Out In The Wilderness and Into The Frying Pan.

Luke 4:1-13

Transcript

Ash Wednesday, we had an Ash Wednesday service where it initiated the journey that we're about to take all the way to Easter Sunday. For those that don't know, the season of Lent is a church tradition to where we look at 40 days out from Easter and we prepare for that moment. And we prepare for that moment by doing exactly what Jesus did. He spent 40 days here in the wilderness, and we're going to take a look at that. But the whole idea of Lent is that every year we come to this point, as we gear up for Easter, to focus and get our souls and our minds right in focusing on Jesus and walking with Jesus in this season, heading towards the cross.
And so the idea of Lent is just like the spring, which is what the word Lent means. It means spring. You look out and you begin to see signs of life on the trees and in the grass. The that's been barren and dead all winter. Now you're seeing signs of life.
And that is the whole journey of the Christian life. We move from death to life. And every year we are reliving this before us because we're not perfected yet. We're not yet glorified, and we need constant sanctification. We need to rid ourselves of the flesh and to live more into the Spirit.
And so, traditionally, the church has always said we're going to do this intentionally. And in the season of Lent, many of us have decided what we are going to fast from and what we are going to replace with our fasting in order to continue to grow in our faith in Jesus Christ. And so I told you on Wednesday, for those that were here, that I would use Sunday as that point where we are connecting with Jesus along this journey for the next 40 days. And so when you come here for the next five Sundays, here's the journey we're going to experience. We're going to look at Jesus life, because that's who we're following.
We're following Jesus to the cross. And so we're going to have these mile markers that we're going to be looking at each and every Sunday. Now, let me just also say and encourage you that as you've been fasting, hopefully as you started on Wednesday for this Lenten journey, in this Lenten season, today is not a fasting day. I hope today, on Sundays, that you will go and feast. Do not fast.
Whatever you have been fasting from, you get to enjoy today. And that's for all eternity on Sundays. We don't fast on Sundays. We celebrate and we feast. And that is why it's 40 days leading up to the Resurrection Sunday, Easter.
But that doesn't include Sundays. All right, so let me just encourage you. Today's a day of fasting. So make sure you're fasting today. You don't have to make sure you're feasting today.
Make sure whatever you're fasting from doesn't take place today. Cause you're rejoicing in resurrection in that life. But with that said, let me just give you a glimpse of this journey that you will be experiencing if you're going to follow Jesus in this Lenten journey. Today we're going to look at where it all begins. And it begins in a place that's very unlikely.
It begins in the wilderness. And so today, our title of the sermon is out in the wilderness and into the frying pan, so to speak, for those who love Lord of the Rings. That in the Hobbit, that is a reference to that. But next week, we're going to look at this. We're gonna look at what happens when your check engine light comes on.
Because we're gonna look at Jesus. When there is trouble and resistance, what do you do along this journey? Then the third Sunday, we're gonna look at that long road of very little progress. During this journey, you might be experiencing very little progress. Right.
We're moving from death to life, but it seems like there's still death lingering around. I'm not feeling any change. I'm meeting resistance even with my own body as I'm fasting. We're going to look at that because Jesus experiences that as well. The fourth Sunday, we're going to experience what it means to lose our way along this journey.
Yeah, we're focused on heading to the cross. But what happens when we take the wrong turn or we get lost or we find that we can't find the path towards the cross? We're going to look at that. And then the fifth Sunday, that final stretch, that final descent as Jesus heads to his death, heads towards the Cross, we're going to look at that last week of persevering and enduring. So that's the journey ahead on this Lenten journey that hopefully all of us as a family are engaging with.
So today I want to look at the place where it all begins. Where is it that this Lenten journey begins? It begins in a wilderness, and it begins with extreme temptation. And we're going to look at that, and we're going to apply it to our lives. This morning, this temptation of Jesus comes in Luke, chapter four.
As we read the gospel reading. But before we dive into it. And I'm super excited, this is like one of my favorite passages to teach and preach on because it's rich with. With spiritual significance. So I have made room.
It's 11:05. I have made room. I got about another 55 minutes to get you out here by noon. Cause I'm super excited and stoked about this. But before we dive in, there's a couple things I want to reference as we look at these specific verses of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness.
The first thing is that Jesus is coming from his baptism. What happens at his baptism is the sky, the heavens open up, and the Father speaks to his Son for all to hear. And the Father speaks his approval and love over his Son. It's very important because that is the resource that Jesus has that he is carrying with him into the wilderness. And that also means that as we journey along with Jesus and begin in the wilderness ourselves, we have to begin with understanding that we already have God the Father's approval and love over.
Over our lives because of our faith in Jesus Christ. So as you journey into this Lenten journey in this Lenten season, as you are in the wilderness, you have to carry and put in your luggage that you already have the love of God. So you're not earning your actions in the Lenten journey is not earning God's favor earning God's love. You already have it. That's resource number one.
Resource number two is that he is full of the Holy Spirit. Verse 1 says, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan. That's where he was baptized and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness. So your second resource that you need to put in your luggage on this journey is being full of the Holy Spirit. You're not doing this journey alone, although it's gonna feel like a lonely road.
You are to do this journey, this Lenten journey, the way Jesus does it, full of the Holy Spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit, that you're not just wheeling your way in your own strength to fast from whatever you're fasting from, but that you are fasting and the Spirit is empowering you to be consistent in your life. So we need to have this resource of not just the Father's love and approval, but also the Spirit's power in us. These are our resources. This is how the journey must begin. Because this is how the journey begins for Jesus in his ministry.
And he goes out to the wilderness, we're told. And the question becomes, why do we start out the Journey in the wilderness. Can we maybe start slower? Maybe can we start more favorable? But the Spirit takes Jesus immediately out to the wilderness.
So it is the intention of the Father to bring Jesus into the wilderness. Now, I don't have time to go into all this as much I would like to, but there's a reason why Jesus is going into the wilderness. There is a intention, there is a purpose for why he is going into the wilderness. Because there have been God's people that were led into the wilderness before by God and who drastically failed and whined and complained. Their name was Israel.
They failed. They were tempted in multiple ways, and they failed. Matter of fact, this will become more obvious in the way that Jesus is tempted. He's tempted by Satan in the exact same ways that the people of God Israel was tempted in their wilderness when they came out of Egypt. Matter of fact, when Jesus references the Scriptures to counteract this temptation, he references Deuteronomy at every point that Israel was being tested or tempted in the wilderness, but yet failed.
So Jesus is going into the wilderness with a purpose led by the Spirit. The Father's will is you're going to go to the wilderness. You're going to redo what was a failure before, and you're going to succeed because you're going to trust in me in doing it. And you're going to overcome their temptations so that as you head to the cross, you're a perfect example for one who can substitute for them. You are the example of what it looks like to live a life empowered by the Holy Spirit and to be able to overcome temptation.
Because the people who will trust in you are going to be met with like kind temptations. And they need to know that they can't do it in themselves. But you are going to show them, Jesus, that by being filled with the Holy Spirit, they can overcome temptation, that they can resist the devil and he will flee from them. So that is what we need to have in the forefronts of our minds and on the edge of our tongue as we get ready to embark in this wilderness. And we've already been there for the last few days since Wednesday, right on this Lenten journey.
Right? We need to have the Father's approval and love already doing that. So we're not earning it in any way, shape or form. We're empowered by the Spirit. So we're not doing this in our flesh.
We're not doing this by sheer will or strength. We're doing it by the power of the Spirit, and we're doing it with intentionality, we're doing it with purpose that we know that we need. We're moving from death to life. And that looks like dying to self to be resurrected to the newness of life. That's the whole purpose, that's the whole aim to overcome this life that we all have been riddled with sin in.
And so now we come to the temptation of Jesus knowing all those things. And the first thing we encounter is Luke in verse 2, that Jesus has been fasting for 40 days and he was being tempted by the devil. Now, it is not recorded for us all the various temptations that Jesus was encountering for 40 days. But we know when those 40 days came at an end. We are given three specific temptations that Jesus faced.
And so what happens is he's starving, he's been fasting, right? And we're in verse two and four again. And he ate nothing for 40 days for those days. And when he had end, and when they had ended, he became hungry. And the devil said to him, if you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.
And Jesus answered him. It is written, man should not live on bread alone. What I want you to pay attention to is this. If then temptation of Satan, if you are the Son of God, then you should just simply feed yourself and satisfy your hunger pains. You could do it with mere power that you possess if you are the Son of God.
But I mean, if you're not, then don't do it. But if you are, then turn that stone into bread and feast the end of 40 days. But Jesus reply is very telling. Jesus shows us that, yeah, he could do that, but that is not the most important thing for him. Jesus puts in priority what it means for us to live our lives.
That is, we are spiritual beings, that we have souls and physical bodies, and that the greatest of these is to care and nurture the soul. That we can fast for 40 days. And our physical bodies, our bellies, will be grouchy and grumbling and hungry. But you can get through that if you have a full soul filled with the love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus demonstrates that life isn't about filling your belly or your bank accounts or all the physical things that you can find yourself doing.
That feels more real. But what's even better, what's even more fuller, what's even more joyful, is that we don't live on bread alone, but we live on the very word of God. You feast on God's word. That's why we gather as Christians on Sunday to feast on God's Word. We get God who has spoken to us and he says, cling to my words.
Be filled from it. You will find it more satisfying than if you were starving and could fill your belly. Your belly shouldn't be your God. Let God be your God. And so we're given a glimpse of what this, what snacks we need to take with us along this Lenten journey.
What road trip snacks do we need to take? The Word of God. Cling to the Word of God as you are walking out this journey stride by stride with Jesus. That's what Jesus is doing. He is clinging to the Word of God.
So as you're fasting, whatever you're fasting from, you're going to have those hunger pains, you're going to be impatient, you might get grouchy, you might be starving, but you have the Word of God. That is ultimately satisfying and it's going to push you through this period of fasting. And we also learned that this whole fasting thing is to deny yourself, not to satisfy yourself. Right? We don't use God like a lucky rabbit's foot to say, hey, I want you to satisfy me and my cravings.
We don't do that. We don't seek satisfaction for ourselves. We're not reaching out there with our hands trying to grab for us. We're opening our lives for God to pour into us, recognizing that His Word and He alone is the one that will satisfy us and make provision. So we learn the truth in this little game of truth and dare that Satan is playing with Jesus along his journey.
If this is the truth, if you are the Son of God, then I dare you to take this stone and turn it into bread. And Jesus says, no, that bread's not going to be really satisfying. Because the greatest satisfying thing is clinging to God's Word. And so here is the very reason why this journey is very applicable, is because right out of the gate, for the last few days, as you've been fasting, let's just fast from food. That's something I'll share with you, that I've been doing.
I do it twice a week that I've started on. And on those days, I found my attitude to be a little wanting. I found me to be a little grumbling. I found me to be really hangry and starving and it's hard. I can't tell you how many times, especially when we're doing food pantry on Friday, which happened to be one of the days I'm fasting and I See those package of Mega peanut butter M and Ms.
I was like, they're right there. Take and eat and be done with the fasting. It's hard, it's difficult. But what I try to replace that with is praying more. Because I need to learn to pray more.
I'd be honest. And had I not prayed right before I came to the food pantry, an extra moment of prayer. I thought about that as I stared at those M and M's, and I said, you just prayed and asked God to help you through the rest of your day. Will you trust him to do that, or are you going to trust to satisfy yourself? Will you let God satisfy you, or will you satisfy yourself?
And I say praise be to God that I prayed to him, because had I not prayed, I would have not thought about that. And nobody else knew I was fasting, so I would have just reached in and just unloaded, But I didn't. Praise be to God.
But then, not only are we given, not only does Jesus give us the type of snacks we ought to be feasting on, which is the word of God. Along this journey, we also are challenged with what we listen to, right? Just like any road trip, I'm sure you listen to music. I was coming back from the pastor's conference this week, and there was a fire in Gatlinburg, so we had to evacuate. And it was the middle of the night.
It was like 11:30, and I just decided to head home. Everybody else was going to hotel, but the conference was over first thing in the morning. So I was like, I'm going to head home. And so I was talking to my wife, and she was tired. I was kind of hoping we'd have this conversation for the next five hours.
And she'd keep me awake. She's like, yeah, so you good? All right, I got to go to bed. So she goes to bed and I just blare music with beef jerky and water for five hours. And it was helpful, got me through that journey.
I didn't get tired once, which I'm very grateful for. But when we're on these journeys, when we're on these road trips, what we listen to us does help or it hinders us. And this is exactly what we see in the next temptation that is done with Jesus in verse five through eight. And he led him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to him, I will give you all this domain and its glory, for it has been handed over to me, and I will give it to whomever I wish.
Therefore, if you worship before me, it shall be yours. And Jesus answered him. It is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only. What is it that we are going to be listening to? Do we listen to the grumblings of our bellies?
Do we even listen to others who say, ah, you know, it's okay, don't fast today or whatever you're doing. What if you are to encounter a shortcut, right? That's what Jesus has experienced here. The temptation of Jesus right here is that Satan, who is the prince of this world, means all the kingdoms of all times of this world have been handed over to him. He is the one that is the slave master and has enslaved every kingdom that has ever come before.
And even in 2025 and even in the future, those kingdoms of the world are enslaved to Satan. We learn this here. One side note, caveat rabbit trail is that behind governments and kingdoms that are of this world lies a power and his name is Satan. And Satan is ruling and working his evil and malice into the world. There's only one kingdom that opposes all of that.
That's the kingdom of heaven. This is why Jesus, when he gives you the great commission, he says all authority has actually been handed to to me. Now that I've died and been resurrected, I have all authority. And what I want you to do is I want you to go and everywhere you put your foot, you expand and you advance the kingdom, my kingdom. And what you're going to do is you're going to encounter these worldly kingdoms and you're going to transform them the way you are transformed from death to life.
And you're going to transform them to being ruled by the prince of the power of the air, to be ruled by the king of kings. That's what you're doing, that's the commission. That's what the bride of Christ is meant to be doing. So when I use the language advancing the kingdom, that's the imagery I have in my mind is that we go out here and we don't shy away from the evil and the malice of the kingdoms of the world, but we transform them and make them right and good and restore them to their proper authority, which is the king of kings.
And so Satan here tempts him and says Jesus and notice he doesn't say if you are the son of God, because then that would defeat the whole temptation from the get go, right? He goes, if you are the son of God, bow down and worship me. That doesn't make Sense, So he doesn't use it here. Notice that you can spend forever on that thought. But he says, you want a shortcut, you don't have to do all this wilderness stuff.
You don't have to journey your way to the cross. I'll hand it to you right now. I'll give it to you right now. Let's cut this thing short. Let's make it easy.
Let's make this transaction. Just bow down to me. Bow down to me. That's all. The Word's worship.
The word worship means literally to bow down, to prostrate yourself. This is why when we come to worship, at some point in worship, you should be bowing down. Whether it's on your knee, whether it's on your face, or if it's just sitting there and bowing your head. You should come to worship God. Bow down.
Because that's the gesture Satan was looking for Jesus to do. Jesus, you know, everything has been given to me. I'm the prince of the power of the air. I control all the kingdoms of all times, in every moment. I'll give it to you right now.
Done. Easy. But Jesus doesn't listen to him. He listens to his Father. That's the music on his road trip.
He says, that's not my Father's will. My Father's will is that I go and die so that they can live and I will do it. And Jesus says, I worship my Father. I worship the Lord God. In him alone, there is no one else to worship.
Who you listen to will determine the type of journey you're going to be experiencing over these next few days leading to the resurrection. Maybe you're going to listen to yourself because self talk can often talk us into things we shouldn't be doing. Maybe you're going to be listening to the influences of the world, but what are you gonna be listening to? The word of God that you're feasting on as God speaks into your life? Are you going to let your mind wander?
Are you gonna do a bunch of self talk and talk yourself out of not doing this? This is too hard. Let me take an easier way, make it easy for myself. Jesus doesn't make it easy. He embraces the difficult, challenging, long road ahead.
He says, there is no other way. This is the only way, and I'm going to do it. Then we come to the third temptation. That is the lesson of trusting God. Reckless driving, so to speak.
Verses 9 through 12. And he led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple. And he said to them, if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here. For it is written, he will command his angels concerning you to guard you, and on their hands they will bear you up so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. And Jesus answered and said to him, it is said, you should not put the Lord your God to the test.
Here we are again looking at the if. Then he says, if you are the Son of God, then drive recklessly because you're. Your daddy's gonna protect you. It says so in his word. You wanna quote scripture?
There's scripture for you. Your daddy's gonna protect you. See, you could take a flying leap in a rolling donut and you're going to. Angels are gonna come and get you. If you're the Son of God, it's going to happen.
So just jump off right now. Be reckless, don't follow the path. Veer off, do whatever you want. Disobey the speed limits, let's go, do whatever. That's how Satan is tempting Jesus.
He says, let's see if your daddy really loves you. I mean, he's going to protect you along the way. If his will is to go to the cross, then what's going to hinder you from doing that? This is the truth of the matter. Truth of the matter is Jesus doesn't need to test his Father's love because he knows he already has it.
Remember, that's the resource that we began with. He doesn't need to prove or test his Father. And whether or not he's going to protect him, he knows he will. All the more reason why to stay the course, come what may. The Father will protect him.
So he doesn't need to prove it from some kind of reckless act. Indeed. To prove it, we don't need to prove God's love for us in our lives. We just need to trust it. We don't need God to show up and prove over and again, hey, I'll believe in you if you did this.
I'll believe in you. If you just give me what I want, then I'll believe you. Stop testing the Lord. He has already proven himself in his son, Jesus Christ. What more could he give you?
He can't give you any more. He gave you the most he had. So he doesn't need to prove himself. You just need to trust more. And that's what we learn along this journey.
Just because you know that you're moving from death to life and you're trusting in that, doesn't mean you can be reckless, that you still need to drive the right way, that you still need to persevere and endure this journey, not testing God, but trusting in him.
And then we come to the end of this all, the end of it all. In 13, when the devil had finished every temptation he left him until an opportune time. You would think that, all right, we started here in the wilderness. Our Lenten journey starts here in the wilderness. We're going to walk stride and stride with Jesus all the way to the cross.
We got through these first set few days of all the temptations that can ever come to us. As we're trying to do something good and right for our spiritual walk, we're encountering these challenges and difficulties. Surely we're done. Surely we're not going to face any more temptation. Surely the hard part is over.
We faced it up front and now we're kind of can coast the rest of the way. Unfortunately, that's not going to be the case. And you'll have to show up Sunday after Sunday to realize that as we walk with Jesus through the gospel readings. But this is important and this is something that I think is more profound. And I'll be quite honest with you.
I have read over 15 commentaries and they don't point this out, what I'm about to point out to you. So take it with a grain of salt. I don't think I'm discovering anything new. I just think it's always been there. But here is the opportune time.
You know, the next time Satan shows up, this time's face to face with Jesus. But he doesn't do that the next time he shows up. You know where he shows up next time? That's very vivid. And Peter.
Peter, after having walked with Jesus for a period of time, comes to know when Jesus says, who do people say that I am? He says, well, some people say you're John the Baptist, some say Elijah. And Jesus looks at Peter and says, who do you say that I am? And Peter makes his profession of faith. He says, you are the Christ.
And then Jesus says, you're right, I am the Christ and I'm going to go and die. I'm going to be handed over. I'm going to suffer an excruciating death. And Peter says, no, no, far be it from me. That's not going to happen to you.
And Jesus says, get behind me, Satan. Because he understands who was influencing Peter in that moment. The opportune time came up again. Temptation, A close, beloved disciple. Close the head.
The leader of all disciples, his best friend, the one who Gets to be on the inside with Jesus. He goes up to the mountain of transfiguration with him. Gets to see all these amazing things that Jesus does in his ministry. That's Peter. And Satan would creep in and whisper in Peter's ear, don't let the Christ die.
Surely not. Jesus knew. Jesus said, get behind me, Satan. Then at the last meal with his disciples, Satan comes into Judas Iscariot and leads to the betrayal of Jesus.
Jesus experiences betrayal from one that was close to him, but yet he didn't let that deter him. He didn't let that sidetrack him from what he was doing. And the greatest moment of all, the very end. Satan shows up one final time before he is vanquished and Jesus Christ is made victorious. And Jesus binds him up for the last time before that all happens.
The last moment of Jesus life when he's on the cross. And this is the connection, I think if you listen to the words that are being said and you are familiar with the temptations that Jesus began his ministry with, he encounters them not by Satan, face to face, but he encounters them from the very people he's trying to save. Luke 23:35, 30, 39. And the people stood by looking on, and even the rulers were sneering at him, saying, he saved others. Let him save himself.
If this is the Christ of God, his chosen one. The soldiers also mocked him, coming up to him, offering him sour wine. Sour wine to help ease the pain. Are you in pain? Ease it.
Are you hungry? Here's some bread.
And saying, if you are the king, if you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. Now there was also an inscription above him. This is the king of the Jews. And one of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at him, saying, are you not the Christ? Save yourself and save us.
Jump off that pinnacle, because the angels will come. If you just jump off the cross, we'll believe in you. If you are the Son of God, then jump off the high place of the temple. If you are the Son of God, come off the cross. Enough's enough.
We'll believe. I think this is another opportune time where Satan, who started out face to face, mingled with Jesus disciples and now mingles with the people that Jesus is trying to save.
So when you're facing temptations, struggles and difficulties of every kind, know that Jesus did. Jesus knows what it's like to be tempted with people closest to you that you love. Family members, communities, your whole world of influence around you. You seem like you're all alone. That every easy option to take is right there available if you just stretch out your hand and take it.
But Jesus commits himself to the only way that this is meant to work. He commits himself only to the will of God. His Father knows in his wise counsel what is best. He must die on that cross for you. There's no other way.
Angels can't lift him up and your salvation be accomplished. He can't turn stone to bread for your salvation to be accomplished. He can't drink enough sour wine to ease the pain for the wrath of God to be satisfied. Because of your sin, Jesus endured all those temptations along the whole entire road. And what this is going to probably point out to you is that as we enter in that final descent in these 40 days leading to the cross, that last week might be the most challenging because the very things that are in front of your face are the very things that are.
That you're moving towards for life. Jesus is trying to save these people. They're calling out for them to save him and they want him to come off the cross. He says, no, I will save you, though, and I'm going to die. Because what you don't know is when I die, I will bring death to an end.
And I will bind up Satan and I will ransom those kingdoms from him, and I will ransom you from him, and he will have no power over you. But I have to die. My Father who loves me will resurrect my life, so I'll live forever. And that way, when you die, as you walk with me to this cross, so too will you be made alive. We start out on this Lenten journey the exact same place that Jesus does in the wilderness, being tempted, being tried.
This road's going to get difficult. You're going to end up getting lost, and it's going to be a real big challenge to you. But just like you start with Jesus in the wilderness, guess what? You'll also get to end with him in resurrection. That's the whole thing.
The journey is unpleasant. A lot of people don't want to do it. But Jesus says, if you want to follow after me, deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow me. Do the journey, and it'll end where my journey ends.
The resurrection of life, the newness of life. So church, family, we have started this journey. We began it on Wednesday. Today is a day of feasting. Today is a day of fueling up.
Because tomorrow we're going to get back on the road and walk with Jesus, and we're going to endure these days together as a family. Remember these resources and these tools that Jesus displays here. The resources is you're not earning God's love. You already have it because you believe in Jesus by faith. You've been given His Holy Spirit to empower you along this journey.
He's already given you the purpose to move from death to life. Use the resources of true worship, worshiping God and Him alone, and the Word of God to fuel your journey. If you do that, I believe that it'll be very effective for you by the end, that you will look more like Jesus by Easter than you ever have before. Let's pray.
Jesus, we thank you that you have gone before us, that you have committed to the journey, that you have undergone all the temptations, you've been tempted in every way that we have, and yet you did not sin. We pray now for that same Spirit that you were empowered by would empower our lives to live like you. You have called us not just to be saved from our sin by faith in youn, but also to be saved to the Kingdom of Heaven. And we ask that yout would make this realized. Be with us, comfort us, and give us peace as we walk with youh over these next few weeks as we journey to the cross and to Easter Sunday.
And we'll give youe all the praise and glory for it. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Now let us all stand and sing together page 451, and respond as the Spirit moves.