Recommended Reading: Luke 4:1-13
I believe anyone that knows there is a God – a God that created all that we are, all that we see and experience – surely also knows that we have an enemy in this world.
That enemy seeks to destroy us as believers. “Be careful—watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart.” (1 Peter 5:8 TLB) He comes against us at every possible level; but, he is going to really focus on the areas where he finds a weakness of any kind so that he can exploit it to his advantage.
In Luke 4 we’re told the story about how Jesus was filled with & led by the Holy Spirit to go alone into the wilderness. Luke 4:2a (ERV) says: “There the devil tempted Jesus for 40 days.” We’re not told exactly how the devil was tempting Jesus during that time, but I believe because He was so full of the Holy Spirit, it was no problem for Him to resist the devil regardless of what was thrown His way. That presents for us a standard we need to follow – to do all we can to be filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit at all times in order to have the ability to resist our enemy.
Then Luke 4:2b (ERV) says: “Jesus ate nothing during this time, and when it was finished, he was very hungry.” So, it’s perfectly understandable after that extended time without eating, Jesus “was very hungry.” Our natural desire for food comes not only from our enjoyment for the taste of the food, but also from the natural requirement our bodies have for nourishment. When someone is deprived of that nourishment it’s no surprise they’ll sometimes do something drastic in order to satisfy that desire. So what did Satan do next, believing Jesus was desperate for food? “The Devil, playing on his hunger, gave the first test: ‘Since you’re God’s Son, command this stone to turn into a loaf of bread.’” (Luke 4:3 MSG) How disappointed Satan must’ve been when Jesus very simply replied: “‘The Scriptures say, ‘It is not just bread that keeps people alive.’”* (Luke 4:4 ERV) So He resisted His enemy by quoting scripture to him – something that is useless for Satan to argue against.
Obviously, food (and the lack of it) can have a strong hold on us – giving our enemy a place to attack. But remember, hunger is not the only natural desire we have as humans & we must learn to keep them all under control so that no temptation can overcome us. Another area that the enemy can come against us in a mighty way is our ego – our desire to be self-sufficient & having a semblance of success, power & importance.
Satan’s next attempt to diminish Jesus is to tempt Him & His ego. Luke 4:5-7 (ERV): “Then the devil took Jesus and in a moment of time showed him all the kingdoms of the world. The devil said to him, ‘I will make you king over all these places. You will have power over them, and you will get all the glory. It has all been given to me. I can give it to anyone I want. I will give it all to you, if you will only worship me.’” What Satan doesn’t seem to fully grasp is that while he may have power over the earth, Jesus has power in & from heaven over the world; and, He once again resists him by using the power of scripture: “Jesus answered, ‘The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God. Serve only him.’”** (Luke 4:8 ERV)
I believe another area where we can put ourselves in a position of being attacked by our enemy is when we begin to think all is well – that we’re indestructible – all is good in my world – nothing can touch me now. (I also believe that younger people can be much more susceptible to this thinking than those that are more mature – but maturity certainly won’t make us fully immune to irrational thinking.) Because Jesus has fought off all of Satan’s temptations to this point, maybe he believes Jesus can be tempted to think He’s got it all under control – all is good in my world & then he can trick Him at last.
Luke 4:9-11 (TLB): “Then Satan took him to Jerusalem to a high roof of the Temple and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say that God will send his angels to guard you and to keep you from crashing to the pavement below!’” Do you see that? Satan is now quoting scripture to Jesus! He likely thinks that it’s a way to sound more reasonable – to maybe make Jesus comfortable & feeling indestructible.*** But Jesus was no pushover – in verse 12 (TLB): “Jesus replied, ‘The Scriptures also say, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to a foolish test.’”****
This passage ends with verse 13 (MSG) stating: “That completed the testing. The Devil retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity.” Satan never gives up – he may leave for a while, but he will come back when he sees another opportunity. The battle is never over with evil. We must continually be fighting off enemy attacks!
There are important things that we can learn from this passage: (1) We need to keep ourselves as full of the Holy Spirit as we possibly can at all times in order to stand against our enemy. (2) We need to learn to control ALL of our natural desires – things that our enemy can use to tempt us & draw us into sin – and that will be different things for different people. (3) We need to always remain aware of how easily our ego, our desire for success, our desire for power & control can cause us to fall into temptation. (4) We need to be especially cognizant of how our enemy will use the very words of God to confuse us & lead us astray. He’s no dummy & will use any weakness that he can find in us to attack.
Remember how 1 Peter 5:8a (TLB) warned us: “Be careful—watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart.” I did a little research on the predatory behavior of lions & read this: “With relatively small hearts and lungs, lions are not fast runners.” “Lions stalk their prey…” “…lions rely on stalking their prey and seldom charge until they are within 30m unless the prey is facing away and cannot see the charge.”***** This tells me that if Satan is like a lion as the scripture stated, he & all his demon powers will be out there stalking us, just waiting for a time of weakness – a time when we aren’t paying attention – when we are “facing away”. We must always stay alert; and, believe that the power of the Holy Spirit within us can help keep us on guard so that we can fight off our enemy whenever he attacks.
Satan will also come against us as an accuser. He likes to whisper in our ear – telling us what a failure we are – what a horrible person we are because of any slip up we may have. He’ll tell us God is angry with us because of any indiscretion regardless of how small or large. But remember – he is a liar. “…the devil…does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar and the father of lies and half-truths.” (John 8:44 AMP)
We must never forget that our God is a good, good God. He not only provided a way for us to be successful at fighting off enemy attacks, but in the end He guaranteed that we have the victory! “You were dead in sins, and your sinful desires were not yet cut away. Then he gave you a share in the very life of Christ, for he forgave all your sins, and blotted out the charges proved against you, the list of his commandments which you had not obeyed. He took this list of sins and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross. In this way God took away Satan’s power to accuse you of sin, and God openly displayed to the whole world Christ’s triumph at the cross where your sins were all taken away.” (Colossians 2:13-15 TLB)
We have victory in Jesus! Let’s just keep rooted in Him!
Written by Karran Martin – August 31, 2024
[All bold emphasis is mine]
*The scripture that Jesus referenced was Deuteronomy 8:3
**The scripture Jesus referenced here is Deuteronomy 6:13
***The scripture Satan referenced is Psalm 91:11-12
****Here Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:16
Karran's Korner 