The Big Story: Jesus Is Tempted


Following his baptism, the Holy Spirit fell on Jesus, giving him the power to fulfill the mission God gave him.  In the power of the Spirit, Jesus went into the desert, where he defined the kind of Messiah he would be.  This definition came through the devil's temptations.

Luke's account of these temptations are in 4:1-13.  In the first, the devil said to Jesus, "If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread."  Jesus was starving, so this temptation had to be particularly compelling!  

Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3.  People don't live by bread alone, but by God's words!  
Here, Satan was tempting Jesus to be a material Messiah.  This is the kind of Messiah people want!  John 6:14-15 records that following the feeding of the 5000, the crowd wanted to make Jesus king by force.  And why not?  If he could produce food like that, they would never again need to struggle to get food!

We like material Messiahs today.  Many people follow preachers of the prosperity gospel, which says God wants us to be materially rich here and now!  But Jesus didn't come to be that kind of Messiah because material things don't meet our deepest needs.

After this, Satan took Jesus on a high mountain.  He showed him all the kingdoms of the earth, and all their splendor.  The devil said he would give it all to Jesus if he would only worship him.  

Jesus refused, quoting scripture again.  This time, it was Deuteronomy 6:13.  God alone was to be worshipped.  Not Satan!

Here, Satan was tempting Jesus to be a political Messiah.  This is the kind of Messiah people want!  Luke 23:13-19 says that when the crowd had the choice between Jesus and Barabbas, they chose Barabbas. Why?  Because Barabbas represented a political kingdom established by force, not a spiritual kingdom established by self-sacrificial love!

We like political Messiahs today.  Many evangelicals are engaging politically in an effort to legislate God's kingdom on earth.  Tragically, today many are aligning themselves with political leaders whose values are contrary to Christ.  They're doing great harm to the movement of Christ by putting their hopes in people without character or even common decency.

Finally, the devil took Jesus to a high point of the temple.  He challenged Jesus to jump off.  Then the devil quoted scripture!  Psalm 91:11-12.  Of course, he distorted its meaning.

Jesus refused, quoting Deuteronomy 6:16.  Doing such a stunt would put God to a foolish test.

Here, the devil was tempting Jesus to be a magical Messiah.  Jesus performed remarkable miracles, but not on the scale of parting a sea or making the sun stand still.  When leaders demanded that he perform such a sign, Jesus told them that the only one they would receive would be the sign of Jonah.  He would rise from the dead.

We like magical Messiahs today.  Showy faith-healing ministries that pack stadiums and auditoriums are ample proof of that!

Jesus came not to be a material Messiah, or political Messiah, or magical Messiah.  Instead, he would be a suffering servant Messiah, who would save the world by self-sacrificial love.

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