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.
Here is the second flash back. Jesus spends forty days in the desert where Israel spent forty years in the wilderness. The people of Israel were fed manna, a food that God supernaturally dropped out of the skies to feed His people. Jesus, in direct contrast, is also in the wilderness but He defeats temptation. Where Israel failed and ate, Jesus succeeded and was hungry. Despite God providing their food, the people of Israel sinned – they grumbled against God
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.
You need to know that you will fall into temptation. It’s inevitable. Nothing I say will prevent you from this. You’ll find yourself falling into fits of jealousy or envy. Look close enough and you’ll see how you’re motivated by greed. Temptation has and will successfully have its evil way with you. You can slow it down. But temptation has and will overtake you. You may be tempted to throw your hands up in the air and say, “What’s the use then?” Some of you may consider such an admission a depressing, morose thought. By being honest with you, my aim is not to depress you. Instead, my honesty is a frank admission of what we’re up against but it’s also one of my most hopeful statements you’ll encounter.
2. Satan Exists and He is Evil
Satan is the second character in our story. If we’re going to gain any traction in our fight over evil, then we need to see something of personal side of evil – Satan. Some of you may think Satan is fiction but Jesus thought Satan was real. I believe Satan exists because Jesus thought Satan exists. All of us have to pick the people will trust in our lifetimes; I’ve chosen to trust Jesus. Satan is the evil and inferior opposite of God throughout the Bible. And while Satan goes by many names in the pages of the Bible, he makes his first appearance in the perfect Garden of Eden and he’s been tempting us ever since. Satan has not cashed out his 401k, enjoying retirement on a Caribbean beach somewhere. Instead, Satan keeps coming for us.
When Satan asks Jesus to bow down to worship him, Satan shows his true colors. Satan keeps coming for us. The Evil One will never leave you alone this side of the grave. Satan works and strategizes to make your life evil. Satan comes at Jesus three times in today’s story. When he failed in all three attempts, Satan didn’t go back to hell throwing his hands up in defeat. Instead, the Bible says: “And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). Again, Satan keeps coming for us. He will never leave you alone this side of the grave. All of life is a war. You will never be able to come home to enjoy peace away from the warfare of evil. For evil will follow you always.
Satan devises his unique attack on Jesus around Jesus’ special identity. Two times we are told that Satan comes to Jesus with the words, “If you are the Son of God…” (Luke 4:3, 9). The second of the three temptations has to do with Jesus’ unique relationship to the Father. Satan quotes Scripture in verse eleven: “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:11-12). Satan comes to Jesus and says, “I notice you like the Scriptures. I study them myself.” Satan comes to Jesus and basically says, “Yeah, you quote Deuteronomy a few times, I’ve also been getting my devotionals in the Psalms.” Satan’s evil character will even taken good and holy things like the Bible and twist it. Satan still has professors at Bible colleges, seminaries, Christian universities, and publishing houses. Not all, but there are false teachers, they are everywhere. One day God will stop Satan from doing all of this.
Yet, many people want to know, why doesn’t God stop Satan now? Or 1,000 years ago? Why does God continue tolerate Satan? Is Jesus not stronger than the Devil? Yes, He is ten million times stronger than the devil. Luke leaves this detail out but Matthew tells us: “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve’’” (Matthew 4:10).
Satan, like the dog outside on a leash in the yard, goes no further than his Master permits him. Notice Satan leaves when Jesus tells him to go. “the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).
Again, telling you that all of life is war against Satan is depressing and morose. Yet, my honesty is a frank admission of what we’re up against but it’s also one of my most hopeful statements you’ll encounter.
3. The Power of the Bible
Satan confronts Jesus with three temptations in the story. In each of the three, Jesus fends off Satan’s blows by quoting Scripture. Jesus specifically quotes the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. This is significant. The Perfect Man is giving us a powerful strategy to fend off evil here.
The Perfect Man stayed perfect by virtue of His knowledge of the Bible. Sometimes you’ll watch Bible teachers say, “Quote a verse, tell him to go.” Satan will not go by simply quoting verses. Satan doesn’t just leave Jesus because He hears Scripture. As I said just a few minutes ago, even Satan quotes (and twists) Scripture for his purposes in our story. So it’s not like, “Oh, I heard Deuteronomy, now I HAVE to go.” I don’t have time to camp here but You must know, live, and love the Scripture if you’re going to gain traction in the fight against evil. Scripture is the first of two powerful tools God gives us to fight temptation.
4. The Pursuit of the Spirit
The second tool we’re given to fight temptation in addition to the Bible is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third of three characters in the desert. The Holy Spirit is a “He” and not an “It.” Throughout the pages of the Bible, the Holy Spirit hears, speaks, convinces, guides, teaches, commands, helps, and prays. So the Holy Spirit is a “He.”
Note that today’s passage is framed by the Spirit’s actions. You see the Holy Spirit’s action at the beginning: “And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness…” (Luke 4:1). It’s important to say: Jesus’ exposure to temptation was not His fault; it was God’s design. It’s not a sin to be tempted by evil. Even Jesus was tempted.
What was the Jordan? It was the place of Jesus’ baptism and it was there that the Holy Spirit to anoint Him for ministry. So the Spirit was with Jesus before His encounter with Satan in the desert. “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country” (Luke 4:14).
So the Spirit is how Jesus begins His ministry, the Spirit pushes Jesus into the desert, and the Spirit is still empowering Jesus on the other side of the temptation tunnel. We’ll see that the Holy Spirit is on Jesus when He first preaches (Luke 4:18). The Holy Spirit provides Jesus the power to make demons flee (Matthew 12:28). The Holy Spirit fueled all of Jesus’ life. And the Bible makes it clear that it’s not just Jesus that has access to the Holy Spirit. Every one of Jesus’ disciples has the Holy Spirit on them and in them (Romans 8:9). Indeed the Holy Spirit is the manufacturer of Christ followers. For the Holy Spirit opens the inner ear so you can hear the voice of God in Scripture (John 15:27). The Holy Spirit works in your heart to cause you to say, “I am wrong; I am guilty; I need forgiveness.” The Holy Spirit works essentially to bring you into the presence of Jesus.
Yes, Satan left the desert looking for a revenge match with Jesus. But Satan knew he was overmatched. Jesus had used the Word and the Holy Spirit to wipe the floor clean with the devil. This was Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. This is the Harlem Globetrotters playing the Washington Generals. And when you come to Christ, to really know Christ, there are two opposing desires in every Christ follower.
Sinful desires are still in you and will always be there until your death. But the Holy Spirit opposes them at every step and turn. Earlier, I mentioned that temptation has and will successfully have its evil way with you. While you can slow it down, temptation will have its way with you. The story of a Christian is the story of your steady progress because of the Holy Spirit’s work in you. The Holy Spirit will work in your life to give you a taste of heaven itself (Matthew 5:8). Heaven is a place but you can preview it now. There will always be setbacks in this life, but because of the Spirit you will advance. You can taste heaven’s sweetness as the Holy Spirit works to deepen your worship connection to Jesus. The Holy Spirit will transform your character into looking like Jesus (Galatians 5:22-25). The Holy will give you a certainty that God loves you (Romans 8:17). Again, temptation has and will successfully have its evil way with you. While you can slow it down, temptation will have its way with you. And this is the significance of Jesus. Jesus does for you what you cannot do for yourself.
Jesus was perfect – He never sinned. Jesus achieved a victory in the desert where you failed in a Garden. While you fight temptation, you will never fully defeat temptation. But One did fight temptation and remained perfect.
When someone asked Martin Luther in life, “How do you handle temptation?” Martin Luther said, “It is real simple. When Satan would knock on the door of my heart, I used to answer and every time I did he would defeat me. But now, when Satan knocks on the door of my heart, the Lord Jesus answers and says, ‘Martin Luther used to live here, but he moved out. I live here now and the devil flees.’”
His perfection is your substitute. Where you have failed, Jesus succeeds. Jesus achieves victory not only for Himself but for those who trust in Him. And this is the Gospel – Jesus does for you what you cannot do for yourself. Jesus accomplishes the victory over sin through the cross for others who cannot.
