Jesus in the Wilderness (Lk. 4:1-13)
Hear
Good morning BCC!
This morning, we are jumping back into our study of Luke’s Gospel. Today we are in chapter four - The Temptation of Jesus.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us,
Hebrews 4:15–16 NKJV
15 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.
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Let’s begin by reading our scripture for today. Open your Bibles to Luke chapter four. I’ll begin at verse one.
Luke 4:1–13 NKJV
1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 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.
7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
9 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.
10 For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’
11 and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
Tempted
Luke chapter four picks up right after Jesus is baptized. In between these two encounters, His baptism and temptation, Luke includes, what seems to be an ill-placed genealogy. However, I think Luke was very strategic in his placement of these details. At the baptism of Jesus we hear the Father affirm Him as His Son,
Luke 3:22 NKJV
22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
Building on this announcement from the Father, Luke sets out to confirm this by genealogical record. In Luke 3:23 we are told that people thought Jesus was the son of Joseph.
Luke 3:23 NIV
23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli,
But actually, as Luke corroborates, He was
Luke 3:38 NKJV
38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
The confirmation of Jesus’ identity in chapter three has a huge impact on the temptation of Jesus in chapter four. Satan’s undermining of Jesus’s identity is reminiscent of the serpent’s undermining of God’s authority and sovereignty in Genesis three. However, what Adam and Eve failed to do in the Garden, Jesus accomplishes in the wilderness by holding fast to the truth of God. This story of Jesus being tempted by Satan can be found in each of the Gospels with the exception of John. Furthermore, this part of the Gospel has raised a lot of questions among Christ-followers about what it means to be tempted and what it means to be tried or tested. We’ll talk about that.
If we take a look at the Gospel of Matthew we can see that
Matthew 4:1 NKJV
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Matthew’s account gives me the impression that Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit for the express purpose of being tempted by Satan. Brown, Fausset, and Jamieson disagree, claiming,
The unworthy inference which some would draw from this is energetically repelled by an apostle (Jas. 1:13–17).[1]
The apostle to which he refers is the half brother of Jesus.
James 1:13 NKJV
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
In Mark’s record, we are told that
Mark 1:12–13 NKJV
12 Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.
13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
The word translated as “drove” in Mark’s Gospel is a word which means to move with force. It’s irresistible. It’s the same word used when Jesus casted out demons.
Luke, sounds more like Mark than Matthew. Luke says that Jesus
Luke 4:1–2 NKJV
1 ...was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 being tempted for forty days by the devil.
It almost sounds like Mark and Luke are saying that while Jesus was in the wilderness, Satan seized an opportunity to take advantage of what he perceived to be a weakness in Jesus.
I think that our understanding of this encounter is very important because how we understand God’s involvement in this situation can paint how we understand God in our very own time of temptation and testing.
Not Guilty
In the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Ricky has an accident and develops a fear of getting into another one which affects his desire to race again. Well, he also convinces himself that he’s paralyzed which isn’t close to being true. Once his friends find out that he’s not paralyzed, they try to convince him that he can go back to racing, but he doesn’t want to hear it and he starts lashing out at his friends wishing them to experience pain and suffering. Well, his pit crew leader yells back, “Don’t you put that evil on me Ricky Bobby! Don’t you put that evil on me!”
I feel like God is saying that to us sometimes, when we blame Him for our own mistakes and sins!
Joseph S. Exell calls temptation a “seduction to evil.” And he distinguishes it from a test or trial in this way,
...trial tests, seeks to discover the man’s moral qualities or character; temptation persuades to evil, deludes, that it may ruin. God tries; Satan tempts.[2]
Ultimately, the goal of any temptation is to destroy you. I think of it in terms of a mouse and a mousetrap. When someone wants to get rid of mice in their house they use a mousetrap. Now, in order to catch the mouse they have to draw it out from its safe place so they tempt the mouse with cheese or peanut butter. The intention is for the mouse to give into its lust, (which is never the case when we are being tested), take the bait and trip the trap at which point the mouse should die in the clutches of the mousetrap. So it is with our own temptations.
James 1:14–15 NKJV
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Now, some of you like to us live traps, where you can “humanely” dispose of the mice. You catch them and keep them alive and release them somewhere out in the open. The problem with this is that it doesn’t necessarily get rid of the problem. There’s always the potential for the mice find there way back into your home. Unfortunately, this is how many people deal with their own sinful temptations.
Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew’s Gospel.
Matthew 12:43–45 NKJV
43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.
44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.
45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
The reason some of you are still dealing with the same sins you’ve dealt with for years is because you practice catch and release spirituality when what you should be doing is cutting that sin off at the head and getting as far away from it as possible.
1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
Notice something here, Paul doesn’t say that God stops the temptation from happening, instead, He opens the escape hatch for you to get out, at that moment it is up to us to leave.
Tested
The second thing that you need to know, is that God will test your faith.
Proverbs 17:3 NKJV
3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts.
1 Thessalonians 2:4 NKJV
4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.
Like temptations, a test also has two goals. The first goal of a test or trial is to help perfect you. In Deuteronomy eight we find an OT parallel to Jesus’s wilderness experience. Again, this encounter is about Jesus accomplishing for Israel and us, what we could not do for ourselves.
Deuteronomy 8:1–3 NKJV
1 “Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers.
2 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
In this passage God tells the Israelites that He wanted them to know what was in their hearts so that they would know if they would/would not obey Him. By testing them and us, God is able to help us identify areas in our lives where we are weakest so that we can draw strength from Him.
By testing our faith, God is also able to establish within us a Godly response to trials.
James 1:2–4 NKJV
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
God’s testing is for training and preparation. Testing helps us to recognize when Satan is trying to draw us away from God, when he has set a trap for us, so that instead of giving in to the temptation and causing ourselves to be disconnected from God we can turn to God; which is what He wants.
Adam Clarke once said that
“God never permits any tribulation to befall His followers which He does not design to turn into their advantage.”[3]
2 Peter 2:9 NKJV
9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,
Solitude
Ok, let’s talk about how Jesus was He able to win His battle against Satan? In my Wednesday night class we have been learning about spiritual formation. The things that we have discovered as not new. As a matter-of-fact, Jesus practiced these same disciplines so that he could overcome the enemy. Let me share a quick word about each.
First, He went into the wilderness, the eremos. He got alone with God.
Luke 4:1 NKJV
1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
Henri Nouwen once said:
“Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life. … We do not take the spiritual life seriously if we do not set aside some time to be with God and listen to him.”[4]
The Spirit of God ushered Jesus into a solitary place where He could lock in with God. John Mark Comer asks a thought-provoking question in his Solitude study from Practicing the Way. He questions,
What if the greatest threat to the Christian faith today isn’t secularism but distraction?
How many of us can attest to the truth of this in our own lives? Whether it’s what’s happening across the waters in our world or on our own doorstep or the internal thoughts we battle regularly. Spending, focused and dedicated time with God throughout your day can be one of the most useful things you do with your time in this coming year. Turn off the talk radio on your drive. Wait to make that phone call or answer that text or email. Put your phone on DND. Turn off the TV. Take a few moments away from family and friends in order to spend time with God. No guilt attached, just intentional, unhurried, and uninterrupted time in the presence of God.
This is what the apostle James calls “drawing near to God.”
James 4:7–8 NKJV
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Jesus’s ability to stand against the schemes of the devil (Eph. 6:11) came from being in close proximity with God.
Fasting
Second, Jesus fasted. Fasting is like prayer on steroids!
Trent Butler, says
Facing the devil is certainly the time to fast, to face God as intensely as possible at the same time the devil faces you.[5]
Fasting was of such great importance that the Apostle Paul encouraged spouses to take a break from intimacy in order to practice this spiritual discipline (1 Cor. 7:5).
Fasting is the voluntary and intentional abstaining from food specifically, for the purpose of drawing nearer to God. During Lent, people often claim to be fasting by not drinking Dr. Pepper or eating chocolate or watching TV. Those things are good and healthy, but that is not what the Bible calls fasting. That would be better described as abstaining.
Intermittent fasting has become very popular over the past few years. It’s often used as a weight control strategy or for other health benefits, which are good, but true and Biblical fasting is not about being in the presence of the Almighty. It’s not about what we get, rather it’s about what we give - our whole selves to God. Again, John Mark Comer says that
Fasting is a way to feed your spirit and starve your flesh.
Whenever, I fast, which is several times throughout the year, I like to begin by reading Isaiah 58 where Jehovah, in His own words, tells us exactly what kind of a fast He accepts.
Isaiah 58:5–7 NKJV
5 Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the Lord?
6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
Speaking on these verses, John Piper said,
If you want to fight sin by taking your bread from your own mouth, then put it in the mouth of the poor. Then we will see if you are really fasting for righteousness’ sake.[6]
Scripture
Jesus spent time alone with God. He fasted. Finally, He internalized and applied God’s Word in proper context.
Every attack of Satan against Jesus had a completely out of context scriptural attachment. But Jesus was able to parry Satan’s misuse of God’s Word with proper application. Folks, if you don’t think that knowing God’s Word is important, I hope this scripture changes your mind.
More people have access to the Word of God today that at any other time in history, but fewer people read it. And many of the ones who do read it don’t accurately apply its teachings to their own lives. As we study, memorize, and meditate on the truth of God, we are better able to identify the lies of Satan.
Francis Chan cautions us with these words,
There are so many voices throughout the day. These could be well-meaning people that are not scripture-filled, voices of the world or trends in ministry - you cannot help but hear them. If you are not spending time with the pure Word of God, which is absolute truth, you are going to get distracted by other voices.
That is so true and this is one of the spiritual battles we face everyday. Hearing, knowing, and living out God’s Word. Whenever you’re in a spiritual war, you need spiritual weapons, that’s why Paul calls the Word of God,
Ephesians 6:17 NKJV
17 the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
It was the main weapon Jesus used against Satan,
Luke 4:4 NKJV
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
Job understood how valuable God’s Word is, that’s why he preferred to feast on the testimonies of God more than on physical nourishment.
Job 23:12 NKJV
12 I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.
The Apostle Paul puts it this way;
2 Timothy 3:16–17 MSG
16 Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way.
17 Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.
I’m convinced that there is no possible way Jesus would’ve overcome the temptation of Satan in the wilderness if He did not know God’s Word and if He did not correctly apply its meaning to what He was up against.
Respond
My friends, in this next year you are sure to find yourself in a wilderness at some point, and that wilderness will present an opportunity for you to fall into a trap that the enemy has set for you or to draw ever closer to God. The direction you’ll travel at that moment will be as a result of the decisions you make starting today.
Will you prioritize spending quality, unhurried and uniterrupted time with God or will you allow the cares of life to distract you? Will you starve your flesh in order to feed your spirit? And will you hide God’s Word in your heart or listen to the competing voices of worldliness?
We are in a spiritual battle church! In order to win this war you will need to fight like Jesus fought and use the weapons that He used. But you can’t fight like Jesus if you don’t live like He lives and there is no way that you can do that if His Spirit doesn’t live in you.
If you don’t know Him, you can change that by admitting that,
You are a sinner. Your heart and mind are blinded by the god of this age.
You need a Savior. Someone to rescue you from the bondage of sin.
Jesus is the Answer. He personally came to destroy the works of the devil in your life.
Tre Clark
Britton Christian Church
11/23/2025
[1] David Brown, A. R. Fausset, and Robert Jamieson, A Commentary, Critical, Experimental, and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments: Matthew–John, vol. V (London; Glasgow: William Collins, Sons, & Company, Limited, n.d.), 16.
[2] Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator: St. Luke, vol. I (London: James Nisbet & Co., n.d.), 364.
[3] Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, p 211
[4] Renovaré | Bringing Solitude into Our Lives - Henri J. M. Nouwen; https://renovare.org/articles/ bringing-solitude-into-our-lives
[5] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 60.
[6] John Piper, God’s Chosen Fast, Feb. 19, 1995
