Hunger in the wilderness: Temptations of Jesus Christ.

Luke 4:1-15

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

• Hunger in the Wilderness.
• Tempted to turn a stone into bread.
• Tempted with worldly authority over the nations of the world.
• Tempted to throw Himself off the highest point of the temple.
• Satan vows to return against Jesus at an opportune time.

Hunger in the Wilderness.

“Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.” Luke 4:1-2

Jesus was returning from the Jordan when the Spirit led Him into the wilderness. What was Jesus doing at the Jordan river? That is where He was baptized, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him…When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:13, 16-17

After the Spirit of God had rested upon Jesus Christ like a dove, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness. In that wilderness, our Lord Jesus Christ ate nothing and was tempted for 40 days by Satan. Those temptations would have included many things because Jesus was tempted in every way that we are, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15 After those 40 days of overcoming Satan in the wilderness, Jesus was hungry, and that is when Satan began to hurl at Him the three attempts to defeat our Lord Jesus Christ, as described in the coming scriptures of this post.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. How can we know that we have the Holy Spirit? If we do not speak against Jesus and say that he is Lord, then we have the Holy Spirit, “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3

The Spirit guides us away from mainstream society to be set apart for Him. We stay separated from the values of the prevailing culture to express the importance of believing in God, to share the call for repentance through Jesus Christ from our unbelief and sins, and to live each day in the presence of the Holy Spirit. “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.” Matthew 7:13

Coming apart from mainstream society will feel like a desert wilderness in many ways. Today’s culture is not welcoming of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians are excluded from social belonging and love, unless it is to tempt us away from our faith in Jesus Christ. Love has gone cold in this world. We have difficulties in having enough food to eat, or we are living by scarcity of resources. Financial insecurity becomes the norm. We are not given dignity, esteem, nor respect unless it is to tempt us to feel good about denying God. We feel ridiculed, shamed, and belittled. We are not able to achieve any level of success unless it is to tempt us away from life in the Holy Spirit. Health care is inadequate from the medical staff even though we might have the best health insurance in the world. Insecurities are hurled at us from every direction as a way for those of mainstream society to express their disapproval of the way of Christ. In that desert, we must prove ourselves overcomers through those “40 days” of constant temptations.

As we prove ourselves to be overcomers of the temptations that seek to draw us away from God, Christ Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, we will feel “hunger” at times. We will hunger for a warm touch, kind words, to feel needed, to have a sense of worth to others, to want to achieve something meaningful in this world, to have a sense of control in life, to feel empowered, to be financially secure, and to feel successful. During those times of “hunger”, Satan will be there to offer us his gifts sent from the power of darkness, as described in the coming verses of this post.

Our Lord Jesus says, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11

Tempted to turn a stone into bread.

“And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Luke 4:3-4

After 40 days of not eating, Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread to provide the need of His hungry physical body. Satan reminded Jesus that since He is the Son of God, He would be able to do that. We know that whatever Satan entices us to do is for the purpose of turning us away from the word of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ said to Satan, “Man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” The physical needs of the body are very important, but with our bodily requirements, we must live by the word of God. Christ Jesus is the word made flesh, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

Esau was very hungry also, and he was tempted to sell his birthright for something to eat. Unlike Jesus, he gave in to his physical hunger and sold his birthright to Jacob for bread and stew. A birthright was like a family inheritance given to the first-born male of the family. “Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?” Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.” Genesis 25:29-34

Today, our birthright is the eternal inheritance that we have through Jesus Christ, by believing in Him, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 Today, people are giving up that birthright in order to have their physiological needs met.

We live in a culture today, that is global, where people in cities around the world have separated physiological needs from the needs of the spirit and soul. They believe that human needs are important over all else as they no longer believe in God the Creator. They do not see repentance through Jesus Christ as being important as long as their bodily needs are fulfilled. They see no relevance to the presence of the Holy Spirit being part of who they are. Humanism describes their belief, which is “…an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems:” Humanism is the fig leaf worn by those who govern and live for the beast that gives them what to say, do, think, and feel.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs describes the bodily needs on five levels but eliminates the spiritual needs. Maslow’s teachings go hand-in-hand with humanism. Behavioral modification works in partnership with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Humanism. Behavioral modification is to reach out to people in the social and physiological “desert” to offer them “bread” in exchange for modifying their behavior to social expectations. Those expectations include turning away from God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit to embrace the community values of the culture of the beast. People are expected to embrace the image of the beast that is given breath/life to speak by speaking and living through people. Behavioral modification involves positive feedback for wanted behaviors and negative feedback for unwanted behaviors. Click for post on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Humanism, and Behavioral Modification.

“…having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.” 1 Peter 1:23-25

The day is coming very, very soon…we feel it in the world already…when people will not be given bread to eat unless they turn away from the word of God, as quoted, “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Revelations 13:16-17 Click for a post on the mark, name, number of the beast.

Tempted with worldly authority over the nations of the world.

“Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You will worship the Lord your God, and Him only you will serve.’” Luke 4:5-8

Satan told Jesus that all of the authority over nations belong to him, and only because we live in a sin-plagued world is that so. Christ Jesus said that Satan was the ruler of this world, and it was that ruler that came to crucify Him. Satan has nothing in Christ Jesus. As our Lord Jesus says, “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do.” John 14:29-31 Satan promised to empower Jesus with worldly authority if Jesus would worship him…this is what Jesus replied, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You will worship the Lord your God, and Him only you will serve.’”

Our Lord Jesus plainly says, “My kingdom is not of this world…My kingdom is not from here.” John 18:36

We live in a world today where the population in every city around the world are living by the authority that Satan has given to them through his beast, “And authority was given [the beast] over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelations 13:7-8 The authority given to the beast is working through those who welcome the image of the beast that is given breath/life to speak by speaking and living through them. The beast has power over physiology to give people what to say, do, think, and feel. We whose name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life say, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You will worship the Lord your God, and Him only you will serve.’”

What specifically is the power and authority that Satan gives to today’s culture? They are empowered with uncanny knowledge, heightened intuition, extraordinary talents and skills, amazing physical abilities, uncanny authority over others, fabricated emotions, etc. That power and authority requires a person to live by the power of darkness through Satan’s beast. The global culture of the beast says, “Yes!”, to Satan when he says, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory… if You will worship before me…”.

The nations of the world have surrendered their power and authority to the beast, “These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” Revelations 17:13-14 Every government of every nation has given their power and authority to the beast by allowing the beast to govern through them by giving them what to do, say, think, and feel. That is why today’s world system is known as the government of the beast. They refuse to worship the Lord God and to only serve Him. They oppose belief in God the Creator, reject the need for repentance through Jesus Christ for their unbelief, and they do not want the Holy Spirit to be part of who they are. “…the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.“

When the United Nations was formed in 1945, immediately after World War 2, it brought the government of the beast with it, as described in the post on Daniel 8:1-14 and also in the post on Revelations 17.

Tempted to throw Himself off the highest point of the temple.

“Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You will not tempt the Lord your God.’” Luke 4:9-12

Envision all of the temptations that our Lord Jesus Christ had overcome before Satan tempted Him to throw Himself off the highest point of the temple. He was in the lonely desert for 40 days, being tempted and overcoming temptation by remaining faithful to every word that proceeded from the mouth of God. As Satan came against Him in His most vulnerable time, Christ Jesus overcame the temptation to meet His physiological needs over living by the word of God. Then Jesus overcame Satan’s enticement of worldly power and authority that He would have been given if He worshipped Satan. After all of that, Satan decides it was useless trying to turn Jesus away from His faithfulness to God, so Satan entices Him to commit an act of suicide. Jesus replied, “It has been said, ‘You will not tempt the Lord your God.’”

As followers of Jesus Christ, we have nothing in common with those of the culture of today. They are compelled to oppose belief in God, to drive the Gospel of Christ into extinction, and they despise the presence of the Holy Spirit. Because we do not conform to their culture, we are driven into a social desert. That is a place where we are tempted to forsake God, to walk away from our born-again experience, and to disregard the presence of the Holy Spirit.

As we overcome the temptations in the “desert” and we hold to the testimony of Jesus Christ, Satan is going to entice us to throw ourselves from the “…pinnacle of the temple…”. We may feel alone, worthless, weary, emotionally exhausted, and everything else that comes with being separate from mainstream society. Satan will tempt us to commit suicide, literal and physical suicide. The suicide that Satan most wants to tempt us to commit is spiritual suicide. To throw ourselves down from the place where our heart is bonded to God through Jesus Christ in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Satan wants us to say that God is not real, and that Jesus has no place in modern society.

Satan will use the scriptures in bits and pieces, filled with half-truths, and out of context to tempt us to behave in ways that are not of God. Compare the scripture that Satan quoted to Jesus to what the scripture text actually says in context to the whole verse. Satan quoted, “He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” The following is the original scripture text from Psalms 91:10-12, “No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your dwelling; For He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they will lift you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”

The parts Satan left out of the scripture quote was “No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your dwelling” and also the part that says, ” to keep you in all your ways”. Satan left out, “For no evil to befall you…”, because Satan is evil and intended evil to befall on Jesus after He would have jumped from the highest place of the temple. Satan wanted Him to commit suicide. Satan left out, “…nor will any plague come near your dwelling…” because Satan intended the suicide of Christ to plague His family with grief. Mary and Joseph knew their Son Jesus was the Son of God and Savior of the world, so for Him to commit suicide would have been catastrophic. Satan wanted to plague the earthly family of Jesus, and all the hosts of Heaven, and God His Father, with enormous grief. Satan left out the part, “to keep you in all your ways” because he did not want to give Jesus a chance to consider that the purpose of God was to keep Him in all His ways, not to destroy Him by engaging in a reckless and needless life-threatening risk. When Satan did mention the angels, he did not mention them in the context that angels minister to bring Salvation, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14

“No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your dwelling; For He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they will lift you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” That is how Satan heavily redacts scripture verses to lead you away from what God wants for you, through Jesus Christ, in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Satan used bits-and-pieces of a Bible verse to present a half-truth to try to make Jesus believe that He could jump from the roof of a building and angels would swoop down to prevent Him from even landing on the ground. The verse used against Jesus obviously didn’t mean to throw Himself off a building so that people could see angels swooping down to catch Him. Imagine what that would mean for Christians today who follow His example, followers would be jumping from high buildings every Sunday just to prove our faith in God.

Our Lord Jesus does not want us to participate in reckless behavior of any type. He does not want us to engage in unnecessary risks that could be life-threatening. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 In the process of devouring people through suicide, reckless behavior, unnecessary risks, addictions of every type, Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, “Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14 Satan has a lot of help in devouring people through those who live for his beast that gives them what to do, say, think, and feel.

“For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them...For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” Luke 9:56, John 3:16.

Satan vows to return against Jesus at an opportune time.

“Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.” Luke 4:13

Satan ended every temptation that he brought against our Lord Jesus Christ, for a while. There are times when we followers of Jesus Christ, as we live in the “desert” along the narrow and difficult path that leads to life, feel strong in the faith we have in Jesus Christ. We have been able to resist Satan, and it seems he has left us because we have put on the armor of God. We put on the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have put on the righteousness of our Lord Jesus that comes in the Spirit. We walk in peace. We put on faith that quenches the temptations and fiery darts of Satan. We know that we are saved simply by our belief in Jesus. We cling to the word of God that separates us from the culture of the beast. We pray from within the Spirit…prayers from within us that words are not adequate to pray. We remain watchful against the roaring lion that seeks someone to devour. And we always lift up our brothers and sisters in Christ from within the Spirit, many who are imprisoned and killed within countries all around the world. Ephesians 6:10-20.

Jesus overcame the temptations of Satan by:
1] living by the word of God, “Man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Luke 4:4
2] worshipping God only and nothing else, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You will worship the Lord your God, and Him only you will serve.’” Luke 4:8
3] not allowing Himself to be tempted to do things detrimental to the body, “It has been said, ‘You will not tempt the Lord your God.’” Luke 4:12

“Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.” Luke 4:13-15. As we live a victorious life in Jesus Christ, within a world that serves the power of darkness through the beast that gives what to say, do think, and feel, then we are ready to minister in the power of His Spirit. People need to know that victory doesn’t come through perfection, but comes by the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of Christ Jesus. In all of our weaknesses and temptations, victory is being able to lift up God as the Creator of all, to acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior of the world, and to embrace the presence of the Holy Spirit.

We follow the example of Jesus Christ to overcome Satan by living by the inspired word of the Holy Bible, by worshipping only God the Creator, and by not tempting God by doing reckless and detrimental things with our body, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthains 3:19-20

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are overcomers because we do not serve the creature human being, but we serve the Creator God. We reject Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as being the “rule of law”, and we reject the practice of humanism and behavior modification. Click for post on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Humanism, and Behavioral Modification. We are overcomers because we shun the beast that empowers people with what to say, do, think, and feel. We are overcomers because we do not feel invincible against God and are not among those who boast in their attitude and behavior, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with Him?” Revelations 13:4

Satan wasn’t through with Jesus Christ but would return to Him when Jesus might have felt weak. In our weakest moments, in times when we are most vulnerable, those are opportune times for Satan to return and tempt us.

When Jesus felt sorrow and sadness you can know that Satan was there to tempt Him to reject God His Father. “Jesus wept!” John 11:35 He wept at the death of His friend Lazarus, John 11:1-44. Our Lord had many sorrows and much grief through which Satan would have tempted Him to denounce Himself as the Son of God, “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” Isaiah 53:3 Satan would have been there in the Garden of Gethsemane, tempting Jesus when He had much anguish and sorrow even to death, and He prayed concerning the crucifixion on the Cross that He was about to suffer, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Luke 22:42

Click for post on Isaiah 53:1-3, and also Isaiah 53:4-6, and also Isaiah 53:-7-9, and also Isaiah 53:10-12

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:15-16

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.
I am coming soon. 
Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.’”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1