“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.”
— Luke 4:1-2
Have you ever wondered why the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil? Sound cruel? Let’s look back at what happened to Adam and Eve in the garden. Satan came and tempted them to question God. They believed the devil above God and everything fell into chaos.
Jesus, perfectly human as Adam was, is given the opportunity to believe satan above God, too. Jesus is also given the chance to restore everything the way it was originally created to be by trusting and believing God. Adam and Eve were in a perfect setting – no stress, no worries, no anxiousness – only peace and joy. Yet, they chose the devil’s words over God’s words in a perfect setting. Again, the devil comes to tempt Jesus to choose his words over His Father’s Words as Eve did, but the setting is very different. This was a difficult day in the life of Jesus. He was under stress, hunger, weakness and loneliness after being in the wilderness for 40 days and nights. And here comes the devil into Jesus life at this very trying time.
When does the devil come to tempt you? In your weak, anxious and stressful times. He hasn’t changed his tactics! Jesus had to defeat the enemy and overcome his temptations in order to free you and me from his bondage. And He did! Next week we will see how He did this.
“Jesus has been through the darkest night; The Father’s love was there.”
Jesus has Seen From the Inside Out