Daily Devotional for Wednesday, December 31

The Temptations of Jesus

“And the Devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God,” Luke 4:3, 4.

In his classic Christian book The Pilgrim’s Progress, published in two parts, the first in 1678, the second in 1684, John Bunyan explored the challenges of the Christian life through the journey of his main character, whose name was Christian. In his journey to the Celestial City, Christian encounters several spiritual pitfalls, among them, the danger of temptation. The temptations appear in several varieties, among them, sinful pleasure, pride, laziness and materialism.  

            In Lukes Gospel, we are given an intimate look at the battle fought between our Savior and the devil. It is interesting that the details of the temptations, all three of them, are given to us with clarity, hiding nothing. Satan’s strategy, the words he used, the angle of his attacks are all revealed to us in the reading. This battle, that usually rages in the privacy of the heart, is purposely displayed for us to observe and take notes.

            Jesus’ response to the satanic attacks also are given in detail. With each temptation, Jesus counters the attack with the Word of God. When tempted with bread, Jesus answered with a quote from Deuteronomy 8:3, “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God,” Luke 4:4. When Satan tempted with worldly recognition, Jesus spoke from Deuteronomy 6:13, “Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve,” Luke 4:8. The final test came with the temptation for power, to which Jesus responded with words from Deuteronomy 6:16, “It is said thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God,” Luke 4:12.

FINAL THOUGHT

The question is not whether you will be tempted today, but rather how will you respond?

John Nations