Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 4:1-13 "INTO THE WILDERNESS..." Luke 4:1"
Day 45 – Luke 4
Text: Luke 4:1-13
“INTO THE WILDERNESS…” Luke 4:1
What was this “wilderness” really like? Geographically, Judea is located on a central plateau in Southern Palestine. Not every part of Judea was inhabited. There was a wilderness called “Jeshimmon” which simply means, “The Devastation”. This region is most forbidding. The rocks are jagged. It was terribly hot in the daytime. This region stood between Judea and the Dead Sea. It was in this terrible wilderness that the Holy Spirit led Jesus to be tempted continuously by the Devil for forty days!
REMINDED OF THE FIRST TEMPTATION- ADAM AND EVE (Genesis 3)
We are reminded of how the Devil tempted Adam and Eve, as we read the Temptation of Jesus. Moses had this to say about the Tempter,
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field
which the LORD God had made.
And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said…” Genesis 3:1
The scene of the Temptation of Adam and Eve was not the harsh wilderness. It was in the quiet of the beautiful garden of Eden. God had bountifully provided for Adam and Eve all that they needed. Despite the blessings of God, Satan triumphed and caused the downfall of mankind through deceiving Eve, and through her Adam disobeyed the Lord!
We must also take a look at how the Book of Revelation described the Devil. He is called “the dragon” (Revelation 12:7). He is also called “the serpent of old” (Revelation 20:2; 12: 14-15).
At this important milestone of the life of Jesus, the Devil sought to tempt and to test Jesus! He had succeeded before. If he could succeed against Jesus, then his triumph would be complete!
“IF YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD…” Luke 4:3
The Tempter appears to cast doubt about the identity of Jesus. In actual felt, the Devil was NOT questioning Jesus concerning who He was. The Devil knew who Jesus was, only too well. He was “The Son of God”.
The temptation given to Jesus was very subtle. If Jesus was indeed the Son of God, why would He not use His privileged position to turn stones into bread to satisfy the hunger pangs felt, after having fasted for forty days and forty nights?
This temptation was subtle and yet very powerful, because the appeal was to the basic instincts of a human being – SURVIVAL! God has placed in every human being a powerful instinct associated with life. The human being will not naturally think of dying. His instinct to survive and live is so powerful that it tends to over-ride almost all other faculties of the human being. Watch a very hungry person eat, and you will see that he tends to wolf his food down, as if his life depended on how fast he can consume the food. Till the hunger pangs disappear, he will ferociously attack his food. So strong is this powerful instinct to survive, that everything can be forgotten and set aside, including God!
The Tempter sought to heighten this normal, and powerful, instinct in Jesus. Would He succumb to this temptation? Would Jesus be so overcome by his need for food that He would just cast aside God and satisfy his hunger pangs?
“MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD OF GOD” Luke 4:4
Without hesitation, Jesus refuted the Devil’s temptation. How should a man live? Does he live only by his instincts? He would then be no better than animals!
No, man must not live this way! God had provided a better way to live. God had given His Word to man. Life is well and truly lived, only when man hears and obeys every word that God has given to man!
The Devil was defeated! Jesus did not rise to this temptation, no matter how subtle the suggestion was. The Spirit of God in Jesus, the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of knowledge, the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord – that same Spirit guarded Jesus and enabled Him to see through the subtle temptation of the Devil.
The Devil is to be distrusted at all times. His words are never to be believed for one moment. Only the Word of God is be trusted! Man can truly live as God intended only when he embraces God’s Word, and rejects every “alternative word” no matter how cleverly disguised.
The Tempter was disguising his temptation by professing care and concern for the well-being of Jesus. He feigned concern about his physical well-being. If Jesus was hungry, and if He was the Son of God, why surely God would not mind it very much if He used just a tiny bit of His power to turn stones into bread!
The Word of God had made no such provision for Jesus to turn stones into bread. The Word of God had taught Jesus how to have faith and trust. The Word of God had taught Jesus how to wait upon God! He would now practise what He believed! He would trust His Father, amidst great hunger! He would not do anything that His Father had not given instructions on.
THE DEVIL CAN BE DEFEATED!
Let us learn an important lesson here. The Devil can be defeated. The Lord Jesus shows us how we can defeat the evil one. Our first step towards victory is a deep knowledge of the Word of God!
Let us renew our commitment to read the Word of God with a great sense of faith. Let us seek the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation” in our study of the Lord’s Word (Ephesians 1:17).