Luke 4:1 - 13
4 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.’”
and him only shall you serve.’”
9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’
to guard you,’
11 and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. v1 - Did the Holy Spirit lead Jesus to be tempted?
2. v2 - Did Jesus not feel hungry until after 40 days?
3. v3 - v12 - What are the nature of these temptations?
4. v11 - Was Satan quoting scripture? What does this imply about how scripture can be used?
5. v 13 - What was the opportune time?
https://hartmangroupdevotions.blogspot.com/2014/10/blog-post.html says:
ReplyDeleteIt says that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert where the devil was willing to tempt Him, but the Holy Spirit did not tempt or have anything to do with it. God will test us, just like He did Christ - or He will allow us to be tempted to test us, but He will always give us a way out. I Corinthians 10:13 - "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
So it seems that it is God's will for us to be tempted - although He cannot tempt us Himself. This starts to shed light on the question of why bad things happen in this world. I kind of see that God uses the devil as an unwilling partner in His plan. Which sheds some light on what it's meant by the "sovereignty of God." A lot of evil is done by the devil and by us - but God's plan is always in effect.
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- Avoid places, people, and things that tempt you.
- Flee temptation
- Pray
- Quote a scripture that addresses the sin.
- Recognize that the temptation is lying to you.
- Recognize the consequences of the sin.
- Recognize the danger of the "second look"
- Picture Christ's suffering for the sin you are being tempted by.
- Confess you habitual sins to another Christian and become accountable to them.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-4-commentary says:
ReplyDeleteMatthew and Luke record the same temptations but in different order - both of them put the first temptation (turning stones into bread) first, but Matthew has the devil leading Jesus’ to the pinnacle of the Temple second and to a high mountain third, while Luke reverses the order. Reasons are proposed as to why the difference but they are somewhat conjecture.
One could outline Jesus' wilderness experience into the preparation (Lk 4:1-2), the temptation (Lk 4:3-12) and the triumph (Lk 4:13).
Notice the word “immediately” in Mark's version. Right after the moment of blessing is the moment of testing.
John MacArthur adds that "One of the great truths of life, from which even the Son of God was not exempt on earth, is that after every victory comes temptation. When we have just succeeded in something important, we are invariably tempted to think that we made the accomplishment in our own power and that it is rightfully and permanently ours. When we are most exhilarated with success we are also most vulnerable to pride-and to failure....At other times success causes us to feel invincible and to let down our guard, and when testings come we are not prepared for them.
Jesus full of the Holy Spirit - one who is filled with the Spirit is controlled by (and empowered by) the Spirit.
Kevin Zuber summarizes Jesus' temptations as "(1) Serve Yourself (Lk 4:3-4); (2) Honor Yourself (Lk 4:5-8); (3) Be spectacular (be presumptuous and prove Your self-importance; Lk 4:9-12).
The upshot is that to be filled with the Spirit is to be controlled by the Spirit and thus supernaturally empowered or enabled to accomplish what cannot be accomplished naturally (by relying on my human "power"). This is a vital truth for modern believers to grasp because this was the example (pattern) Jesus left us to follow.
As further support of the truth that what fills you, controls you, note that the pagans in Ephesus were "filled with rage. Rage filled them and rage controlled them. Mark it down - Every believer is either being controlled by the Spirit or the fallen flesh. There is NO MIDDLE GROUND! These two forces are continually in opposition, and like oil and water they DO NOT MIX!
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-4-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteJ Vernon McGee - Led of the Spirit
The Son of God needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to meet this temptation. If He needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to be able to meet the temptation, I might as well face up to the fact—and you might as well join with me—that you and I cannot face the temptations of this world today in our own strength. You and I are joined in a battle in which we are hopelessly outnumbered, and we will be miserably defeated if we go forth in our own strength and with our own ability.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-4-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteIn resisting Satan's offers of food, protection, and power, Jesus proved that God could provide these three things and more. Though Christ totally resisted sin, He was not tempted with just lily-white dalliances. Whatever our attempts to whitewash Christ's humanity, the perfect God-man, nevertheless, truly knows temptation.
The first test concerns provision. Although Satan in some sense acknowledged Jesus' divine sonship, he tempted Jesus to take matters into His own hands, rather than trust the Father to provide.
The second test concerns power. Somehow Satan was able to show Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and offered them to Him.
The third test concerns protection. Here Satan upped the ante by quoting Scripture himself (Ps. 91:11-12), but twisting it horribly.
Jesus' complete faithfulness to the Father in this trial anticipated His faithfulness on the cross, the event that meant Satan's decisive defeat.
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Remember that it was not the devil who initiated this conflict but it was the Spirit Who had led Jesus to this point. He could not have tempted Jesus, if the Father had not allowed it and the Spirit brought Jesus into the wilderness. Beloved, the application to our spiritual life is clear that Satan cannot tempt us unless God allows it.
The devil is a real entity and one who is capable of speaking. Don't miss the contrast of this cosmic confrontation - Holy versus unholy. Truth versus liar. Creator versus creation!
Wiersbe - “Since You are God’s beloved Son, why doesn’t Your Father feed You? Why does He put You into this terrible wilderness?” This temptation sounded like Satan’s words to Eve in Genesis 3! It is a subtle suggestion that our Father does not love us. that our Father does not love us. But there was another suggestion: “Use Your divine powers to meet Your own needs.” When we put our physical needs ahead of our spiritual needs, we sin. When we allow circumstances to dictate our actions, instead of following God’s will, we sin. Jesus could have turned the stones into bread, but He would have been exercising His powers independently of the Father; and He came to obey the Father (John 5:30; 6:38).
MacArthur adds "The purpose of the temptation was not simply for Jesus to satisfy His physical hunger, but to suggest that His being hungry was incompatible with His being the Son of God. He was being tempted to doubt the Father’s Word, the Father’s love, and the Father’s provision. He had every right, Satan suggested, to use His own divine powers to supply what the Father had not."
Satan's seduction was for Jesus to "act in independence of the Holy Spirit who had led Him into the wilderness, and in independence of the Father who had permitted Him to be deprived of bodily sustenance. Satan was suggesting that Jesus use the resources of His sonship to violate the responsibility of His Sonship. The responsibility was never to act in independence of His Father. (Incidentally, a prolonged fast has to be broken gradually, and initially with liquids; solid food can kill.)
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-4-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteOswald Chambers said "We cannot stand against the wiles of the devil by our wits." We can only stand against him in reliance on God's Word and Spirit!
Daniel Block makes the point that "The one who twists truth will fail to ensnare the one filled with the Spirit." This begs the question "Are you filled?" If not, beware!
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-4-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteThe order of Luke’s temptations differs from Matthew’s at this point as numbers two and three are reversed (cp Mt 4:5-10+). It is slightly more likely that Luke has made the change to put the Jerusalem temptation last, as Jerusalem is so important to Luke’s later account. The temporal markers in Matthew’s account are also slightly more specific.
Steven Cole comments that "Satan’s offer, like all his offers, was a mixed bag of truth and error. Jesus later calls Satan “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). Satan’s authority is at best delegated and temporary.
Over what did Satan have authority (the right to rule and the might to rule)? “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler (Satan) of this world will be cast out. (Jn 12:31) We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 1 Jn 5:19
The "world" represents human society under the power of evil and at war with God and His people. As John Stott says the world "is not pictured as struggling vigorously to be free but as quietly lying, perhaps even unconsciously asleep, in the embrace of Satan."
Do the kingdoms of the world have glory? Of course they do (cf ancient Egypt), but it is a seductive, transient glory because this world is passing away (1 Jn 2:17+).
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-4-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteLuke 4:7 "Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours."
Satan is tempting Jesus to take the crown without the cross. Jesus refuses and accepts the cross
Luke 4:8 Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'"
Warren Wiersbe answers the question just posed noting that "Satan had said nothing about service, but Jesus knew that whatever we worship, we will serve. Service to the Lord is true freedom, but service to Satan is terrible bondage. God's pattern is to start with suffering and end with glory (1 Peter 5:10-note), while Satan's pattern is to start with glory and end with suffering. Satan wants us to sacrifice the eternal for the temporary and take the "easy way."
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-4-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteLuke 4:10 for it is written, 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD YOU,
THE DEVIL KNOWS SCRIPTURE AND HOW TO TWIST IT! Donald MacLeod writes that "If Satan dared to use Scripture for the temptation of our Lord, he will not scruple to use it for the delusion of men."
First, note that the devil knows Scripture. That means you and I had better know Scripture
THOUGHT - The devil knows Scripture but he does not obey Scripture. Beloved, be careful if you think that just knowing Scripture is sufficient. We need to obey the Scriptures we know or we will surely stumble and fall into sin.
C H Spurgeon comments on Psalm 91:11 - You remember how the devil misapplied this text to Christ. He was quite right in the application; but he was quite wrong in the quotation, for he left out the words “in all thy ways.” God will help us in our ways if we keep in His ways. When we meet with trouble and accident, we ought to inquire whether we are in God’s way.
Thomas Constable observes that Satan "omitted the words "to guard you in all your ways." Many expositors have assumed that Satan wanted to trick Jesus with this omission, but his free method of quoting was very common. He misapplied the Scripture he quoted.
Reformation Study Bible - Satan quotes Scripture, but he uses Ps. 91:11, 12 in a way exactly opposite to the original meaning. Ps. 91 is an exhortation to trust in God; Satan attempts to replace trust with a test, casting doubt on God's faithfulness. Presumption is not too great a faith but no faith at all.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-4-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteLuke 4:12 And Jesus answered and said to him, "It is said, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'"
If Jesus had jumped off the Temple, He would have "put God on the spot" so to speak, forcing Him to act. This would have been presumptuously "testing" His Father which is something He refused to do. To accomplish his mission of bringing salvation to the world, Jesus would take the path of submission to God. He would worship and serve the Lord alone.
F. B. Meyer wrote, “There is only one way by which the tempter can be met. He laughs at our good resolutions and ridicules the pledges with which we fortify ourselves. Satan fears only One, He who in the hour of greatest weakness defeated him and who now has been raised far above all principalities and powers to deliver frail and tempted souls.
Luke 4:13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.
Notice that Jesus’ victory over Satan was not final, and neither is ours.
"Though some have argued that the devil disappears until Luke 22:3, this is unlikely since the cosmic battle with Satan and all the evil angels is consistently mentioned throughout Luke (Lk 8:26–39; Lk 11:14–23)."
Guzik comments . . . If you want Satan to leave you alone for a while, you must continually resist him. Many are so attacked because they resist so little. Jesus resisted these temptations because He was walking in the Word and in the Holy Spirit. These two give the believer full resource for victory. Too much Word and not enough Spirit and you puff up (in the sense of pride). Too much Spirit and not enough Word and you blow up. With the Word and the Spirit together, you grow up.
Leon Morris comments . . . There is no freedom from temptation in this life. There was not for Jesus and there is not for us.
William MacDonald - . . . The first temptation concerned the body, the second the soul, the third the spirit. They appealed respectively to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The three temptations revolve around three of the strongest drives of human existence—physical appetite, desire for power and possessions, and desire for public recognition. How often disciples are tempted to choose a pathway of comfort and ease, to seek a prominent place in the world, and to gain a high position in the church.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-4-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteLuke 4:14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.
Background - There is a time gap of about 12 months between the temptation of Christ ending in Luke 4:13 and the beginning of Jesus Galilean ministry in Luke 4:14. The chronology is somewhat complicated but if you would like to dig deeper into what has been called Jesus "Year of Obscurity" described only in John's Gospel.
Thomas Constable: Luke again drew his readers’ attention to the fact that Jesus was under the control of the Holy Spirit as He began His public ministry (cf. Lk 1:35; Lk 3:22; Lk 4:1). The Spirit empowered and enabled Jesus in His words and deeds. Luke would stress His teaching ministry. Luke attributed Jesus’ success to His orientation to the Spirit, not His essential deity. Consequently He was a model that all believers can and should copy. Luke continued to stress the Holy Spirit’s ministry in Acts.
John MacArthur: Beginning with His miraculous conception, the Spirit was involved in every aspect of Christ’s life. His deity was mediated to His humanity by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s power was essential, since in His deity Christ would not have done the miraculous deeds He did, or say the divine words He spoke. The reason for that is found in Philippians 2:6–7, which says that “although [Christ] existed in the form of God, [He] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” Jesus voluntarily surrendered the independent use of His divine power, and submitted Himself completely to the will of the Father. And though His human nature was sinlessly perfect, it nevertheless did not have supernatural power. Thus Christ performed His miraculous deeds through the Spirit’s power, so much so that to attribute His works to Satan is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31–32). It must be stressed that that in no way limits Christ’s full deity and equality with the Father (cf. Col. 2:9). But in the wonder and mystery of the incarnation, He set aside the independent use of His divine attributes.
The point of emphasizing Jesus' continued dependence on the Holy Spirit for supernatural power for His ministry is to underscore every believer's desperate need to rely on the same Source of power for our ministry.
Ivor Power on the power of the Spirit - The Lord Jesus was (i) baptized with the Spirit; (ii) filled with the Spirit; (iii) led by the Spirit; (iv) energized by the Spirit. It is written, "And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee." This appears to be the royal highway to a successful ministry. A well-stocked mind can never be a worthy substitute for a flaming soul. There is a great difference between wood, dead and cold in the woodshed and fiercely burning logs on the hearth.
Warren Wiersbe - To be filled with the Spirit means to be controlled by the Spirit and willingly used by him to honor the Lord.
Questions and findings:
ReplyDelete1. v1 - Did the Holy Spirit lead Jesus to be tempted?
Yes. The Holy Spirit cannot tempt anyone, but can deliver people over to testing by evil - this is always to build up someone's faith.
2. v2 - Did Jesus not feel hungry until after 40 days?
Matthew says that Jesus didn't feel hungry until after 40 days. I think, that sometimes when driven by the Holy Spirit, one can be overwhelmed to the point of not even being able to eat.
3. v3 - v12 - What are the nature of these temptations?
This was well answered above - "The first temptation concerned the body, the second the soul, the third the spirit. They appealed respectively to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The three temptations revolve around three of the strongest drives of human existence—physical appetite, desire for power and possessions, and desire for public recognition."
4. v11 - Was Satan quoting scripture? What does this imply about how scripture can be used?
Some people argue that Satan misquoted scripture and left a portion out, while other's argue that Satan's quoting of scripture was valid. In either case, I think this shows that a portion of scripture can be used to deceive. I think we have all heard very mistaken people quoting scripture before. Scripture in it's full context cannot be distorted, but any single piece of scripture can be.
5. v 13 - What was the opportune time?
Some have mentioned some of the specific attacks on Jesus by the disciples, the Jewish leaders, the Jewish people, etc. Other's say that the opportune time was the cross. Although, I thought one person above made an interesting point: Satan attempted to derail Jesus from the cross in a number of instances (which would mean that Satan knew about the cross, and, if true, would mean that the cross was definitely not an opportune time).