Not Today Satan!
Luke 4:1-13 ·February 12, 2023· Joel Passmore
Part of: Luke
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We're in a sermon series on the book of Luke, the Gospel of Luke. We are kind of just beginning it. Truth be told, we're getting to the very end of Luke's introduction to his whole Gospel. And so far, Jesus hasn't really done anything. It's okay to be honest and admit that. Isn't this book about Jesus? He has not really done anything. Lots of things happened before and around his birth. He was taken to the temple as an infant. He came back as a preteen and stayed behind.
Last week he was baptized and we learned about his family tree, but he hasn't done anything. Well, today he's finally going to do something. So if you've been waiting for that moment, he's going to do something today. Grayson, go ahead and put up that picture of the mountain climber. On June 3rd, 2017, Alex Honnold did the first ever free solo climb of El Capitan in Yosemite. Raise your hand if you've heard about this. A few people? Okay. So it's nearly 3,000 feet of vertical rock face.
It's higher than the tallest building in the world. He did it with no ropes, no safety equipment. I've been there and I was there about three years before he did it. From the valley floor, if you look up at El Capitan, you cannot even see climbers that are on it. You have to get out a zoom lens of a camera and zoom in just to see them, those little dots. It took him nearly four hours. Now, El Capitan is to rock climbing what Everest is to mountaineering.
It is like the center of the rock climbing world. What he did has been called the moon landing of free soloing. It's also been called one of the great athletic feats of any kind ever. And it wasn't like there was a bunch of climbers that were all vying to be the first one to do it. That is just not true. It was so difficult that nearly all professional climbers didn't even entertain the idea of doing it. It was not even in their minds.
Many believed it just couldn't be done. Now, that's the way most human achievements are, right? We think that they can't be done until somebody figures out a way to do them. Well, today, Jesus is going to do something that literally cannot be done by us. Can't be done. It's impossible. By us or by anyone. And he does it for us and he does it in our place. So turn with me to Luke 4. We're going to read about the temptation of Jesus.
This is Luke 4, 1 through 13. This is the word of God for us today. Let's pay attention to it. Let's trust it. Because God is trustworthy. And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread. Jesus answered him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.
And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 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. If you then will worship me, it will all be yours. And Jesus answered him, It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God. In him only shall you serve. 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.
For it is written, He will command his angels concerning you to guard you. And on their hands they will bear you up, Lest you strike your foot against a stone. And Jesus answered him, It is said, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. Pray with me. Jesus, show us more of yourself today. And help us to rest more in you. Do that by your Spirit in our hearts.
Through the preaching of your word, Lord. Work the word deep into our hearts. Lord, thank you for being the one that overcame temptation. Jesus, we pray this in your name.
Okay, the title of my sermon today is Not Today, Satan. The big idea is this. Overcoming evil through trusting the victorious Son. Now, I know that you're like me. You face temptation every day. I've got two goals today. I want to show you how Jesus overcame temptation. How he fought temptation. The lies that he exposed from the evil one. I want you to be able to better expose those lies when you hear them. But more than that, and first and foremost, I want you to trust and rest and see that Jesus did it first.
He did it for you. He overcame temptation because you couldn't. And you have to be resting in the one that overcame temptation if you're going to fight temptation yourself. So those are the goals for today. Let's start here. Temptation in the wilderness. Verses 1 and 2. At his baptism, Jesus heard confirmation of who he is. The Father spoke. The Spirit came, descended on him. He gets out of the Jordan River. He dries off. And it's time for his public ministry to begin.
And the first thing he's called to do is go off by himself. To leave everybody else. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, the text says, was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by the devil. This is the first thing he does in his public ministry. Now there's a couple of important pieces of context here that we need to cover. Some context that's buried in this one verse. First of all, this passage, like the rest of God's Word, tells us, evil is not some impersonal force in the universe.
The devil is real. Very real. A little bit of biblical history here. God created spiritual beings to serve him. But for some, it was not enough to be in a joyful, obedient relationship underneath him. They wanted to be equal to him. And so they rebelled. They turned away from him. They tried to overthrow him. They became corrupt. Now they live as enemies of God, perpetually. The Bible calls them demons. The most powerful of them is Satan, the devil, who is their leader.
And today they are at work in the world, trying to oppose God and harm his people. Peter says this in one of his books. Be sober-minded. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Now our society does not usually treat this stuff very seriously. People often ignore the whole subject. They don't give much thought to it. When they do, they treat it frivolously with costumes and props. It's played up for laughs and for spectacle. I don't know if you heard about the Grammys last week. I'm not going to put up a picture because this is the Lord's house. But one singer had a whole hell and demon themed performance. He dressed up as Satan himself in the performance.
That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. When we talk about it at all, it's usually frivolously. Like it's some kind of play. Like it's a costume that we can put on. Satan wants us to either ignore him or not take him seriously. That's what he wants. So he can keep up his attacks. So we just have to start off today and recognize the Bible says that he is real. That he is your adversary.
for Jesus who does take him seriously and is not afraid. Is not afraid of him. Now the second piece of context in this passage, it connects, the way this passage is set up, it connects with earlier points in redemptive history. You can think of these like callbacks. When you're watching a TV show, a movie, something like that, there are callbacks sometimes to something that happens way earlier in the plot, way earlier in the story. There's two callbacks in this text.
Jesus is not on what we would call a 40 day retreat. He's not having a good time. He's in the Judean desert. Grayson, go ahead and put up the picture here of the desert. This is an actual picture of the Judean desert where Jesus was. It's barren. It's hot. There's little shade. There's no place for relief. When it's called the wilderness in this text, it's a reference, it's a callback to Israel's 40 years in the wilderness. A different wilderness, but still.
It's a reference to what Israel went through. The nation of Israel for 40 years. During that time, listen to this, remember, they constantly complained about God's provision. They turned away to worship other things and they made selfish demands of God. That's what happened when Israel was wandering. Okay? Now here's the other callback. Jesus was tempted by the devil. The only other time in scripture when a person comes face to face with Satan, with the evil one, is the Garden of Eden.
You probably know how that went. Poorly. Adam and Eve believed the tempter rather than their creator and they did the only thing that God had commanded them not to do.
And remember, they did it in ideal conditions. They had fellowship with one another. They had lots and lots of food. They were literally in paradise. Now think about Jesus. the exact opposite situation. There's no one around. He's desperately hungry. And he's in a barren wasteland. Now here's why those callbacks matter. Those two callbacks matter because we are meant to read this text and think, well the nation of Israel failed in the wilderness.
Adam failed in the Garden of Eden. What is going to happen to Jesus? What's going to happen when the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to face temptation? What's going to happen to him? They failed. Will Jesus succeed? Now let's get into what Jesus is tempted by at the very end. He's been out there for 40 days. Satan moves in when he thinks Jesus is at his weakest point. And he tells him, he tries to kind of manipulate reality and get him to believe things.
I phrase the next three points the ways that Satan is basically trying to attack Jesus. The first one is this. God isn't meeting your needs. His first line of attack is to focus on Jesus' circumstances, his hunger. We all sometimes get a little irrational when we're hungry. The devil said to him, if you're the son of God, command this stone to become bread.
Now it isn't simply hunger that Satan is poking at here in Jesus. It's not just hunger. After all, it's not sinful to eat when you're hungry. That's not a sin to be hungry and to eat. Remember, this whole ordeal, this whole circumstance, this situation that Jesus is in, the isolation, the hunger, the temptation, it's all because Jesus was following the Spirit. He was filled by the Spirit and led by the Spirit. Satan is making a very subtle but clear accusation that the Father is neglectful, that the Father is withholding, that the Father is unloving towards his Son.
Here's what he's really saying. Boy, Jesus, you must be really starving. Why are you in such hard circumstances? Oh, right, because you were following God. Well, how's that working out for you?
You know, if he really cared for you, if you asked me if he really cared for you, he wouldn't put you in this situation. Why don't you just take care of things yourself? I mean, that is, if you can.
Sound familiar? Do you ever tell yourself something like that? Or hear thoughts like that? Church, listen to me. Experiencing hardship does not necessarily mean you've taken a wrong turn. Sometimes, the Spirit leads us into difficulty.
He's still faithful and he's still with us. Jesus knows that this is true. In fact, this is how he counters this first temptation. He turns to Scripture and he quotes Deuteronomy. It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone. Here's the full quote from Deuteronomy. Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Jesus is saying, Satan, there are needs that are more important than food. And my fellowship with the Father meets those needs.
If I make myself the finest loaf of sourdough bread right now, but I do it in disobedience to God, I will starve myself. The same thing comes up in John 4. Look at this passage, John 4. The disciples were urging him, saying, Rabbi, eat. But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about. So the disciples said to one another, has anyone brought him something to eat? Jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
This is more important than food. Here's another way to look at it. My first car was used. My parents and I thought we got a good deal on it. After a few weeks, we took it to a mechanic for some minor problems. It was making a little noise. He came back and he said, this car hardly has any oil in it at all. And from the looks of it, it's been this way for a long, long time. In fact, there's so much damage this engine said to him, thanks, but I really can't afford to do anything about it.
I have to put gas in the car. I want to get this old tape deck changed out for a CD player. That'd be pretty foolish, right? If you don't take care of the problems in the car, if you don't put oil in it, the car is worthless. A CD player, even gas in the engine, is pointless without those things. This whole wilderness experience, as hard as it was, it was an act of obeying and abiding with his father.
This supplies Jesus' need. His dependence on God means he is provided for. Now, Satan can't understand any of this. He can't understand how someone can get life from depending on God. His whole life is spent rebelling and fighting against God. The only thing the devil can experience is indulging his desires. And that's what he invites us to do as well. That's all the life you can have so just go get it.
Psalm 107 says this, he satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul he fills with good things. It's better to follow God into hardship than to deliver yourself from it. Because your greater need is to live with him in reliance and in faith. Jesus knew that and that's how he counters this first lie, this first manipulation from the evil one. Here's the what God asks is too hard. This is verses 5 through 8. Satan's second line of attack is to focus on the path that Jesus is supposed to walk, the mission that he's on.
The devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of and and I give it to whom I will. This would be a much easier route to than Jesus was on right now. This is a shortcut around the suffering, around the trial, around the beatings, around the death. This is a get rich quick scheme basically. Satan is playing the role of the sleazy recruiter. Come join my team. There's an old phrase, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. But the easy way is so tempting, isn't it?
It's so tempting. Sometimes I've been working on a home project and it's getting really tedious, the thing that I'm doing. It's taking forever and I usually right then stop and I think there's got to be an easier way. I think I'm batting about 500 on whether or not that easier way actually turns out to be the right way to go. Sometimes I make things worse. Sometimes it ends up taking longer because I've chosen the easy way rather than just persevering on the difficulty that's right in front of me.
This is what Satan is saying I have authority and to give Jesus you've got nothing you've got nothing right now and I've got everything I'm offering it to you and what he is asking is so simple right the passage says if you will then worship me it will all be yours now Jesus sees through all of this he knows what the real terms are he knows that it really means trade in your relationship with the father and have a relationship with me that's what Satan is saying and Jesus knows the only reason the devil has any authority in God God is the only source of good and the good comes on the path that he has for us on it Satan can only offer us misery Jesus says it is written you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve Satan is offering us a get rich quick scheme but it's just a get poor quick scheme you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve this answer has two truths in one the first is this God alone is worthy of worship think about it why would you bother worshiping someone who only has what he's given by someone who's greater than him that doesn't make any sense why stop there go to the one who has given Satan whatever authority that he has worship him he's the greater one second the only real comes from the way that God has planned it Jesus knows there's no short there's no shortcuts sometime later Jesus is going to say this all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me all authority but when did he say he said this after his
resurrection after he had fulfilled his mission after his suffering after his death church we too have a promise look at God God has your good in mind he has your good in mind when we remember that we can counter the lies that we hear that the path that you're on is too difficult it's too much and there's no good at the end of it this amazing gift of the kingdom it comes by patiently enduring with God not by taking shortcuts that go around God now here's the last temptation that Jesus endures living by faith is for suckers 9 through 13 for the third temptation Satan attacks the very posture of faith itself he tries to get clever he says oh you like to quote scripture well I can quote you some scripture check this out Jesus I'm going to put you on the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem again this could be a vision and he says if you will command his angels concerning you and on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone what Satan is saying is this what good are God's promises look to it looks to me Jesus like your hands are empty what good are his promises if he's so strong make him prove it to you right now he knows scripture but he doesn't have a relationship with God he misunderstands and he misuses the Bible to him these passages are like a license to make demands of God to live selfishly to learn the devil knows nothing of walking by faith of leaning into a promise made by someone else someone who's trustworthy he's all about what he can get
right now he wants us to think and to act like him trust is for wimps faith is for fools results that's what you really need Jesus knows that the strongest place to be is with his father because his father is trustworthy that faith is the strong position it is the strong hand because it's faith in the one who is strong that's why Jesus responds it is said you shall not put the Lord God to the test to make demands of him it's the same as saying God I don't believe you I just don't believe you do it for me now Jesus knows that without faith there's no relationship with God even for him though he's the son of God he is trusting his father's work he's trusting his father's leading he's trusting his father's promise as he walks this path of being the Messiah Satan has tried to convince Jesus that it's foolish to trust God's provision to trust God's plan and to trust God's promises but Jesus has overcome he's overcome the temptation where Adam and Israel failed Jesus succeeded and so the devil departed from him until an opportune time his defeat it's only temporary here he'll come back the next time that he appears in the story he's going to incite one of Jesus his own disciples to betray him to death but Jesus is going to show the same obedience the same trust towards the father at his time of greatest need he will not abandon the mission that he has through his work on the cross sin will be paid for people will be ransomed from death from bondage to sin and the accuser will be defeated
that's what he's on that's what he will fulfill so I started by saying the big idea here is overcoming evil through trusting the victorious son well how can we do that Jesus did something like that mountain climber did Alex did he did something that no one else could do no one else was willing to do he he resisted the devil and he remains faithful to the father he did it to save people like us you've got to start with this where is your faith today if your faith is in yourself that's not a good place to be rest and remember in the one who did it for you Jesus didn't just do this to give us an example he did it in our place he has to be our savior first before he can be an example for us rest in him put your faith in him receive his forgiveness and share in his victory over evil and now you are new you can live by faith in him we are called to resist sin like I said at the beginning I know that we're all facing it every day we all face it God wants you to resist it to fight it rely on the same spirit that Jesus had the same spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness if you are in Christ today that same spirit is in you the same word that he has the same spiritual understanding of it is yours through that spirit you have the same resources that Jesus did to fight temptation when you're tempted speak back against that temptation using the same truth that he did God meets my needs worshiping him it is the path that I need to be on for my good and he is trustworthy faith is the right
place to be I will not make demands of God and ask him to prove his love for me right now he has shown me his love in Christ this is a battle worth fighting we he has already overcome he has won the victory we are just coming alongside after him we are the mop up operation fighting temptation by the power of the spirit and the power of the scriptures because he has already won the victory over the great enemy friends let's pray Lord empower us anew with your spirit so that we can fight temptation help us to do it resting and relying on you Jesus we thank you that your mission was to do this for us not just to teach us the right moves to make but to do it for us because we were dead in our sins we couldn't fight back battle had already been but Jesus you came in in our place to fight and to win to give us life please help us to walk in that life today thank you for your mission thank you for your completion of it Lord sin and death do not have hold over us