Our Champion Has Come!

All right, well this morning we're continuing our way through the Gospel of Luke.

Luke has been laying out for us the story of Jesus.

And last Sunday we took time to look at the genealogy of Jesus.

Luke put that right into his Gospel to show us the truth of who Jesus is.

That he is descended from David and is the son of David, the Messiah.

But also to remind us of all the fulfillments of all the promises and covenants that have been made concerning the Messiah.

Well now Luke is going to continue the story.

And if you remember before the genealogy of Jesus, Luke told us about Jesus' baptism.

And how the Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus after he was baptized.

And that's key because now Luke's going to continue the story and show us what happens as a result.

What's the first thing that happens now that the Spirit of God has come down upon Jesus?

So we're in Luke chapter 4, starting in verse 1.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

So we're now moving from the Jordan where Jesus was baptized to the wilderness.

And this is maybe not the thing that we expect to read about first, now that the Holy Spirit has come upon Jesus.

Luke says here that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit.

And that he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

So Jesus didn't just wander out there into the middle of nowhere for his own reasons.

God's Spirit in him led him out into the wilderness.

And the other gospel writers are helpful here.

What they say completes the picture for us a little bit.

Mark uses even stronger language here.

I'm not sure why that's in there.

Okay, here we go, yes.

This is how Mark describes it in Mark chapter 1 verse 12.

Mark 1:12

He says,

At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness.

And it's a very strong word here.

It means to cast out or to drive out.

Very intentional.

Very forceful word.

And Matthew lets us know that there's a clear purpose here as well.

Matthew 4 verse 1.

Matthew 4:1

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

So God is very intentionally leading, sending, moving Jesus out into the wilderness for this purpose.

So that he might be tempted or tested by the devil.

And we have to be clear here.

It's not that God condones the tempting of the devil as though it were a good thing.

Of course not.

But it is a part of God's sovereign plan and purpose.

Not just to allow this to happen to Jesus, but even to send Jesus into it.

The devil, of course, is evil.

And he will seek to do evil to Jesus in the wilderness.

And yet God intends to use even that to accomplish his good purposes.

His plan is not to shield Jesus from all of this, but to strengthen Jesus as Jesus goes through it.

His plan is not to keep Jesus from it, but to exalt Jesus by it.

And Luke starts by summarizing the whole ordeal here.

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil.

He ate nothing during those days and at the end of them was hungry.

The precise wording and grammar here of both Luke and Mark suggests that these 40 days were not just the lead up to being tempted by the devil,

but that Jesus was in fact being tempted for the duration of these 40 days.

And then the particular temptations we're about to read of today seem to happen at the culmination,

at the end of these 40 days.

Mark lets us know that Jesus was with the wild animals,

which seems to point to how he was truly alone and away from all other people out in the wild.

And Luke says that Jesus ate nothing during these 40 days.

Matthew uses the religious term to describe what Jesus was doing.

He was fasting for 40 days.

That's from Matthew 4 verse 2.

Matthew 4:2

So it's not just that Jesus couldn't find any food out here.

It's that he was deliberately choosing to fast, not to eat.

And at the end of these 40 days, Luke says that he was hungry.

So the scene is set.

And now Luke's going to tell us about three specific temptations,

three instances of how the devil tempted Jesus.

The first one has to do with Jesus being hungry.

Luke 4 verse 3.

Luke 4:3

The devil said to him,

If you are the Son of God,

tell this stone to become bread.

What is the devil saying to Jesus with this?

We notice that he's calling into question the very identity of Jesus.

If you are the Son of God,

are you really the Son of God?

Or are you just another Son of Adam?

It's as if the devil is trying to get Jesus to question,

to doubt who he is.

Here's a way that you can prove it,

says the devil.

An ordinary man who's hungry couldn't do this,

but if you are truly the Son of God,

then you are no ordinary man.

You could speak to this stone on the ground,

and it would become bread.

Prove to me.

Prove to yourself

that you are indeed the Son of God.

The devil's nasty.

Notice how he takes the very same tactic he took up with the first man,

Adam, long ago in the garden.

He tries to sow doubt.

Is that really what God said?

Did God really say that?

Is that really true?

He loves to subtly and subversively suggest

the possibility that we've misunderstood.

He loves to cause us to doubt

and to question what we simply accepted as true.

What makes this temptation difficult

or appealing?

Temptation's not really temptation

unless there's some appeal to it,

unless there's something desirable in it,

whether it's good or bad or right or wrong.

Without that, it wouldn't be tempting at all.

There'd be no power to it.

So what makes this temptation difficult

or appealing?

What's the longest that you've ever gone without food?

What was that?

Three days.

Three days.

Wow.

Anybody longer than that?

How was that?

Four days.

Four days.

How was it?

Four days is a long time.

Three days is a long time.

I think my record was 30 hours

for like a fundraiser.

And I remember something of that feeling.

But can you imagine not eating anything

for 40 days?

Over a month.

What that would feel like.

None of us even knows what that's like.

There you go.

And that was just three days.

The greatest physical hunger

that any of us have ever felt

is just a little smidgen

of what Jesus would have felt in his body

by the end of those 40 days.

So can you imagine

that greatest feeling of hunger

that you've had,

times that by a lot,

and then imagine hearing these words

of the devil

and seeing the stones

right there on the ground.

And knowing that the devil

is in a sense right,

Jesus could turn the stone into bread.

He could exercise the power

and authority that he has

and just do it.

Or,

if he didn't do it

by his own power

or by the power of the Spirit,

could he not simply call on God

to do it for him?

Do you remember what Jesus said

in the Garden of Gethsemane

when they arrested him?

He told the disciples

to put the swords away.

And he said,

Do you think that I cannot

call on my Father?

And he will at once

put at my disposal

more than 12 legions of angels.

So the devil is right.

Jesus could,

in this very moment,

technically speaking,

because of who he is

and because of his unique relationship

with the Father,

he could simply end

that roaring in his gut

and make some food.

What is Jesus' response?

Jesus answered,

It is written,

Man shall not live

on bread alone.

Amazing.

Jesus refuses the devil.

But notice how he does it.

This loaded and convoluted temptation,

Jesus comes against it

with one word of truth,

which God spoke to man

long ago in the days of Moses.

He quotes from the scriptures,

Deuteronomy 8, verse 3.

Deuteronomy 8:3

And we're going to just go back

and look at that passage

for a second.

We'll read the verses before it.

Deuteronomy 8, verses 1-3.

Deuteronomy 8:1–3

And this is Moses talking

to the Israelites.

Long before this,

Moses said to them,

Be careful to follow

every command I'm giving you today,

so that you may live

and increase

and may enter and possess

the land the Lord promised

on oath

to your ancestors.

Remember how the Lord your God

led you all the way

in the wilderness

these forty years

to humble

and test you

in order to know

what was in your heart,

whether or not

you would keep

his commands.

He humbled you,

causing you to hunger

and then feeding you

with manna,

which neither you

nor your ancestors

had known.

He did this to teach you

that man does not live

on bread alone,

but on every word

that comes

from the mouth

of the Lord.

So what does Jesus do here?

He points the devil

way, way, way, way back

to the days

when the people of Israel

wandered through the wilderness

for forty years.

And back in Deuteronomy,

Moses is explaining

to the Israelites

part of the purpose of God

in leading them

into the wilderness

to wander for those years.

It was to humble them.

It was because

they were proud

and stubborn

and rebellious.

It even says that God

by leading them

in the wilderness

like this,

it was God

who caused them

to hunger.

Why?

So that he could

feed them

with the manna.

The manna was that

miraculous provision

of God.

It was the white stuff

that appeared

on the ground

every day

except the Sabbath day.

and it was

edible.

It was

something God did

to provide

for their needs

for forty years.

And

there was a lesson

in it.

God caused them

to hunger

so that he could

provide this

miraculous

food for them

to eat

in order

to teach them

that the proper

way for a man

to live

is in humble

dependence

on the Lord.

Looking to him,

calling out to him,

awaiting his reply

and his daily

provision.

There's a deep

lesson in this.

It's that

looking to God

and depending

on him

is more important

than even the most

important

of human needs.

it should be

a higher

priority

on our list

than even

our daily

food.

And it's

amazing.

Jesus cites

this one

verse to the

devil

and it's

enough to

unravel

the whole

temptation

and expose

it for what

it is.

It's as if

Jesus is saying

to the devil,

you're trying

to get me

to fail

and falter

in the same

way the Israelites

did long ago.

you're trying

to get me

to live

by my

own

power

not

independence

on God

as every

man

ought to

live.

You're trying

to get me

to use

my authority

and power

even my

unique

relationship

with the

father

to call

in a

personal

favor

and

alleviate

my own

hunger

to serve

myself

but that's

not right.

Greater

than my

need to

eat

is my

need

to live

as a

human

being

in

complete

dependence

on God.

Greater

than my

hunger

for bread

is my

hunger

to do

the

will

of

God.

I'm

going to

wait

for the

reply

of his

mouth

to meet

my

needs.

I won't

do it.

Jesus

says all

that to

the devil

by simply

quoting

the words

of God

which came

through

Moses

thousands

of years

earlier.

It's

amazing.

where we

failed

all those

years ago

in the

wilderness

Jesus

succeeds

and he

doesn't

succeed

by using

his

divine

power

or by

leveraging

that

unique

relationship

with the

father.

He

succeeds

by

refusing

to use

his

divine

power

by

refusing

to

leverage

his

unique

relationship

with the

father.

He

overcomes

this

difficulty

in the

way

that we

are

meant to

overcome

difficulty

in

complete

dependence

on

God

as a

man.

Ironically

this actually

proves

that he

is the

son of

God

even more

than what

the devil

was suggesting.

Jesus

will do

as a

man

what is

right

for men

to do.

He will

live

not by

bread

alone

but by

every

word

that

proceeds

from

the

mouth

of

God

and

total

dependence

on

him.

Next

Luke

tells us

about a

second

temptation

in

verse

5.

The

devil

led

Jesus

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

to

if

you

worship

me

it

will

all

be

yours

Matthew

specifies

even

further

that

the

devil

took

him

up

to

a

very

high

mountain

not

just

a

place

but

a

mountain

and

it's

unclear

just

how

the

devil

does

this

how

does

he

get

Jesus

from

down

there

in

the

wilderness

to

up

on

the

mountain

it

doesn't

say

just

that

it

happened

however

it

happened

the purpose

of the

devil

here

is to

have

Jesus

look out

gaze

out

upon all

the kingdoms

of the

world

and see

the vast

dominion

that they

cover

and the

splendor

of all

these

kingdoms

and then

comes the

devil's

words

I will

give all

their

authority

all their

dominion

and splendor

to you

Jesus

on one

condition

bow

down

and

worship

me

much

has

been

made

of the

devil's

statement

here

the

authority

and the

splendor

of all

these

kingdoms

has

been

given

to me

and I

can

give

it

to

anyone

I

want

to

some

have

pointed

out

here

that

Jesus

doesn't

say

otherwise

and that

therefore

the devil

really does

have

dominion

over all

the

earth's

kingdoms

personally

I would

challenge

that

first of

all it's

a logical

fallacy

it's an

argument

from

silence

just

because

Jesus

doesn't

rebuke

it

immediately

or

correct

it

doesn't

mean

that

it's

true

second

there

is a

little

bit

of

truth

to

this

the

devil

has

been

given

a

measure

of

free

reign

temporarily

but

ownership

no

he

cannot

give

the

kingdoms

of

this

world

to

Jesus

because

ultimately

they

do

not

belong

to

him

and

it's

always

been

just

a

matter

of

time

before

the

devil's

free

reign

is

up

the

Bible

is

clear

from

beginning

to

end

God

is

the

only

true

and

rightful

king

over

all

the

kingdoms

of

the

earth

he

has

dominion

and

authority

over

them

all

he

always

has

and

he

always

will

and

yet

the

devil

speaks

as

though

they

belong

to

him

I

don't

think

so

what

makes

this

temptation

difficult

or

appealing

to

Jesus

well

there's

certainly

no

appeal

to

the

condition

that

Jesus

must

bow

down

and

worship

the

devil

neither

is

there

any

unrighteous

craving

for

power

within

Jesus

such

as

men

have

had

throughout

history

there's

no

greed

within

Jesus

no

desire

for

great

riches

and

so

in

my

opinion

if

there's

any

difficulty

or

appeal

to

this

it

has

to

do

with

the

fact

that

Jesus

already

is

the

rightful

king

of

kings

and

lord

of

lords

he

already

is

the

messiah

he

has

come

down

from

the

heights

of

heaven

he

himself

is

the

one

who

created

all

things

and

therefore

he

has

the

right

to

rule

the

nations

the

kingdoms

of

this

world

are

the

inheritance

that

God

has

promised

to

his

chosen

king

even

as

far

back

as

psalm

chapter

two

that's

prophesied

and

so

if

there's

any

appeal

here

it's

that

the

devil

is

offering

Jesus

only

what

rightfully

belongs

to

Jesus

surely

Jesus

has

in

his

heart

even

now

the

desire

to

bring

justice

to

the

nations

the

desire

to

bring

that

everlasting

peace

that

we read

the

words

of

the

prophets

to

make

the

wars

cease

to

fix

and

renew

what

has

been

utterly

corrupted

and

broken

in

this

great

dominion

but

the

path

to

all

of

that

the

path

to

that

throne

for

Jesus

according

to

the

plan

of

God

is

through

humbling

himself

to

the

point

of

death

even

death

on

a

cross

only

then

will

he

as

the

God

man

be

exalted

to

the

throne

and

given

the

name

above

every

name

perhaps

there

could

be

some

longing

in

the

heart

of

Jesus

here

to

have

a

shortcut

to

have

the

throne

that

already

belongs

to

him

but

without

the

suffering

without

the

shame

of

the

cross

well

how

does

Jesus

respond

Jesus

answered

it

is

written

worship

the

Lord

your

God

and

serve

him

only

even

if

it

were

possible

to

take

a

shortcut

to

the

throne

of

all

the

earth

bowing

down

to

worship

the

devil

is

out

of

the

question

it's

unthinkable

it's

the

epitome

of

wickedness

and

unrighteousness

think

about

this

would

Jesus

the

one

who

created

all

things

bow

down

on

his

face

to

one

of

his

creatures

not

even

to

mention

that

the

devil

is

a

despicable

corrupt

!

wicked

creature

not

a chance

the

Lord

Yahweh

alone

is

worthy

of

worship

for

my

part

says

Jesus

I

will

worship

him

as

my

God

and

you

devil

should

too

with

a

single

verse

of

scripture

Jesus

exposes

the

utter

treachery

and

vileness

of

what

the

devil

desires

for

himself

he

says

no

you

are

not

worthy

of

that

worship

only

God

only

the

Lord

is

and

I

will

take

the

path

the

father

has

put

before

me

to

that

throne

even

if

it

means

humiliation

and

suffering

just

as

with

the

first

temptation

there's

an

irony

here

you

know

if

Jesus

were

corrupt

as

we

are

would

he

even

be

worthy

of

ruling

over

all

the

earth

and

yet

by

refusing

Satan

by

upholding

the

worship

of

God

alone

by

choosing

the

path

of

humiliation

and

suffering

he

proves

that

he

is

indeed

worthy

to

rule

over

all

the

kingdoms

of

the

earth

he

shows

that

he

is

truly

good

like

none

of

us

are

Jesus

has

no

price

he

would

rather

die

than

bow

before

anyone

other

than

God

it's

amazing

finally

Luke

tells us

of a

third

temptation

if

you

look

at

Matthew's

gospel

you

might

notice

there's

a

different

order

here

most

people

think

Matthew's

is

the

chronological

order

and

that

Luke

has

adjusted

it

intentionally

perhaps

Luke

has

decided

to

save

this

one

for

last

there

is

a

sense

in

which

it

is

the

most

devious

and

subtle

temptation

of

all

the

devil

is

utterly

nasty

and

despicable

here

he

takes

Jesus

to

a

place

Jesus

loves

he

stands

him

up

on

the

highest

point

the

pinnacle

of

the

temple

and

again

he

tries

to

cause

Jesus

to

question

who

he

is

if

you

are

the

son

of

God

throw

yourself

down

and

this

time

not

only

does

Satan

challenge

Jesus

to

prove

that

he's

the

son

of

God

but

he

throws

in

this

nasty

crafty

subtle

twist

this

time

the

devil

quotes

scripture

to

Jesus

God

has

said

that

he

will

command

his

angels

concerning

you

to

guard

you

carefully

God

has

said

that

they

will

lift

you

up

so

that

you

will

not

strike

even

your

foot

against

a

stone

these

are

the

words

of

Psalm

Psalms 91:11

91

verse

11

and

12

cherished

words

of

scripture

words

of

poetry

perhaps

even

a

song

that

the

Israelites

knew

very

well

and

the

Psalm

is

all

about

how

God

specially

protects

his

people

and

cares

for

them

how

he

keeps

them

from

all

harm

he

keeps

disaster

from

even

coming

near

them

and

so

because

of

that

there

was

a

bit

of

a

debate

here

it

was

often

felt

that

if

something

bad

did

happen

to

someone

well

they

must

not

have

as

they

should

have

because

if

they

had

God

wouldn't

have

let

that

calamity

happen

to

them

well

now

the

devil

cunning

as

he

is

turns

these

words

against

Jesus

or

tries

to

if

there's

anyone

who

loves

the

Lord

if

there's

anyone

whom

the

Lord

will

protect

and

keep

from

all

harm

it's

you

if

you

are

the

son

of

God

if

you

are

the

son

of

God

he

cannot

he

will

not

allow

anything

bad

to

happen

to

you

he

must

he

would

command

his

angels

to

guard

you

were

you

to

slip

and

fall

from

this

height

or

even

if

you

were

to

jump

God

has

to

keep

his

word

right

if

you

are

his

son

he

would

have

to

keep

even

your

foot

from

striking

a stone

on

the

ground

what is

it that

makes

this

temptation

difficult

what's

the

appeal

Jesus

has

already

shown

that

he

doesn't

need

to

prove

who

he

is

to

the

devil

so

why

is

this

one

any

different

I

think

perhaps

this

could

have

been

the

most

difficult

temptation

of

all

for

Jesus

do

you

remember

what

Jesus

said

as a

12

year

old

boy

the

time

that

he

stayed

behind

in

Jerusalem

where was

he

in the

temple

why

because he

longed to

be in the

house of

his father

this is the

place

Jesus loves

to be

this may

have been

emotionally

confusing

seeing with

his eyes

the place

he loves

to be

feeling in

his heart

that nearness

to the

father which

being in this

place evokes

and yet

beside him

the devil

is whispering

into his

ear

praying upon

his human

emotions

it's not

true

you're not

really the

son of

God

that's

something

that you've

deluded

yourself

with

if you

really are

his son

he will

prove it

he'll care

for you

like no

other

if you

were to

say

jump

from

this