Amy C Walters

The Temptation of Jesus – Luke 4:1-13

Jesus battled against temptation by quoting from the Bible. In this post, we make some important observations about his use of Scripture, including where in the Bible his quotes come from. (Hint: it’s probably a book you haven’t read in awhile.)

This is the third post on the story of Jesus in the wilderness and we will look, at last, at how he was able to resist temptation. And honestly, it’s a lesson that you probably already know: we fight temptation with Scripture. But even though you already know it, it’s worth diving into, because we don’t always put it into practice. 

The first temptation that Jesus faces is to turn stone into bread. Remember, he’s in the wilderness, he’s been fasting for 40 days, he’s hungry. But Jesus answers, “It is written, man does not live on bread alone.

So Jesus starts with “it is written.” He also responds with that to the second temptation. But what is written? What does that mean? 

Jesus is referring to Scripture. One possible paraphrase is, “The Bible says…” So Jesus goes straight for Scripture.

Notice, too, that there is no commentary with it. There’s nothing that says, “I think, I believe, I would add,”–and Jesus has powerful words, right? If anyone could add anything to this battle against the devil, it’s Jesus. He created the universe by his word. So if anyone could add anything to what was said, it’s Jesus. But no, he sticks with the written Word of God, the Bible.

Let’s look at the passage he’s referring to. This quote comes from the Book of Deuteronomy, and in that passage in Deuteronomy, it’s talking about how the Israelites were in the wilderness after God brought them out of slavery in Egypt. They’re in the wilderness, and they’re without food, and they’re hungry, and God provides food for them.

Not only that, God’s Word itself is nourishment. It’s life-giving. 

Jesus, in quoting this passage, communicates that God provided back then, he can provide for Jesus now, and God’s provision is more than just physical food. 

Notice, too, that the devil’s temptation is multi-layered. He appeals to Jesus’ physical hunger but he also questions Jesus’ identity. “If you are the Son of God.” 

As we mentioned in the previous post, the devil is trying to stir up doubt about who Jesus is and God’s care and plan for him. But the devil is also trying to bait Jesus into an argument. 

Does Jesus take the bait and try to prove his Sonship? No. His answer doesn’t even address that part. He keeps his answer simple and limited to the written Word of God.

Some debates can get us into trouble. Just look at the Garden of Eden in Genesis, where the devil has come to tempt Eve. He calls into doubt what God has said, “Did God really say?” (Gen. 3:1). And Eve tries to talk it out, reiterating what God has said. But she gets it wrong (Gen. 3:3). It’s already starting to blur God’s actual words. 

So Jesus doesn’t get into a debate or argument with the devil. He does not address everything that the devil said. Instead, he gives the Scripture and moves on.

Let’s move now to the second temptation. The devil leads Jesus to a high place and in an instant shows him all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil says to Jesus, “I will give you all of their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me and I can give it to whoever I want. So if you worship me, all of this can be yours.”

Jesus answered, “It is written, worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” 

So again, Jesus’ response begins with “it is written.” And he once again quotes from Deuteronomy. I’m going to give you a little spoiler alert here, because the third temptation and Jesus’ response to that, also from Deuteronomy. All three of the passages Jesus quotes come from the book of Deuteronomy! 

Now, I don’t know about you, but for me, I don’t keep Deuteronomy in my regular rotation of Bible reading. I just don’t. I tend to gravitate more towards New Testament books, the epistles, the Psalms and the Proverbs. I don’t go to Deuteronomy very often. And yet this was such an important part of Jesus’ spiritual arsenal: Scripture from Deuteronomy. So I think this shows us that it’s important to have a well-rounded experience and view and reading of Scripture.

There may be certain ones that you’re drawn back to regularly, but don’t neglect some of those Old Testament books that seem to be a little more difficult to relate to because they are so important as well. Just like it says in 2 Timothy, all Scripture is God-breathed and useful, including Deuteronomy.

Finally, let’s move now to the third temptation. For this temptation, the devil has led Jesus to Jerusalem and has him stand on the high point of the temple. And the devil says to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here. For it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning you, and they will guard you carefully. They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against the stone.’” 

Jesus answered, “It says, do not put the Lord your God to the test.” 

So in this situation, notice that the first Bible quote here comes from the devil, from Psalm 91. The devil knows scripture too. He has had millennia to study it. But as with everything with the devil, he twists it for his purposes.

If we are not well grounded in Scripture, if we don’t know it well and aren’t capable of handling it carefully, then we can fall for these tricks of twisted Scripture.

Jesus of course doesn’t fall for it. Again, he quotes from Deuteronomy and says, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” Jesus sees through the deception and the twisting.

It is not enough to just know Scripture, because the devil knows it too. We need to know how to rightly handle it. How to read it and understand the meaning that God wants us to draw from it. We need to know God’s character and what’s consistent with it. We need to read throughout Scripture, not just particular favorite passages. We need to know how to interpret it faithfully.

So the key truth from today is an obvious one, right? That we fight temptation with Scripture. And yet, there’s a lot wrapped up into it.

This idea of knowing how to understand scripture faithfully to interpret it faithfully and carefully in a way that is consistent with what God intended it for.

We need to have a good view of all of Scripture, where we’re reading things like Deuteronomy on a regular basis.

We need to not add to the Scripture that we use in fighting temptation.

We need to not get pulled into the argument to add our own commentary, our own thoughts on it.