Welcome to our fourth episode journeying though our Certainty of Faith series through the Gospel of Luke.
Today we will drink in a passage that might be familiar to you, the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. But it is my hope as we slow down to listen to the Spirit today that God will use this passage to encourage you in whatever trial or temptation you are facing—or will face around the corner.
Right before our passage, at the end of Chapter 3, we read the genealogy of Jesus. Our detail oriented friend, Doctor Luke, doesn’t want us to miss the fact that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesy that the Messiah, the Savior, would come through the line of David. Luke also ties Jesus back to Abraham, who God promised that through him all the earth would be blessed, pointing to the Messiah, AND Luke ties Jesus back to the very beginning—to Seth, the Son of Adam, the Son of God.
It is with this stage, this backdrop—that Jesus is the promised Messiah—that we pause to listen to the scene in our passage for today.
Before I read, let’s pause to breathe deeply in and out, and focus our minds and hearts completely on the Lord, setting aside all other distractions.
(pause)
Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Wash us with Your Word.
As you listen to today’s passage, pay attention to what Jesus uses to overcome Satan’s temptations.
Luke 4:1-13
4 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 you're God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
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What stirred in your soul as you heard these verses?
Think about this for a moment.
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I am going to re-read the first verse. Listen to what is says about the Spirit.
Luke 4:1 “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. . . “
The Spirit of God led Jesus INTO the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. In American church culture, we often only see God’s leading and power if things are going easy or well. But if the Spirit had purpose for Jesus in the wilderness, maybe He has purpose for us in our own wilderness seasons if we continue in the faith and following Him.
Three times, as Jesus is tempted with the lusts of the flesh—turn stone into bread. Lust of the eyes—all the kingdoms of the earth—and the lust of pride—the angels catching him: each time Jesus uses Old Testament scripture to demolish the temptations.
We will have wilderness seasons. Where Satan’s temptations and lies seem more tangible than bread. But we can be sure that the Spirit is with us—as He was with Jesus. And the truths of God’s Word will sustain us, more than bread, as they sustained our Lord against Satan’s biggest temptations.
As the Apostle Paul encourages us in 1 Cor. 10:113
13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Now my questions for you today is this:
What is luring you away from full devotion to God? Maybe you are anxious about the unknown or desire other things more than following Jesus. We all have our cravings that Satan lures us with.
For me, it is usually wanting control. And the illusion of me being in control rather than trusting in God’s will and obeying.
What hinders you from full obedience to God’s Word?
Think about that for a moment.
In the rest of Chapter 4 we see Jesus starting his earthly ministry—rejected in His hometown, Nazareth, he begins to go throughout the region casting out demonic spirits and healing many people.
Satan thought he had the upper hand on God’s Son—but by overcoming Satan through holding onto the truth of Scripture, Jesus is now destroying the work of sin and Satan’s dominion in the lives of others.
The kingdom of God is come.
Where in your life or someone else’s life do you long to see Jesus’ power come to bring wholeness or healing?
Pray about that for a moment.
(LET’S PRAY)
Thank you for joining me on the Well Soul Podcast today.
There is so much more to the story in chapter 4, so if you would like to drink in the scriptures more slowly than the podcast allows, I encourage you to look at the resources linked in the show notes.
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I would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Sandra Glahn for her Latte with Luke Bible study that I am using tin preparing these episodes, and Brian Vasquez productions, who has made this podcast possible. This episode is sponsored by socialremix.co to SocialRemix.co, a social media generating website that saves you hours of content creation with just a click of a button, by generating dozens of social media posts when you enter a url. It is perfect for blog posts, web pages, pod casts—any digital content you would like to share on social media. Links to these websites are also in the show notes.
God bless you and I pray that you have a well soul.