March 23-March 30

Fighting Temptation
Kathryn Collett
St. Louis, Missouri
In his book, Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis writes, “No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting it, not by giving in. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later.” In Luke 4 we see the ultimate example of how to fight temptation.

But first, in Luke 3, just after Jesus was baptized by his cousin John, God’s spirit descends on Him in the form of a dove and a voice from Heaven proclaims, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." This was a sign that could not be overlooked by anyone witnessing the scene, surely something significant was in the offing. Immediately after telling us about Jesus’ baptism Luke details Jesus’ ancestry, all the way back to Adam and Eve, and ultimately—boldly and unabashedly—to God.

Luke then takes us with Jesus as the Holy Spirit leads him into the wilderness and He’s tempted by Satan. Remember that Jesus has just been told `He’s the Beloved Child of God’ and `He has pleased His Father.’ Now the Holy Spirit is taking him into the wilderness for 40 days of fasting and testing by the Devil? What’s up with this? Although the struggle was between spiritual forces, Luke puts it into human terms. When you see the word devil, think: trial, vice, earthly desire, evil, wickedness, immediate gratification…all those circumstances we confront in our earthly walk were now to be confronted by Jesus. Satan—the devil—evil—is about to engage Jesus in a power struggle.

The devil challenges Jesus when he’s been alone and fasting for forty days, a time of extreme physical vulnerability. The devil is so subtle. “If you are the Son of God…” and then the challenge, “…Command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Satan wasn’t denying Jesus’ divinity, he was taunting him. `If you’re so great, why not just do this one thing?’ After all, Jesus is hungry…He is the Son of God…what would be so bad about providing food for Himself? Those of us who’ve had plenty to eat our whole lives, or haven’t fasted for forty days recently, may not be able to understand the power of this temptation. Substitute the word money for food and perhaps you can appreciate the temptation better. Jesus doesn’t deny the importance of food (or money), He doesn’t engage Satan in a debate about His ability to perform miracles, He simply quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 and points out that we don’t live by bread alone. Most certainly, Jesus recalled the Exodus history when the wandering Israelites, hungry, bickering, moaning and groaning, were given manna—food which literally rained down from Heaven. God provided.

Luke records the second temptation as Satan showing Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and offering Jesus authority over them if He’ll just turn away from God and worship him. The very thing the devil is promising was first promised by God. But Satan was offering a shortcut to glory. As you read through the temptations, don’t assume that Jesus easily bested his diabolical foe. Doing that minimizes the temptations and makes them insignificant in Jesus’ pre-ministry life. Wouldn’t we, don’t we, respond to shortcuts? If something can come easily for us, why make it so hard to attain? Watch the television news any night of the week and you’ll see evidence of people suffering the consequences of taking the quick, easy, and wrong way—compromising their principles—to reap glory, recognition, and political power. If Jesus could get the same results, why suffer through the horror of the crucifixion? Jesus again, quotes scripture, this time the first of the great commandments: “Worship the Lord your God; serve only God.”

In the final temptation recorded by Luke, Satan brings Jesus to a high place overlooking Jerusalem. The devil encourages Jesus to throw Himself from the pinnacle of the temple and allow the angels to save him in a dramatic way. Perhaps it would be a demonstration of supremacy for the crowds to see. The Devil’s quotation of Scripture is extremely powerful for the occasion, picking up on Psalm 91 that offers divine protection for one who dwells “in the Shadow of the Almighty” (here applied to the Temple of God). By quoting Psalm 91, the devil shows that he knows how to seize a relevant scripture and twist it for his purposes, “The angels of God will descend to protect you,” he promises. Growing up I always thought of this temptation as a sort of magic trick the devil said the angels would perform to rescue Jesus. As an adult, I’m sadly aware of how often I still want God to perform a “magical miracle” and rescue me from the consequences of a foolish decision or course of action I’ve taken. Jesus answers Satan by saying the idea of casting himself down from the temple would be tantamount to a test of God, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test." (Deuteronomy 6:16).

Jesus has faced down the most difficult tests imaginable. He has endured. He has new strength. New boldness. And new confidence. He is now ready to face acceptance, as well as rejection from the people. And, so the devil leaves Jesus. But, not for all time, only until a `suitable moment.’ The battle between Jesus and Satan didn’t end until Christ was victorious over the Cross.

Jesus answered each of these three temptations by quoting scripture. We all know the numerous tests of life: a sudden battle with cancer, loss of a child, physical or emotional abuse, a job loss, substance abuse, financial collapse, a crumbling marriage. God’s word and wisdom strengthens us. Phrases, bits of verses, Bible illustrations live within us to help shape our inner values and attitudes. Often—without even realizing it—how we choose to handle a difficult situation is evidence of the Word living with us.

Too often we concentrate only on the power of evil and forget that if we choose, the power of God can be much stronger in our lives than any evil. Check this out from 2 Timothy 4:18: The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

God hasn’t promised us a life without trials. Like Jesus, we’re left to choose how we’ll respond to the tests. We can allow temptation, vices, or evil to gain power over us, or we can draw on the Spirit within to give us strength, lead us out of the wilderness, and ultimately to victory.

[Kathryn Collett lives in St. Louis where she and her husband, John, worship at the McKnight Road Church of Christ. Kathryn and John are active in the congregation’s Celebrate Recovery ministry.]