Introduction
God the Father opens the heavens and speaks to Jesus, telling Him that He loves Him, identifying Him as His Son and telling Him that He is well pleased with Him. What a moment in Jesus’ life! Immediately following this event, the Bible says that the Spirit of God led Jesus into the wilderness. Why? What for? What would be waiting for Jesus in the wilderness? Take a look.
Reading [You can read as much as you can, depending on your availability]
Luke 4:1-13
(or/and)
Matthew 4:1-11
(or/and)
Mark 1:12-13
Meditating [Use these questions to start your thinking]
- What is Jesus experiencing physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually during the forty days in the desert?
- What do you believe was the Father’s purpose for leading Jesus into this wilderness experience?
- Why do we often need to go through wilderness experiences? (See Deuteronomy 8)
- What other questions do you still have?
Sharing: Text ONE of your answers to the questions above to your team. Each team should post a sharing from a team member in the comments below.
Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan himself. After forty days of temptations of every kind, the enemy comes again to Jesus. Jesus is now weak, tired and very, very hungry. Notice carefully what Satan says to Jesus.
“‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’” (Matt. 4:3)
The temptation was a direct attack on the truth of God’s words. God the Father had just affirmed Jesus’ identity as the Son of God at His baptism when He said, “You are my Son.” Satan then comes and calls into question what God had clearly stated. This has been the devil’s strategy from the beginning. Remember when Satan came to Eve, in the form of a serpent, in the Garden of Eden? He said to her, “‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”?’” (Gen. 3:1). Satan is so cunning. He always questions what God has said to get us to doubt the truth. I always remind myself, “Never doubt in the night what God has clearly said in the light.”
Satan came to get Jesus to doubt what His Father had just said to Him. Satan offers things that are temporal, things that will satisfy our hunger for the moment but will leave us feeling empty, things that will steal the Word of God from us and attack our new identity in Christ. Satan loves to attack the Word of God because he knows if we doubt what God has said, we will be immobilized and, eventually, become disobedient to God.
Notice how Jesus overcomes the devil. He quotes from the Word of God: “… man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from out of the mouth of the Lord.” (Deut. 8:3). Jesus uses the Word of God to overcome the attack on His identity. The key to overcoming temptation is to know the Word of God. We would be wise to learn from our Master.
Finally, note that this is not the only time in Jesus’ life when He was tempted. Near the end of this passage, it says, “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). Temptation is a daily thing in the life of all human beings — get used to it. Soak in the Word of God and allow it to purify you (Psa. 119:9). Reading God’s Word and meditating on it is like taking a bath — it will purify you and give you confidence to fight back in the face of temptation. When temptation comes knocking at your door, will you be as ready as Jesus was? When the enemy attacks your identity in Jesus, will you be ready with truth from God’s Word to strike back? I challenge you to memorize God’s Word. It is your sword in the fight against temptation (Eph. 6:17). The Word of God is instrumental: “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). Get the Word of God in your heart and start fighting temptation, instead of yielding to it.
The key to overcoming temptation is to live by every word that God the Father gives us. Have you felt the attack of the enemy this past week? Remember, his goal is to cause you to doubt what God has said to you through His Word. This doubt will lead to unbelief and disobedience. Don’t fall into his trap; be like Jesus and immerse yourself in the Word of God. The second root that needs to be established in the life of a Christ-follower is the Word of God.
Spend a few minutes committing these verses about your identity to memory (1 John 3:1; Heb.11:6). Have a conversation with a friend today about temptation and how to overcome it.
Why do we often need to go through wilderness experiences?
Referring back to Deuteronomy 8, it’s for us to remember God and how He’s the one leading us, humbling our hearts and redirecting us back to Him. I know for myself I have a tendency to rely on my own power when things are going well, no longer seeking as much guidance from Him as I feel more on autopilot. In the case of being in the wilderness, I need to rely on Him to sustain me, and am reminded to look to Him rather than my own strength, and am able to see His working in even the smallest details
What do you believe was the Father’s purpose for leading Jesus into this wilderness experience?
I think that in order for Jesus to say that He can help us overcome sins, He himself had to experience it first. Jesus had to walk into our shoes. This empowers us because Jesus Himself overcame sins, therefore it is Him who can help us to do the same. He experienced all the levels of sins, from the body to the soul, and to spiritually. He overcame them all. He is able to sympathize with us. That is why God put Jesus into the wilderness for this experience.
I find it really cool that God was pleased with Jesus before he even did anything. He hadn’t overcome the desert temptation, he hadn’t done any miracles or preached yet. But God still showed his love. And I think God put Jesus through the desert bc He knew that Jesus would be prepared with God’s love and spirit backing him. Jesus had to be tempted in order to fully understand the human experience, and this was a good time for it, when he would be most prepared.
Jesus was experiencing physical exhaustion from walking so long, mentally tough in fighting against the temptation, emotionally cautious in response to the tempter’s words, and spiritually connected to his truth during the forty days in the desert. I believe the purpose of this was to give Jesus the power of choice. As humans, we get to decide whether we give into temptations or not, what we like to eat and do, and whether or not we choose to follow and spread the word of God.
We often experience the wilderness as a way for God to refine us. He wants to humble and test what’s inside of our hearts. He wants to see if we’re willing to obey Him. Through our obedience, He leads us to “good land”and a better place He has in store for us. He wants us to continue to seek and walk with Him and trust that He’ll continue to provide for us.