A sermon on Luke 4:1-13 by Brett Mitchell (our Baptist Union Regional Minister)
A video recording of the whole liturgy, including this sermon, is available here.

Dealing with temptation:

• It is one of the most important aspects of our Christian faith
• It is something every single human being must deal with
• It favours no-one
• It afflicts the young and the old; the rich and the poor; the religious and the irreligious
• Temptation itself is not sin, but it can lead us to it

James 1:13-15 states, ¹³ ‘when tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death’.

It was F.B. Meyer who once said, ‘That when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are two things we do not know: First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin. And second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her’. (Stephen Brown, Christianity Today, April 5, 1993, p. 17.)

We also do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances. 

A survey of ‘Discipleship Journal’ readers, ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge to them:

1. Materialism.
2. Pride.
3. Self-centeredness.
4. Laziness.
5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness.
6. (Tie) Sexual lust.
7. Envy.
8. Gluttony.
9. Lying.

Survey respondents noted temptations were more potent when they had neglected their time with God (81 percent); and when they were physically tired (57 percent).

Resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer (84 percent); avoiding compromising situations (76 percent); Bible study (66 percent); and being accountable to someone (52 percent). (Discipleship Journal, Nov/Dec. 1992.)

Today, ‘Jesus is tested in the wilderness’ – Luke 4:1-13

4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, ² where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
⁵ The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶ And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷ If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
⁸ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
⁹ The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. ¹⁰ For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you carefully;
¹¹ they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
¹² Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
¹³ When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

So, here we have a great drama between Satan and Christ. It ends with Christ’s victory over Satan because of His knowledge and use of the word of God. The attack of Satan was made against every vulnerable point–hunger, trust, and responsibility.

He struck at the material or physical need of food; he struck at Jesus’ confidence in God; and he struck at the carrying out of the ‘divine commission’.

It has been said, ‘The thing that makes men and rivers crooked is following the line of least resistance’. (Source Unknown.)

There’s just a couple of things I want to highlight from this passage for us, today, that will hopefully strengthen us in future days as we face the inevitable ‘temptation’ that routinely comes our way.

Firstly, did you notice it’s in the wilderness?

The wilderness (translated desert in the NIV because few people lived there) was not a pleasant place: some believed the wilderness to be a special haunt of demons (1 Enoch10:4; 4 Macc. 18:8). Apart from a few rugged people like John who made the ‘wilderness’ between the Jordan Valley and Judean hills their home, it represented a dangerous and inhospitable setting.

It appears to me that:

• When we are strong in the Word of God
• When we are rich in the fellowship of God’s Church
• For those who are married, when our marriage is strong and vital
• And, when things are ‘going well in life’ for us

Temptation seldom triumphs.

However, when you are ‘in the ‘wilderness’ of life:

• When we neglect the Word of God
• When we are struggling in the fellowship of God’s Church
• For those who are married, when our marriage is weak, and distance has crept in
• And, when things in life are ‘not going so well’ for us

Then it is then that temptation seems to have greater sway over us.

Jesus was tested ‘in the wilderness’.

• Jesus passed the test, Israel did not.

We should also note that Jesus quotes three texts from Deuteronomy, back to Satan, all of them commandments that Israel failed to obey.

• God’s calling must be tested
• Every Believer will be tested

1. The first test was regarding hunger.

Hunger represents the physical realm. We all have physical needs, and food is one of the most basic of these needs. Satan tempted Jesus to despair of his Father’s goodness, and to distrust his Father’s care concerning him. It is one of the tricks of Satan to take advantage of our ‘outward’ condition. Satan knew who Jesus was and would build his temptation on it. He was saying, “Look, you are divine! Why should you be hungry? Just change some stones to bread.”

However, Jesus was not a ‘magician’ or ‘sorcerer’. Magicians typically sought to transform one substance into another to demonstrate their power over nature (as in p. Hagiga 2:2, 5; Sanhedrin 6:6, 2). Jesus’ opponents could not deny his power but wished to attribute it to Satan, as if he were a magician (Mt 12:24); many Jews associated demons with the worst kind of sorcery (Ps-Philo 34.2-3; b. Sanhedrin 67b).

Even after a forty-day fast, and though Jesus had power to multiply food for the crowds (Mt 14:13-21; 15:29-38; 16:9-10), he resisted the temptation to turn stones into bread. Where magicians manipulated spiritual power and formulas, Jesus acted from an intimate, obedient personal relationship with his Father.

The devil tempts Jesus to abuse his calling and power and in doing so declare He doesn’t trust His Father.

2. Satan sought to ‘shortcut’ Jesus’ mission

‘Fall down and worship me’. This temptation is amazing in its boldness. Its purpose was to prevent the work of the king, the work for which He had come into the world.

He took Jesus to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the earth. And the promise was that he would give them to Jesus, if only Jesus would fall down and worship him. Luke states that Satan claimed he had been given these kingdoms, and it was his right to give them to whomever he wished. Satan was saying to Jesus, “Look, you came as the king to inherit the nations. Here they are. Why go through the trouble of being the suffering servant to get to the crown. Give me one moment’s homage and I will abdicate.”

Ever tempted to take a ‘short-cut’?

• The Lord might challenge you to forgive someone, but it’s easier just never to have anything to do with them anymore
• The Lord might ask you to stop stealing, but you never pay back the stuff you have already stolen
• The Lord might ask you to love someone you dislike, but you chose to love the next person that comes your way instead

Jesus was challenged to take a short-cut and avoid Calvary

The devil tempts Jesus to abuse his calling and power for selfish ends. 

The devil offered Jesus the kingdom without the cross, a temptation that has never lost its appeal. We in the Church can also substitute ‘salvation from within’ to demand people conform to a certain set of rules and regulations.

Political and social involvement are important, but when we substitute any other means of transforming society for dependence on God, we undercut the very purpose for our mission. Where the church flirts with political power to enforce public morality, it must become all the more conscious of its own need for spiritual renewal.

• The devil tempts Jesus to abuse his calling and power, and in doing so declare He doesn’t trust His Father.
• The devil tempts Jesus to abuse his calling and power for selfish ends. 

3. Satan tempted Christ to presume upon his Father’s power and protection

‘Throw yourself down from the temple’.

If the first test was in the realm of the physical, this is a test of the spiritual. In fact, the test strikes at the heart of the previous victory. Jesus had escaped that temptation by showing that He was not just physical but spiritual, that He could accept the hunger and the weakness if it meant obeying God. And so, Satan wants Him to do something spectacular to demonstrate that He is spiritually perfect.

Satan was saying to Jesus, “Very well, you have shown your trust in God in response to my first appeal; so now show your trust in God by flinging yourself from the pinnacle of the temple.” This was to be in full view of all the assembled people; they would witness that God was with Jesus in a very special way.

The Great Wall of China is a gigantic structure which cost an immense amount of money and labour. When it was finished, it appeared impregnable. But the enemy breached it. Not by breaking it down or going around it. They did it by bribing the gatekeepers. (Source Unknown.)

The moment any of us need to ‘test’ God, we give evidence that we really do not trust God. A trust that is weak or wavering seeks a sign or a dramatic intervention to make it steady. Many of us even do that today – ‘LORD, give me a sign…’

Jesus said, “No, my trust is perfect; I do not need to do anything heroic to prove it. And I will not test God’s word by doing something foolish–at the prompting of Satan.” 

Satan tempted Christ to presume upon his Father’s power and protection

In closing, let me outline a few misunderstandings regarding temptation:

• Temptation itself is sin
• We fall into temptation
• God is disappointed and displeased when we are tempted
• To be strongly tempted means we are as guilty as if we had committed sin
• We overcome all temptation by separation from it
• When I am spiritually mature, I will no longer be harassed by temptation

(Charles Stanley, tape AU146, In Touch, June 1988, p. 13.)

James 1:13-15 states, ¹³ ‘when tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death’.

• Thought
• Action
• Habit
• Destiny

One key, in dealing with temptation, is to learn to let go of our own evil desires.

Men who trap animals in Africa for zoos in America say that one of the hardest animals to catch is the ring-tailed monkey. For the Zulus of that continent, however, it’s simple. They’ve been catching this agile little animal with ease for years. The method the Zulus use is based on knowledge of the animal. Their trap is nothing more than a melon growing on a vine.

The seeds of this melon are a favourite of the monkey. Knowing this, the Zulus simply cut a hole in the melon, just large enough for the monkey to insert his hand to reach the seeds inside. The monkey will stick his hand in, grab as many seeds as he can, then start to withdraw it. This he cannot do. His fist is now larger than the hole. The monkey will pull and tug, screech and fight the melon for hours. But he can’t get free of the trap unless he gives up the seeds, which he refuses to do. Meanwhile, the Zulus sneak up and nab him. Source Unknown.