Until An Opportune Time

Introduction

Most of life is made up of small decisions. Most decisions are inconsequential—that is, most decisions do not have life-changing consequences. And it’s a good thing because if every decision was monumental then most of us would be unable to go through our day without panic attacks. But there are those decisions which are life changing: job choice, major in college, marriage partner, character decisions in the course of work, focus of life. While these are not everyday decisions, they come often enough that life is challenging. Doubly hard is trying to make those decisions in light of eternity. For example, we marry someone because we are attracted to that person, we love that person, we want to be with that person, but as Christians we also add into that mix that we marry someone who will encourage us in our walk with God. The person we marry may be attractive, fun, and loving, but if they are an unbeliever then life can and probably will be miserable.

Luke tells us very little about the childhood of Jesus. God made a decision to bring his son into the world through the poor and lowly. At age 30 Jesus decides to begin his ministry. It is time for the world, or at least the part around Jerusalem, to know that God’s will and plans are the most important things in life. So after his baptism, Jesus goes through a time of testing and trial. He goes through a time of temptation in which he must make some decisions which have long-term consequences. They will not be easy to make nor will they be hastily made. But the choices he makes tells us about his purpose and direction. This morning we will be looking at the temptation story in Luke 4 and discovering what it means to be faithful to God.

The Setting

Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit. He is led by this same Holy Spirit into a wilderness region. One of Luke’s purposes is to show us the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Here we see the activity of God’s Spirit in Jesus’s life. Whose idea was it to go into the wilderness? According to the Bible, it was God’s Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness. Why would it be necessary for Jesus to go into a deserted area? What was to be gained? The Spirit took him into the wilderness in order to be tempted by the devil. Who is taking the initiative in this encounter? Why would Jesus want to spend the first forty days of his ministry in the wilderness confronting the devil?

Too often we have this image of a passive Jesus who is walking in this deserted place and with each passing day he is getting weaker. The image which Luke portrays is not of some passive God who is tossed about helplessly. Luke is drawing a picture of a Messiah who is on the offensive. Jesus is not some wimp. He is intent on facing the devil and winning. He is not wandering around. He has a purpose to fulfill. He is demonstrating what the Son of God is going to focus on.

Read Luke carefully. Jesus is in the wilderness for forty days. It is during the entire forty days that Jesus is tempted. The temptations which are recorded may be the last few he experienced, but there were temptations throughout the forty days. What is Jesus doing? What is he trying to accomplish? Jesus is on a mission. His walk on this earth during his ministry will not be easy. He is facing life head on. He has already been called God’s Son. God is pleased with him. As God’s vessel he has a mission to accomplish. And to start that mission he must face the evil one. Aggressively with a clear vision, Jesus goes into the wilderness to begin his ministry.

The Temptations

There are a number of views about the three temptations of Jesus. Most have seen in these temptations a below-the-surface meaning, and that is right. A temptation by definition means that one is going to compromise his or her integrity in some form. Jesus is faced with real temptations. He is a man and when Satan tempts him, Jesus faces that temptation in complete humanness. He does not resist the temptation with a divine brush of his hand. We need to see the temptations as producing a need to make a decision.

The first temptation recorded comes at the height of Jesus’s hunger. Days without food has resulted in Jesus being extremely hungry. The devil offers him the opportunity to turn a stone into a loaf of bread. Such an act would bring an end to his hunger. Satan challenges Jesus on two fronts. The first is to prove his divinity. The second is to give into the physical. It is a real dilemma. To turn the stone into bread will prove his divine powers, but it will be a selfish act. To forgo the act will result in continued hunger and furthering tempting. How does one decide?

This temptation is similar to filing an income tax form. As you crunch numbers and less and less seems to go into your pocket, the temptation comes. “I’m an American. I work hard for my money. The government wastes a lot of what they get anyway. If I fudge the numbers just a little, no one will know and I’ll get a bigger refund.” The temptation is especially intriguing if you are in debt.

When the devil offers Jesus a temptation, it is based on selfishly getting what he wants. A hungry man wants a meal. The Son of God needs to eat. “You’ve got the power. It’s just me and you. No one will know. Turn the stone to bread. Even a dying man gets to have a last meal.”

Jesus’s answer reminds us that there is more to life than the physical. Bread would sustain him but it was temporary. He needed to eat, but he didn’t have to compromise his integrity to do it. There is more to life than the physical.

The second temptation takes place on a high place. In a vision-like experience, Jesus is shown all the cities of the world. They are his if he will say that Satan is worthy of praise. We might think that such a temptation is no big deal. No one in his right mind would praise Satan. But the temptation attacks Jesus in an area of great concern: power. Isn’t this what Jesus wants? Doesn’t he want all men to come to him? Doesn’t he want all to be under his leadership? Doesn’t he want to wrestle control of men’s minds and hearts from Satanic leadership? Satan knows that the kingdoms of the world belong to him. For now, Satan has been given rule over people. Wouldn’t Jesus want to provide the world with a better leader?

This temptation comes to us in a variety of ways. Power is so energizing. In fiction accounts we know the story of those who sold their soul to the devil in order to have success, fame, and fortune. But fiction is often based on reality. I don’t want to be misunderstood. God is more powerful than Satan. Whatever power Satan has is allowed to remain with him for now.

Satan can still give you the kingdoms of the world. The temptation is not in gaining success but the manner in which it is gained. The temptation for Jesus is to short circuit God’s plan. Jesus is to go to a cross. But the devil offers him the opportunity to get what he wants without paying the price.

Jesus has to take up his cross now. He must decide which path he will follow. Will it be God’s way or the devil’s way? Will the end justify the means or are the means important? What the devil is offering him is to get what he wants by compromising God’s will. The same temptation is ours.

The third temptation takes place in Jerusalem. Standing at the top of the temple, Satan again attacks Jesus’s divinity, but this time he adds something. “Throw yourself down from here and let’s see if God is watching you.” This temptation attacks the core of our being as we try to walk with God. Is God really around? Is he really watching? “Jesus, are you sure that God cares about you? Let’s see if angels really will come to protect you?”

Aren’t there times when this temptation creeps into your mind? Does Jesus care? Are you certain about your relationship with God? What happens if we allow this temptation to take hold of us? What would have happened if Jesus had thrown himself off the temple?

Jesus understood that to jump off the temple would force God to fulfill his covenant. Part of walking with God means trusting God to fulfill his covenant in his own ways and times. Forcing God to protect is not of faith. Thus, Jesus says that we are not to put God to the test. When we put God to the test we diminish our faith.

So what do these temptations say to us? First, Jesus shared our humanity fully and completely. Jesus was tempted in ways just as we are tempted. The desire to selfishly pursue material gain, power, and certainty of God’s presence are temptations that we face as well. We can know for certain that Jesus understands what we go through.

Second, Jesus’s temptations show us what we can do. Throughout these forty days, Jesus in full humanity stands against the evil one. But like Jesus we have at our disposal the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not cower in fear. This temptation scene is a clear image of the spiritual battle which takes place in each of us. Jesus showed us how we can withstand the times of testing. He showed us how to say “no” to sin. He demonstrated that God’s Spirit provides the strength necessary to stand.

He revealed that some decisions have long-term consequences. Turning a stone into bread seems such a small thing, but to do so would have revealed selfishness in pursuit of physical comfort. To achieve power over the kingdoms of the earth without a cross would have resulted in denial of God’s plans. To demand God act in ways to satisfy his own desires would have made God out to be a good luck charm. Some decisions have long-term consequences. Jesus showed us how to say “no” to such temptations.

Let’s pray for deliverance from temptations and for greater reliance on God’s Spirit to give us strength to do the right things.

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