Last week I wrote about a passage in God’s word that gives a concise strategy on how to resist temptation. 2 Timothy 2:22 says, “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” (English Standard Version) This week we are going to look at how Jesus resisted Satan’s hand-picked temptations after fasting for forty days in the wilderness.
Luke 4:1-13 gives some hints into how Jesus was able to resist three epic temptations that had been customized by the devil specifically for him. The first hint is seen in the start of the passage, “And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit…” One reason Jesus Christ was able to resist Satan’s temptations was by relying on the Holy Spirit. This is easy to overlook when considering Jesus’ temptation because of a belief that Jesus’ deity gave him an advantage in resisting sin while on the earth. It is important to remember that Jesus was “tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) He did not draw on his divine nature as God to resist these temptations. He relied on the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to help him win a resounding defeat of the enemy.
The next clue into how Jesus resisted temptation is much more obvious. It has to do with the source of each of Jesus’ responses to Satan. Jesus’ strategy for resisting temptation came by quoting God’s word. He knew exactly what passage to quote to shut Satan down. This required Jesus understanding the nature of each temptation and it required Jesus knowing the right passage to use in response. We know this proved to be an effective strategy because the end of Luke 4:1-3 says, “And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him.” Jesus used God’s word like a defensive sword blade.
Now that we have seen Jesus’ strategy to resist temptation, lets take a closer look at how he used the book of Deuteronomy to refute Satan’s attacks.
The devil tried to entice Jesus to sin by tempting him to turn a rock into food. Satan knew Jesus was getting close to the point of starvation and exhaustion, after fasting for forty days in the wilderness. Jesus was ready. He relied on the Holy Spirit for strength and he quoted from God’s word for security. Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3 which says, “Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” This was a perfect response because it revealed Jesus’ spiritual resolve was much stronger than physical temptation.
The second temptation had Satan tempting Jesus to bow down and worship him so that Jesus would be given authority over the kingdoms of the earth. Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6:13, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” This passage is a perfect response to the enemy. Satan recognized that there is no greater authority than God’s word and he did not argue Jesus’ point. He moved on to the third and final temptation.
This is a strange temptation because Satan quoted Scripture to try to convince Jesus that if he jumped off the pinnacle of the temple he would be saved by a host of angels. John MacArthur, in his sermon from May 14, 2000, suggests that it is possible to visit a place on the Temple Mount that is 450 feet above the Kedron Valley. If Jesus had jumped from this point he would have died, like any other human, but Satan wanted to trick Jesus into thinking God the Father would not allow that to happen. Satan wanted to deceive Jesus into trusting in God “presumptuously” as MacArthur puts it.
This might not seem like a very effective temptation to us, but for Jesus it would have provided a way for him to expedite the start of his Messianic reign. If the Jewish people saw this miraculous sign they would have made him king and ushered in a new era for the nation. This temptation is similar to how John 6 describes the crowds of people trying to force Jesus to become their king before the appointed time. In that case, Jesus resisted the temptation by withdrawing to the mountains (John 6:15).
The third temptation might have been the strongest temptation, but Jesus was able to flee from it by quoting the perfect passage in Deuteronomy 6:16 when he said, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” Those words poured spiritual light onto the darkness of Satan’s scheme. Once the temptation was revealed, it was stamped out by God’s word. Satan understood he couldn’t argue against Scripture and so he left.
Personally, I think Jesus’ example in resisting temptation is incredibly helpful for us. We need to recognize that we can not resist sin by our own strength. We must look for outside help! We must rely on the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. We must cry out to God the Father in prayer. If we do these things we can trust that what James 4:7 says will be true for us as well, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
