Luke chapter 4 tells us about when Jesus was led into the wilderness and tempted by the devil. This may seem odd considering he is God, so why would he be tempted? The first thing to note is that this story emphasizes the humanness of our Savior, but also the perfection of him. And thirdly, this story shows us 3 things about Jesus that we need to rely on as sinners to succeed against the enemy’s schemes.
The chapter opens with Jesus being led by his Spirit into the wilderness for forty days. During this time, he fasted and was tempted by the enemy. Luke emphasizes three ways the devil tempted Jesus. The first way he attacks Jesus is by questioning his power. He says, “If you are the son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus was starving, having not eaten for forty days; however, being led by his spirit to do so, he was obeying his father. Could Jesus have been self-sufficient and just created food for himself? Yes. However, his faith made him stronger than the temptation of his own power and ability. Where the world sways us to be self-sufficient and just do things ourselves, Jesus says that “man shall not live by bread alone.” In my interpretation, the word “alone” is so significant here. Jesus is the bread of life, so we cannot live on worldly bread ALONE. We must depend solely on the bread of life that his our savior. And in that we are never truly alone.
The second tactic the enemy uses on Jesus is by questioning his authority. He shows Jesus all of the kingdoms of the WORLD and offers Jesus authority over them if only he would worship satan. Jesus, being full of heaven and simply IN the world, knew he already had authority over the world. So for us, where the enemy tempts you to seek worldly status and approval, Jesus tells us to worship and serve God alone. When we seek approval from the world, we are placing the world’s ideals and opinions above God, therefore worshiping them above God. Jesus was tempted with a king’s authority while already being king. We must recognize the same for ourselves. No worldly power can compare to our authority as daughters and sons of the Most High!
The third way the enemy tempted Jesus stood out to me because of one important detail. When tempting Jesus, the devil quotes scripture. He tells Jesus to throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple because if he is really the Son of God, God will send angels to save him. The devil literally says, “It is written.” The reason this is such an important detail is that the enemy can take something true and use it to deceive you. The scripture is true, yet he uses it to try to get Jesus to test God. This emphasizes the importance of discernment. We have to spend time with God and stay in the world consistently so that we are prepared for attacks such as these. But my biggest takeaway from this is that in the opening of the gospel of John it reads, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” Jesus is the word of God. The devil tried to tempt Jesus with his own words, his own being. Where the enemy tries to make us doubt God’s words and promises, Jesus tells us he IS the promise.
Self-sufficiency, worldly power, and doubt have no place against the bread of life, the true king, and the word of God. To practice this, I encourage you to combat every temptation or struggle with an attribute of the Savior. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and he has experienced the temptation that we do, yet he is perfect. So who is better to help you in your fight?
Thank you for reading; everything that I post is based on my research and the Word I believe God has given me. I encourage you to read the Word on your own and see what the lord might be saying to you!