Luke 4:1–13 ESV
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ ” And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 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. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.’ ”
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, for it is written,
“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’
and
“ ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Background
birth
boy Jesus in the temple
Ministry of John
Baptism and genealogy of Jesus
One of the resounding themes has been the divinity of Jesus - Son of God (birth, baptism, genealogy, temptation)
So now, it is as though he’s being tested for readiness in ministry.
How often for us have we faced moments of trial like Jesus faced?
Several years ago, I was asked to speak on a particularly sensitive topic. Going into that time, I could sense the spiritual warfare and the enemy’s enticement to lead me to stumble. It was as though that time of trial was aimed at determining whether or not I was fit to speak on that topic.
But at various times in ministry and in life, we will all be faced with temptations in a variety of ways.
In Jesus’ time of testing, we can learn several truths about temptation.
Firstly, as we look at this passage, I think it’s important to note that all…
Temptation is temporary (1-2, 13)
We may feel like temptations are intense and pressing, but we also have to recognize that they don’t last forever. Temptations come and go. They will vary.
Consider this time of testing that Jesus faced. While Jesus fasted for 40 days, he was likely spiritually strong but physically weak. This was an intense period of preparation for this examination. Once completed, Jesus had to face three temptations from the devil. But by their very nature, each individual temptation was brief.
Turning stone to bread would satisfy for a moment - but not long term. Could Jesus have done that? I think so. But doing so would have been sin. So, instead of briefly assuaging his intense hunger, he waited.
When the devil enticed Jesus with authority and glory - this would have been a more lasting outcome, but the nature of the temptation itself was brief. All he had to do was worship the devil. But again, that brief act of worship would have been sin. Incidentally, we could also say that temptations are truthless - they lie. We will see this more next week as Jesus steps into his ministry - he didn’t need authority or glory from the devil, he had it on the evidence of his teaching and miracles. In the temptation in the garden, the devil deceived Eve into thinking that eating the fruit would have a different outcome. Temptations are temporary and truth-less.
Leaping from the pinnacle of the temple would have been a brief event, but the outcome would have been lasting - either death or disobedience.
We need to keep in mind that when we face temptations, we are facing something temporary. Falling into the temptation will have a temporary moment of pleasure or benefit, but the outcome, the failure can be lasting.
There are so many ways that we can be tempted as Christians. Beloved, remember, whether it’s something to satisfy the needs of our flesh, the desires of our eyes, or the longings of our pride, these temporary pleasures can destroy lives, churches, families and so much more.
If Jesus had fallen into temptation, he would have been completely disqualified for the work to which he was assigned. He would have been unable to accomplish God’s plan for him on the cross. Billions of lives would be cast into an eternity without hope of salvation.
Beloved, temptation is temporary - the trial and the pleasure will only last for a moment, but falling into temptation can have eternal ramifications! When faced with temptation, count the cost!
Secondly, we see in this passage that…
Temptation is common (3-12)
Beloved, we may feel like the temptations that are before us are unique to us, but keep in mind you’re not alone. The apostle Paul writes,
1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
The pressures you face in life, the desires that you may have for power, the pride that you may have in your own self reliance are common to all humans.
The apostle John in his letter seems to divide all temptation, all sin into three categories - lust of the flesh, eyes, and pride of life.
1 John 2:16 ESV
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
John Piper has noted that even in Jesus’ temptation, he was tempted just as we are, in these same categories - lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life.
So keep in mind, when you face temptation, Jesus faced that too. The writer of Hebrews reminds us:
Hebrews 4:15 ESV
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.
So let’s consider these briefly.
Lust of flesh
Jesus’ first temptation was centered on his flesh. To say that he was hungry is an understatement. He hadn’t eaten for 40 days. His flesh was weak.
For us, lust of the flesh may not look like turning stones into loafs of bread, but it may look like fulfilling fleshly passions in unbiblical ways - eating to find fulfillment, drinking to drown stress, fulfilling sexual desires outside of marriage, distracting ourselves with entertainment. There are areas where we all may wrestle with lusts of the flesh differently. What entices your flesh might not be what entices mine. Knowing that we are not alone in this can be a source of encouragement and hope.
Secondly,
Lust of eyes
In Jesus’ second test, the devil offered him authority over all of the kingdoms of the world and the glory that coincided with that. He used his eyes to entice Jesus to compromise his worship.
We live in a beautiful world. God has granted us to live on a planet that is filled with varied landscapes, weather patterns, and more. Beyond that, there are so many beautiful people. There are also many beautiful products that God has gifted humans to make.
We can use our eyes to praise and thank God for those things or to lust to have those things ourselves.
As a pastor, I’m not immune to this. How often do I look at other churches and long for what they have - size, budgets, resources? Or, how often do I look at other pastors or other brothers and sisters in Christ and jealously long for their gifts and abilities?
How often are we tempted to look on the internet for pleasures that should be satisfied in our spouses?
How often do we look at the material possessions around us - cars, homes, gadgets, clothes - and become discontent with what we have? We make bad financial decisions to get the next best thing.
The third test that Jesus faced would fall in the category of…
Pride of life
The devil was essentially enticing Jesus to act with hubris or pride in order to claim a promise of God for selfish reasons. He was tempted to proudly leap from the temple and call on the angels to fulfill what scripture said they would do.
As a pastor, I can be tempted to use my knowledge of God’s word or my position or even my own human nature in a proud way. I can be tempted to walk into meetings or into counseling sessions assuming that I have the right answers. I can be tempted to use my position to demand that people do things my way. This should not be.
But temptations of the pride of life are again common to all of us. How often do we enter into conflicts assuming that we are right and that the other person is wrong? How often do we gossip about others in order to put them down?
Beloved, we are not called to boast or to pride, we are called to walk with the same sacrificial humility that Jesus modeled for us.
Philippians 2:5–11 ESV
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Beloved, I don’t know what specific temptations appeal to you, but I do know what appeals to me. I would guess that we are not that different. Let us be reminded that temptations are common. Satan would love for nothing more than to see God’s people be compromised by falling into disqualifying sin.
But, thanks be to God, we have hope because…
Temptation is overcome.
Jesus models for us two things to keep in mind as we face temptation. He showed us that temptation is overcome by the Spirit of God and by Scripture.
By the Spirit
Did you notice the condition in which we found Jesus at the beginning of this passage? He was “full of the Spirit.” He was also led by the spirit. When this was all finished he returned to public ministry in the power of the Spirit.
Beloved, that same Spirit that filled Jesus dwells in you! You have been endowed with the Spirit of God. So, when we face temptation, we need to…
Pray for strength in the Spirit
Pray that the Spirit will help us to withstand the temptation. When our flesh longs for that pleasure that would dishonor God, pray for strength to stand firm. When our eyes are tempted to linger too long where they should not linger, pray for strength to look away. When our egos entice us to act with pride, pray for strength to humbly submit to God’s will in our lives.
Secondly, we need to…
Pay attention to the Spirit -
The Spirit may speak with a still small voice, but that voice is likely alerting you to the presence and pitfalls of this temptation. In Jesus’ case, He paid attention to where the Spirit led Him so that he could be tempted in every way that we are. But remember, God will always provide a way of escape - I believe he informs us by his Spirit, so pay attention.
Jesus helped us to see that he overcame temptation by the Spirit. But he also shows us that temptation is overcome…
By the Scripture
Each time that Jesus was tempted, he referred to the Word of God. He rested on a truth from scripture that guided his actions.
When tempted to follow the devil’s lure to miraculously turn stone to bread, he was reminded that we need more than food to live. In fact, the rest of the verse that Jesus quoted there notes that we live by the Word of God (Dt. 8:3)
When tempted by his eyes to gain authority and glory in exchange for worship, he referred to scripture that calls us to worship and serve God alone (Dt. 6:13).
When the devil took scripture out of context and sought to entice Jesus to proudly leap from the pinnacle of the temple, Jesus again quoted from Deuteronomy 6, that we should not test the Lord (Dt. 6:16).
But how did Jesus have that knowledge? We can be tempted to assume that Jesus automatically had knowledge of the Word - after all it was His word. But we learned in Luke 2 that Jesus even spent time in the temple in order to hear, discuss, and learn the Word of God.
So I think there are four things that we need to remember to do:
read the word
make it a daily habit. Whether short passages or multiple chapters each day, read the word so that it can be in your mind and on your heart.
know the word
Don’t just read it and let it pass over your eyes, but mutter it, meditate on it, wrestle with it. Look at how the word of God fits together. Reflect on how the Word is practical for daily life.
memorize the word
As the Spirit leads, make time to memorize some scripture. Maybe just one verse a week or one a month, memorize the word so that it is on your heart. I recently picked up the book How to Memorize Scripture for Life by Andrew Davis. In this little book, Andrew outlines a simple method for memorizing scripture. There are several copies in the Book Nook. When we memorize Scripture, we have it in our minds so that the Spirit can help us recall His word at just the right time. Memorizing causes scripture to be imbedded into our long-term memory.
obey the word
Make sure that we are living according to God’s word. If there are places in our lives that are outside of God’s standard, then repent and live according to God’s ways.
Jesus modeled overcoming temptation by the Spirit of God and the Word of God. But, we have one extra resource. We can overcome temptation…
By the Savior
Not only did Jesus face temptation - identifying with us and modeling a way forward for us, but He took our sin on himself and paid by his death, burial and resurrection, for all of those times when we fall into temptation. He paid for the punishment of our sin and brought us into a right relationship with God if we would but repent and believe and be baptized and allow his word and his spirit to transform us. Beloved Jesus fought and won the battle over sin, we get to rest in his victory.
Friend, if you’re not yet a follower of Christ, recognize that sin is real and the consequence of sin is lasting, but Jesus took your sin on himself so that you might be in fellowship with Him and have eternal life.
But when Jesus secured our victory, he brought us into a family. So this victory in Jesus includes our lives together in community as a church. We need to be held accountable. We can do this with one another - confessing sins to one another, confessing areas of weakness/temptation to one another, praying for one another. Beloved, be open and honest with each other. When someone comes to you confessing sin, pray for that brother or sister. Walk with them. Encourage them. Jesus is perfect, we are not, that’s why he calls us into His church.
Closing thoughts.
When faced with temptation, remember
this is only temporary - but falling could have eternal consequences
this is common to all humans - even Jesus
this can be overcome - by the spirit, the scripture and by Jesus himself - and his body which is the church.
Let’s pray.
Benediction
Jude 24–25 ESV
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Sources:
Anyabwile, Thabiti. Exalting Jesus in Luke. Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2018.
Beeke, Joel R., and Paul M. Smalley. Reformed Systematic Theology: Man and Christ. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020.
Bock, Darrell L. Luke 1:1-9:50. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999.
Ferguson, Sam “Compelling People: the allure of Christ likeness in an identity confused culture.” Cross Conference 2025.
Martin, John A. “Luke.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.
McKinley, Mike. Luke 1–12 for You. Edited by Carl Laferton. God’s Word for You. The Good Book Company, 2016.
Stewart, R. A. “Passover.” Edited by D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, and D. J. Wiseman. New Bible Dictionary. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996.
Wilcock, Michael. The Savior of the World: The Message of Luke’s Gospel. The Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979.
