Luke 4:1 says, And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Jesus, filled with the Holy Ghost was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Jesus was as human as we are, so for Him to be obedient to the heavenly Father, He had to be led by the Holy Spirit, just as we must. Verse two adds, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. While Jesus was in the wilderness and fasting for forty days, He was tempted by the Devil. Jesus was physically alone at this time, and the devil thought He would be more easily tempted, but Jesus was spiritually closer to His heavenly Father than ever. After the forty days ended, Jesus realized that He was hungry. Verse three states, And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. The devil made his suggestion, one that would both serve to prove that Jesus was the Son of God and fill His physical need for food. The Devil also made it a question of whether Jesus was the Son of God. When we are physically weak, the Devil will tempt us, and he will begin by trying to get us to question our relationship with God. Verse four adds, And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Jesus answered that man does not live by physical bread alone, but by the spiritual bread of the word of God. Even if we are physically in need, we must never look anywhere but to God and His word for an answer to our need. Verse five says, And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil switched tactics when he couldn't get Jesus to give in to His physical hunger. He took Jesus up to a high mountain and should Him all the kingdoms of the world. If the Devil can not tempt us one way, he will up his game. Verse six adds, And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. The Devil offered Jesus power over all the world physically if He would accept it. The Devil said he had been given the power to do this, and we should never forget that. The Devil can give us material riches if we turn away from God, but they are always temporary. Verse seven continues, If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. All Jesus had to do was worship the devil instead of God. Sometimes, all we have to do to gain riches and power in this world is to follow the Devil instead of God. Verse eight concludes, And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Jesus answered by telling the Devil to get behind Him, because people were to worship the Lord their God alone and to serve Him alone. God was a personal God to them if they were to truly worship and serve Him, just as He is for us today as followers of Christ. Verse nine states, And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: The devil then brought Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple, the religious seat of the people of God, and told Him to throw Himself off, in the sight of all those around Him. Even if we are at the highest point of the church today in our service for God, we not only can but will be tested by the Devil. Verse ten adds, For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: Verse eleven continues, And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. The Devil said that God's written word promised that the angels would keep Jesus from any harm if He was truly the Son of God. We have God's promise today that we will never come to harm spiritually as Christians as long as we remain faithful to Him and His word. Verse twelve declares, And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Just as Jesus said then, we are not to tempt God. We do not have to put on some display of power over the things of this world simply to prove our obedience to Christ. Verse thirteen adds, And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. The Devil gave up for a season. We know he was not through with tempting Jesus forever though. The devil may depart from us for a season if we don't give in to his temptations, but he will never give up in this lifetime.
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