As we study the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan for 40 days in wilderness, Luke presents the Lord Jesus as the perfect man and the model we should follow. In order to fully understand what happened in the wilderness, we need to start before the temptation and continue after the temptation. We need to keep our focus on the Holy Spirit and not on Satan, We need to understand the role the of Christ before, during and after the temptation. There are several biblical lessons we can learn from Jesus experience in the wilderness. I have outlined one dimension of trial and temptation lesson for us to learn from this experience.
'Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ ” The devil led him 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 I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ ” The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. '
Before / During / After Temptation
Before Jesus was led to the wilderness, the word says “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,… was led by the Spirit into the wilderness”, The word “led” means someone leading by hand. It doesn’t mean that Jesus went unwillingly, but it does indicate that this showdown with the devil does not happen by accident. We should think of it this way: The Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness, through the wilderness, and out of the wilderness. There was never a moment the holy spirit left Jesus. Even in his weakened condition physically, Jesus had the Holy Spirit upon him as he faced the devil.
There are two wrong assumptions often made about the temptation of Jesus:
Wrong Assumption #1: “Jesus was agonized greatly over the temptations in wilderness”
We are misconceived to believe that Jesus was agonized greatly over the temptations of the devil. But the text does not read that way. The devil tempted him and Jesus immediately defeated him each time with the Word of God.
Jesus did experience true agony of soul later in the Garden of Gethsemane as he will be forsaken by the Father for the wrath of Sins to conquer death, That was true agony.
The wilderness was true temptation, but Jesus did not agonize. It was as if he said to the devil, “Hit me with your best shot,” and then he replying back to him “Is that all you’ve got?”
Wrong Assumption #2: “Devil was in control of the whole situation”
We are misconceived to believe that the devil was in control of the whole situation.
A cursory reading of the text might lead you to that conclusion. But the context makes it clear that the Spirit intentionally led Jesus into the wilderness in order to do battle with the devil.
Jesus did not shrink from this desert warfare. By going into the desert, Jesus flushed out his adversary and made him “fight like a man.” Thus exposed, the devil was easily defeated by the Son of God.
Take a moment to compare verse 1 with verse 14.
Beginning Jesus (Verse 1) went with “full of Holy Spirit”, after the temptation (Verse 14) he was “in the Power of the Spirit”. Two different experience -
Jesus was “full of the Spirit” when he went into the desert.
Jesus came out of the desert “in the power of the Spirit.”
Why We Need Temptation
A crucial principle we all need to learn from this experience is, God uses temptation to release spiritual power in your life. Martin Luther once remarked that in making a minister of God, three things are required:
Meditation … Prayer … Temptation
The first refers to meditation on the Word of God.
The second is self-evident.
But what does he mean by “temptation?” Does he mean that we should go looking for the devil in order to pick a fight with him? No, not at all. But neither should we run from our spiritual battles.
God may test us, but God will never enticement to do evil (Hebrews 11:17) 'By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ' Hebrews 11:17
No one can ever grow spiritually without facing strong temptations.
I’m using the word “temptation” as synonymous with “trial”. Temptation to most of us means a solicitation to do evil.
But any trial can become a temptation if we give in to our anger, if we lose our temper, if we break our promises, if we compromise our values, if we trade in our integrity, if we hide like cowards instead of standing up for what we believe, we fall into temptation of Sin.
You could say it this way: The same event will often be both a temptation and a trial. What God gives to us as a trial or a test, Satan almost always uses as a temptation. The very same event may be both a trial and test to you and also a temptation from Satan.
God uses it to accomplish one thing in your life and Satan at the very same time is working through that event to try to accomplish something diametrically opposite. A very important spiritual principle to learn
Very often God allows a trial to come for a positive purpose, but Satan tries to co-opt it for his own evil reasons.
We know that the devil came to Jesus in the wilderness, tempting him to turn away from the path of obedience to his Heavenly Father. Luke 4:1 tells us that “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert.” Who did the leading? The Holy Spirit. Who did the tempting? The devil. Is there a contradiction here? Not at all. Did God know what was going to happen when he sent his Son into the desert? Yes, he did. He intended from the beginning to demonstrate that his Son would not yield to Satan’s pleasing statements. Was God tempting his own Son? No, he wasn’t. Was God putting his Son in a place where his Son could be tempted by the devil? The answer to that must be, yes.
How Trials Become Temptations
God will never directly solicit his children to sin. It is also true that from time to time God allows his children to go into a place where they will face severe temptations from Satan. Is God responsible for the severe temptation? No, he’s not. He does the leading; Satan does the tempting. From God’s point of view it’s a test. From Satan’s point of view it’s a temptation.
We see this pattern occurring in every area of life. God sends a trial and Satan turns it into a temptation. Let’s suppose a child of God contracts a deadly sickness. Could that sickness be a testing from God? Yes, it could. It almost always is a testing from God to purify motives, to cause the child of God to look away from the things of earth to the things of heaven, and to turn the eyes of the child of God back to the Lord. Many good things are accomplished through sickness in the life of the believer. Does Satan work through sickness? Yes, he does. And through that very same sickness Satan will be working to tempt you to despair, to anger, to bitterness, and ultimately to turn away from the Lord. What God intends for your spiritual good is the avenue Satan uses to pull you down.
Or suppose you lose your job. You say, “Could that be from God?” Yes, it could. If you lose your job, could God have a better purpose in mind for you? Yes, and he often does. He may have a better job for you. He certainly wants to build some spiritual character in your life. You may have fallen in love with the things of the world to the point where those good things have become an idol to you. In that case, it is good for you to lose a good job. And during that trial from God, Satan will tempt you to anger, despair and discouragement.
It works the other way just as well. Let’s suppose you get a promotion and a nice raise in salary. Now you are better off financially than you’ve ever been. Can a promotion be a trial from God? Absolutely. Prosperity is often a trial or testing from God to see how you will handle his blessings. God is looking to see how you handle the blessing toward the needy. Having more ought to open our eyes to those who have less than we do. But that same prosperity often makes us greedy, selfish, and blind to the less fortunate.
Summary
Testings and trials are a normal part of the Christian life. They are part of God’s curriculum for each of us. He puts difficult choices in front of us every day so that by following him and by trusting him in those circumstances you become stronger.
Your faith becomes confirmed and you become an example to other people of victory over the world, the flesh and the devil. There’s nothing you can do to escape the trials of life—nothing at all. In the School of Grace, God doesn’t offer a “No Trials” degree program. All of us will be tested many times in many ways.
A trial becomes a temptation when we respond wrongly. That which was sent into our life in order to make us stronger is that which actually tears us down and makes us weaker when we respond in the power of the flesh. What God means for good, Satan means for evil.
If Jesus was the Son of God, why did the Father put him in the position of being tempted by the devil? Consider this sequence:
He was led that he might be tested.
He was tested that he might be prepared.
He was prepared that he might be empowered.
So what do you do if you find yourself in the wilderness? Remember these three truths:
A - You are not there by accident.
B - You are not there alone.
C - You will not be there forever.
When God’s purposes in your life have been accomplished, the Spirit will lead you out of the wilderness, and you will come out stronger in your faith than when you went in. God never leads us into the wilderness in order to destroy us. He intends the time of testing to make us stronger
So stand your ground and do not give up. Remember that life is all about God. It’s not about you.
The wilderness isn’t about you. It’s all about God.
Your temptations are not about you. They’re all about God.
Your spiritual journey isn’t about you. It’s all about God.
Life isn’t about your dreams, your agenda, your hopes, your ideas, or your plans. Life is all about God’s dreams, God’s agenda, God’s ideas, and God’s plans. It’s his kingdom we’re praying to come, not ours.
So stand strong in the moment of temptation, trusting that God will give you what you need when you need it.
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