If you missed last month’s post on what it means for Jesus to be refered to as God’s Son, you can find that here.

Luke chapter 4 picks up with Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. This is the last event that prepared Jesus for his public ministry. We usually say Jesus’ baptism was the start of his public ministry, but I think it’s significant that after his baptism he was led OUT of the public eye for over a month. It seems backwards in our culture. Leadership experts today would be telling Jesus to capitalize on that big moment. You’ve just had this dramatic experience of baptism and anointing by the Holy Spirit and a declaration of sonship by the Father, now’s the time to keep that ball rolling!

But instead, verses 1-2 say, “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.”

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, meaning he is being directed by the Spirit, empowered by him to do what God has planned for him to do, is led by the Spirit in the wilderness to fast for forty days. Put yourself in the place of a Jewish audience. When they heard the words “wilderness for forty days,” they would immediately be reminded of the disobedience that left Isreal wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. Remember that Jesus was not the first to be called the Son of God, Adam was, but so was Israel. In Exodus when God is giving Moses the instructions to speak to Pharaoh in chapter 4, verse 22 God says, “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son.” And after the exodus event they went through numerous tests in the wilderness and failed just about all of them. They didn’t possess the perfect obedience of God’s one true faithful Son.

Every test the devil throw’s Jesus way is meant to challenge his identity as the Son of God. The first test is for Jesus to meet his own needs by turning stones into bread. Verse 3 says: “The devil said to him, “IF YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD, command this stone to become bread.” You have to think the devil knew what just happened after Jesus’ baptism. He knew the voice of the Father had spoken from heaven declaring Jesus to be His beloved Son. So he says, If that’s true, if you really are God’s Son, you shouldn’t have to suffer this hunger. What’s the harm in doing one little miracle and turning the stone into bread? Is making bread wrong? Is feeding the hungry wrong? Of course not. He’ll do that miracle about five chapters later when he multiplies the bread to feed the 5000.

So what’s the big deal here? Why does Jesus refuse by quoting a Scripture from Deuteronomy 8:3 “Man shall not live by bread alone”? What’s wrong is SELFISHNESS. Throughout the rest of Luke, or any of the other gospels for that matter, any time we see Jesus performing a miracle, it is not for his own self-preservation, it’s not for his own enjoyment, it’s for others. This is a theme in the gospel of John, but specifically in John 6:38 Jesus says, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” Jesus only performs miracles at the Father’s command. He knows that sonship required obedience, even if that means suffering, even if that means humiliation. He was willing to pay the price.

Jesus knew what the Israelites should have learned in their time in the wilderness: that satisfying your need for food is not as important as trusting and obeying God. Maybe you remember in Exodus 16, they had just crossed the Red Sea and sung that beautiful song of praise, and then the grumbling started. “We’re so hungry we could die!” And the good God that we serve not only rained down bread from heaven, but also provided meat from quail for them to eat. It was a humbling time for the people to learn dependence on the Lord. That’s the whole context of Deuteronomy 8:3: “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” We must learn, typically through testing, how to rely entirely on God and His promises. It’s just not natural for us.

It’s never been natural for us. Because the very first son of God, Adam, also gave into temptation. He didn’t make the food, but he ate of the food that God had forbidden. So first son of God, Adam: fail. Second son of God, the people of Israel: fail. All of us in that situation: fail. It’s why we needed Jesus. He was the only one who would choose obedience to God the Father over satisfying his flesh. Jesus remains faithful. He passed the first test.

Now, test number two: obey the devil and rule the kingdoms of the world. This time it says in verses 5-7, “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.’” This seems like a silly temptation to us, because we know the end of the story. Jesus already has all authority and glory. But what did he have to go through to get it? The cross. More suffering. More humiliation. So the devil comes to him and says, I can give you a way to all that, AND you get to bypass all the hard stuff. Who wouldn’t take him up on that? Just zoom to the end of the story. No hard work. No serving these people who in the end will betray and mock you. No pain and agony. Just all the power you could want. AND you can have it all to yourself. John says that Jesus came to make the Father known. Any glory he had was meant to point back to God the Father. So the devil is tempting him here to keep the glory for himself.

But again, Jesus answers from Scripture, this time Deuteronomy 6:13 “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” Really all of Deuteronomy 6 is about worshiping God alone. Jesus knows this, and he is resolute. Isreal’s biggest failure in this area when they were in the wilderness was the golden calf. Moses is on the mountain with God and the Israelite people ask Aaron to make them a “little g” god, an idol. And when Moses comes down the mountain in chapter 32 the people are worshipping this golden calf, this false god they have made. Big fail.

What about Adam? Did he succeed here? God made Adam in his image, gave him dominion over the earth, but was that enough? Of course not. That same temptation from the devil to eat the forbidden fruit was also a temptation to become like God. It was a temptation to take more power. And when he ate, he also failed.

So thank goodness for Jesus, who does not seek power or glory for himself, but remains the faithful Son who is committed to serving God alone through obedience. He passed the second test.

The third and final test. Here the devil is tempting Jesus to test God. Jesus has been faithful so far, so will God be faithful to protect him? Verses 9-11 say: “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.”’” Now Satan is quoting Scripture! He says, okay Jesus, two can play that game. Here’s what Psalm 91:11-12 promise. What do you say to that? Throw yourself down, IF YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD.

But here’s the thing. Yes, Satan quotes Scripture, but he quotes it incorrectly. Sure, the words are right, but the heart, the intent, is not. When the psalmist wrote Psalm 91, do you think he meant “intentionally put yourself in harms way and thereby force God to protect you”? No!

And so one final time, Jesus answers with Scripture from Deuteronomy 6:16: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” Was this power available to Jesus? Absolutely! But he knew how to use it rightly. As Philippians will say, not for his own interests, but for the interests of others. And the devil is not included in that! The power Jesus had was actually to be used AGAINST him.

So one more time, let’s go back to Israel’s time in the wilderness. The end of this quote from Deuteronomy 6:16 actually says, “as you tested him at Massah.” So what happened at Massah? More grumbling for one. This is in Exodus chapter 17, so after they have seen God send powerful plagues on the Egyptians, after they have seen him split the sea, after he has led them by fire and cloud, after they have seen him rain down bread and quail, they’re now testing God to provide again because there is no water. But surprise! God provides, just as He had been faithful to do that whole time, and instructs Moses to strike a rock, and when he does, water flows out. And in Exodus 17:7 it says, “And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they TESTED the Lord by saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’”

This is a prime example of their disobedience in the wilderness. It comes down to questioning the character of God. They questioned his sovereignty. His goodness. His trustworthiness. Because why would they be faithful to a God they don’t trust? It’s the same things Satan is trying to get Jesus to question here. But Jesus refuses to force God to “prove” Himself, because He knows God can be trusted. So fail number 3 for Israel.

And then there’s Adam. Adam was willing to disobey the command of God because of Satan’s promise that he and his wife would not die, but instead would be like God. He was essentially testing God to see if He would really do what he said He would do, which didn’t turn out well for him. So fail Adam.

But Jesus refused the accept the devil’s challenge to throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple and thereby test God and his invulnerability. In a way he chose the exact opposite. In coming to earth, Jesus accepted an assignment that would bring certain death. Instead of leaping off the temple, Jesus takes a leap of faith and chooses to faithfully obey God, even knowing that obedience would lead him to the cross.

And this is beautiful, because in those final moments before the end is set in motion, the Son, no longer in the wilderness but in a garden, is praying to his Father a prayer of humility and submission, “saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done’” (Luke 22:42). And although he didn’t ask for an angel to guard him or bear him up, the Father sends one. But this angel is not there to protect Jesus from the violent death to come. Luke 22:43 says, “And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.” Strengthening him for what was to come. Jesus prayed for his desires, but he ultimately submitted to God’s will. His prayer didn’t change what was to come. But it brought about comfort and strength. This is the spirit of Psalm 91:11 that the devil missed, “He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.”

“And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.” Just as he went into the wilderness full of the Holy Spirit, and led by the Spirit, he returns in the power of the Spirit, empowered to now begin his public ministry.

In all of these tests, Jesus trusted the Lord to provide a way out. He didn’t get caught up in the need to do battle against Satan. He relied on the same Holy Spirit that led him there in the first place. This is only the second time in Scripture that a human has had what seems to be a face to face interaction with the devil. And Jesus, like Adam, had the choice to trust in God’s Word or to accept what the devil was offering. And Jesus’ circumstances were a lot harder than Adam’s! Adam was in a beautiful garden, Jesus was in the wilderness. Adam had the freedom to eat from any tree save one, Jesus had eaten nothing for 40 days. Which should be the easier situation for obedience? That tells us that obedience is more about our heart than our circumstances. We tend to think, oh, if this were just going right it would be easier to obey. Adam lived in a perfect environment and still found an excuse to sin. Jesus was in a situation where any one of us would have given up and given in, yet he proved himself faithful. He resisted Satan by being more concerned with serving others than serving himself.

And guess what? We are full of the same Holy Spirit that Jesus was led by. And he can empower us to do the same things to resist the temptation of Satan when we rely on him. And when we fail, we can look to the Son who perfectly obeyed where we didn’t, repent, and ask for his help to be more reliant on the Spirit the next time. Leander Keck says, “Repentance is turning one’s whole life toward the will and way of God” and “the discipline pf rebuilding life in alignment with the will of God.” So if that’s our response, then even if we fail, we pass. Because this act of repentance draws us closer to God, whereas Satan’s schemes are to move us father away.

So in those moments, look to Jesus, the faithful Son who passed the test. He is not condemning you. He is inviting you to return and empowering you by the Spirit to trust in the provision of the Father and live in such a way that honors God.