When are you most susceptible to temptation? And how do you respond? Do you give in? How do you feel after the temptation? Don’t beat yourself up when you give in to temptation. Everyone is tempted by something every day, but it’s what we do with the temptation that matters.
In Luke 4:1-13 we find three specific temptations that Satan threw at Jesus and how He responded. Today we’ll look at the first one.
The tempter. The devil was the tempter. Are there other tempters? Yes, there are many people and things that can be tempters in our lives, but it all comes from the oldest tempter in the world, the devil, the one who tempted the first man and woman in the world, and his tactics haven’t changed, only gotten a little more sophisticated and sometimes less subtle.
The doubt. There’s an IF in this statement by the devil. He said “IF you are the Son of God”. Did the devil doubt that Jesus was the Son of God? Or was he trying to get Jesus to become defensive and hurt by the subtle but sarcastic jab? Doesn’t that happen to you and I? Others in our lives know what buttons to push to get us riled up and respond. It’s not that they doubt us, but that they want to see us respond in an ungodly way which will prove to them that we’re no different than they are and our faith has holes in it.
The temptation. Temptation is and always will be a part of life here on this earth. A statement in a footnote in my NLT Life Application Study Bible caught my attention: “Often we are tempted not through our weaknesses but through our strengths. The devil tempted Jesus where He was strong.” We usually think of temptations coming at us when we are weak, but it’s actually the temptation itself that makes us weak. When we’re weak, Satan leaves us alone. It is when we are strong in the Lord that Satan will attack us to bring us down. In these verses Jesus may have been physically weak from not eating, but He was strong in the Spirit.
“Tell this stone to become bread.” The devil probably thought he could trap Jesus into performing a miracle to satisfy His hunger. We don’t know what may have gone on in the mind of Jesus, but we do know that He did not give in to this temptation. The devil knew that if he could get Jesus to fulfill His own immediate needs, that it would take Him away from the long-term plan of redemption.
The response. So how did Jesus respond? With Scripture! “It is written… Man shall not live by bread alone.” In other words, food for the stomach is not the most important thing in the world. Obeying God is more important than physical needs. Would your response have been something like, go away, don’t bother me! or would you have even answered Satan at all? Jesus calmly stated “It is written…” followed by what He knew from the Holy Scriptures, “Man shall not live by bread alone.” He knew that physical food was not what mattered at that moment. There was more involved in Satan’s temptation than just filling His stomach. Satan was trying to derail Him from the task God had assigned Him.
Short and firm. I love how Jesus did not engage in a debate, reasons, or conversation about Satan’s statement of temptation. Jesus didn’t tell Satan it couldn’t be done and give him all the reasons why. He didn’t tell him to get lost nor tell him what He thought about it. Jesus was short and firm. “It is written… Man shall not live by bread alone.” It is so important to know what the Scripture says about various things so when a questionable temptation presents itself, we don’t have to in the heat of the moment decide what we should do. We will have a response ready. Jesus short and firm response was all it took to send Satan away for the moment. Satan does not want to hear any words from the Bible.
Takeaway. Never go against Satan in your own strength. Know what the Bible says and refute him with Scripture.
PRAYER POINT FOR TODAY:
Lord, when the tempter comes prowling, keep me on alert so I don’t give in to him. Keep me strong in You.
- 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