March 31
Numbers 35-36
Psalm 38:16-22
Proverbs 9:16-18
Luke 4:1-21
Tempted by the Devil
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days He was tempted by the devil.” Luke 4:1-2 NIV
This passage clearly tells us that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert where He was tempted. It doesn’t say that Satan followed Him or that Jesus just happened to be there so Satan tempted Him. It says that the Spirit led Him there. This was a planned encounter between Jesus and Satan. It gives us the perfect example of how to deal with Satan when he tempts us. We have the privilege of watching as Jesus skillfully and without hesitation fends off every attempt by Satan to cause Him to stumble. He counters every argument from Satan with scripture. Instead of getting into a lengthy argument, He simply quotes scripture. Satan responds by moving on to some other tactic. He knows he cannot argue with scripture. This also introduces truth into the situation. Satan is the father of lies and will say anything to get us to go along with him. Quoting scripture reinforces in our minds what God’s Word says and reminds us of His promises.
This passage also shows us that temptation is not evidence of something we are doing wrong. Actually, it may be evidence that we are doing exactly what we are supposed to be doing. Satan will not bother us if we are following his path in the wrong direction. We are exactly where he wants us to be. We get his attention when we start doing what God wants us to do. The fact that we are being tempted is not the issue, it is how we deal with the temptation that can be the problem. This encounter is indicative of the most common tactics Satan uses to tempt us. 1. He makes us question whether God can or will provide for our needs. 2. He tries to get us to follow our own plans and dreams instead of God’s plan. 3. He makes us impatient so that instead of waiting on God’s timing we take matters into our own hands. Satan’s message hasn’t changed much in the last two thousand years and like Jesus, we can stand firm on the truth of God’s Word to defend against his attacks.
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