Rev Gav
Temptation
Luke 4:1-2
4 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
Reflect
After being baptised by John, Jesus left the river Jordan and was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. There he was tested (or tempted) by the devil for 40 days. Baptism was connected with the rescue of Israel from Egypt, when the Israelites passed through the water of the Red Sea. Well, after they did this, they became nomads in the desert for 40 years before they entered their new land called the ‘promised land’, and here was Jesus, fresh from his baptism in water, going to spend 40 days in the wilderness before his ministry began. Coincidence?
Anyway, before we look at the different temptations that Jesus faced, it is worth spending a bit of time thinking about what temptation is.
Have you ever been tempted to do something naughty? Me too. All the time. However, the things that the devil tried to get Jesus to do were not about being naughty or doing something bad. You see, temptation is nit just about being tempted to sin (to think, say or do bad things). No, the reality is more subtle and much more sinister. The purpose of temptation is to break our relationship with God.
The devil knows that sin — saying, thinking or doing bad things — cannot separate us from God’s love in Jesus. The devil knows that if we sin, at any time we can repent, change our minds, and accept forgiveness from God. Temptation to do bad things is just a means to achieve the real purpose of the devil — to see our relationship with God destroyed. That is the purpose of temptation and this is what the devil was trying to do to Jesus in the wilderness.
Do
Today, if you have messed up or stuffed up, turn back to God, knowing that God’s hand is outstretched to you and that Jesus wants to welcome you back into his loving arms.
Pray
Holy God
I have messed up and stuffed up
in thought, word and action;
sometimes on purpose
and sometimes without thinking.
In doing so, I have dishonoured you,
myself, others, and the world around me.
I am honestly and truly sorry
and I turn back to you.
This day and for ever.
Amen.
Think
How do we turn back to God?
What does the connection between the Israelites’ 40 years in the wilderness, and Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness mean? What is Luke, through this connection, trying to say about Jesus?
