Luke 4:1-13

Matthew Round

The Gospel of Luke • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

Luke 4:1–13

Trust

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Trust God, don't "grab the wheel"

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Intro

[0] Introduce me. Twins 16 today, driving just around the corner. A little terrifying. Growing empathy for my dad who taught me. Understand now, grabbing the wheel - though at the time I was hurt that he didn’t trust me!

[1] Exploring these ideas: trust / grabbing the wheel; Continuing our walk through Luke’s biography of Jesus. Jesus passes the test all others failed: perfect trusting obedience

Context

Context: baptism; genealogy; the main phase of his ministry about to begin. Led by the Spirit (this is God’s plan) [2:30]

Reading

Luke 4:1–13 NIV

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And 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. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” The 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. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

A stretching story

Is it a real test? The devil certainly seems to think there’s a possibility of Jesus failing.

[4] Need to be upfront this is a stretching story. (Luke’s beginning full of these.) A mano-a-mano confrontation with the Enemy himself. Unusual in the Bible to find the Enemy out of the shadows. Not going to focus on him, much as he would like that. Dangers of too much/too little attention (more likely). But there are more important things to learn here from Jesus and these tests.

Three tests, one root

Is it a real test? The devil certainly seems to think there’s a possibility of Jesus failing.

[5:30] Three different tests. What’s being tested? Three different focuses on the surface: Provision. Power. Control. Common root: trust; Grabbing the wheel vs trusting God. But let’s take a look at these three tests and three responses a little more closely before we zoom out.

What are the tests? Common root: trust; Grabbing the wheel vs trusting God. Putting yourself at the centre of the story rather than playing your part in telling God’s story.

[6:30] Grab the wheel or trust God? First test is about bread on the surface. About food - and remember Jesus is hungry. Is this just a diet question, you know, is Jesus on some low-carb diet and bread is out? Or is there something fundamentally wrong with supernatural food creation? Conservation of bread? Later on Jesus will get up to this sort of thing, feeding the five thousand and the like.

Luke 4:3–4 NIV

The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

[6:30] Grab the wheel or trust God? First test looks just to be about bread on the surface. About food - and remember Jesus is hungry.

Is this just a diet question, you know, is Jesus on some low-carb diet and bread is out? Or is there something fundamentally wrong with supernatural food creation? Conservation of bread? But later on Jesus will get up to exactly this sort of thing, feeding the five thousand and the like.

So why is this called “temptation”? What’s the temptation? Why would a little stone-to-bread action be wrong? Jesus’ answer shows us - but we’ll have to dig a bit. “it is written ‘man shall not live on bread alone’” he says. So we need water to live on too?

No. We need to see he’s not just plucking some words out of the air here. “it is written,” Jesus says; that’s a standard phrase people would use when quoting from the Old Testament, the first half of the bible. Jesus is quoting the bible - and he’s picked a very particular section of the bible. Here it is:

He doesn’t just pluck some words out of the air here, “it is written,” Jesus says; Jesus is quoting from the Old Testament, the first half of the bible. And he’s picked a very particular section of the bible to quote from. Here it is:

Deuteronomy 8:2–3 NIV

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Man does not live on bread alone. What’s Jesus’ point? Well, this passage comes towards the end of the long story of God’s people’s wanderings in the wilderness after they were brought out of Egypt through those ten famous plagues, walking on dry land through the sea. They spent forty years in the wilderness and here God explains why: He was trying to teach them something - something they struggled to learn, but something Jesus already knows: life, real life, comes through trusting and obeying God, through seeking Him and following Him. It’s not simply a matter of food.

Yes, Jesus could have “grabbed the wheel”, turned that stone into bread right there, and no longer been hungry. But there are far bigger things at stake than just hunger here.

The temptation is to take matters into his own hands. The trial is to trust God and follow His path - even though it leads through difficulty. To trust that God is going to look after us in the midst of that, that it will be right, ultimately good, even, to have walked in his way. In this case, the difficulty Jesus has to walk through is hunger but there’s far bigger things ahead. Is he going to obey, to trust God and walk God’s harder path, believe it’s right and best, or “grab the wheel”?

[9:30] What about the second temptation? The devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. And then,

Luke 4:6–8 NIV

And 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. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

What’s the temptation here? Simply power or riches? On the surface, yes: it’s the authority over, and splendour of, all the kingdoms of the world that Jesus is being offered. But that’s not the whole story again.

where he’s quoting from very carefully. , and he doesn’t jTemptation is to think “life”, satisfaction, for “life” somewhere other than God, anywhere other than God. Life, real life, truly living, isn’t simply a matter of food, Jesus says. In Matthew’s telling of this encounter Jesus extends his answer

Jesus: no shortcuts; true life is more than just provision; it only comes from obeying God (quote continuation)

· Grab the wheel or trust God’s provision? Jesus: no shortcuts; true life is more than just provision; it only comes from obeying God (quote continuation)

You see, Jesus already has this sort of power and authority, this sort of splendour and greatness ahead of him, promised to him. speaks about Jesus and there he’s told by God, “Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” looks ahead and foretells Jesus would be given authority, glory and sovereign power; an everlasting dominion, a kingdom that will never be destroyed.

and I will make the nations your inheritance,

So it’s not question of whether Jesus will get this power and splendour, it’s a question of when and how. And again, the temptation is for Jesus to take matters into his own hands, to “grab the wheel” and take it all here and now. And the trial is to trust God and follow His path to that destination, even though it leads through difficulty. To trust that it will be right, ultimately good, even, to have walked there God’s way.

the ends of the earth your possession.

[11:30] And the final temptation? Well this one’s really sneaky. On the surface, it seems like all the devil is asking Jesus to do is to take God at His word:

Luke 4:9–12 NIV

The 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. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

So what’s going on here? Well, there’s a really tall bit on the temple in Jerusalem which overlooks a cliff drop - ancient writers talk about how just looking down off the edge would make you giddy. No chance of surviving that fall without wings or without some supernatural help. But the devil shows that two can play the game of quoting bible passages, whipping out a passage from , pretty sharp quotation, not deliberately distorted. And that passage seems to talk about how God will protect righteous people in general. So Jesus should be just fine falling off.

The New International Version. (2011). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. “

What’s the temptation here? What would be wrong with Jesus trusting God’s words enough to throw himself down and then be happily angelically rescued before hitting the ground?

· Grab the wheel or trust God’s plan? (Jesus promised rule + authority) Jesus: no shortcuts; true satisfaction, joy, greatness comes through obeying God

Again, Jesus’ response helps us understand. Throwing himself off the temple would be putting God “to the test”, as the bible passage Jesus quotes puts it. Throwing himself off the temple wouldn’t be trusting God like the devil insinuates - quite the opposite, actually. It would be testing God.

· Grab the wheel or trust God’s plan? (Jesus promised rule + authority) Jesus: no shortcuts; true satisfaction, joy, greatness comes through obeying God

Think about it this way: why do we test anything? like fire alarms or car airbags, or someone’s spelling, or someone’s driving? To see if it works, to see if it does what it says on the tin. We test someone to see if they can deliver, to see if they can actually navigate a roundabout, to see if they actually know how to spell chrysanthemum [LIVE TEST]

But here’s the thing with all these tests: We only test things we’re not really sure about. Putting God to the test is actually suspecting Him, doubting Him, saying “let’s see if God does do what He says He will..” If you’re certain of something, you don’t need to test it. For Jesus to jump would be doubt rather than faith.

So again, the temptation is for Jesus to take matters into his own hands, to “grab the wheel” and to test God, to try and drive God to act. And the trial is instead to trust God, not need to test Him, and just to follow His path.

Now it’s important to notice that in the end Jesus will need to entrust himself totally to God. Jesus’ last words before his death in Luke’s gospel are “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” - “When he had said this, he breathed his last,” we read. But that’s not Jesus putting God to the test, grabbing the wheel, trying to drive the agenda, like the devil wants him to here. That’s Jesus’ trusting God enough to walk the path of obedience all the way to the very end. That’s Jesus showing he doesn’t need to test what God has said, he trusts what God has said.

So what?

The New International Version. (2011). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

to that destination, even though it leads through difficulty. To trust that it will be right, ultimately good, even, to have walked there God’s way.

· Grab the wheel or trust God period? Why would anyone test God? Why do you test anything? Because you’re not sure. Jesus: no shortcuts; true faith is shown through following God, not trying to manipulate Him.

[16:00] So, three tests, but really just one temptation at the root: grab the wheel; give up the walk of obedient trust, and take matters into your own hands. “Take back control” we might say in our current political climate! And Jesus passes this test with flying colours. He will walk the path of obedient trust all the way to the very end.

But so what? What relevance does this have for you and for me, for here and for now?

Well, if you’d call yourself a Christian here today, I want you to recognise we’re facing that same root temptation again and again in our Christian lives. Are we going to walk on in trust and obedience, or are we going to doubt, grab for the wheel, and take matters into our own hands? We have an enemy who’s constantly and urgently whispering into our ears “grab the wheel!”

Now I want to be clear: when we’re talking about a walk of trust and obedience rather than grabbing the wheel, that can sound like a recipe for a totally passive life, you know, “que sera sera”, whatever will be will be; mustn’t try and steer, just need to drift on down through whatever God has sent my way.

Trusting obedience vs. grabbing the wheel for us: this doesn’t mean living a passive life, “que sera sera”; Jesus shows us the life of trusting obedience is active, decisive; choosing to trust what God has said and to act on it, rather than doubting and grabbing the wheel.

No: Jesus shows us the life of trusting obedience isn’t passive like that. It’s active, decisive; choosing to trust what God has said and to act in the light of it, rather than doubting and sitting on our hands. Choosing to head in the direction God has set rather than turning away from it. Remember Jesus setting his face towards Jerusalem, choosing to walk into trouble rather than away from it. You could perhaps picture it as driving with God, to His destination, rather than trying to grab the wheel off of Him and head somewhere else.

So we face this same temptation, to doubt, and to grab the wheel, to turn away, rather than to move on with God. Let me give you some examples of how this looks in the day-to-day:

Examples:

[18:00] Provision: So think about this in terms of our generosity with material things. God calls us to live lives filled with generosity. To work not just to pay our bills, but so that we have something to share. To be ready to give our things away to provide for others in need. That’s what trusting obedience looks like. And, like we were just talking about, that’s not passive, that’s not automatic: living like this will take deliberate, courageous action on our part. Driving with God towards his destination.

So what does grabbing the wheel look like here? Not heading on towards God’s destination but instead taking matters into our own hands: “I can’t share this - I need to make sure there’ll be enough for me”. “I can’t give that away - I need to have some security stored up, you know, just in case”, “I’ve got to hang on to this - I might need it in years to come...”

1 Timothy 6:17–19 NIV

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Ultimately each of those is choosing not to trust what God has said, not to walk out obedience to him. Trying to take matters into our own hands, trying to put ourselves back in the driving seat and head somewhere else.

Obedience: But it’s not just in terms of trust and obedience with material things that we struggle - and we need to be honest here: I struggle with this. I bet you do too. I think we so often struggle with trusting God, and the direction He’s driving us in, at an even more fundamental level.

The bigger struggle I think is trusting that the way God wants us to live is really the best way to live: that we’re not missing out on huge swathes of life and joy as a result of going his way. God has a plan and a design for sexuality. He has a standard he’s calling us to in honesty. He commands us to live selfless rather than selfish. He demands a priority in our lives which gets in the way of other things.

Do we really have the faith, the trust, that we’re not losing out in following Him? Have you really never had a moment where you’ve entertained a doubt about this?

So what does grabbing the wheel look like here? Letting go of that trust, deciding we’d be better off if we were running the show rather than Him, taking an “obedience holiday”. “I need a bit more ‘me’ time” “I have to find some more happiness for myself” “I need to look out for number one a bit more”

Grabbing the wheel and putting ourselves back in the driving seat. That’s the temptation.

Religion· Let me give you one last example, a more subtle way we struggle with this: Gospel v. religion; trusting what Jesus has done to be enough rather than needing to add to it ourselves. Poison b/c feeds pride, makes us judgemental. Gospel is medicine: God welcomes us because of what Jesus has done, not because of our own goodness; no ground for pride. No place for judgement.

The Good News: Jesus’ obedience throughout God’s plan means our salvation

Unlike Adam, unlike Abraham, unlike Israel, who all tried to grab the wheel, put themselves at the centre of the story [is God really good, keeping that fruit from me? Can I get myself a promised child? We can’t take the Promised Land, we need to go back to Egypt], Jesus practices trusting obedience – responds by remembering what God has said.