Sermon Tone Analysis

Luke 4:1-13

 

! Introduction

            Have you seen the advertisement for products that help you quit smoking?

There seem to be quite a lot of them lately.

I noticed one of them that has a disclaimer at the bottom which says, “to be used with will power.”

I thought that was ironic because the problem in the first place is the lack of will power, the powerful temptation to smoke, a temptation so strong that many people can’t overcome it.

Of course, smoking is not the only addiction that people have which needs to be dealt with.

Now after Christmas, diet ads, exercise ads all appeal to people’s guilt for eating too much at Christmas.

These things reveal the fundamental problem that people face temptations that are very difficult to overcome.

In fact, all of us face temptations that we find very difficult to overcome.

A survey of Discipleship Journal readers ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge - or temptations - to them:

1. Materialism

2. Pride

3. Self-centeredness

4. Laziness

5. (Tie) Anger~/Bitterness

5. (Tie) Sexual lust.

7. Envy

8. Gluttony

9. Lying

How can we win over temptation?

We read Luke 4 which is the story of Jesus’ temptations.

As we read of His temptations, we can learn about the nature of temptation and also about how we can overcome temptations.

We can be encouraged that God understands the struggles we face with our temptations.

!

I. Christ Was Tempted By The Devil

            It may be hard for us to believe that Jesus faced temptation.

Wasn’t He the Son of God?

This passage is included in the gospels to remind us that although Jesus was God, he was also fully human and as a human being, he experienced temptation just as we do.

While full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus went into the desert for 40 days and during that time, the text says that the devil tempted Jesus.

Verse 2 indicates that the temptations occurred during the whole time.

We don’t know exactly how it happened.

Did the temptations repeat themselves?

Were they a constant and growing difficulty?

In Matthew, it seems that the temptations came at the end of the 40 days.

There were three temptations that Satan threw at Jesus.

The first temptation had to do with turning stone into bread.

At this point, Jesus was hungry and the enticement of the devil spoke to a need he had.

The second temptation seems to take place in a vision.

There is no place that you can go to see all of the earth, but perhaps on a height of land, a vision took place that allowed Jesus to see all the lands.

The temptation was to receive all the kingdoms of the earth, by simply bowing down and worshipping Satan.

The third temptation was a temptation for Jesus to throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple.

The location of this place is usually used to refer to the royal colonnade of the temple on the south side, which overlooked a deep ravine.

It was a temptation to see if the angels would come and help him.

At the end of the temptations, we read that “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

This suggests that these were not the last temptations of Jesus.

Jesus continued to be tempted (or tested) by questions from the Jewish leaders (e.g., Mt. 19:3; 22:15–18; Lk. 11:53f), especially by their demands for signs (e.g., Mt. 12:38; 16:1; Lk. 11:16).

He was tested also by His brothers (Jn.

7:2–5) and by the crowd that wanted to take Him by force and make Him king (6:15).

In the garden He struggled against the temptation to avoid the crucifixion, to the extent that “his sweat became like great drops of blood” (Lk.

22:44), and on the cross He endured His tormentors’ derisive cry, “He saved others; he cannot save himself … let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him” (Mt.

27:42).

Sometimes we might think that because Jesus was God these temptations were simply a formality and were not real temptations.

The evidence of the temptations, especially the fact that he “sweat drops of blood,” would suggest otherwise.

We might also think that his temptations were not all that real for him because he never yielded to them.

But someone has written, “Against the objection that if Jesus was sinless He could not have experienced real temptation, we may doubt the assumption that if a man does not commit certain sins, it must be because he has never felt the appeal of them.

The man who yields to a specific temptation’s pull has not felt its full power.

He has given way to it while the temptation had yet (so to speak) something in reserve.”[1]

So the temptations which Jesus faced are for our encouragement.

He faced them, He understands what it means to be tempted and He understands the full power of temptation.

Hebrews 2:18 says, “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

When we face temptations, let us remember that Jesus understands what we are going through and let us look to him for help.

!

II.

The Nature Of Temptation

            Since Jesus understands our temptations, His experience in Luke 4 can help us as we face them.

The first step in overcoming temptation is to understand the nature of temptation.

!! A. Coming In A Time Of Weakness

            The first thing we notice about these temptations is that they occurred after Jesus had fasted for 40 days and nights.

They came to him at a time of weakness.

The temptation to make stones into bread came when Jesus had not eaten for 40 days and nights.

This is often true for us as well.

Earlier I mentioned a survey of temptations which people struggle with most.

That same survey discovered that “…temptations were more potent when people had neglected their time with God (81 percent) and when they were physically tired (57 percent).”

-- Discipleship Journal, 11-12~/92.

"To Verify," Leadership.

One of the greatest helps in overcoming temptations is to discover when they come.

If we would keep a journal, we would soon find out when we are most susceptible to temptation.

Is it after we have had a hard week?

Is it when we have not had enough sleep?

Is it when we have been discouraged?

Perhaps after a week of constant meetings and dealing with people, you come home and all you want to do is sit back and watch TV.

You feel, perhaps rightly so, “I deserve a break.”

As you sit there, you are not discerning and you watch what is not good for you to watch.

Temptation has come when you are weak.

One of the first things we can do to gain victory over temptation is to find out when our times of vulnerability occur.

Knowing that will then allow us to find ways of compensating for those times of weakness and making sure that we are out of harms way at those times of vulnerability.

If, as in the illustration above, we are tired and feel we deserve a break, we need to find other ways of meeting the need for appropriate rest and relaxation.

To be forewarned when a time of weakness is upon us, is to be forearmed and allows us to be particularly vigilant in resisting temptation at those times.

!! B. Appealing To Desires & Needs

            Another thing to understand about our temptations is that they appeal to a need in us.

We see how this was the case in Jesus’ temptations.

There is no doubt that Jesus needed food.

It was the life purpose of Jesus to win back the kingdoms of the world and he would live his entire life in confidence of God’s protection and care.

These were needs that he had and the temptations of Satan enticed him in the area of those needs.

When Satan tempted Jesus to make bread out of stones, the need that that temptation was to fulfill was pretty obvious - Jesus was hungry.

Often our temptations cater to a pretty real need.

When a young girl is neglected by parents, it is not surprising that she is promiscuous, she is looking for love.

Often, however, the need we are trying to cover with a particular temptation is not so obvious.

Why does a person need 4 or 5 beers?

I doubt very much if he is thirsty.

Why does a person need to finish a bag of cookies?

Hunger is not the obvious need.