In Luke 4: 13 we read these words, “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.” We all face temptation and it was no different with Jesus. As a human being, Jesus was tempted as well.

In order to pay for mankind’s sins one perfect human had to pay the price. One man had to die in order to pay for the sins of all. In order for that sacrifice to pay the price, the man Jesus had to face what you and I face every day. Pain, suffering, joy, sorrow, laughter, tears, happiness, and even temptation. Jesus could not use his heavenly power as the divine son of God to overcome temptation. That would not be fair as none of us have that divine power. So, Jesus had to rely simply on what you and I have to rely on: Faith in God and the Word of God.

In the three recorded temptations of Jesus, he overcomes those temptations by relying on the Word of God and the Word of God alone. When tempted to use his divine power to turn stones into bread, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8: 3. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word from God.” When tempted to rule the world, if he just worshiped Satan, Jesus replied in the words of Deuteronomy 6: 13. “You shall worship the Lord your God and him alone shall you serve.” When Jesus was tempted to use his divine power to “awe” the people, Jesus relied on Psalm 91. “You shall not tempt the Lord, your God.” Luke then says the Devil left him and waited for a more opportune time.

Why does the Devil want to lead us to sin? To break God’s heart. Sin, unforgiven sin leads to eternal death. And when one of us, one of God’s children is lost, it breaks God’s heart as it would break any parent’s heart to lose a child. The Evil One is crafty and he will use whatever means he can to lead us away from God. There is nothing that the Evil One will not do to lead us to eternal death.

Lent begins on March 2, Ash Wednesday. This year’s Lenten dramas will deal with the Evil One and how he tempts Jesus; how he tempts all of us to sin. We will see how insidious, how evil Satan is, and the strategies he will use to destroy the children of God. Strategies that we can overcome as Jesus did, by relying totally on the Word of God. I hope that you will join us on Ash Wednesday and the five following Wednesdays to experience how the Evil One works.

Veritas - Curt