Jesus goes from being baptized and revealing the Trinity to being led into the wilderness. He is acclaimed to be the beloved Son, but then is led out to the middle of nowhere by the Spirit. For forty days, Jesus disappears from public view after being announced, and then he begins his ministry. Once again we see that God does not work the way that we would.
God did something similar with Moses when he gave him the Commandments. He took him up on the mountain for forty days, and separated him from the people of Israel. In that time Moses spoke with God and was equipped for the work to lead his people. In Jesus’ case, though, it says that he was sent out for the purpose of being tempted or tested by the devil.
We should take heed of this experience, because the devil is real. He stands in opposition to God and His will. He also seeks to draw God’s people away from Him. That experience of tempting or testing can be difficult, and Satan intends it to pull us away from our Heavenly Father, just as he was trying to wrestle Jesus away from the Father. However, our Father will use that experience to strengthen us, build us, and show us what, with the Spirit’s help, we can overcome.
Just as Jesus resisted and overcame the temptations presented before him, we too can overcome the devil’s lures. Jesus grounded his responses and resistance to temptation in the Word – even when the devil twisted the Word to try to pull him away. We have been given God’s Word as the sword of the Spirit. When we struggle with temptation the Word of God is more than pious platitudes of moral men who want to show a good way to live. In God’s Word we find God at work and active to help us in our time of need.
James tells us, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Here is how you resist him, by standing firmly on God’s Word and His power of salvation at work in your life.
Having been tested, Jesus began his ministry. His work had actually already begun and included this tempting. In order to sympathize with us, and to “bear our griefs,” as Isaiah says, Jesus faced the things we face. He struggled with the things we struggle with. He overcame temptation on our behalf, just as he would eventually take the result of all the times we crumbled under the pressure to sin, and he nailed them to his cross.
Now Jesus moves into the more public portion of his ministry. He gathers disciples, preaches to and heals crowds. He’s not done being tempted. Luke tells us that the devil departed and looked for an opportune time to return. Being fully human he knew what it was like to walk around being pulled at, and being fully God he likely faced the pressure of temptation as levels far beyond anything we’ve ever experienced! He did that for us. So now when we pray we can talk about how hard it is sometimes to stand and do what is right, and he looks on us with love and says, “I know. That’s why I stood strong where you could not.”
Father, it is strange and marvelous to think that You sent Jesus to be tempted by the devil. When I face temptation, I don’t stand strong the way Jesus did, please forgive me. Help me to grow in your Word and fill me with Your Spirit so that I can recognize temptation for what it is and resist it in Jesus name. Amen.
God did something similar with Moses when he gave him the Commandments. He took him up on the mountain for forty days, and separated him from the people of Israel. In that time Moses spoke with God and was equipped for the work to lead his people. In Jesus’ case, though, it says that he was sent out for the purpose of being tempted or tested by the devil.
We should take heed of this experience, because the devil is real. He stands in opposition to God and His will. He also seeks to draw God’s people away from Him. That experience of tempting or testing can be difficult, and Satan intends it to pull us away from our Heavenly Father, just as he was trying to wrestle Jesus away from the Father. However, our Father will use that experience to strengthen us, build us, and show us what, with the Spirit’s help, we can overcome.
Just as Jesus resisted and overcame the temptations presented before him, we too can overcome the devil’s lures. Jesus grounded his responses and resistance to temptation in the Word – even when the devil twisted the Word to try to pull him away. We have been given God’s Word as the sword of the Spirit. When we struggle with temptation the Word of God is more than pious platitudes of moral men who want to show a good way to live. In God’s Word we find God at work and active to help us in our time of need.
James tells us, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Here is how you resist him, by standing firmly on God’s Word and His power of salvation at work in your life.
Having been tested, Jesus began his ministry. His work had actually already begun and included this tempting. In order to sympathize with us, and to “bear our griefs,” as Isaiah says, Jesus faced the things we face. He struggled with the things we struggle with. He overcame temptation on our behalf, just as he would eventually take the result of all the times we crumbled under the pressure to sin, and he nailed them to his cross.
Now Jesus moves into the more public portion of his ministry. He gathers disciples, preaches to and heals crowds. He’s not done being tempted. Luke tells us that the devil departed and looked for an opportune time to return. Being fully human he knew what it was like to walk around being pulled at, and being fully God he likely faced the pressure of temptation as levels far beyond anything we’ve ever experienced! He did that for us. So now when we pray we can talk about how hard it is sometimes to stand and do what is right, and he looks on us with love and says, “I know. That’s why I stood strong where you could not.”
Father, it is strange and marvelous to think that You sent Jesus to be tempted by the devil. When I face temptation, I don’t stand strong the way Jesus did, please forgive me. Help me to grow in your Word and fill me with Your Spirit so that I can recognize temptation for what it is and resist it in Jesus name. Amen.
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