Right now it we are in the middle of, what feels like, a global quarantine. Countries around the world have locked down and shelter-in-place laws are in play in cities from Paris to Portland.
When will it end? The world is getting stir crazy!
For us, as Christians, it helps to realize that we are not alone. As a matter of fact, our founder, Jesus Christ himself, was himself under a 40 day self-quarantine. Yes, I’m talking about his 40 days in the wilderness where he was tempted by the devil.
This quarantine was ordered, not by government, but by God himself. During these 40 days Jesus experienced the most extreme form of social distancing. For 40 days and 40 nights he encountered no other humans.
This took place in the wilderness, most likely near the Wadi Qelt. This is the long path that extends from Jerusalem to Jericho and it is in the center of what is called the Judean wilderness. This path runs along a deep valley with steep walls. To this day it is a lonely desolate place where you would never want to spend the night alone there.
It was here, or close to here, toward the end of the 40 days of fasting, where Satan sought to tempt Jesus and disqualify him as the Savior of the world.
What was Jesus doing during that time? According to Dr. Dann Spader this was a time of prayer, planning and preparing for the launch of Jesus’ earthly ministry.
Think of it as a 40 day strategic planning session with the Trinity in the wilderness. For much of the time it is most likely Jesus was praying, planning and getting ready for the 3 ½ years of ministry that lay ahead.
Let’s read the full story in Luke 4:1-14
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, ‘I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’’ The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.” Luke 4:1-14
So how did Jesus survive a 40 day quarantine and come out stronger? Here’s how:
He realized that God was in complete control.
Take a look at the first two verses and this becomes clear. Here we see that God controls his servants and both the situation they are in and timeline they are under. Look again at verse 1 and 2,
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.” Luke 4:1,2
He controls his servants.
Luke uses the phrase “led by the Spirit” but Mark 1:12 uses the phrase “sent by the Spirit.” The Greek word is an action word, "ekbállo" (“ek” means “out.” “Ballo” means “to cast, drive, throw”)…Literally it means to drive out…to cast out…to throw out… The Spirit of God drove Jesus into the wilderness.
Have you ever had that deep conviction that God wanted you to do something. It wasn’t just an inkling but a divine directive that you knew in the core of your soul was God?
Romans 8:14 reminds us, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” We must constantly be in communion with the Spirit to get our marching orders. Why? Because God is in control of his servants! Sometimes he leads us gently toward his will. Other times he drives us!
Either way let’s stay controlled by the Spirit during this time of quarantine and shelter-in-place so that he can bring us to where he wants us to go.
God controls his servants and…
He controls their situation.
“…into the wilderness where…he was tempted by the devil.” Luke 4:1,2
Jesus controlled Jesus’ setting (the wilderness) and his situation (being tempted by the devil.)
God was in charge, completely in charge. He knew that during this time the Evil one would be attacking his beloved son and seeking to get him to sin.
There are those that believe Satan didn’t really think that Jesus would sin, but that he was merely going through the motions. But this is foolishness to me. This is the same Satan who thought he could take over heaven and throw Jesus out of the throne. This is that same Satan who will seek to win in the last battle before his finally cast into the Lake of Fire forever.
I believe he thought that he may be able to get Jesus to sin and if Jesus sinned he would no longer be a spotless sacrifice, able to save humanity from sin.
And God controlled this. He allowed Satan to do this. He didn’t prompt Satan to do it but he allowed it.
In the same way, I don’t believe that God causes evil, but he allows it. He allowed this pandemic. He’s allowing this global economic meltdown and he will use it to advance his Kingship and kingdom in ways that we never imagined. And, we wants to use it to advance his rule in our hearts like never before.
God does not cause pain, pandemics and problems, but he uses them for his glory in ways that we can never imagine.
God controls the situation.
He controls the timeline.
“…for forty days….” Luke 4:2
For Jesus that timeline was for forty days.
What’s the timeline for the Coronavirus? We have no idea! During the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918, which lasted 2 years and killed between 50-100 million people globally by the way, the worst of the epidemic was packed into a 3 month period in the Fall of 1918.
What if the worst of this pandemic lasted 3 months, from March through the end of May?
Are you ready for that timeline? Are you ready for what God wants to teach you during this time?
Do you really believe God is in control of this situation? Are you letting him control you during this time?
Jesus realized that God was in complete control. Secondly,
He resisted the relentless temptations of the Devil
The Surface Temptations: (obvious temptations to everyone)
Cravings: “…tell this stone to become bread.” v.3
Jesus was on a 40 day fast and Satan attacked him toward at the end of that fast and he was hungry…turn these stones into Olive Garden breadsticks…
Cravings represent physical hungers like food, drink, drugs, sex, whatever. And, obviously, we want to avoid gluttony…which is really hard during this time we are so close to our refrigerators and pantries! We want to avoid lust, porn and getting drunk or high (I have to say that because Colorado has deemed marijuana shops as essential businesses during this time!)
Fight the temptation for cravings.
Control:
In Luke 4 we see the second temptation is one of control. The text tells us, “The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, ‘I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.’
Satan offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he would just bow down and worship him. Talk about control! Satan was offering him the rule of the fallen world right there and then. But Jesus refused!
How many times we want control, especially now. We want to leave our homes. We don’t like being told by the government that we must shelter in place, that we must stay at home or 6 feet away.
We want to control our financial situation. We want to control the way our kids are responding at home.
And Satan will tempt us with control. He will convince us that we are in charge or try to convince us to try to take charge.
This is an ongoing challenge for me. I speak in directives, even when I’m not in charge. That’s how I order burgers.
When I was a kid in elementary school I was in charge of the school crosswalks for awhile. They gave me a bright orange belt and a little badge.
I used to use that little badge to pretend I was in charge of the hallways and the playground too. I had kids do pushups if they failed to keep the “rules” I had made up. It was a total power trip and it’s a good thing the teachers never found out.
Satan wants to convince us that we all deserve a little badge to try to be in control. But we are not.
Crowds:
Finally, Satan attacks Jesus with the 3rd and final surface temptation, “The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down from here.
According to many scholars, the southwest corner of the temple was called the “pinnacle of the Temple.” This is probably where Satan tempted Jesus to jump off from—a frighteningly high point that created a 450-foot drop down to the valley below (essentially equivalent to standing on top of a 45-story building and being dared to jump).
How many of you have ever dove off something higher than you should have? How many of you did it because a group of friends were daring you to jump off the high diving board or from the top of a cliff into the lake below?
I remember once, when I was a youth leader, we took a big group of teenagers to Glendo, Wyoming for a camp. This particular camp was close to a reservoir when teens could jump off the cliffs into the lake below.
After all the adult leaders jumped the teenagers looked to me, the one hold out, and started chanting “Jump! Jump! Jump!” I finally gave in, ran toward the cliff and jumped. The problem is, I can’t swim!
Don’t worry, I didn’t die. I flailed my way to the rocks, never to jump into those waters again.
But there’s something about the crowd chanting “Jump! Jump! Jump!” that is hard to resist!
It’s true with temptations you face. We may want to all jump on the bandwagon of being negative online or worry or becoming so consumed with getting more followers and posting whatever it takes to get more followers.
It’s like they are chanting, “Jump! Jump! Jump!”
That’s what Satan was chanting to Jesus. He was reminding Jesus that all the crowds in the temple would see him jump and see the angels rush to save him from being crushed and believe that he was the Messiah.
Which of these three temptations are the hardest for you to resist, especially at this time of national lockdown? Is it cravings, control or crowds? Like Jesus, resist the urge to give into these surface temptations. And realize that, underneath these surface temptations, there’s usually….
The Core Temptation:
What was the core temptation that Satan attacked Jesus with? His core temptation was that of his identity! Two of the three times Satan tempts Jesus he begins by saying these seven words…“If you are the Son of God….”
How is Satan attacking your identity during this pandemic? As a traveling evangelist…I’m not traveling! Being stuck at home with much of the rest of the world, it grates on your thoughts. Satan can whisper in my ear lies trying to confuse my primary calling and my, in the words of Os Guiness, secondary calling. My primary calling is that of a child of God and servant of the King. My secondary calling is that of an evangelist.
Satan tries to confuse all of us with that same lie of identity. Who we are is rooted in whose we are, not what we do.
Maybe Satan is attacking you by questioning your ability to provide for and protect your family. Maybe you have lost your job or your income has gone way done as a result of this pandemic and you are wrestling with questions of identity as a result.
But Jesus knew who he was, whose he was and that he was loved.In Luke 3:21,22, the chapter before his wilderness temptation, the good Dr. Luke tells us, “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” Luke 3:21,22
Jesus was loved and accepted by the Father before he had endured any of Satan’s temptations or done any of his earthly miracles or ministry. He was accepted because he was the Son.
Well guess what Philippians 3:9 tells us? It says, “…be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.”
Look at those two words “in him.” We are in Christ. Let this Bible represent Christ. When God looks at Jesus he sees righteousness and perfection. Let this marked up, messed up piece of paper represent us and all of our sin and shortcomings.
When we put our faith in Christ we are “found in him” (place messed up paper in the Bible and shut it) so when God looks at us, he sees Christ. He doesn’t see our sin but Christ’s righteousness.
So, two questions naturally arise. The first is this? If you know you are in Christ do you really believe you are accepted by and loved by God the Father as much as he loves his own Son? If you are in Christ then the Father looks at you and says, “This is my child, whom I love, with my child I am well pleased.”
Know who you are and whose you are and that you are loved by God because you are “in Christ.”
The second question is this, do you know that you are in Christ? Have you realized that God loves you but that your sin separates you from him? Do you understand that our sins could never be removed by good deeds? Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for your sin and that he rose from the dead three days later? Are you ready to put your faith in Jesus to forgive you for all of your sins and give you eternal life right now? This life starts now and lasts forever.
(give invitation to trust in Jesus)
Next week we will unpack the other two ways that Jesus endured a 40 day quarantine and came out stronger.
Let’s pray
