Overcoming Temptation

In our survey of the New Testament, we saw the incarnation -- or God becoming a human -- in Jesus Christ. He had the credentials of the Messiah or Christ, the royal birthright, and the unique place in history. This week we move from His birth to His baptism and the subsequent temptation in the desert. To summarize what has happened in His life to this point:

He lived briefly in Egypt before moving back to Israel, settling in Nazareth. (Matt. 2:13-23)

He lived under the Law of Moses, being obedient to the things prescribed in it. (Luke 2:39)

He visited the Temple at Jerusalem once a year with His parents and, at twelve years old, amazed the teachers of the Law with His understanding of God's word. (Luke 2:41-51)

He grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:52)

He had an otherwise uneventful childhood -- at least the Bible does not reveal anything else about it.

At approximately thirty years old, he joined the crowd of people who were being baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. (Luke 3:21-23)

After His baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness for a time of fasting. (Luke 4:1)

At His weakest physical moment, Jesus was tempted by the devil to subvert God's plan to bring about His kingdom. As the God-Man, Jesus would not sin. In His humanity -- a fully human being -- Jesus faced temptation just as we do -- yet He was without a sin nature and did not sin. How do we face temptation and overcome it without sinning?

Scripture Passage: Luke 4:1-13
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Main Thought: Jesus, in His weakest moment, overcame temptations and did not sin. Now, therefore, in His position of power at the right hand of the Father, Jesus is surely able to help us overcome those same temptations in life.

Temptation is a fact of life, even when you are doing God's will. (Luke 4:1-2)

There is nothing wrong with a good meal but if your soul is not fed you will die. (Luke 4:3-4)

Success is really failure if it turns your heart away from God. (Luke 4:5-8)

God's promises do not need to be tested to be proven.(Luke 4:9-12)

Jesus, the God-Man who is far greater than the devil, is the only One who can deliver us from temptations. (Luke 4:13)

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. (Luke 4:1-2, NKJV)

1. Temptation is a fact of life, even when you are doing God's will.

Somehow, we get the idea in our head that if we do God's will, everything will be OK, there will be no problems which will crop up, and certainly we will not be tempted to do wrong. None of this is truth. Our LORD Jesus Christ assured us there would be trials and tribulations in this fallen world. Yet He also assured us the HE has overcome the world. (John 16:33) The victory over trials and, in particular, temptations is found in Jesus Christ and none other.

Here in Luke 4:1 we see that Jesus is "filled with the Holy Spirit." This means He has submitted Himself to the will of His Father in Heaven. He has gone through a baptism of repentance -- for Him an identification with us sinners though He had no sin and an example for us to follow to fulfill all righteousness. Now He is led by the Holy Spirit in a period of fasting and dedication of Himself to God. He has a mission to save His people from their sins (Matt. 2:21) which the Father had called the Son to perform. This time of fasting and praying is necessary to for Jesus to determine exactly how to conduct His mission. Jesus is intent on doing the Father's will perfectly. As an example for each of us -- the bigger the mission, the more time in prayer and fasting that you and I need to do.

Notice also in Luke 4:2 that, having spent forty days in the wilderness without food, the text says He was "tempted for forty days by the devil." Throughout this intensely spiritual time, we see that Jesus was tempted the entire time. So also will you and I be tested as we embark on a mission for God. Know that the spiritual war is a certainty. The devil has no intention of letting you off the hook just because you think you are doing all the right things. In fact, it is precisely because of your pursuit of righteousness in the name of our LORD Jesus that you become a target. Every Christian wears a badge on their chest -- from God's perspective it looks like a cross, but from Satan's perspective it looks like a "bulls-eye." This is why we are exhorted to put on the full armor of God that we might stand firm and extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. (Ephesians 6:10-18)

What does it mean that Jesus was "tempted?" The word in the original Greek is "peirazo (pi-rad'-zo)" which means "to test or to try something in order to prove it." He was not being tempted in the sense of being enticed to do evil -- for God cannot be enticed to do evil (James 1:13). God allowed the Son to be tested to prove that He was in fact the Son of God. The devil wanted to prove He was not. Jesus had to show that He was the sinless Son of God.

You and I will face similar "temptations" or times of testing. In particular, when you undertake some great task for God, you will certainly need to spend time with the LORD to determine how you will conduct yourself in this task. The tests will come in order to prove yourself genuine and mature in your faith.

And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'" (Luke 4:3-4, NKJV)

2. There is nothing wrong with a good meal but if your soul is not fed you will die.

Jesus faced a seemingly innocent challenge -- He needed to eat for He was on the brink of starvation. The phrase translated "If You are the Son of God," i.e. "the Messiah," means, simply, "since You are the Son of God" ... The very point of it all is, How are you going to act, since you are Messiah? [ref Mat. 4:3 and parallel Luke 4:3]. (from International Standard Bible Encylopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (C) 1996 by Biblesoft) In Luke 4:3, The devil made an alarmingly straightforward observation -- "Since You are the Messiah with all that power, simply command the stones to turn into bread so You can eat. You need to eat..." (paraphrase)

This test would show whether Jesus would find sufficiency for His life through personal power or in doing the will of His Father. He could have used His power to accomplish a small, private miracle. It would have met a genuine need on His part. Yet Jesus refused to use His infinite power for personal gain. This would be a mark of His earthly ministry. There were many miracles in His ministry but they were always performed to point people to God's kingdom.

His answer, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God'" (Luke 4:4, NKJV), reveals One who was intimate with Scripture. There was no pause, no verbal exchange, no angry words, nor any fear of losing an argument. He simply used the powerful and irrefutable word of God. The quotation is from Deuteronomy where Moses reminded the Israelites who were about to enter the Promised Land:

And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. (Deut. 8:2-3, NKJV)

Are you content to "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness" (Matt. 6:33, NIV) knowing that God will make every provision for your every need? Many times we take spiritual short-cuts in our walk of faith:

shopping sprees

overeating

sexual escapades

secret sins intended to satisfy some longing or anxiety.

Walk by faith and allow God's grace to work in your life. The need is there to see whether you will be faithful to God or seek to meet the need yourself. As the saying goes, "Let go, and let God!"

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours." And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'" (Luke 4:5-8, NKJV)

3. Success is really failure if it turns your heart away from God.

"If it's a kingdom you want, I can give it to you now! Just bend your knee to me and you will have accomplished your mission in record time." (paraphrase) It was a supernatural moment. The devil showed Jesus all the great kingdoms of the world. He offered those kingdoms to Jesus for the simple act of worship -- not to God but to worship the devil. It was an offer to "sell His soul" in exchange for accomplishing His mission. Jesus said, "Not no way, not no how!" (loose paraphrase) He was here to bring in the kingdom of God neither through worldly ways nor through satanic involvement. He would accomplish God's will God's way.

Success is important in our society. Yet the burning question is: does character really count? Does it really matter who we are and how we do something so long as a good goal is accomplished? Certainly in a leader, character does matter. For a leader influences the behavior of so many more people than the average person -- even when the leader is not trying to influence behavior. It just goes along with the job of being a leader. But what about the "how" of success?

Does it matter that a young executive takes credit for work that was not his if it earns him a place in higher management? What about the person who gets no raise and no promotion for his own hard work?

Does it matter that a student cheated so long as he passes the test? What if that test was the pilot's exam and that student was the pilot of the plane on which you are now flying?

What if a parent uses harsh, angry punishment to make a child "obedient" -- does it matter if the child's mental, emotional, and spiritual stability is shattered?

The "how" is just as important as the "what" in God's kingdom. God is the Sovereign or the ruling King. We must accomplish His purposes, to be sure. But we must do it His way. We cannot let success, even in godly goals, turn our eyes away from righteous behavior. As Jesus quoted from Moses' again, He recalled the warning not to let wordly success make you spiritually lazy. And we must be careful not to let ourselves be led astray by success. Jesus worshiped and served the Father no matter whether it seemed to be for success or failure in the world's eyes. (Luke 22:42; John 5:19) As Jesus said to His disciples, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work" (John 4:34, NKJV). May it be so for you and I.

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, 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 shall give His angels charge over You, to keep You," and, "In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone."' And Jesus answered and said to him, 'It has been said, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'" (Luke 4:9-12, NKJV)

4. God's promises do not need to be tested to be proven.

Many of the Jewish people were taught that Messiah, at His appearing, would be revealed in the clouds and land on the Temple in Jerusalem. This test would apparently give Jesus an opportunity to be recognized by the people as the One He knew Himself to be -- the Messiah! There was no risk for God would surely guard His foot from even the slightest cut.

The devil very cleverly quotes Scripture here (Psalm 91:11-12) to try and persuade Jesus. He used the very device Jesus was using to negate the tests before Him -- God's word. Many people today do the same thing. Practically any verse in the Bible can be used in this same manner to "prove" almost anything. For instance, you can see for yourself that the Bible says, "There is no God." (Psalm 53:1) -- of course, this verse is completely misquoted. It says in entirety, "The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; there is none who does good" (Psa. 53:1, NKJV). The devil uses the same tactic in quoting Psalm 91 to Jesus. He leaves out the phrase in verse 9: "If you make the Most High your dwelling..." The whole point of this Psalm is that you must seek the LORD's will and trust in Him to enjoy His divine protection and providence in your life.

Interestingly, Jesus again answers the devil's lie with Scripture, quoting Moses as He scolded the Israelites in the desert. (Deut. 6:16) They were complaining that they had no water -- why had God brought them out of Egypt into the desert to die of thirst? This was an abominable test of God's love and His power to provide for them. Why was it needed? The answer is: it was not needed. The people were walking by sight -- according to the seemingly bad circumstances -- rather than by faith -- trusting that God would care for them as He said that He would.

It is a sin to put God to the test by asking for a miraculous sign that He will keep a promise already revealed in Scripture. Be sure to trust the sure promise of God and His timing rather than put Him to the test by asking for a sign or, worse, trying to fulfill the promise yourself. "You shall not tempt the Lord your God." (Luke 4:12, NKJV)

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:13, NKJV)

5. Jesus is the God-Man who is far greater than the devil, the only One who can deliver us from temptations.

In His weakest physical, mental, and emotional point, Jesus was able to defeat the plans of the devil. "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb 4:15-16, NKJV). Moreover, Jesus completed His mission of redemption and now sits on the throne of Heaven. He is far greater than the devil -- the distance of infinity between the Creator and His creature. He can enable you to resist the temptations of life because He understands, He cares, and He has the power because He overcame all tests on His own life. He went to the cross for you so that you could be freed from the power of sin in your life.

Reflect on YOUR life: Does the devil strike more fear in your life than God? Are you more willing to forsake something God wants you to do because you fear the wrath of the devil? Remember that in Christ, "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (I Jn 4:4, NKJV). Submit to God and resist the devil's tests -- the Bible says the devil will flee from you. (James 4:7) Is this because the devil is afraid of you? No, because he wants nothing to do with God's will. The glory of God is something he does fear. Just as he left Jesus for another, more opportune time, he will leave you alone when he sees that you are trusting God and following His will.

Our Creator God loves you and wants you to know Him! If you would like to contact this ministry for further information or questions, please send your e-mail to:
Email: ministryrequest1@WordTruth.Com
Web Site: WordTruth.Com

Copyright 1999, Randy Lariscy.