be the understatement of the millennia! I imagine he was ravenous.
You know, there are a lot of myths about fasting. One of them is that you stop being hungry at a certain point. Well, I've never reached that point. Let me tell you that at 21 days you're hungry enough to eat an entire flock of chickens. What tempers the hunger of fasting is your focus...but you're still hungry! And when your focus is gone, look out!
Jesus had fasted forty days, he was hungry, and there would have been nothing at all wrong with him eating. In fact, I'm not entirely sure there would have been anything wrong with him zapping a couple of rocks into something delicious. The fast was over. Forty days were complete. It would have been okay to break the fast. Yet he didn't. He would not eat! He wouldn't perform a miracle to provide himself with sustenance. Instead he tells the devil;
"It is written, man shall not live by bread alone."
Here's something for you to take from this first temptation of Jesus; there are things more important than what feeds your flesh and pleases your human nature. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, sooner or later you have to learn there are things more significant than your pleasure. Now, when I say "pleasure" I'm not referring to sin. There are all kinds of things that are pleasant that are not sinful. Jesus wasn't being tempted with sin¸ he was being tempted with the pleasure of the immediate. As a disciple of Christ, at some point you'll have to choose to forego what's pleasant now because you have a greater purpose in mind.
Can you apply yourself to what strengthens the mind and spirit, or must you seek only what brings immediate satisfaction? That's a question you'll be called upon to answer when you are tempted. You see, you have to know what matters most. And you have to know that when the chips are down you'll make the right choice. That's what testing is supposed to determine.
The Second Temptation: Worship Another
The second temptation that Luke records is more sinister than the first. In this temptation Jesus is offered all authority over the earth's kingdoms and powers...and all the benefits that would come with that authority...if he will just offer worship to the devil. When reading this, our minds immediately go to an "eeeeeeviilllll" devil worship scenario straight out of a horror movie. But all Jesus would've had to do is recognize Satan's authority over the human world, and his authority to give power to whomever he wishes. 'Worship' in the 'sacrifice small mammals' sense wouldn't have been necessary.
Listen closely. Jesus was offered all that a man could want; power, prestige, position, and most importantly the respect earned by having those things. And he could have had them all by simply adoring and serving something other than God. But Jesus said,"You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve."
Here's what you need to learn from this second temptation of Jesus; any gain of any kind or any achievement of any kind that's acquired at the expense of your relationship with God and your obedience to His Word makes you an idolater. When another authority is recognized as worthy of the level of service and adoration that you know belongs to God, you are worshiping a false god. Your career, your money, your education, your family, your romantic interests, your politics...anything that you're willing to sacrifice your relationship and obedient service to God for...is an idol.
You will face this temptation. At some point in your discipleship you're going to have to discover if fulfilling God's purpose for your life, if devoted and obedient service to Him, means more to you than anything else. And you won't know that until you're offered something else. You need to know that when what appeals to you more than anything else in this life is offered to you on a silver platter at the cost of adoring and serving something other than God, you'll be able to say..."Take this whole world, but give me Jesus!"
The Third Temptation: Cast Yourself Down
This third temptation of Jesus is probably the most misunderstood of his trials. It seems obvious enough on the service; throw yourself off the temple and see if the angels come along to keep you from going "splat" on the pavement. Let's see if God will really come through for you!
But there's more to this temptation than meets the eye, and the key to understanding it is in where the temptation occurred; on a pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem. You see, Rabbinic tradition taught that Messiah would kick off the deliverance of Israel by making a grand entrance at the Temple. And really, you can't get a grander entrance than descending into the Temple courtyard accompanied by angels! Satan is saying, "Hey, if you're really the son of God let's see a little flash and dash here! Start the whole deliverance thing! Viva la revolution and all that!"
Of course, Satan didn't know that the plan of redemption and deliverance involved a trip to a hill called Calvary. But Jesus did. This temptation was for Jesus to avoid all of the horror that he was to endure by simply choosing the method everyone else already expected the Messiah to use. But for Jesus, there could be no "redemptive shortcut" that would avoid the Cross.
Jesus response; "You (speaking directly to satan) shall not put the Lord your God to the test." To himself Jesus may have been thinking, "I've got to let this play out. I've got to walk the hard path."
You're going to face that temptation...the temptation to avoid sacrifice, to avoid struggle, to find shortcuts to spiritual growth that allow you to bypass the rough spots. If only there was a way to slip directly into heaven without a life of discipleship, most would willingly take it. Sadly, there are very many who have professed their desire to follow Jesus yet seem willing to forego heaven entirely to avoid the discomfort of discipleship on earth.
Disciples, you need to know that there is no revival without sacrifice. There is no growth of any kind...church growth, spiritual growth, personal growth...without pain. There is no shortcut to victory. There's no spiritual fast track to an overcoming life. Sooner or later you've got to find out if you've got what it takes to grit your teeth and forge ahead on the narrow path. The plodding, day by day grind of loving the Body of Christ and doing good works isn't very Hollywood. It's not very spectacular. It requires far more constancy and far more struggle than it does talent and glamour. But the Scriptures say that it's that very plodding, constant, life of loving-kindness that attracts others to Jesus.
Closing:
When you're tempted (and you will be), what choices will you make? When you have to choose between what's pleasant now and what's best for the long-term in your walk with God, what choice will you make? When you can have all you've ever wanted in this life at the cost of your loving and faithful service to God, where will you stand? When you discover a smoother, easier path than the life of discipline and surrender, where will you choose to walk?
