THE KING’S BUSINESS
920
the Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness to be “tempted by the Devil” (cf. Mark 1: 12). The temptation was a necessary prepa ration for our Saviour’s work, just as nec essary as the baptism with the Holy Spirit (Heb. 2:17, 18; 4:15, 16). We often won der why God suffers us to be tempted and tried as we are. It is that we may be fitted for the larger work He has for us to do. •There is a comforting thought added here in. Luke, that Jesus was not only led into the wilderness by the Spirit, but also “in the wilderness during (the whole) forty days.”- Note that Jesus’ temptation was “of the Devil:” it came from without, not from within. The personality of the Devil is clearly taught here. Also his cunning arid malignity and utter defeat, The real ity and completeness of Jesus” human na ture are plainly seen, not only in that He was tempted, but in His hunger and the way in which the temptations were met and conquered. To say that He was human, however, is not to say that He could sin. He was a real man it is true, but He was a perfect man, an absolutely''holy man and He could no more yield to temptation and sin than God could lie (cf. Titus 1 :2). His whole being, His human nature as well as His Divine nature, said “No” to sin, in word, or act, or thought, or. feeling. His whole self was sinless-: the Devil had abso lutely nothing in Him (John 14:30). There was not one smallest point in His being that said “Yés” to Satan. The preceding chapter closes With a remarkable testimony to His Deity; this one opens with an equally remarkable testimony to His true humanity. The temptation covered the entire forty days (v. 2), the three temptations here re corded are the climax of all and are typi cal. He met temptation in such a state of physical exhaustion and weakness as would make resistance to temptation most difficult, and failure “most excusable,” but He did not fail, and so now no man can plead ad verse circumstances as a justification for wrongdoing.
Thursday, October 14. Luke 4:3, 4.
In the first temptation Satan appealed to Jesus through the medium of an appetite the gratification of which was perfectly nor mal and right, if it could be gratified by right, means and methods. The temptation was most real because Jesus was most hu man and most hungry. The, Devil intro duced this temptation, as he did that of Eve in the Garden of Eden, by suggesting a doubt of the truth of God’s word. If the Devil can only get a man or woman to doubting God’s Word, he knows he has got them. God had just said , “thou art my be loved Son,” Satan says, “if thou art the Son of God.” Here is where Satan always be gins. He is great at putting “ifs” before God’s statements. For Jesusi to have done what Satan challenged Him to do would have been (1) to have doubted God’s word, and to have sought confirmation of it by a token (namely, His. ability to perform a miracle) ; (2) to have taken Himself out from under those human conditions and limitations under which He had voluntarily placed Himself for our redemption (Phil. 2:6-8; Heb. 2:14). It would have involved the throwing up of His entire mission, the redemption of man by a Divine person who had become real man.. The Devil showed himself very cunning. Essentially the same sin to which Satan tempted our Lord is committed by men today when they take themselves out of the sphere of sacrifice and suffering, in which it is necessary for one to live if he is to have saving power with his fellow men. (3) It would have been to have distrusted God. Jesus would rely upon God to supply His need in lawful ways. Jesus met this and the other two temptations with, “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.” “It is written," was His constant reply.
Friday, October 15. Luke 4 :5-13.
In the second-temptation the Devil seeks to get Jesus to grasp the authority that was
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online