Our pastor made a great point this Sunday in a message addressing Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, as told in Luke 4:1-13:
Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”
Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’”
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.
Our pastor first emphasized that Jesus had come to the wilderness led by the Holy Spirit, which “in bodily form, descended on him like a dove” at baptism (Luke 3:22). And through the inspiration, assistance, and comfort of the Holy Spirit, our Lord endured forty days of fasting and the triple temptations of the devil.
And we can likewise be confident of Jesus’ promises in John 14 and 16 to send the Holy Spirit to us for comfort, assistance, and inspiration. Indeed, our pastor concluded that we have all of the Holy Spirit that we need, to do all of the “work that we are called to do”. Amen.
Further, we are told by Jesus,
“But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks.” (Luke 11:13)
…
What made this sermon great for me is that it got me thinking past the original spoken points. My later thinking went here:
>> What words did Jesus use when inspired by the Holy Spirit to answer the devil’s temptations?
The answer is very clear: Jesus exclusively used Scripture, the written Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to answer the devil.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.“
Jesus, truly the Son of God, the Living Word, the Word become flesh, and full of the Holy Spirit, could have spoken powerful new Words to answer the devil. At the end of time, Jesus says, “I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth” (Revelation 2:16).
But in the wilderness, Jesus the Living Word chose to answer the devil simply and devastatingly with Scripture, the written Word of God.
This is truly fantastic, because we have the very same Scriptures available to us. And with inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we can speak the Word with equal, and even greater power. Through the Holy Spirit, we can do the “even greater things” spoken by in John 14:12.
Jesus’ use of Scripture is a great reminder for us of the power of God’s written Word, and to resist any efforts to weaken, diminish, or dilute the written Word of God. May the Holy Spirit be with us.
Amen.
words on The Word 