(Part 1 of
2)
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,
returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 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.”-Luke 4:1-2.
One would
expect that after Jesus’ baptism, once he had been filled with the Spirit and
recognized as the Son of God that he would immediately launch out into his
earthly ministry. However, all three gospel writers confirm that before Jesus
taught his first sermon or worked his first miracle, the Spirit of God led him
into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Luke 4:2
states that he fasted (eating nothing) for forty days and in the end he
hungered. It is at this moment when Jesus was physically at his weakest that
Satan came and tempted Him. The serpent of old, which caused Adam and Eve to
fall into sin, now stood before the last Adam with the same intentions.
This
encounter with Satan is tremendously helpful when it comes to living out our
own faith. There are three important observations that can be made from their
encounter. First, if Satan was willing to tempt Jesus, you can be certain that
he will tempt you. Jesus had just been baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit,
and recognized from heaven as being the Son of God. Satan waited until Jesus
had been publically recognized before tempting him. Satan reasoned that with
all the speculation and expectation surrounding Jesus, if he were to fall to
temptation it would have been a decisive victory for him. This is why Satan is continually at work
tempting born-again, Spirit-filled men and women of God as it brings him great
satisfaction to see God’s handiwork fall into temptation.
The second
thing we learn from Jesus’ temptation is that Satan’s methods have not changed.
2 Corinthians 2:11 reminds us that we are not to ignorant of his devices:
“In order that Satan might not outwit us. For
we are not unaware of his schemes.”
Satan is not
a creative being. He counterfeits and perverts the things that God has created.
This is evidenced by the fact that he continues to use the same three avenues
to lead people into temptation: the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life. Nevertheless, these methods have proven effective for
thousands of years to corrupt the people of God.
“For everything in the world-the
cravings of the sinful man (lust of the flesh), the lust of the eyes, and the
boasting of what he has and does (pride of life) comes not from the Father but
from the world.”-1 John 2:16.
Finally the
last thing we glean from Jesus’ encounter with Satan is that he overcame
temptation with the Word of God; establishing a model for us in overcoming
Satan’s tactics.
Pastor Scott
Burr
Dayspring
Community Church
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