I’ve been reading through the gospels, one paragraph a day, for the past year and a half. This past week I studied The Temptation of Jesus in Luke. The passage begins with Jesus, “full of the Holy Spirit…was led by the Spirit into the wilderness”. If Jesus, the Son of God, was filled with the Spirit how much more do I need to be filled by Him as well?! And not just somewhat filled, but fully filled. To the brim. Overflowing. Notice: The Spirit leads, brings, allows, escorts Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted. Fascinating. This begs the question, why?? Why would The Spirit do this? Why does The Spirit lead us into these scenarios and seasons? I would dare to say it’s because He only wants us filled and dependent on Him. Nothing counterfeit. And we are only truly filled when we spend time daily in His presence and are consistently reminded of our identity and worth found in Him alone.
For the first time ever I realized, “for forty days, (Jesus was) being tempted by the devil” (Luke 4:2) not just the three temptations we read about!!! This led me to ask myself: What other temptations did Jesus withstand, encounter and go through during those forty days? Why do we only get to see three of them? How often do I feel like I’m in a constant state of temptation and trial? I can’t wait to get to Heaven and ask Jesus what else happened… What I love is knowing Jesus understands the in and out struggles of when we’re “in it”: He’s been there, He identifies, He knows, and He has compassion because He understands.
As I began to study one temptation a day, so many little nuggets of goodness stood out. “Man shall not live by bread alone” was Jesus’ response to the first temptation of turning rocks into bread. I mean, he had been fasting for forty days and was surely hungry, maybe even hangry. Jesus, instead of giving in, responds with a quote from Deuteronomy where the Israelites have wandered for FORTY YEARS and were fed by manna. Forty, the symbol in the bible for a season of testing or trial. The Israelites were in a rough spot and given enough provision for one day only, no more no less. I had the realization that when we are down and out, hungry and tired, sad and overwhelmed, confused and disappointed, we are always tempted to find comfort and dependence on something other than God himself. The first temptation is all about our daily dependence on Jesus. What am I relying on? Am I relying on myself or other things instead of knowing God will provide for my need with just the right amount at the exact time I need it? It begs the question for all of us: What am I truly depending on?
The second temptation was Satan wanting Jesus’ worship. Oh how we can all relate to different things wanting our worship…whether it be work, a relationship, money, status, or our physique, we all face our own individual battle. I sat with the questions: What am I worshiping? What am I serving? What has my attention and passion? Where is my time going? And what does all this say about my heart? Because what we worship, we serve.
Lastly, Satan questions Jesus’ identity, “IF you are the Son of God”. Jesus again wins the battle by quoting scripture that He learned by listening and spending time with His Father. The phrase that caught my eye in this paragraph was not the temptation itself but the phrase right after: “And when the devil had ended EVERY temptation, he departed from him UNTIL an opportune time”. Every temptation. There were many... Isn’t it amazing that God himself can identify with every temptation?! But even more so, take notice: Satan knows he’s not leaving Jesus alone for long because he’s waiting “until an opportune time” to come back. Always be ready. Always be watching. And always remember, we can overcome when we are filled with the Holy Spirit!
But I have to say, the most exciting part of this story was revealed in today’s paragraph: “And Jesus returned IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT to Galilee.” Remember, He was “full of the Holy Spirit” and “led by the Spirit”, but now, after He endured and resisted all the temptations in the wilderness, He returns in POWER! We’ve all heard the phrase: what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. And here it is, biblically speaking. Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, is victorious over the enemy and comes out even stronger!! When we withstand temptations, trials, and struggles, this brings strength and power to our faith. We experience the working power of the Holy Spirit not just in us, but through us. We enter into a new level of power and strength when we utilize and capitalize on His power. Because “greater is He that is IN us than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4). Because “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him” (Romans 8:37). May it be so of us. May we stand out in this world, not just filled with the Spirit, but may we be a living and active example of the POWER of The Spirit.