I have been preparing a message to preach at church tonight regarding the temptations Jesus went through in Luke 4. In re-reading the text I was blown away by something I had never seen before. It says:
Luke 4:1-13
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'" The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. (from New International Version)
There were a few things about each temptation that Jesus went through that stood out:
First of all, would he trust His Father to provide for Him or would He take matters into His own hands and misuse His abilities to serve His own purposes. None of us will be tempted to turn stones into bread because we do not have that ability, but we will be tempted where we are gifted. For example, if I have people skills I will be tempted to manipulate people to do what I want them to do with my ability. In other words I will be misusing my gift. Christ's maturity was being tested. Maturity is the ability to endure pain and delay pleasure. Jesus was tempted by both.
Secondly, Jesus was tempted to give His loyalty to Satan. We must always keep in mind that Jesus was fully human, just like us (Hebrews 2:14-18). So He was experiencing the same struggles we do.
Thirdly, He was tempted to take a short-cut to what God had called Him to. Satan was tempting Him to show off His power so He could gain everyone;s approval. Think of what Jesus was about to endure. He was going to be rejected, betrayed, and greatly misunderstood. Satan was tempting Him to take a short cut that would jeopardize His integrity.
I want to focus for a moment on the second temptation. Satan's temptation to worship Him. Why would that be a temptation for anyone, let alone Jesus? The answer is in the context. He told Jesus that He would give Him power, pleasure, and possessions if He would worship Him. True Satan worship is not death metal music, Ozzy Osborne biting off the head of a bat, or blood sacrifices, or any other pagan rituals. It is the worship of self. It is living for pleasure, power, and possessions as the chief end of your life. I once heard a leader in the church of Satan say that "real Satan worship begins by being your own boss and calling the shots for your life."
We are all tempted to worship Satan in the same sense that Jesus was. Will I live for self? Or will I live for the glory of God and the betterment of others. Jesus responded with "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only." Let that be our response as well when we are tempted to give our loyalty and worship to power, pleasure, possessions, and self.
