Luke 4:1-13 (Our sermon text is the same as our gospel reading, the
Temptation of Jesus)

 We've all heard this history before and I am sure that most of us are
quite familiar with the details.  But here is a question that I should
like to ask.  "Why did this temptation happen in the way that it did," or
perhaps more pointedly, "Why is this temptation recorded in the way that
it is?"
 I think that's a rather important question to ask.  When I have asked
that question before the answer I get is, "Well, it happened like this
because Jesus needed to be tempted by Satan to show that he was indeed
the sinless Son of God."  That seems a logical answer but it is not.  It
is not because it implies that for the past 30 years Satan has ignored
Jesus.
 The fact is that Jesus has been tempted before.  There is no doubt that
from the day of his birth Jesus endured temptation after temptation.  We
are told in Hebrews 4:15 "For we do not have a High Priest who is unable
to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted
in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin."  That passage tells
us that Jesus endured the same types of temptations that you and I have.
He endured temptation as a baby.  He endured temptation as a child, a
teen, a young adult and as an adult.  Jesus has been the target of Satan
ever since he arrived.  So back to my first question: "Why does this
temptation happen the way it does?"
 I believe there are two basic answers to that question.  The first
answer is rather simple.  All one has to do is remember that Jesus was
just beginning his public ministry on earth, a public ministry that would
end with the utter defeat of Satan.  We have in this text the record of
the very public beginning of a war, a war on a level that I don't think
we can comprehend.  It is a war between beings of such immensity and
power that we can't grasp it.  A war between Jesus the Son of God and
Satan, at one time an angel of God who rebelled against God and for whom
the very boundaries and depths of hell were created.
 Because this was the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus Satan
begins with an all out attack against Jesus, an attack that could not
happen without the willingness of Jesus.  Jesus goes out into the
wilderness and there in a face to face confrontation, there in a no holds
barred battle, Satan hits Jesus directly and hard.  After all, it has
been Satan's experience that a direct attack on man would result in
victory for himself.  So it was when he confronted Adam and Eve.  He
confronted them, tried his lies on them and won.  That's why Jesus had to
come in the first place, because of that victory of Satan.  I have no
doubt that Satan figured if it worked once, why not a second time.  Of
course, he was wrong.
 The other reason for this record, for the way in which this temptation
is recorded for us is because I believe God is trying to teach us.  Why
else would the Holy Spirit give us the details on only 3 of the
temptations of Jesus in a period of temptation that lasted 40 days!  Why?
 It is because these 3 temptations are directly applicable to the human
condition.  These three temptations have lessons that show us how Satan
will attack us.  These three temptations are such universal themes that
they can be used against all men of all ages for all of time.
 Let's then take a look at these temptations of Jesus and see what we can
learn to help in our struggle, our battle against this arch foe of God.
Our theme will simply be: LESSONS ABOUT TEMPTATION.
 Please note that the events of our text occur right after the wonderful
and important baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.  This baptism
formally marked the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus and the
beginning of an earthly, worldly struggle against the very force of evil
that had lied the world into the darkness of sin.  This war, this public
war against Satan began with a huge 40 day, face to face battle with
Jesus.  The only thing recorded for us, are three rather interesting
temptations.  I believe these three temptations have universal themes we
should note.
 Take the first recorded event.  We are told that this temptation came at
the end of that 40 day period, a period of time in which Jesus hadn't
eaten anything.  The temptation itself seems rather low key.  The text
records the minute.  "The devil said to him, 'If you are the Son of God,
tell this stone to become bread.'  Jesus answered, 'It is written; Man
does not live on bread alone.'"
 Is this the best that Satan could come up with?  Either there is a lot
more here than meets the eye or Satan is a blithering idiot.  Considering
who and what Satan is, I would not be foolish enough to think him an
idiot.  Therefore I wonder, "What is in this confrontation that should
tempt the Son of God?"
 I believe I know the answer.  This temptation is not aimed at the godly
side of Jesus, but rather is aimed at the human side, aimed at the
weakness that all men have, aimed at the weakness of self or ego.  In
essence the challenge of Satan is saying, "You have a need.  You have the
power to fill that need.  Go ahead, Jesus, indulge yourself.  Pamper
yourself.  Let your personal needs dictate what you will do."  In truth,
it is the human thing to do, to put the "me" first.
 Do you know how many times Satan has won in this temptation against men,
this temptation of urging the person to put himself first?  Name one war
that hasn't started because of the selfishness of man!  Name one
commandment in the 2nd Table of the Law that isn't shattered because of
selfish actions!  Even when you look at the very first sin of mankind, do
you realize that sin was committed because of selfishness!  Adam and Eve
ate of the forbidden fruit because they thought it would make them like
God, that they could be gods...and just look at the mess that has caused.
 The greatest weapon of Satan and our greatest weakness is that of ego
and ego's desire to pamper self, exalt self, put self first even over
God.
 Do you realize how many times God encourages us in Scripture to "deny
yourself, be self-controlled, self disciplined" or to simply avoid
"selfishness?"  With just a quick check I found 34 passages that spoke of
this.  If we desire to win the war as Jesus did, then we need to learn
not to put self first, but rather to put God first.  We don't succeed
very often.  Even when we know that this is how Satan will attack we
don't succeed.  Thank goodness that Jesus did.
 Let's go on and look at the 2nd temptation recorded.  The text says,
"The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all
the kingdoms of the world.  And he said to him, 'I will give you all
their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give
it to anyone I want to.  So if you worship me, it will all be yours.'"
 Again there must be more to this temptation than meets the eye.  Here is
Satan offering Jesus, the Son of God, the very things that Jesus helped
to create.  It doesn't seem like much of a temptation.  Yet here we have
another temptation that is aimed at the human side of Jesus.  Jesus was
in a state of humiliation.  He had set aside the power, majesty, glory
and honor that is his as God.  He was now in a world where he didn't even
have a place to lay his head.  The Son of God and he had nothing.  The
Son of God and soon he would be rejected, scorned, mocked and killed by
those he came to love, yes, even by the very people whose whole religion
was about his coming.  Here is another great weakness of mankind.
 The man Jesus was being offered power and wealth in the form of material
possessions and kingdoms of the world.  The price of this material power
and wealth was the act of simply bowing before Satan, a rather high price
for the Son of God but a price that human kind always seems willing to
pay for the glory it brings.  Satan had learned over centuries of
destroying souls that men like power and wealth, they like possessions
and baubles to claim as their own.  And the higher the price the more man
seems to want it, even when the price is evil.
 How many souls have been destroyed because of lust, greed and
materialism?  And don't we see that these things are simply another form
of self-indulgence?  There are many today who will tell you that one of
the biggest problems the world and our homes have is the greeds of human
indulgence.  We want bigger and better.  We think luxuries to be needs.
And money?  What the world does for money!  Rob, steal, sell illegal
drugs, pirate goods, abort children...the list is endless.  We now have a
whole list of things out there that we call "addictive behaviors:"
gambling, pornography, immorality, again the list is endless.  The pull
of the world for its things is great and Satan knows that.
 Jesus' answer to this temptation is classic.  Jesus answered, "It is
written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"  Jesus said,
"Put God first.  Follow what God asks of us first.  In whatever you do,
do it to the glory of God the Father.  Put God first."  This is the way
of those who know that God has put us first.  God sent Jesus to be our
Savior.  Just because of Jesus God deserves first place.
 Then we look at the third temptation.  "The devil led him up to
Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.  'If you
are the Son of God,' he said, 'throw yourself down from here.  For it is
written: He will command his angels concerning you to guard you
carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not
strike your foot against a stone.'"
 What this temptation reveals, as Satan attacks Jesus' human side again,
is something to take notice of.  In this attack is seen a trick that
Satan has used and still uses to destroy souls.  This temptation is
unique because it is here that Satan takes and makes use of God's Word.
That's right, Satan quotes scripture!  He misquotes.  He twists God's
Word.  He gives God's clear and plain Word a different meaning than
intended but please note that Satan uses God's Word.  He did the very
same thing in the Garden of Eden too!  When he tempted Adam and Eve he
started by saying, "Did God really say..."
 He still uses the same trick today.  He uses God's Word to trick, lead
astray and destroy the souls of men.  The reason he can do this is
because of the horrid ignorance that men have concerning the Word.  We
want to make the Bible bend to our will and needs rather than have our
will and needs bend to the Bible.  So people get sucked into believing
this or that and it just isn't so.  And why are we shocked.  Doesn't the
Word warn us that Satan will masquerade as an angel of light in order to
deceive us!
 Jesus won this attack because his knowledge of God's Word was superior
to Satan's.  Jesus, in fact, is the power and wisdom behind the Word.
And there is the key.  God's Word is Christocentric.  It is all about
Jesus.  Take that away and God's Word becomes a free for all, with
seeming contradictions and things that just don't make sense to our human
mind.  And of course, because we are human we know that if we don't have
the Holy Spirit of God guiding us in God's Word then that word is foolish
and empty.
 However Jesus has sent us His Holy Spirit.  Through the Spirit we find
the Bible filled with wisdom and truth itself.  And then we know what
Jesus did: "The Holy Scriptures...are able to make you wise for salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus.  All scripture is God-breathed and is
useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."
 The Bible is our life-line to Jesus but we need to remember to keep
Jesus in our Bible.  Not as an example of how we must live, but as the
Savior who lived for us and won every victory for us through his ultimate
defeat of Satan, sin and death.  Jesus is what the Word is all about and
we should never, ever forget that.
 Thank goodness that Jesus won this war with Satan.  Thank goodness he
exposes how Satan likes to trick and deceive.  Thank the Lord that Jesus
is our Savior.  Amen.