Temptations Of The Flesh Series

Last week we started looking at an episode in the life of Jesus, one of many episodes that sound really strange it you stop and look at what is really happening. Jesus presented himself to John to be baptized, as his public statement that he was standing up and accepting God’s calling on his life to be Israel’s Messiah. Something wonderful happened. The Holy Spirit came down on him in some visible form. He heard the voice of God himself, saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

So what’s next? We modern people might expect that the Spirit would lead him to something glorious or something practical, but instead the Spirit led him into the wilderness where he was tempted by the devil. What did he do that for? There were so many things to do. But the first thing was for him to face three temptations. And he would be useless for God, even dangerous, until he had these settled.

And this isn’t just a history lesson of what Jesus did. He was our representative in this. We all face the same temptations. He showed us what to do. And if we don’t learn the lessons that Jesus demonstrated for us, our usefulness for God will be greatly hindered. As we all know, the history of the Christian church includes some horrible misadventures. And we could even do great damage to God’s kingdom. And if we learn these three lessons we will be well equipped for most any temptation we face in life. So today we’re going to look at the first of the three temptations.

Please stand for the reading of God’s word, Luke 4:1-13. I encourage you to turn in your pew Bible to page 61 so that you can see it for yourself.

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." 4 Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"

5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." 8 Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying 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 protect you,' 11 and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" 12 Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Is it humanly possible to fast for 40 days, or was this a miracle? In 1981, an Irish Republican Armey, Bobby Sands, went on a hunger strike in a British prison and fasted to the death to draw world attention to his cause. He died on the 65th day. So a 40 day fast is possible. But you pay a price for it. Who here has done the 40 hour famine with World Vision? It’s difficult, but doable.

But why in the world would you do such a thing as fasting for 40 days?

Is the Bible teaching us that it is wrong to enjoy our food? Not at all. The Bible describes our God as a loving father who created a world that was thoroughly good and put us on it as his children to enjoy its blessings. The creation story in Genesis is very clear that God made sure we had good food to eat.

But even in God’s creation there is nothing so good that it can’t be taken to an extreme and abused. Chocolate is a wonderful. But we’ve probably all gotten into trouble with it.

And this is a broader issue than just food. Sleep and rest are blessings from God. But sometimes people can let their desires to take their comfort get out of control so that all they do is loaf around and their life is wasted.