Temptations

Luke 4:1-13

The Temptation of Jesus

1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2where for forty days he was tempted 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 does not live on bread alone.

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, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7So if you worship me, it will all be yours."

8Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'[b]"

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.'[c]"

12Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'[d]"

13When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

The verses here in Luke mostly tell how the devil tried to tempt Jesus into sin and turning away from God. Of course Jesus wasn’t swayed by the devil, even if the devil presented plausible reasons that can make Jesus turn His back to God. But in the end the devil left him because the faith of Jesus is so strong that it is futile trying to tempt him to sin.

We should be aware that in our everyday lives, the devil lurks almost everywhere. Almost all the time he tempts us to do bad stuff, often giving us reasons which we may deem justifiable for the act of the sin. But we must keep this in mind, no matter what the reason, a sin is a sin. We should never sin, since it is bad, and God will be saddened if we do.

What if we have already sinned? We should ask God for forgiveness. If we are sincere, God will surely forgive us. But the lesson from the verses here is simple. Do not give in to sin. Do not be tempted by the devil. Live as a good person, and all will be well.