1 Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the desert, 2 where he was tempted by the Devil for forty days. In all that time he ate nothing, so that he was hungry when it was over.
3 The Devil said to him, “If you are God’s Son, order this stone to turn into bread.”
4 But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone.’”
5 Then the Devil took him up and showed him in a second all the kingdoms of the world. 6 “I will give you all this power and all this wealth,” the Devil told him. “It has all been handed over to me, and I can give it to anyone I choose. 7 All this will be yours, then, if you worship me.”
8 Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’”
9 Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem and set him on the highest point of the Temple, and said to him, “If you are God’s Son, throw yourself down from here. 10 For the scripture says, ‘God will order his angels to take good care of you.’ 11 It also says, ‘They will hold you up with their hands so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.’”
12 But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
13 When the Devil finished tempting Jesus in every way, he left him for a while.
14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, and the power of the Holy Spirit was with him. The news about him spread throughout all that territory. 15 He taught in the synagogues and was praised by everyone.
Read Luke 4:1-15 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
When facing the temptations in the wilderness, Jesus uses an interesting weapon that most people don’t think of when being tempted. While we might consider prayer as the ultimate weapon against Satan and temptation, it may surprise you that Jesus does not pray a single prayer while He was tempted in the wilderness. Some might also think running from the situation is appropriate, but Jesus doesn’t run either.
Instead, Jesus uses another weapon to push Satan back, and that is the weapon of the scripture – and not just any scripture, but Old Testament scripture. Luke’s gospel shares how the first temptation Jesus receives is one that challenges Jesus’ hunger and it is an offer or suggestion for Jesus to use His creative power to help His hunger. In response, Jesus tells Satan, “The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone.’” (v. 4)
Luke describes Jesus second temptation as being tempted with an offer of all the kingdoms of the world. Satan is willing to give up the earth for Jesus’ worship. Responding to this temptation, Jesus tells Satan, “The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’” (v. 8)
The third temptation Luke shares Jesus receiving has to do with jumping off of the highest point of the temple. Luke’s gospel reverses the order of the last two temptations from Matthew’s gospel, and perhaps the reason Luke does this is because Satan uses an interesting tactic in this “temple-leap” temptation. Noticing how Jesus has pushed back at his earlier temptations, Satan draws upon a spiritual promise that Jesus would clearly know. In Satan’s temptation to jump, he shares, “If you are God’s Son, throw yourself down from here. For the scripture says, ‘God will order his angels to take good care of you.’ It also says, ‘They will hold you up with their hands so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.’” (v. 9b-11)
Satan uses promises God had given in an attempt to get Jesus to sin. But even though Satan can twist scripture and use it in His temptations, Jesus still responded with scripture. When challenged with this third temptation, Jesus replied, “The scripture says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (v. 12)
Jesus succeeded at pushing the devil back by using and quoting scripture, and if this was Jesus’ method of fighting temptation, we may benefit from using it as well. With God’s help and His scripture by our side, we can see these tricks, traps, and temptations Satan sends our way and successfully push Satan back in our own lives as well.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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