Jesus vs. Satan
Before Jesus began his public ministry, Luke 4:1-15 tells us that he went out into the wilderness, in order to fast and to be tempted by Satan (click for today's Scripture reading).Now, Satan knew who Jesus was. Satan had approached the throne of God before (see Job 1:6-12), so he would have seen God's Son in all his glory, prior to becoming a man. And that is not to mention the fact that, because God the Father created everything through his Son, Satan owed his very existence to Jesus (of course, God did not make Satan evil, but that is another story for another time). So the Devil knew Jesus, and he knew he would have to bring his A-game in order to tempt him.
Satan's Approach
The Devil tempted Jesus to do three things:(1) turn stones into bread and eat (Jesus was famished after fasting 40 days)
(2) worship Satan and receive all Satan's authority over the world's kingdoms
(3) prove he was really God's Son by throwing himself down from the top of the temple, and calling on God's angels to save him.
The Real Test
These temptations seem strange to us, but look at what the Devil was really appealing to.First, he tempted Jesus with physical needs. Everybody has to eat. What's wrong with using a little divine superpower and turning some stones into bread? And why didn't Jesus want to do it?
Jesus had been sent to earth as a man--not a superman. He had come to take the form of a servant, not to use his godly abilities to bend the laws of nature and serve himself. If you look throughout the Gospels, every miracle of Jesus is aimed at bringing honor to his Father and to validate his ministry. Turning stones into bread would have been disobedient to God the Father, and it would have been a frivolous use of his abilities. Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve. That is why he says he does not live "by bread alone." He lives--and we live--by being obedient to God.
Next, the Devil offered Jesus a shortcut to glory: he could have all the authority in the world if he would just pay honor to Satan. Think of it: how majestic the kingdoms of the world must have looked from up there! This is a classic case of brown-nosing the boss to get a promotion. There is only one problem: Satan is not the boss. Jesus is the boss. And he refused to take a shortcut to the glory he would eventually receive. Jesus did not come to conquer earthly kingdoms.
His approach was not top-down, but bottom-up. He came for the poor, the weak, and the downtrodden (rich and poor), to change his people from the inside out. He came to bring new life from the God of love, not political victory. This was God's plan, and Jesus was obedient to it.
Finally, the Devil made an appeal to Jesus' pride in his identity. "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here...." If? Satan knew who Jesus was. There was no question. Jesus came to the world humbly, and the Devil was tempting him to make a flashy display, in the center of Israel's capital, to authenticate himself. Had he done so, it would have short-circuited his mission. Jesus is fully revealed to be God's Son only during his crucifixion and after he rose back to life.
Our Example
When Jesus was tempted with physical hunger, he responded with obedience to God. When Jesus was tempted with selfish ambition, he responded with obedience to God. And when Jesus was tempted with pride, he responded with obedience to God.Are you sensing a pattern here?
Jesus' Perfection & Our Imperfection
What is our takeaway from this passage? There are several. But this one stands out: Jesus, the Son of God, was completely obedient to his Father.
Because Jesus obeyed God completely, he was able to serve as a perfect, blemish-free sacrifice on our behalf. You and I are terrible at keeping God's laws (let's just admit it). We need a savior who is perfect, who can earn God's favor on our behalf. Only Jesus ever did it. God's carried out his ingenious plan by having Jesus, his perfectly sin-free Son, killed on your behalf. He did it for you.
Perhaps you recognize that you need rescuing today. You want to live the right way, but constantly find yourself veering off the road, giving in to temptation. If so, have you considered turning the keys of your life over to Jesus? He loves you. He glorified God by living a perfect life as your substitute. He defeated your sin by his death on the cross (which you deserved). And trust in him is the only way to experience God's incredible grace and new life. Why not turn from your sin and trust him today?
If you want to know more about how to do that, please shoot me an email at jsettecase@gracepointe.us.
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Joel Settecase is the Associate Pastor of Evangelism and Student Ministries at Grace Pointe Plainfield, located at 143rd St. and Route 30.
