Luk 4:1-12 | KingComments | STEP | The Lord is baptized. The Holy Spirit, by Whom He was conceived and Who is always fully present in Him, has descended on Him as a sign that He can begin His service. Before He begins His service, He is led around by the Spirit, with Whom the Father, God, has sealed Him, in the wilderness ( ). He is the true Son Who is led by the Spirit of sonship. He is not only led to the wilderness, but He is also, when He is in the wilderness, led around in the wilderness. The initiative of the temptations comes from the Spirit Who brings the Lord to the area where it should happen. The Spirit does this to show us what the Man is according to God’s thoughts and to be an example to us. The Lord is not tempted as the eternal Son, but as the Son of God Who is Man. Therefore He can be an example for us. The goal is to undergo the temptations under which Adam failed. Adam was tempted and failed, being in the most ideal circumstances. The Lord endures the temptations in the circumstances in which we find ourselves, not in those in which Adam was. By withstanding the temptations He has bound the strong man, the devil, and can begin His service work of delivering people from the power of the devil ( ). Luke does not give the temptations in historical order (as Matthew does), but in a moral order, i.e. an order according to the content of the temptations. This order corresponds to the order of the elements of the world as given by John in his first letter: “The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life” ( ). The Lord is first tempted in view of His physical needs, then in view of the glory of the world, and finally the devil has a spiritual temptation for Him by proposing to Him to claim His right as Messiah. The first temptation is aimed at the lust of the flesh, the second at the lust of the eyes, the third at the pride of life. The temptations of the devil concern the whole Man, His body, soul and spirit (cf. , where the order is the other way around). All these temptations have the effect on the Lord that His perfection shines all the more. He can say that the devil in Him finds no connecting point for sin ( ). We cannot say that, but we can still stand like Him when temptations come our way. Victory is not achieved by thinking we are above it, but by following the example of the Lord in using the Word of God. The Word of God should always be the normal guideline for the direction of our life in all our circumstances. That means we only act if it’s God will and we act in trust in Him. That is true obedience and dependency. That is how the Lord acts. What can the devil do with a Man Who never goes outside the will of God, and for Whom God’s will is the only motive to act? The Lord Jesus was tempted by the devil for forty days. The three that are recorded for us are his last and most severe temptations. Here the devil does everything in his power to bring the Lord to an action that is independent of a command from His God. How weak has He become when He has eaten nothing for forty days? This is the choicest moment for the devil to come with his last temptations. Moses did not eat and drink forty days either, but he was alone with God all this time, without the devil having access to it ( ; ). The Lord was of course with God all this time, but He was exposed to all the temptations of the devil.

‏ Luke 4:1-12

Tempted by the Devil

The Lord is baptized. The Holy Spirit, by Whom He was conceived and Who is always fully present in Him, has descended on Him as a sign that He can begin His service. Before He begins His service, He is led around by the Spirit, with Whom the Father, God, has sealed Him, in the wilderness (Jn 6:27). He is the true Son Who is led by the Spirit of sonship. He is not only led to the wilderness, but He is also, when He is in the wilderness, led around in the wilderness. The initiative of the temptations comes from the Spirit Who brings the Lord to the area where it should happen.

The Spirit does this to show us what the Man is according to God’s thoughts and to be an example to us. The Lord is not tempted as the eternal Son, but as the Son of God Who is Man. Therefore He can be an example for us. The goal is to undergo the temptations under which Adam failed. Adam was tempted and failed, being in the most ideal circumstances. The Lord endures the temptations in the circumstances in which we find ourselves, not in those in which Adam was. By withstanding the temptations He has bound the strong man, the devil, and can begin His service work of delivering people from the power of the devil (Mk 3:27).

Luke does not give the temptations in historical order (as Matthew does), but in a moral order, i.e. an order according to the content of the temptations. This order corresponds to the order of the elements of the world as given by John in his first letter: “The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life” (1Jn 2:16). The Lord is first tempted in view of His physical needs, then in view of the glory of the world, and finally the devil has a spiritual temptation for Him by proposing to Him to claim His right as Messiah. The first temptation is aimed at the lust of the flesh, the second at the lust of the eyes, the third at the pride of life. The temptations of the devil concern the whole Man, His body, soul and spirit (cf. 1Thes 5:23, where the order is the other way around).

All these temptations have the effect on the Lord that His perfection shines all the more. He can say that the devil in Him finds no connecting point for sin (Jn 14:30). We cannot say that, but we can still stand like Him when temptations come our way. Victory is not achieved by thinking we are above it, but by following the example of the Lord in using the Word of God.

The Word of God should always be the normal guideline for the direction of our life in all our circumstances. That means we only act if it’s God will and we act in trust in Him. That is true obedience and dependency. That is how the Lord acts. What can the devil do with a Man Who never goes outside the will of God, and for Whom God’s will is the only motive to act?

The Lord Jesus was tempted by the devil for forty days. The three that are recorded for us are his last and most severe temptations. Here the devil does everything in his power to bring the Lord to an action that is independent of a command from His God. How weak has He become when He has eaten nothing for forty days? This is the choicest moment for the devil to come with his last temptations. Moses did not eat and drink forty days either, but he was alone with God all this time, without the devil having access to it (Exo 24:18; Deu 9:9 ; 18). The Lord was of course with God all this time, but He was exposed to all the temptations of the devil.

First Temptation

The devil introduces the first of his last three temptations with the words “if You are the Son of God”. He challenges the Lord to prove this, as it were, and to do so by making bread out of the stone. The devil acknowledges the power of the Lord’s word that He only has to say it to the stone, and the stone will change into bread. And did He not have an enormous hunger? Then it’s best to use your power to provide for that, isn’t it? Later He would several times satisfy a large crowd with just a few loaves.

It is not about whether He can or cannot do it, but whether the Father wants it. This first temptation is related to the physical need for food that is also Christ’s need. He is true Man and needs bread for His body. To be hungry is not a sin and also to eat to satisfy the hunger is not a sin.

As said, He has the power to make bread from this stone. Also the use of His power is not sin. But if He were to use that power for His own benefit and eat now, at the devil’s insistence, He would sin. He would then eat, without a command from His Father. If He had eaten, He would have been guided by His physical need instead of His Father. He would have asserted His own will instead of being dependent on God’s will.

How perfectly does He answer the devil with a quotation from God’s Word (Deu 8:3). The Lord does not say to the devil: “I am God, and you are the devil, go away.” This would not have been to the glory of God, nor would it have helped us. He takes the place that we also have. Like Him, we can only resist the temptations of the devil and chase him away by quoting the Word of God.

His answer to this first temptation shows that he takes the place before God that suits man, that is, the place of complete dependence on God. The natural life of man depends on eating bread. The spiritual life of man depends on accepting and obeying the Word of God. He listens every morning to what God has to say (Isa 50:4) and that determines what He does and speaks and where He goes; therein He finds His strength.

Many believers live from stones instead of bread. They also set a bad example for their children. If the Word is not our daily food, we should not expect our children to ask for it.

The Lord Jesus quotes something from the book of Deuteronomy every time. In that book the people have finished their wilderness journey and the promised land lies ahead of them. In that book God tells the people how He took care of them in the wilderness, what He wanted to teach them in the wilderness, and what wonderful blessings await them after the wilderness. God wants to shape their hearts through everything He says in this book so that they will all focus on Him alone.

He wishes to have a nation of sons with whom He can speak about what concerns His heart. And a son is for the good pleasure of God. We see this perfectly in the Son, but God also wants to see it in all His children. This requires that our life will be formed by the Word of God and that we live by it, and that we do not let our life be determined by physical needs, as if that’s all that matters.

Second Temptation

For his second temptation the devil leads him “up”. From this high place he shows Him all the kingdoms of the world. As if He is not omnipresent! But He is here Man and submits Himself to this temptation. We also see here the power of the devil who is able to show in a flash all ruling powers and the glory that goes with them. By the way, He can only exercise this power if Christ gives him the opportunity to do so.

The great temptation is that the devil offers Him all the power over all kingdoms and all the glory that comes with it to take them without having to suffer. How attractive that offer must have been for Someone Who is extremely weakened! The devil does not boast when he says that those kingdoms have been handed over to him. This has been the case since man gave him control over his life at the Fall. When he says he gives them to whomever he wishes, it is deception. In a limited sense it is so (cf. Rev 13:4), but in absolute terms it is a lie. For God is the supreme Ruler (Dan 4:25; Rom 13:1). He appoints kings and deposes them. However, the Lord does not dispute either of them.

The devil wants to give Him those kingdoms, but he asks for something in return. The devil never gives anything away without asking a price. That price is always: honor for himself. The devilish trick of his proposal is that if the Lord Jesus had done this and if He had taken those kingdoms for Himself in this way, He would have been in the power of the devil at the same time, and the devil would really have had all dominion. What the devil gives, he has not lost. He who accepts anything from him, sells his soul to him.

To answer this second temptation, the Lord Jesus again quotes something from the Word of God and again from the book of Deuteronomy. The devil has suggested that He should worship him, but the Word of God states that all worship and service must be for God alone (Deu 6:13 ; Deu 10:20). Through this answer, the Lord shows that the only thing that matters to Him is complete surrender to God. He also shows that in that light worldly power and majesty in themselves mean nothing to Him.

Worship of God is the highest calling of a man. God the Father wishes worshipers, for them He seeks (Jn 4:23-24). The book of Deuteronomy also deals specifically with a place of worship where God wants to meet His people as sons, so that they worship Him. Sons say “Abba, Father” (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:5-6). Knowing and enjoying that relationship makes all the glory of the world fade away.

Third Temptation

For his third attempt to bring down the Lord Jesus, the devil leads him to the temple in Jerusalem. He lets himself be taken to the pinnacle of the temple. The devil proposes Him to throw Himself down. Again he precedes this proposal with the challenging words “if You are the Son of God”. He says: ‘If you really are, prove it.’

To reinforce his temptation, the devil now quotes something from God’s Word himself. He says that if the Lord is indeed the Son of God, He can throw himself down, for He then may rely on the protective support of the angels of God (Psa 91:11). Is not He the object of the worship of the angels? If He would go into this, He would also gain the fame of the people on the temple square. They would certainly accept Him as the Messiah.

This temptation is in reality a temptation to self-exaltation in the things God has given. But with the Lord Jesus there is no seeking of Himself. He knows the Word too. He knows that the same psalm speaks of dwelling in the shelter of the Most High (Psa 91:1). That is the place He occupies, and so there is no thought with Him of tempting God. It is not necessary for Him to test God to see if what He has said is true.

In addition, the devil is always selective in his quotations from the Bible. The devil knows the Bible well. He quotes from it (Psa 91:11). We can be sure, however, that he always distorts verses or only partly quotes them when he quotes something from the Bible. Here he deliberately omits the words “to guard you in all your ways”. The devil does not speak of “your ways”, that are the ways of the Lord, Yahweh, for the Lord Jesus goes His way in obedience to Him.

The nature of the third temptation is to make Him doubt the faithfulness of God. It is a test if God will do what He said in His Word. In the answer He gives, which again comes from Scripture and again from the book of Deuteronomy, His complete trust in God appears (Deu 6:16). Israel has tested God at Rafidim (Exo 17:1 ; 7). They did want to know whether God was with them or not, although the evidence had proved so abundant. The Lord withstands the temptation with the verse from Scripture that warns against tempting the Lord His God. We offend God if we don’t trust Him on His Word, no matter how the circumstances may seem to indicate that God cannot be trusted.