Luke 4:1-13
4 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,’
11 and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
Every temptation we face is like Jesus’ temptations in that every temptation entices us away from believing and living our baptismal identity. The Triune God adopts us as His beloved children in baptism and is pleased with us because we are covered with Christ’s righteousness. Our temptations, whatever they may be, are temptations to doubt our baptismal identity.
Every temptation we face also fits under the three temptations of Jesus in the wilderness. The temptation to turn stones to bread is a temptation to lose faith in God’s promises. “If you are really God’s son, then why do you lack?” The temptation to throw Himself from temple pinnacle is the temptation to presumption, so that we apply God’s word to ourselves outside of our callings or contrary to the meaning of His word. “If you are really God’s son, you should be able to do whatever you want and He will protect you.” The temptation to worship the devil in exchange for the kingdoms of this world is the temptation to attain the things of the world by adopting the ways of the world, rather than allow God to give those things to us according to His will in His time. “If you are really God’s son, why do the unbelieving heathen have a better life than you?” Whenever the devil, the world, or our own flesh tempts us, the temptation is a variation on these.
Jesus defeats the devil on our behalf, in His flesh, so that He might defeat the devil in us and our flesh each day. When we are tempted to disbelief God’s Word, to presume God will protect us no matter what we do, or to go along with the world to get ahead, we remember our baptismal identity. We remember that we are sons of God, and sons of God do not think, say, or do that which the devil, world, and flesh wants us to think, say, and do. We want to do the will of our heavenly Father. Believing that He has given us His Holy Spirit, we resist the devil until He flees from us.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, keep us mindful of the identity you give us in Holy Baptism, so that in the midst of temptations we may overcome and be victorious by believing the promises you give us in your word. Amen.
