Today I want to focus on Satan's temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
In his sermon Christ in Combat: Defense by the Spirit, John Piper explains the reason Luke put these chapters in the order that he did....
Matthew records Jesus' genealogy at the very beginning of his gospel and takes it back only to Abraham. Luke, however, records the genealogy here just after the baptism of Jesus (where he is announced as Son of God) and just before the temptations of Jesus (where he is attacked as the Son of God); and Luke takes the genealogy all the way back to Adam (whom he calls a son of God). This arrangement is all very important in communicating Luke's message about Jesus. I think the message goes like this: Adam had a unique relation of sonship to God in that he was directly created. But Jesus has an even greater unique relationship to God as the virgin-born divine Son of the Most High (1:35). Adam had a unique relation to humanity as the head from which all of us came. But Jesus has an even greater unique relation to a new humanity which he creates and redeems. Adam was tempted and failed, bringing all of his people into misery. Jesus is about to be tempted, but will not fail; so he will bring all of his people to victory. By taking the genealogy of Jesus all the way back to Adam and making Adam a son of God, and by inserting this genealogy between the announcement of Jesus' sonship and the testing of Jesus' sonship, Luke shows that Jesus is like a new Adam, entering a new battle to redeem a new people. So when we read the account of Jesus' temptations, we must realize how much is at stake here. If he fails, he will be in the same class as the old Adam.
And, of course, Jesus does not fail. He resists the devil with the power of the Holy Spirit and with obedience to God while wielding the sword of the scriptures. And that is the template for us to resist temptation as well.
A few interesting observations about the temptations used by Satan....
1) some of the things were not wrong in and of themselves. Our desire for food, for instance, is a God-given desire. So is our desire for sex. However, this doesn't mean that we can steal food, or that we can engage in extra-marital sex. Satan likes to use our God-given desires to tempt us to satisfy them in the wrong way or at the wrong time or with the wrong motive.
2) Satan is often disguised as an angel of light. He misuses scripture out of context to try to tempt Jesus to sin. People pull verses out of context all the time to try to justify sin. This is exactly why we need to study the entire Bible carefully, so that we know, not only the verse itself, but the context of the verse and how it is applicable to our daily lives.
3) Satan focused on several different areas - physical needs/desires, possession & power, and pride. He attacks us when we are low (hungry, tired, lonely, worries, uncertain, vulnerable) and when are high (wealthy, proud, successful). He can use both our strengths and our weaknesses against us. There is never a time to let down our guard. We must always be armed for spiritual battle.
4) Satan is real, his power is real and we cannot make light of him. However, we also cannot make too much of him. He is not God, he is not even the opposite of God (the archangel Michael is the opposite of Satan), God has no equal, Satan is going to lose in the end and it's going to be a trouncing. But that is also what makes him desperate. Again, we must always be armed for spiritual battle.
We need to follow the example of our Saviour and resist the devil with the power of the Holy Spirit, with obedience to God while wielding the sword of the scriptures.
Tomorrow's passage: John 3:1-4:45, Luke 3:19-20
1 comment:
Hooray for a computer that works for more than 15 minutes at a time!
Excellent post, Tammy. There's never a bad time to be reminded to be prepared and armed to resist temptation. Thanks!
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