But Jesus Often Withdrew to Lonely Places and Prayed. Luke 5:16

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16

2017 Stories in the Life of Jesus #3

Matthew 4:1-10, Luke 4:1-12

NOTE: This edition of the Vine is a special 3-part devotional series tied to Easter Week.

Easter Week Devotions

The Temptation of Jesus # 1

Luke 4:1-4, Matthew 4:1-4

These devotions are designed to prepare your heart for Easter using the text of Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness. It is an opportunity to examine our own struggles with temptation, offer confession, and commit again to following Jesus in obedience. Enter into these devotions with a remembrance of Jesus’ final week; his arrest, trial, crucifixion, and burial. It is his sacrifice and coming resurrection that provides continuing forgiveness, and the strength and guidance from the Spirit to keep us faithful.

WARMING UP

To begin, find a comfortable position, relax your body, and spend a moment in silence. If distractions interrupt your silence, turn each one over to God as they come, and return to silence before Him.

EXAMINING THE PASSAGE: Luke 4:1-4

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,left the Jordanand was led by the Spiritinto the wilderness,2where for forty dayshe was tempted[a]by the devil.He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God,tell this stone to become bread.”

4Jesus answered,“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

Read the passage along with the notes below and spend a few moments with the questions that follow.

Notes:
Jesus prepared for His ministry by spending forty days of devoted prayer and fasting in the wilderness, away from distractions. Luke tells us that the Spirit accompanied Him. When we, too, go to the lonely places to sit with God, we have the presence of the Holy Spirit to accompany us.

Temptation is not a sin; God permits us to be tempted but He is never the one who tempts
Satan was not questioning Jesus’ Sonship as it may appear; with biting sarcasm, he was tempting Him to misuse it and the power attached to it (i.e. “Ifyou are the Son of God…”); Jesus knew He had come to serve, not showcase His power
The temptation for Jesus was to rely on His own self-sufficiency or self-provision
The temptation for Jesus was to prove His relevancy or the need to be needed (heal the sick, feed the hungry, save the poor)
Jesus responds with Deut. 8:3; the entirety of Deut. 8 was God’s response to Israel’s desire to reject God’s provision and assert self-sufficiency
Jesus answers temptation with the effective weaponry of the Word of God (Eph.6:17; Heb.4:12)

Questions to Consider:

1)False guilt occurs when Satan mixes truth with error to lead us into self-doubt; we second guess our own motives and actions. It distances us from God. In contrast, Holy Spirit-inspired conviction is specific and gives us a clear understanding of what wrong we may have done in God’s eyes. It draws us close to God in confession. When you have faced temptations, how has Satan used false guilt to mislead you? How does the reality that Jesus Himself was tempted help you to release false guilt?

2)Jesus never misused His power to hurt someone. Though we do not have His power, we do have power or influence in others’ lives through our words and actions. In what situations are you tempted to misuse the ‘power’ you might have to intimidate, discourage or wound others instead of using it to accomplish God’s purpose?

3)What areas of your life tempt you most to assert self-sufficiency and resist dependence upon God? What is the source of this struggle within you?

4)How is worry a form of self-sufficiency? What do you need to release to God’s control? Read I Peter 5:7.

5)Henri Nouwen wrote, “Feeling irrelevant is a much more general experience than we might think when we look at our seemingly self-confident society.” How would you respond to this within the context of your own need to be considered relevant, needed or important? Connect Jesus’ response to Satan’s temptation to your own experience.

6)To what extent do you attribute power to the Word of God? Is it a valuable tool for you to use in resisting temptation? If not, why not? What does Jesus’ example say to you?

Other Options in the Passage:

1)Spend time in confessional prayer identifying areas of self-sufficiency and relevancy. Recommit yourself in surrender to the Lord.

2)Construct a small cross to use during this week to focus your heart on God in the way Jesus sought to do in the 40 days He spent in the wilderness. Keep it simple: use popsicle sticks, paper or cardboard, or a medium that speaks to you. As you make it, confess your own desire for importance in the eyes of others or your tendency toward self-sufficiency. Re-state your need for Jesus’ death on the cross, recognizing the hopeless state sin creates as a barrier to come close to a holy God. Thank Him for Jesus’ sacrifice on that cross, which allows you a means of escape from temptation and intimacy with God.

3)Equip yourself more fully with God’s Word. Begin a plan to regularly memorize Scripture OR place key verses in places you see daily (bathroom mirror, dashboard, desk, etc) OR subscribe to a daily Word devotion online OR enlist an accountability partner to remind you to be in the Word regularly.

Following up on Luke 4:1-4:

On EasterSunday, thank God for the victory Jesus’ resurrection provides over temptation, sin or death. Read and claim I Corinthians15:57!!!!

Easter Week Devotions

The Temptation of Jesus # 2

Luke 4:5-8, Matthew 4:8-10

WARMING UP

EXAMINING THE PASSAGE: Luke 4:5-8

5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.6And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me,and I can give it to anyone I want to.7If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

8Jesus answered,“It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

Read the passage along with the notes below and spend a few moments with the questions that follow.

Notes:

Satan offers Jesus authority over the kingdoms of the world. The obvious question are: Does he have this authority, and what are the kingdoms of the world? See these references to the authority of Satan and evil: John 12:31, 2 Cor 4:4, 1 John 5:19.
See Eph 2:1-3 which answers both of the questions above. Kingdoms of the world could be viewed as the underlying evil ideas and systems in which humanity has mostly chosen to operate throughout history (greed, selfishness, oppression, living without moral restraint, etc.).
For Jesus, the temptation would have been to take Satan’s shortcut and follow the world’s path to power by choosing to coerce and dominate, using his strength as the son of God. The path to glory that the Father laid out for Jesus would instead go through sacrifice, service, and the cross.
Jesus responds by quoting Deut 6:13, “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.” This comes from a larger passage (see starting in 6:1) that asks Israel to love God only and follow all his commands as a people from generation to generation. Jesus’ statement choosing to worship God only is not a picture of devotional praise, but a commitment of daily obedience to God’s will for his life.

Questions to Consider:

1)If worshipping God means living a life of obedience, honoring God first and following his ways, what are the things/ideas you are tempted to worship or followinstead of God? Why are these areas of temptation in your life (what promises do they hold, or what needs do they meet)? How could growth in worshipping/following God help satisfy those needs instead?

2)In Phil 2:6-11, we see that Jesus did achieve the glory that Satan had promised him, but he achieved this by following God’s much more difficult path, which led through the cross. How is following God’s ways sometimes more difficult than following the ways of the world? Think of some specific instances in your life where you have seen this to be true. Think of times when you’ve taken the shorter, easier route that the world offers. In what ways have you seen the joy that comes from ultimately following God’s path?

3)Read Mark 10:35-45. Here James and John are in essence asking Jesus to give them power in the same way Satan offered it to Jesus during the temptation. Look at Jesus’ answer to James and John in 42-45. How would making service a priority in your life help balance the temptation to follow the ways of our world? What Christ-like character traits are built in us when we serve?

Other Options in the Passage:

Jesus had to carry his cross, and in Luke 9:23-25 Jesus’ challenges us to do the same. Read through this verse and consider memorizing it or at least verse 23. Carry a cross with you during Easter week (no need to make a big statement carrying a giant cross, just a small one to fit in your purse or pocket, maybe the one you made from the first devotion). Each time you see or feel it, reflect on Jesus’ willingness to deny Satan’s request for worship and instead go through with sacrifice on the cross, remaining obedient to the Father and giving new life to us. Along with being grateful, use the time to examine how and where you might take steps to follow/worship Jesus more completely.

Related Scene in Jesus’ Life During Easter Week for Further Reflection:

Read the story of Jesus’ arrest in Matthew 26: 47-56. Pay special attention to verses 51-54. This is the same temptation that Satan confronted Jesus with in the desert; use the world’s ways (violence, power) to achieve your goals. How does Jesus counter the temptation and how is it similar to the way he countered it in our passage above?
Spend time in grateful praise this week that Jesus chose at every step to continue following the Father’s difficult, painful, and sacrificial path to the cross.

Easter Week Devotions

The Temptation of Jesus # 3

Luke 4:9-12, Matthew 4:5-7

WARMING UP

EXAMINING THE PASSAGE: Luke 4:9-12

9The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.10For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.]”

12Jesus answered,“It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test]”

Read the passage along with the notes below and spend a few moments with the questions that follow.

Notes:

It is important to denote the difference between temptation and testing. God never tempts us. See James 1:13—“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.”
While the first temptation relied on man’s physical need for food, this temptation relies on his desire and need to be safe and protected.
Jesus had been fasting and alone in the desert for 40 days. Without a doubt, the first offer for bread would have been tempting to him. And it’s not too difficult to imagine that he’d be wanting to get “proof” from his Father that He was still with him and protecting him, especially after so many weeks.
While the devil quotes this scripture in Luke 4:9 from Psalm 91:11-12, he was reciting it as a literal statement, that the angels would lift Jesus up from falling to his death, and his foot wouldn’t hit the ground. But Psalm 91 is referring to God’s protection, as we dwell and rest in Him, our fears will subside.
Jesus’s response to the devil shows us that Satan was not telling Jesus to rest in his father, but to test his father. Therefore, Jesusreplied with more scripture, this time from Deuteronomy 6:16. The complete verse for Deuteronomy 6:16 reads: “Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah.” Massah means “testing” and was the place where the Israelites cried out to Moses for water, believing that God had brought them to the desert to die. They were afraid God wasn’t taking care of them. (Note that they took their complaints to Moses and did not lift them up in prayer to God.) Moses then put their request to God, who miraculously supplied water from a rock. (This can be found in Exodus 17:1-7.)

Questions to Consider:

1)Hebrews 4:15-16 reads: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Who is the high priest the verse refers to? (If you are unsure look at Hebrews 4:14.) How does this make you feel when you are in the midst of temptation?

2)Read Psalm 91 in its entirety. Which verses make you feel protected? Why?

3)Have you been in a situation where you have felt like the Israelites, where you have put your trust in man rather than God? Read these verses on trust: Psalm 37:3-5, Proverbs 3:5-6, II Cor 5:7, I Thes 5:24.

4) Psalm 37:3-5 gives us three instructions, all which leads to a life without fear. Pick one that speaks to you most profoundly right now, then make a list of at least five ways you can incorporate the instruction into your life.

Other Options in the Passage:

Read Psalm 78, a history of Israel’s continual testing and disobedience to a God who was and is always faithful. On a large blank sheet of paper, write in one color marker some words you would use to describe God. In another color write words or phrases to describe the Israelites. Re-read verses 12-16; 23-29; 38-39; 52-55; 65-72. Are there any more words you’d like to add to describe God? Add those in a third color.

Hebrews 2:18 reminds us that: “Because he himself [Jesus] suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” Are you being tempted in some way right now? Write a prayer to Jesus, who has experienced it, who knows pain, who knows YOUR pain.

Closing in on Luke 4:9-12

Carry this time you spent in His word and His presence into the rest of your day. When you feel tempted to sin in any way, lay it up to our Father. Remember that God will not tempt us, but temptation comes from the devil. James 4:7-10 gives worthy advice: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you . . . Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”