Prejudice

Luke 4:22-30[i]

Jesus says, “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”  (Luke 4:21) 

He is talking about Isaiah 61:1-2 where it says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.” 

Luke 4:22 tells us, “Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips.” 

The setting for these events was Nazareth, Jesus’s boyhood home.

Jesus was the subject of quite a bit of conversation.  Luke 4:14-15 tells us:

¹⁴Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power.  Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region.  ¹⁵He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

The reports about him included His ministry in Capernaum and around the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  Mark 1:45 tells us that he was so popular that he could not publically enter a town anywhere without instantly drawing a huge crowd.  Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons and taught the Word of God with authority.

Now, He was in His hometown. 

The people of Nazareth swelled with pride as they spoke well of Him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from His lips.

They marveled at Him. 

They said, “How can this be?  Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

Jesus has just told them that He has been sent to proclaim the time of the LORD’s favor.  However, the day is about to go sour.  It will end badly.

Let’s jump to the end of the day.

Luke 4:28-30:

²⁸When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious.  ²⁹Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built.  They intended to push him over the cliff, ³⁰but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.

What could have turned the crowd so quickly?  What did He say?

Luke tells us what Jesus said, and it does not seem that bad.  However, when we analyze these few words of Jesus that turned the crowd, we will see something about the human condition.  He confronts something so basic, so deep down, that we, as humans, will kill to protect it.  It is tied to our pride, and it is evil.  We all have it.  We are born with it.  It is part of what we call the sin nature.  It is so pervasive that we are all its victims and its perpetrators.

I am talking about judging.  The word prejudice fits, but it carries with it all the cultural baggage of our day.  The word hatred would work also but it does not seem to be the starting point.  At its core, this judging is tied to our pride.

It runs contrary to God’s command to love our neighbors as ourselves.

It keeps many people from coming to the Savior.

It is what kept the people of His hometown from coming to the Savior.

Jesus’s words confront the prejudice of the people of Nazareth.  This prejudice concerns the person, the performance and the populace.  We are going to consider each of these in turn.

First, Jesus confronts their prejudice in regard to His person.

It all starts with them knowing Jesus.  “How can this be?” they asked.  “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”  (Luke 4:22)

They had seen Jesus on the street while He was growing up.  They had seen Him with His family, in the synagogue, in the market and in Joseph’s carpentry shop.  Therefore, they thought they knew Him.

Most of us hear of Jesus while growing up.  We may have sung Sunday school songs about Him.  We may have even watched the Jesus movie.  But, do we know Him?

When we judge another person, we do it with very little information. How much do we really know about another person?  James 4:12 says, “God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge.  He alone has the power to save or to destroy.  So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?” 

We have to make up our minds about Jesus.  Each one of us is confronted with the truth of who He is.  We must choose to either accept or reject this truth.  The thing most likely to keep us from seeing the truth here is our pride.  We think we know more than we do, and so we do not investigate who Jesus is for ourselves.

The same is true when it comes to judging our neighbor.  We think we know the person, but can we really know the other person?  God’s law is that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. 

We need to give up our preconceived notions concerning the person, and then move on to look at our expectations surrounding performance.

In Nazareth, Jesus could not overcome their expectations for His performance.

He said:

“You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’”  (Luke 4:23)

The people of Nazareth had certain expectations.  They expected Jesus to perform. 

We expect Jesus to perform. 

I have been guilty of wanting the miracles more than the miracle worker, wanting God’s gifts more than I want God.

What we want from Him is another thing that keeps us from the Savior.  We come to Him with preconceived ideas or expectations of what we want.  We do not come to surrender, but to get.  We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by coming to Jesus, but He does not perform according to our expectations.

This is true of other people as well. 

This can be illustrated by cultural differences.  One culture has the expectation that one should bow when greeting another person.  Another culture has the expectation that one should shake hands.  The person who bows will be offended by the one who sticks out his hand, and the person who shakes hands will be offended by the one who bows.  Of course, we live in a world that understands these cultural differences so they are not much of a problem.  However, these performance expectations are a huge problem in marriages, business relationships and race relations. We want or expect certain things from others and they do not give us what we want.  Therefore, we judge them.  They are rude.  They are inconsiderate.

In Philippians 2:3-4 Paul says:

³Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others.  Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.  ⁴Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

We should seek to love the person and have humility in regard to performance.  There is one more concern that Jesus confronts.  It is the populace. 

We, as humans, tend to judge in large groups.  We will judge the populace of an area.  A person who lives in Kansas grows wheat.  A person who grew up in Idaho grows potatoes.  A person who grew up in the Middle East is a Muslim.  A person who grew up in Russia is a communist. 

In Nazareth, Jesus confronted this issue with two illustrations.

He says:

²⁵“Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land.  ²⁶Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them.  He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon.  ²⁷And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”  (Luke 4:25-27)

In this context, Jesus is talking about the fact that He would not be accepted in His hometown.  The people of His hometown had their opinions of His person and His performance and therefore were not willing to accept His role as Savior.  Jesus points this out to them, and He would have remained their friend if He had not put His finger on the root of the problem.

The two incidents Jesus refers to involve Gentiles receiving blessings of God in preference to Jews.  He was speaking to Jews.  These people would not enter the house of a Gentile.  They considered Gentiles unclean, impure, sinful dogs.  This was so deep-rooted that at Jesus’s words they were furious, jumped up and mobbed Him.

He touched their pride.  They thought they were better than others were.  Jesus would not let them get away with this.  Because of this, they tried to kill Him.

Pride still keeps many from Jesus.  To come to Jesus, we must admit we are sinners.  This stops many. 

God loves Muslims and wants to save them.

To those who hate Muslims, this could be upsetting.

God loves homosexuals and wants to save them.

To those who hate homosexuals, this could be upsetting.

God loves Baptists, and wants to save them.

To those who hate Baptists, this could be upsetting.

As humans, we tend to think that we are better than others.  The Pharisee believes he is better than the publican.  The Democrat believes he is better than the Republican, and the Republican believes He is better than the Democrat.  The straight person believes she is better than the homosexual, and the homosexual believes she is better than the straight person.

Of course, we all tell ourselves we are above this.  We know better.  However, pride is insidious.  It cannot be rooted out except by the Spirit of God.

Romans 8:7 sums it up when it says, “For the sinful nature is always hostile to God.  It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.”

Seeing the violent reaction of the people of Nazareth can serve as a wake-up call to all of us.  We need to ask God to free us from our pride.  We should not recoil from anyone.  We should reach out in love to everyone. 

Our mission is to proclaim the time of the LORD’s favor.  This Good News is for everyone without exception.  There is no room for prejudice.

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[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

The Time of the Lord's Favor

Luke 4:14-21

The preliminaries were over.

Jesus had been baptized and tested.  His reputation as a teacher was growing.

He had some disciples following him.   He performed his first miraculous sign at a wedding in Cana of Galilee.

John the Baptist recognized him, announcing to everyone that this was the Lamb of God.

However, He had not publicly declared himself.  By this time, He had traveled some in the area of Galilee, speaking in the synagogues.  Everybody gave good reports of Him.  Luke 4:15 says, “He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.”[i] 

When it was time to announce His ministry, His message and His mission, He starts in his hometown, Nazareth.

He recognized, “No prophet is accepted in his own hometown.”  (Luke 4:24)  Nevertheless, He started in His own hometown. 

We can learn a lesson from where Jesus chose to start.  The lesson is that we should start right where we are.  If you believe God has called you to a ministry, start where you are.  God will open doors for you.  We all must face our origins.  You may have come from the wrong side of the tracks.  You may feel God cannot use you because of where you come from.  Or, perhaps you believe where you come from makes you special.  Any issue of this nature will eventually have to be faced. 

Even though He knew it would not be accepted, Jesus chose to announce His ministry, message and mission in His boyhood home.

Nazareth was not the center of the nation.  It was a backwater town.  When Philip told Nathanael that they had found the very person that Moses and the prophets had written about, Nathanael said, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?”  (John 1:46)  Jesus did not look to go to Jerusalem, Rome or any of the important cities of His day.  Just as His birth took place in a stable, He announced His ministry in an out-of-the-way place.

His announcement covered three things.  These three things were: 1) His ministry, 2) His message, and 3) His mission.

Following His example, we can learn much about our own calling as His followers.  His ministry, message and mission have not changed. 

We do not need to seek out the big places, the Romes or Jerusalems of our day.  Rather, we need to be sure we are on task with the ministry, message and mission that He announced, carried out and then entrusted to us.

First, let’s consider what He said was His ministry.

I am using the word ministry in its sense meaning service.  The word minister originates with the meaning to attend to the needs of someone.[ii]

In a short time, Jesus built a reputation as an exceptional teacher.  Luke 4:15 tells us that He was praised by everyone.  Therefore, when the scroll was handed to Him in His hometown synagogue, there were great expectations.  Jesus chose to read from chapter 61 of Isaiah.  Of course, it was a scroll.  It was not divided into chapters.  It was not in English.  It was not even punctuated or divided out in the ways we are familiar with today.  However, Jesus went unerringly to the precise location He wanted, right where it says, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me.”  In our current translations, the location He is reading from is Isaiah chapter 61 verses one and two.  However, He does not even read all of verse 2.  He stops in the middle of the sentence.

For His audience, this is part of His statement.  They know this passage.  Stopping in the middle would be similar to us saying, “For God so loved the world…” You and I know to fill in the rest, “that he gave His only begotten Son…” 

These people are waiting.  Verse 20 tells us, “All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently.”  They are wondering, “What can we expect from this man?”  So, Jesus tells them, “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”  (Luke 4:21)

The focus of “What can we expect?” is the focus of ministry.  It is the question of service.  Government offices are called ministries.  There are ministries of education, finance and the interior.  The expectation for the ministry of education would be that it would serve in the area of education.

The passage Jesus chose starts with “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” 

Although this does not seem to define an area of service, it is the definition of His ministry.  It is the definition of our ministry.

Consider the first part Luke 4 with me.  Verse one tells us, “Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.”  Then verse fourteen tells us, “Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power.”  It is hard to miss the stress on the fact that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Here is the point: His ministry, our ministry, is not need driven, is not purpose driven, is not goal driven.  It is Spirit driven. 

I love Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Church.  Our ministry does need to have purpose.  I support our local food bank, and I am not speaking against need-based ministry.  However, as important as need and purpose are, these do not define who we are or what our ministry is.

We are the Body of Christ.  As His Body, the Spirit of God controls us.  Jesus was not squeezed into the mold of His day and culture, because He ministered/served according to the Spirit’s direction, and not according to external indicators, demands or needs. 

This is an important distinction for us to make, because although we are concerned with needs, social concerns and the problems of the world around us, these things are not our primary focus.  Too often, these things become the tail that wags the dog.

This is the first thing we see in Jesus’ announcement, His ministry.  The second is His message, our message.

 He refers to it when He says, “Good News,” and uses the word, “proclaim.” However, there is something that should be obvious to us all.  He is quoting Scripture.  He is not making these words up as He goes.  As God, these are His own Words, but as the man Jesus, standing in the synagogue in Nazareth, these are the Words of God taken from the book of Isaiah.

His message, our message, is the Word of God.

Jesus stressed this.  He said, “The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.”  (John 14:10)

I read and hear a lot of material that tries to explain why the Bible is not God’s Word.  This is foundational.  If we cannot trust the Bible, we have no reason for even gathering.  If this book is not God’s message to us and for us, we are without a message.  The Bible can stand up to examination.  It is supported by historical evidence.  An honest, inquiring mind will find honest answers.  However, the Church that denies the authority and inspiration of the Scriptures cannot and will not stand.  It has lost its foundation.

Jesus said:

¹⁸I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.  ¹⁹So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.  But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.  (Matthew 5:18-19)

Our ministry is defined by the Holy Spirit, our message is shaped by the Word of God, but what is our mission?

We find our mission in the action words used in the passage that Jesus quoted.

Before we look at those action words, let’s review the commission that Jesus gave us just before He ascended into heaven.

Matthew 28:19-20 says:

¹⁹Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  ²⁰Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

This commission, given when He departed, is consistent with what He announced at the beginning of His ministry.

In Luke 4:18, Jesus says He is anointed to bring Good News, and sent to proclaim.

His mission is proclamation.  It is delivery of the message.

His Good New was for the poor.  His proclamation was that captives will be released, the blind will see, and the oppressed will be set free.  These are all aspects of salvation that, as the Savior, Jesus accomplished.  The completion of the deliverance is included in the latter half of the passage, the half that Jesus did not read.  The completion of all that He came for is waiting His return.  However, our deliverance from the spiritual poverty, bondage and blindness we were in is realized already.  Jesus announced the favorable time of the Lord, the Jubilee.  Our debt has been forgiven.  We have been set free.

The point is our mission is the proclamation of the Good News.  This is the favorable time of the Lord.  Today is the day of salvation.

 We are not the providers of salvation.  We may suffer for the cause of Christ, and thus, as Paul says, “I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church.”   (Colossians 1:24)  Even this participation in the sufferings of Christ was understood by Paul as being subject to the mission.  He states the mission in verse 25, “God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you.”

The life-changing power of the Church lies in the Holy Spirit empowered, proclamation of the Word of God.  This is our Ministry, Our Message and our Mission.

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[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#safe=active&q=define+minister

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Miraculous Signs

John 2:1-11

Jesus was God in human flesh.  This joining of God with flesh is a mystery.  Many do not believe it.  Many have tried to explain it.

There are those who recognize that Jesus was a great teacher.  Many do not know what to think.  Jesus lived among us in a body like ours two thousand years ago, and He is still talked about, written about, hated and loved around the world. 

Two thousand years ago, when He was among us, the people that he lived among faced a unique challenge.  They saw Jesus physically.  They saw His eyes and, if they were attentive, they could have told us what color His eyes were.  They saw His hair and they could have told us how He wore His hair.  The challenge they faced was to see past the physical and see God. 

His glory was hidden. 

We have an account of Jesus showing a small part of His glory on what is known as the Mount of Transfiguration.  Matthew 17:2 says, “As the men watched, Jesus' appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.”[i]  However, this transfiguration was seen by only three men:  James, Peter and John.  These men were Jesus’ closest disciples.  For the rest of those who saw Jesus, He looked normal.  The prophet Isaiah told us in advance that, “There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.”  (Isaiah 53:2)

Since my youngest days, I have heard that Jesus turned water into wine.  Usually, it was in the context of someone making an argument for the drinking of alcoholic beverages.  However, Jesus did not make water into wine to give tacit approval to the abuse of alcohol, no more than He created sex to give approval to its abuse.  Everything God has created is appropriate and good for its intended purpose and in its place.  By focusing on the wine, we miss the whole point.

The Apostle John, one of the three who was on the Mount of Transfiguration, was the one who told us about Jesus turning water into wine.  He tells us the reason Jesus did this.  He says, “This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory.  And his disciples believed in him.”  (John 2:11, NLT)

If we look carefully at what John wrote, we see three reasons Jesus did this. 

First, it was a miraculous sign.

The definition of a sign given by Google is:

-an object, quality, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else.[ii]

The presence of something else indicated by the sign that Jesus gave was His Divine Nature.

The second reason Jesus turned the water into wine, according to John, was it revealed His glory.

Again, I will refer to the definition of reveal given by Google.  To reveal means:

make (previously unknown or secret information) known to others[iii]

Jesus lived among us with His glory hidden.  It was secret information, and this miraculous sign made it known to others.

This leads us to the third reason John gives us for this miracle.  John says, “And his disciples believed in him.”

Jesus confirmed or strengthened the faith of His followers.  Jesus strengthened those who already believed.  This miracle was hidden from all but a few at the wedding.

The Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus challenged Jesus to prove that He was the Messiah by giving them a sign, and Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.”  (Matthew 12:39, NLT)  Notice, Jesus says there will be a sign given, but He calls into question their motives.

In the Apostle John’s account, the Gospel of John, He records seven signs.  Therefore, Jesus was not saying there would be only one sign.  However, He was saying that to the evil and adulterous generation that demanded a miraculous sign only one sign would be given.  The resurrection of Jesus is enough for the unbelieving that demand proof.  If a person will not believe based on the resurrection, they will not believe.

I have often heard the question, “Do miracles still occur?”

For believers like me, even the asking of the question is incredible.  Of course, they still occur.  The only reason someone would not see them is that they do not believe.

God makes wine every day.  Usually, He uses natural processes.  The sun shines on the earth.  The grape vine combines water, nutrients from the soil, sunlight and carbon dioxide to make grapes.  When the grapes are ripe, they are harvested.  The juice is squeezed out and then allowed to ferment.  The whole process takes months.  John tells us of an occasion when God bypassed the months.  The change took place somewhere between the servants filling the water jars and when they drew the wine out. 

Most miracles are like this.  God performs in a short time what He normally does over time.  God has built the body so that it heals.  Therefore, when a person with physical or medical problems is healed, the unbelieving find an explanation.  There are fakers and liars, but that does not mean that all accounts of the miraculous are fake.  People are saved from death, healed of diseases and have their needs provided for all the time.  These miracles sometimes convince the seeker, but most often, they strengthen the faith of the believer.

We can apply some truths about miracles from the record in John chapter 2.

First, our crises are not God’s crises.

When told about the problem with the wine, Jesus responded, “Dear woman, that’s not our problem.”  (John 2:4, NLT)

God knows everything.  He is looking out for our good.  We all must die sometime.  Whenever that time approaches, it is a crisis for us, but not for God.  God does not operate according to our crises, but according to His plan.  He does not give us everything we ask for because not everything we ask for is for our best.

The second truth about miracles is, God works on His own schedule.

This is closely related to the first truth.  When told about the problem with the wine, the second half of Jesus’ reply was, “My time has not yet come.”

We think we know what God needs to do.

Mary knew who Jesus was.  She wanted the world to know.  (We want the world to know.)  Jesus points this out by saying, “My time has not yet come.”  Mary was pushing Jesus to fulfill His mission, and Jesus was saying, “Not yet.”

We know that God wants us to be healthy.  We know that God wants us to be happy.  He tells us He will wipe away every tear, and heal all our diseases.  However, we also know that in this world we will have trouble.  If God’s promise to heal all our diseases meant that we could demand a miracle and receive it every time, then none of us would ever die.  It is not His time.  He is working to bring all things into subjection to Christ, and at the same time He is patiently waiting for us to repent because He is not willing that any should perish.  (2 Peter 3:9)  There is a day coming when none of us will ever get sick again or have to face death again.  But, it is not yet.

The third truth is, God responds to the trusting heart.

Jesus said, “Dear woman, that’s not our problem.  My time has not yet come.”  And, Mary did not argue.  Mary turned to the servants and said, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Refused and rejected, she was not dissuaded or discouraged.  Her faith makes me laugh with joy.  Such complete trust is what I wish for.  She trusted Jesus and did not insist on her own way.  She left the matter entirely in His hands.  Jesus taught us to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  In the Scripture, God tells us to pray.  He wants us to tell Him our desires and needs, and then to trust Him.  Our worries, cares and sorrows are important to Him.  He tells us they are.  He tells us that he is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities.”  (Hebrews 4:15, KJV)  In the midst of our weakness, He is moved by the heart that trusts Him.

This does not mean one will get healing every time.  It means one is willing to trust God for the best.

The fourth truth is God is willing to make Himself known.

John says is 2:11, “This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory.  And his disciples believed in him.” 

This is the first time.  The gospel accounts are full of miraculous signs.  Jesus walked on water, healed the blind, fed 5,000 with three loaves and two fishes, calmed storms, raised the dead and cast out demons.

When He turned the water into wine, only a few knew.  When He calmed the storm, only those in the boat knew.  There is a principle in this.  Jesus taught, “For everyone who asks, receives.  Everyone who seeks, finds.  And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”  (Matthew 7:8)  Not everyone receives, because not everyone asks.

There are two things that we should walk away with.  These two things will change your life.

• Ask
• Trust

Will you?

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[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=sign%20definition

[iii] https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#safe=active&q=revealed+definition

Temptation

Luke 4:1-13

Jesus was and is God. John 1:14 tells us, “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”[i] We know the Word that became human was God because John tells us in verse 1 that the “Word” was God.

John 1:14 proclaims that the Word became human. A more literal translation of the word John uses in place of human is the word “flesh.” God took on a physical body.

Hebrews 2:14-15 tells us why He did this. It says:

¹⁴Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. ¹⁵Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. ESV[ii]

There is another reason listed in Hebrews 4:15.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ESV

He was tempted as we are in every respect. This helps us in two ways. First, we know He understands. Second, we know temptation can be defeated.

Luke 4:1-13 gives an account of Jesus being tempted. While Luke does not tell all of the tests that Jesus faced, from what he does tell us we know that Jesus faced testing in the fullest. There could not have been more thorough or complete testing devised.

Luke 4:2 tells us that Jesus was tempted for a full 40 days. And, verse 13 tells us the devil went away until the next opportunity came. This is evidence that Luke is not trying to tell us every temptation Jesus faced. However, by listing three temptations, Luke gives us an example of the three types of temptations we face as human beings. Temptations fall into three categories. We can learn from Jesus, and in the process, we can better understand our own temptations. In addition, we can learn how to better deal with these temptations.

However, this raises the question of whether or not Jesus was tempted in the same way we are. After all, He is God. Since Jesus is God, was this a meaningful test? Could He have sinned?

In answer to this line of questioning, there is some help to be found in the passage we are looking at. 

First, Jesus is said to be full of the Holy Spirit, and second, the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness. Since Jesus is God, why does He need the Holy Spirit? Why does He need to pray and fast? Why did He make a habit of praying throughout His ministry?

The simplest answer is because He was human.  The Word became human. Philippians 2:7 says, “. . . but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” ESV

The process by which the Son of God took on human flesh is called the incarnation. The incarnation will forever remain a mystery. However, God has revealed to us that part of the process involved the Son emptying Himself. In this way, he was able to become fully human. It is in this manner that He became dependent on the Holy Spirit the same as you and I are dependent on the Holy Spirit. It is in this way that it became necessary for Him to rely on prayer for intimacy with the Father. He was and is fully God, but during the time He dwelt among us, He was subject to temptation, tiredness, hunger and appetites just like the rest of humanity.

With this understanding, let’s consider how Jesus defeated temptation.

To help us remember, I have listed three strategies all starting with “d”:  depend, devote and deny.

Three categories of temptation form the basis of these three strategies. 

1 John 2:16 lists all that is in the world. It says, “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” (ESV) This list categorizes temptation into three types: the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life.

Luke lists three temptations. Each temptation fits into one of these categories.

The first temptation was the desires of the flesh. The desires of the flesh are the appetites of the body.

Dr. William Struthers in his book, Wired for Intimacy, says:

The hypothalamus is the brain’s primary drive center. The three primary drives (eating, drinking and sex) are directed by the functioning of specialized nuclei (clusters of neurons) in the hypothalamus.[iii]

Notice that the primary drives of the body are eating, drinking and sex. If you do not eat, you will die. If you do not drink, you will die. If you do not have sex, you will not die. However, the physical sensation originates in the same place.  Therefore, if you do not eat, you will feel like you are going to die. If you do not drink, you will feel like you are going to die. And, yes, if you do not have sex, you will feel like you are going to die.

In Jesus’s case, if he did not eat, he would die. He had not eaten for 40 days. This is the human body’s limit. I know a couple of people who have fasted this long. The Bible tells us that Moses fasted for 40 days. There is a point beyond which fasting becomes dangerous and can be fatal. I do not recommend fasting beyond 1 or 2 days without medical supervision. In other words, fasting beyond 1 or 2 days without talking to your doctor can be dangerous.

Jesus’s temptation was at its fullest or strongest because of extreme hunger. This physical drive had been denied for 40 days and was now at its strongest.

The temptation was to meet his own needs in a way not sanctioned by God.

We are most often tempted in this category in the area of sex. We know that even looking at a person to satisfy our sexual desires is sin. Jesus said, “I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28, NLT)

Jesus answered this temptation with Scripture when he said, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”

He is quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. “Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

This is where I get the word depend. The way to defeat the desires of the flesh is to depend on God. Depend on God for His provision. We must not excuse ourselves and think that the illicit shot of dopamine we get from looking at someone else’s wife is harmless and okay with God. When we meet our needs apart from the ways God has sanctioned, we sin. When we remain obedient, we depend on God to provide.

The second temptation Luke tells us about is the desires of the eyes.

Luke 4:4-8 gives the account. The devil took Jesus to a high place and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and promised to give them to Jesus. This temptation was visual. The devil let Jesus see what could be His.

The desires of our eyes are our connection to this physical world.  What we see seems more real to us than things we cannot see.

In Matthew 6:19-33, Jesus teaches about possession. In verse 21, He says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Then, in verse 24, He says, “You cannot serve God and money.” Between these two statements, He says something that seems unrelated. He says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” (Matthew 6:22-23, ESV) Our eyes deceive us. To our eyes, the abundance of our possessions is our life. However, Jesus admonishes us, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15, ESV)

The devil connected this to worship. And, Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the LORD your God and serve only him.’” (Luke 4:8, NLT)

This is where I get the word devote. 

Jesus instructed us: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33, NLT) 

The first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God. We are to be more devoted to Him than to the world and all that it offers. The competing interest is the desires of our eyes, and the answer is to be completely devoted to God.

The third temptation Luke tells us about is the pride of life.

Luke tells us that the devil took Jesus to the highest point of the temple and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” (Luke 4:9-11, NLT)

Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord you God.’” (Luke 4:12, NLT)

Jesus understood this temptation to be putting God to the test.

God’s word can be relied on. It is sure and unshakeable. If God says it, there is no question as to its truth and reliability. The problem with what the devil is suggesting is that it is manipulating God for one’s own purposes. In this case, Jesus would have been manipulating God to prove His own point.

Jesus did things that proved He was God’s Son. However, He did these things at the Father’s command. He said, “I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.” (John 5:30, NLT)

The pride of life shows itself in manipulating people and circumstances for our own purposes.  Another word for this is control. The ultimate manipulation is to try to manipulate God. This is when we put God to the test. We try to control God.

“God, if your word is true, you will heal me.” Really? God’s word is true. What is meant by if? This is a manipulative statement; trying to force God to do my will.  Do I know everything…that I should be able to tell God what He would do if His word is true? 

Here is where the truth must come in. I am not God. I am not a god. I am a human. This is where I get the word deny. We must deny that we are God. It helps to tell ourselves, “I am not God.” Even Jesus, who was God, practiced this truth in His humanity. He only did what the Father told Him to do. He did nothing of His own initiative.

So much pain and suffering could be avoided if we would just learn to do what Jesus did, depend, devote and deny.

Depend on God in everything.

Devote ourselves totally to God.

Deny that we ourselves are God.

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[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[iii] Struthers, William M. "Your Brain on Porn." Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2009. Nook pg. 74