Temptation. Luke 4:1-13 is a familiar passage that shows us how Jesus was tested (or tempted) in the wilderness. You might like to watch this 2-minute video of the story before you read on.
Cause or Prior Happenings. When a storm comes, a fire breaks out, a fight begins, an argument happens between friends, or some other event takes place, there’s usually something that happened before the event that precipitated or even caused the results of the event itself. Turn back a page or chapter before Luke 4 to see what was happening, and you’ll see that Jesus had just been baptized publicly.
Timing. Satan knows just when to come after us. You might be away at a retreat enjoying great fellowship with other Christians and then you come home to bad news. You got a promotion, are excited, and can’t wait to get home and tell your spouse but you get tied up in traffic from an accident that spoils your day and makes you irritable.
Distractions. Jesus was just beginning His public ministry and Satan knew it so He tried to distract Him and entice Him away with things that he thought would surely make Jesus at least think about giving in. Jesus was most likely thinking about the plan the Father had for Him to carry out.
Preparation. Have you used the expression, if I would have known…? If you’re like me, you like to be prepared, but there’s always the unexpected things that happen. Some things we can’t be prepared for as much as we’d like to, but we can always be prepared with prayer and our response to the if’s of life. If “this” happens, then “this” will be my response. Jesus was prepared just like we talked about the preparation of prayer a day or so ago.
Expect it. Jesus had to have known He would be tempted. After all, the first man and woman God created was tempted. Adam and Eve weren’t prepared to face temptation nor did they even know what temptation was in the perfect world they came into, but Jesus was. He had the mind of His Father and knew the Scriptures. So when Satan came along with his attempts to trap Jesus, Jesus was ready with His prepared response based on the Scriptures and what He knew His Father would want Him to do.
Response. Are you ready with a response to people and things that happen? Many people prepare for natural disasters by stockpiling food and water, and in times past some people had fallout shelters in case of war. But what about the temptations that come our way daily? Are you ready to resist them? Do you know how to resist them? We can’t wait until the moment arrives and then think we’ll be ready to take on whatever comes at us. Even those trained in self-defense have to think about what move they will make according to how their assailant approaches. Our assailant is the worst enemy we could ever want to face, and we have to be mindful of his tactics and be ready to fight him off and nip it in the bud! That’s exactly what Jesus did, and He’s our perfect example of how to fend off temptation. He responded to Satan with words from Scripture, “It is written…” What’s your ready response to temptation?
There’s another thing that factored into Jesus’ temptations which we’ll look at tomorrow. After that we’ll look at some of the temptations Satan threw at Jesus and how He responded.
PRAYER POINT FOR TODAY:
Lord, make me aware of the things that sneak in and tempt me before I even realize it, and help me be prepared with a response when temptation does knock at my door.
- Week 1 – temptation
- Week 2 – confession, forgiveness, and fasting
- Week 3 – listening to God and answering when He calls
- Week 4 – God’s love for us
- Week 5 – waiting, anxiety, and trust
- Week 6 – suffering, pain, and struggles
- Easter – resurrection and salvation