The baptism of Jesus was His ordination for public ministry. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit and His identity and mission were confirmed by the heavenly voice:

“Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased.” (Lk 3:22b)

From that high point, that mountaintop, He begins His public ministry. Where? In the wilderness. Why? In order to do battle with the powers of darkness. Evil would thwart God’s redemptive purposes and behind evil stands the devil. The devil is the personal, physical embodiment of evil. The devil hates God and the people of God. He is the enemy of our souls. He is a liar and deceiver (Jn 8:44). He is our adversary, a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet 5:8). If Jesus is to save sinners, He must defeat the devil. He does this at the cross. There the devil fell from heaven like lightning (Lk 10:18). There Jesus put all his enemies under His feet (1 Cor 15:25-27). There Jesus disarmed the “rulers and authorities” and “made a public display of them, having triumphed over them” (Col 2:15). Jesus came that He might “destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8). The journey into the wilderness is a “clash of cosmic proportions,” says Green, the first skirmish in a war that must be waged.[1] Jesus wins the skirmish as a prelude to His victory in the battle for our souls.

Deliberate

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness (Lk 4:1)

Jesus’ journey into the wilderness was not a mistake or a misstep. Jesus, we are told, was “full of the Spirit,” and was “led about by the Spirit in the wilderness.” Mark’s language is even stronger. Jesus was “impelled” (ekballō) by the Spirit to go into the wilderness, into a hot, desolate desert region of Palestine (Mk 1:12). There He was alone. There He suffered deprivation, isolation, and temptation. There He suffered in the things in which He was tempted (Heb 2:18). It is important that we notice that this is deliberate. He no sooner leaves the waters of baptism than He enters the fires of temptation. Sometimes it is the will of God for us to languish in the wilderness. Sometimes it is the will of God for us to face deprivation and temptation. “We are no sooner stept forth into the field of God, than (the devil) labors to wrest our weapons out of our hands, or to turn them against us,” observes Joseph Hall (1574–1656).[2] Why does God allow and ordain this? We may not be able to answer specifically. Rarely can we say that we have suffered a particular loss for a particular reason. Yet we can say generally that there are things that we learn through suffering that we learn nowhere else. Suffering renders us more teachable than otherwise we might be. Suffering opens our eyes to those things which otherwise we might not see. If I find myself in a desert, isolated, alone, desolate, I am to know that this happens by the will of God. Often the servants of God have immediately moved from the mountaintops of Carmel and Sinai to the depths of disappointment and even despair (1 Kings 18,19; Ex 31:18–32:10). Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness. The same may be the case for us. “The portion of Christ will often be the portion of Christians,” observes J. C. Ryle.[3]

Mission

The sojourn in the wilderness is an opportunity to identify Jesus’ mission, as He fulfills three Old Testament types.

for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days; and when they had ended, He became hungry. (Lk 4:2)

The “forty days” is a clue. This was the period spent fasting in isolation by both Moses (Ex 34:28; Deut 9:9,18) and Elijah (1 Kings 19:5,8). Jesus comes as a greater than Moses and greater than Elijah. More important, Jesus is not only a son of Adam (see 3:38) but the second Adam and a second Israel.[4] Jesus “ate nothing” in the wilderness. He is “the second man come to triumph where the first man failed,” explains David Gooding, “destined in resurrection to be the beginning and head of a new humanity.”[5] Adam’s disobedient eating is followed by Jesus’ obedient eating. Though He has the power to turn stones to bread, “He is also human and proposes to live on the terms that are right and appropriate for a man, a son of Adam.”[6]

Jesus is also the true Israel. Israel was allowed to hunger in the desert/wilderness and then supplied with manna from heaven that it might learn that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Deut 8:30). Israel in the wilderness was taught to worship God alone (Deut 6:13). Israel in the wilderness was taught not to put the Lord God to the test (Deut 6:16). Moses explained in Deuteronomy that these were the lessons learned through the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Israel failed to learn the appointed lesson in each case. Jesus, by citing these texts in His rebuttals to Satan, and by His faithfulness in the wilderness for 40 days (paralleling Israel’s 40 years), shows Himself to be “the true Son of God, in whom the destiny of Israel was recapitulated and the divine purpose accomplished in that He renders to God the obedience and trust that Israel failed to give.”[7] Jesus submits to the written word, “It stands written,” in contrast with the continual grumbling and rebellion of Israel. Jesus is the antitype of which Adam and Israel are the types. Jesus is also the Prophet (like Moses and Elijah) whom all the prophets foreshadowed. What each type did in part and imperfectly, He now accomplishes fully and with perfection. Jesus is God’s last word to humanity, the final and decisive word, never to be superseded (Heb 1:1,2). Jesus is the One in whom all the ideals and institutions of Israel are to be fulfilled, in particular to be a blessing to all the nations of the world (Gen 12:1ff; contrast with Rom 2:24; Is 52:5).

Method of ministry

What, then, is revealed by the 40 days in the wilderness and the three culminating temptations? For 40 days He was tempted, and at the end of the 40 days the temptations of the devil intensify. “Jesus has a devil to overcome if He is to carry out His mission, a devil who stands in opposition to the kingdom of God,” comments Marshall.[8] The temptations provide the occasion for demonstrating how Jesus will go about fulfilling His mission. They are, fundamentally, temptations of the flesh, power, and faith.

First, the devil tempted Jesus to use His power for personal ends.

And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” (Lk 4:3)

Jesus had just heard a heavenly voice call Him “Son” (3:22). Satan invites Jesus to verify His sonship. Jesus refuses to do so on the devil’s terms. The temptation functions at several levels. Jesus is hungry. He’d like some food, and here’s an easy way to get some. After all, “you gotta eat,” as they say. It is also a challenge to his identity and His power. “If you are the Son of God.” This challenge would tug at the ego of most people. It’s an “I’ll show you” moment. Is Jesus to use His power to satisfy His hunger or his ego? Or is He to trust God to satisfy His needs and only use His power as God authorizes it to be used? Will Jesus submit to the will of God? Jesus answers,

“It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” (Lk 4:4)

The lie of the devil is that we must have bread. We have to live. If bread is not forthcoming and we are suffering severe deprivation we may use unlawful means to acquire it. Jesus’ answer is to cite Deuteronomy 8:3. We live not by bread alone but by God’s blessing. We depend not upon bread, says Calvin, but “upon the command and pleasure of God.”[9] Further Calvin explains, “we are not to imagine that bread sustains us itself, but rather the hidden grace which God breathes into the bread” is what imparts life.[10] Consequently we are to look to God for our daily bread and rely upon His blessing. We are not to distrust Him and disobey. As Marshall explains, “it is more important to obey the word of God, even if obedience involves physical hunger.”[11]

This temptation represents all the temptations of the flesh. The devil, and the world with the devil, says that food, drink, sensual pleasure, entertainment, recreation are the things of which life consists. We don’t have the supernatural power with which to satisfy our physical needs, but we face the same temptation to use means that are not according to the will of God: the immoral, the dishonest, the illicit. We don’t have to eat. We don’t have to make a living. Jesus confronts and rebuts that physical, material outlook in this first temptation. “For life is more than food” (Lk 12:23). Jesus says we live by “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4). Trust God. Use lawful means; but rely on the blessing of God. He is able to furnish a table even in the wilderness (Ps 78:19,20).

Second, the devil tempts Jesus to bypass the cross for the crown.

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 give it to whomever I wish.” (Lk 4:5,6)

Jesus has been promised dominion by the Father. He is the Son of the Most High to whom the Lord God will give the throne of David and an eternal kingdom (1:32,33). Yet He will have to pass through suffering in order to get there (2:34,35). The devil offers a shortcut. He claims that the kingdoms of the world, “this domain and its glory . . . has been handed over to me.” In some sense it has. He is “the god of this world” (2 Cor 4:4). The whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 Jn 5:19). The world was “handed over” at the time of the fall (cf. Eph 2:2; Rev 13:2; also Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).). “If the first temptation tested faith in God as the provider of life’s necessities, the second is going to test faith in God as the moral governor of the universe,” says Gooding.[12] Much good could have been done through cooperating with the devil. A just government might have been established. The genuine welfare of the people might have been promoted. The kingdom of God might have been established.

At what cost might Jesus receive this cross-less and cost-less kingdom?

“Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” (Lk 4:7)

The devil demands homage, worship. That’s all. As the Father promised the Son the kingdom on His terms, so now the devil offers the kingdom on his terms. “The devil proposes to displace God as Jesus’ benefactor,” explains Green.[13] The kingdom of God may be built, the suffering of Gethsemane and Calvary avoided, at the expense of devil worship. The devil’s agenda is unmasked. He hates God and wishes to replace Him. This, of course, would have meant unacceptable compromise. It would have meant a different kind of kingdom from that which He was called to establish. The devil’s kingdom is an earthly kingdom. It has only to do with the here and now. At best it would achieve a temporal good. However, it would leave eternity unaddressed and sins unatoned. This is the kind of kingdom the world perpetually is attempting to establish, from the Marxists, to the Fascists, to the secularists. They want utopia without Christ and without a cross. They want the kingdom of God without God. Even God’s people are sometimes seduced by this vision of a kingdom achieved by political means. It can’t be done. All such attempts are doomed to failure.

Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world (Jn 18:36ff). His path was the lowly path, the cross then the crown. Only when He has taken the form of a bond servant and been obedient unto death shall He be highly exalted and given the name above every name (Phil 2:6ff). How will Jesus become King? He appeals to Deuteronomy 6:13.

And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’” (Lk 4:8)

The temptation is that of power. The devil’s promise is an illusion, as are all quests for earthly power and position that compromise the will of God. The Christian’s path is that of Jesus. Only as we humble ourselves will we be exalted (1 Pet 5:6; 2:21). Jesus’ mission of establishing the kingdom of God can only be achieved in submission to the will of the Father, employing His methods, implementing His plan. There can be no shortcuts. The cross may not be bypassed. Atonement must be made. Satisfaction must be received. God must be both “just” and “justifier” of the subjects of His kingdom (Rom 3:26).

Third, the devil tempts Jesus to test God. “Twice repulsed with Scripture texts, the devil tries a text himself,” says Manson.[14]

And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; for it is written, ‘He will give His angels charge concerning You to guard You,’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.’” (Lk 4:9-11)

This is the temptation of faith and of the faithful. The devil adopts the voice of God by citing the promises of protection from Psalm 91:11,12. Test the promises, he says. Are you the Son of God? Let’s see. This is a strategic flip-flop by the devil. He’s working the angles. The first and third tests are opposites. The first denied God’s provision and tempted Jesus to use His powers to supply His needs. The third presumes upon God’s provision and urges Jesus “to overlook the resources at hand and . . . to fling Himself into an open test,” explains Calvin.[15] This final test is a subtle one. It is a challenge to give evidence of faith in God by acting upon it. It is not unlike John the Baptist’s demand of the fruit of repentance, that is, visible evidence of the authenticity of one’s faith. “Step out in faith,” is the challenge. Yet it is a deceptive challenge, a challenge not to trust God but to test Him, not to prove His sonship but to presume upon it and abuse it, as Gooding points out.[16] It is not faith to “force God into a situation where He would have no choice but to back up the action in order to avert disaster, or else be accused of unfaithfulness if He did not.”[17] For the third time Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy, this time 6:16.

“It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Lk 4:12)

Do not “force” a test upon God. Do not presume to force a divine intervention. “Trust in God doesn’t mean acting stupidly to force God into doing a spectacular rescue,” explains N. T. Wright.[18] God’s promises are to be simply trusted not tested, believed not subjected to experimentation. He refuses the temptation, and with it the use of His power for gratuitous display. Jesus is not a magician. He will not cross the line that separates validating miracles from tricks and stunts that excite the curious but one of no value in building faith. He will not turn His kingdom into a circus act.

Victory

And when the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. (Lk 4:13)

The devil yields the field. He has “emptied his quiver,” as Matthew Henry put it.[19] The skirmish is over. It anticipates the mortal wound he will receive at the cross and his final defeat. He will try again at “an opportune time.” However, the certainty of his defeat is established. The “shameful withdrawal” of the devil, as Green calls it, is a foretaste of the destruction of all evil and the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom in which righteousness will reign.[20]

We need now only to note that central to Jesus’ method of combatting Satan is the citation of Scripture. Jesus used no special resource in countering the temptations of Satan. He didn’t draw upon supernatural powers. He cited Scripture, specifically verses from Deuteronomy 6:13 to 8:3. We’ve been reading lectio continua through Deuteronomy on Sunday nights for the last several months. I am certain that some have wondered what on earth we are doing there. Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy all seem so remote. Yet from Deuteronomy Jesus got the ammunition with which to defeat the devil. He doesn’t reason with him. He doesn’t argue with him. He “knocked (him) on the head,” as Matthew Henry put it, with Scripture.[21] In this He is an example for us in our battles with the devil and the temptation of the flesh, of power, and of faith. Scripture is the “sword of the Spirit” (Eph 6:17). It is our offensive weapon. Counter the devil’s suggestions and seductions with Scripture. Know your Bible. Commit Scripture to memory. As we do so, as we resist him with the word, we are promised that he will flee from us as well (Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:9).