Luke 4:1-13 "Jesus, full of the
Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led
by the Spirit into the wilderness, 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. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered,
“It is
written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ ” The devil led him up to a high place and
showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 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. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered,
“It is
written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’
” 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. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you
carefully; they will
lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’
” Jesus answered,
“It is
said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” When the devil had finished all this
tempting, he left him until an
opportune time.
Don't know, but I think ending the Sin
week (now THAT didn't sound right) - this portion of scripture just can't be
left out.
I read this version and the version in Matthew
4... very similiar - also kind of odd that they're both in Chapter 4 of the
respective books. I read this one slowly and actually learned a thing or two.
So many times, we read scripture and either are in a hurry or just want to get
it over with or maybe the Holy Spirit just doesn't really doesn't seem to
illuminate anything in that particular one - maybe because we didn't ask....
just sayin ;) It is a great idea to ask the Holy Spirit to let you see with
His eyes what Father is wanting you to know in that portion of His Word.
Remember all scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16)... meaning it is the
very essence of LIFE (Judy G - pun intended).
I highlighted some phrases that the Holy
Spirit shone His Light on to me.
The first thing I noticed was that Jesus
was FILLED with the Spirit. He kept His spiritual tank filled up with the
highest 'octane' fuel imaginable (even higher than hydrogen - of course... He
did make the components of hydrogen... oh, never mind). I imagine He kept
filled up the same ways we would; prayer, listening to Father, reading the Word
(huh, even the Old Testament...). He never ran on empty.... hoping to make it
to the next town. Just as we need to stay filled up, especially on this long
trip of life, because we never know when we're going to be stuck in in the
middle of nowhere, the needle's in the red and we don't see any sign of fuel
(fumes only last so long)!
Jesus was LED by the Spirit INTO the
middle of nowhere. I don't think He just went waltzing in not knowing what He
was getting Himself into. For one, He was determined to fast... for forty
days. People just don't usually do that for the fun of it - or just because
they want to. They have to be LED by the Spirit to do that. Just like in my my
illustration above, if a person fasts for that long, they need to have their
spiritual tanks filled to the brim... forget the little sign that says 'do not
top off'. That person better be topped off with the Spirit... because the Holy
Spirit is what is going to fuel them.
I never noticed before that Luke says that
Jesus was tempted FOR FORTY DAYS. Wow. I really thought since only three
temptations were recorded that he was only tempted those three times. That's
not what I just read. Think about this... what if, during those forty days, He
was tempted in ALL ways like we are / have been / ever will be tempted (Hebrews
4:15)? He must not have just been physically hungry, but emotionally and
mentally tired when these last three temptations came at him.
I tried to fast for 40 days once (notice
that I said 'I' - 'I' wasn't led by the Spirit, but I did want to do it just to
draw closer to God. I did closer to God, but not as close as I needed to. He
showed me the error of my ways - and the pride that I had in my heart because
'I' was trying to do something and wasn't resting in the Lord like I should have
been. About day 36, I started to go into starvation mode. THAT was not what I
intended. Drinking sips of Gatorade and eating baby food and crackers for the
next week or so, was a bit embarrassing (except I really liked the green beans
and banana).... It was tiring. I can't imagine going through a 40 day fast AND
being tempted - by several things possibly every day!
As for the last three temptations - I see and
probably read somewhere that they are likened to I John 2:16 "For everything in
the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life—comes not from the Father but from the world." The lust of the flesh -
food. The lust of the eyes - everything in the world. The pride of life -
listening to the enemy and thinking God will save Him, because after all He IS
the Son of God. Sort of premeditated or presumptuous acts when not consulting
with Father.
Each time, He came back with 'It is
written' or 'It is said'... He spoke the Truth of God that was hidden in His
heart to combat the devil's tricks and schemes to get Him to fall. This is why
the Word of God is so important. Why we may not know the chapter and verse or
even the book that a particular scripture is in, but that we start to learn and
meditate and memorize the portions that the Lord leads us to. Then when we are
tempted... to SPEAK it outloud against the temptation. Read Isaiah 55:10-11.
His Word spoken out does not return empty, but accomplishes what He says it
will do.
Lastly, satan didn't just tempt His during
this one space of time. Luke says that he just went away until another
opportunity to tempt Him presented itself. He need to always be on guard
against the enemy's tricks. So, I'll leave you today with one last verse... I
Peter 5:8 "Be alert and of sober
mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour." Know that our Father has you in the palm of His
hand, but stay aware of your spiritual surroundings.
Temptation of
Christ - Desert Voice by Eric Becker
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