The Temptation of Christ ~ Luke 4:1-13 May 5, 2013 ~ New City Church Calgary ~ Pastor John Ferguson Intro:

I want to say, Thank you! for allowing my wife and me to celebrate our 20th Anniversary, and for the gracious gift that many of your gave that enabled us to spend our it in Hawaii. My wife surprised me by renting a convertible Mustang! This was my temptation: IF ONLY I had this car, then I would be HAPPY. Im not saying that owning a sports car is wrong, but the reason might be wrong. Irony: here I am in Hawaii thinking about how unhappy I am b/c I dont own this car. Heres what I know about you: you will be tempted. On any given day, you and I will be tempted in a seemingly countless variety of ways. So how should we think about this? Is it even a big deal? ***Important: You cannot be all that God intends you to be by giving into temptation. You cannot flourish as a human being if you do not live according to Gods design. In fact, some temptations will destroy your life, your marriage, your health, your self-respect, & your trust. Some are very weighty. Some temptations seem trivial. All of themif indulgedtake us relationally away from God. You know intuitively that this is true. Giving into sin brings relational distance with God. The Good News is that Luke records for us in his Gospel the story of an unusual period of temptation that Jesus endured and endured successfully. And we can not only learn a great deal about handling temptation from him; we also get to see what makes Jesus utterly unique not only among the great moral teachers and philosophers of the world, but what made him utterly unique as a person. And along the way, well learn a thing or two about successfully battling temptation as well. Temptation: Doubt / Deal / Demand 1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan Jesus was just baptized in the Jordon: This is my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.

and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 for forty days, Wilderness is significant for 2 reasons: 1) Israel was tested in the wilderness for 40 years, and repeatedly failed. 2) Adam was expelled into the wilderness from Paradise for rebellion against God

being tempted by the devil. Obj: Do I have to believe in the devil to be a Christian?

Ans 1: Being a disciple of Jesus means that we listen to his teaching; that we see the world the way he taught us to see it; that we believe what he believes about reality. Ans 2: If God exists and is the source of all good and beauty, doesnt it make sense to believe that the can be a non-human entity working against the purposes of God? Is it possible that there is indeed an angelic realm, where like humans, some choose to live contrary to their created design? Significance of being tempted by the devil: Satan successfully tempted Adam & Eve, and even Israel, to turn from the purposes of God in their lives. Can he do the same with Jesus? The whole plan of salvation is at stake. If Jesus fails at any point, he too would be condemned as a sinner. He would be disqualified from being our Savior. If Satan could overthrow Jesus like he did Adam, if he could overthrow Jesus like he did the nation of Israel, then all would be lost. BUT, if Jesus could withstand the temptation, then Paradise would be regained.

And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. Duh! But Luke knows that we tend to read over things quickly, so he reminds us of the condition Jesus was in: starving, weakened, vulnerable.

The First Temptation: Doubt 3 The devil said to him, If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread. Doubt: If you are the Son of God o surely God wouldnt treat you like this o surely God wouldnt want you to starve o surely this cant be Gods will for you o surely you have a right to this bread Desire: Eating is a good thing. o Go ahead and take things into your own hands o Go ahead and use your power instead of waiting upon God o Go ahead and do something about this terrible situation you are in o Go ahead; youve been patient enough. God isnt coming through

4 And Jesus answered him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone. [Dt. 8:3] [ but by every word that comes from the mouth of God Mt. 4:4]. Jesus immediately quoted the Scriptures o With every temptation, we are confronted with two different interpretations of reality. What defined reality for Jesus was God speaking through the Scriptures; not society, not pundits of culture, not what was popular. o Jesus shows us what it means to have true faith. Faith equals Trust. 2

Rather than defend his deity, Jesus highlighted his humanity (Ryken) o Jesus was identifying himself with us: Man does not live by bread alone! 1. Heb. 4:15, one who in every respect has been tempted as we are. 2. Heb. 2:18, because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

The Second Temptation: Deal 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, I wish we had more info on this (e.g., How? Where?), but this is all Luke gives us

6 and said to him, To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. Was Satan telling the truth? Yes and No. o Yes, b/c he became the de facto ruler of this world through the fall of Adam. Jesus called Satan, the ruler of this world (John 12:31) o No, b/c it wasnt his to give. He had executed a coup detat. Satan was a poser, a con artist, a swindler, a phony, and Jesus had come to take it back. Ps. 2:8, Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. Satan was offering Jesus the glory of the Crown without the suffering of the Cross

7 If you, then, will worship me, it will be yours. Just make a deal with me. Just bow your knee to me. Just sell your soul to the devil; it will only take a few seconds and you can have the short cut to your ultimate goal. You say God is good, but look what he will ask you to do! Come under my kind rule, and I will give you what you desire without all the suffering. What strings are attached? Jesus would have been disqualified from being the Savior of the world. Satan would have seduced him into doing the will of the devil instead of the will of His heavenly Father. There are always strings attached = enslavement o Cut that corner at work (you wont be able to look at yourself in the mirror) o Look at that pornography (dehumanizing your sexuality) o Speak those cutting words (relational distance / mistrust) 8 And Jesus answered him, It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. [Dt. 6:13]

Jesus did not deal. He didnt even entertain the deal. He didnt weight the options. He refused to compromise with the Devil by again quoting the words of His Father.

The Third Temptation: Demand 9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, Midrash records some traditional Jewish beliefs, Our teachers have taught when the King, the Messiah reveals himself, he will come and stand on the roof of the Temple (Pesiqta rabbati 36, qtd. in Ryken 160). Est. height = 500ft from the top of the Temple to the Kidron Valley below

10 for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you. 11 and, On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Interesting strategy here: Satan quotes Psalm 91:11-12. You can make the Bible say anything you want it to say. Just take it out of context. o What better way to prove that God is for your, that your mission is legit? If you do this, God will have to come through for you. o DEMAND that God jump through your hoops; DEMAND that He live according to your will, not the other way around. That would have been to reverse the role of man and God, and of Son and Father (Gooding, qtd. in Ryken 161).

12 And Jesus answered him, It is said, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Quotes Dt. 6:16. Im not going to demand that God jump through my hoops. Im going to trust him.

13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. Important Question: Why does Luke include this story in his historical biography of Jesus? This is an important key that Luke wants us to grasp as we ask the question, Who is this man, Jesus? He is the Son of God; He is utterly unique; and He succeeded where Adam & Israel failed, and where you and I fail. He was tempted in every way just as we are, yet was without sin. Because Jesus resisted temptation, He could become more than just our example. He could become our Savior. Because of who He is, we can be confident in following him. 4

Non-Xian: Jesus isnt offering to be your guru; he isnt offering a few good tips to overcoming temptation. Hes offering to be your Savior. Hes offering to give you new life. Hes offering you the opportunity to become truly humaneverything you were meant to be. Before God asks you to battle any temptation, He invites you to grasp the significance of Jesus battle sin for you. Application This Week: 1. Assess your temptation. Why am I tempted in this way? In what ways am I being offered life? Happiness? Satisfaction? What strings are attached? How does this take me away from God?

2. Determine to battle well. If you are a disciple of Christ, this is not optional. Romans 6:6, We know that our old self was crucified with himso that we would no longer be slaves to sin. For the one who has died has been set free from sin.

3. Indwell the story. Psalm 119:11, I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Gods Word is a story: Creation, Fall, Rescue, Restoration.

Conclusion Imagine: What if everyone in the city of Calgary resisted temptation? What would it look like if our city became more truly human by seeing through the lies of temptation and living according to the kind rule of our heavenly Father? How would your neighborhoods change? How would our places of employment change? What if your neighbors, colleagues, clerks, all knew God as their Father, and sought to live according to His will and not their own? What a radiant and glorious city this would be! Thats what we pray every week together: Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth (in Calgary!) as it is in heaven. Imagine, what if just we at NCC started to live this way? Key Point : Christ battled well for me. Therefore I want to battle well for him. And Jesus is sufficient, even when we dont battle well. Which makes us want to battle well! 5