Pastor Slaughter

March 9, 2025

Lent 1

Jesus fought on our behalf!

Text: Luke 4:1-13

Can you imagine fighting a foe that completely outmatches you in every way? He has better training. He is more prepared. He is more crafty and cunning. He is stronger and faster. In every conceivable way you are outclassed and outmatched. If you go into this match, you will lose. There is no hope of victory on your end.

In order to win this fight what do you need? The only way you can possibly hope to win such a fight is if someone fights in your place. Today in our lesson we see someone who has taken our place. Who fought in our stead. Someone who went toe to toe with the Devil and won. Today we see Jesus fought on our behalf and won!

Jesus faced the devil as one of us! This is just remarkable to think about. That God chose to become one of us. That Jesus had a genealogy which Luke traced back all the way to Adam! Before our lesson we see how Jesus willingly stood in place of sinful humanity under John’s baptismal waters. Now he goes to the wilderness in the desert, where Jesus went toe to toe with the devil for 40 days. The devil who went toe to toe with Adam and Eve in the garden with his temptation to sin. The devil who has led us into temptation and sin. Jesus went toe to toe with the devil to do what we could not, overcome him.

Who is the devil? Once an obedient angel serving his maker but now a fallen angel trying to lead believers astray. And here in that desert we have a clash between two wills fought by Christ and the devil. We only have a glimpse, a snapshot of all that transpired during those 40 days.

The devil is good at what he does and had been doing it for a long time. He used every tool at his arsenal. Jesus ate nothing during those 40 days and he was hungry. I know people who get hangry after not having food 40 minutes, let alone 40 days! And the devil seized the opportunity and whispered in ear, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” The devil is not really questioning if Jesus is the Son of God but what he is doing is trying to get Jesus to use his divine power for selfish purpose. The subtle deception the devil makes is, “You don’t need God. You have the Power. Take care of yourself!” Tempting Jesus to doubt God’s promises of provision.

But Jesus brings out the big guns! It is written: “man does not live on bread alone.” Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy where the people were in the wilderness, and they were hungry. God was teaching the people to call on him/and to trust in him! The Devil is trying to undermine God and his promises, but Jesus combated it with God’s Word.

But the Devil was not ready to give up. He pulled the trick out of his hat that most people would give into its temptation, and he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in an instant. And all this I would give you. Jesus could have very easily have become a great world leader and controlled the nations. But his would have gone against his Fathers will to be a servant and save the world. He came to die for the sins of the World not to conquer the world! Once again Jesus quotes Scripture and says, “It is written, Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”

Well, if the Devil couldn’t get Jesus to doubt God’s promises, If he couldn’t get Jesus to go against God’s will, and if Jesus is so found of quoting Scripture, then might as well try to use his most deceptive tactic, twisting God’s Word. So the devil took Jesus to the highest point on the temple and essential said to Jesus, if you are so found of the Bible well why not just throw yourself down from “For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

It just so happens that the Devil omits the key phrase from the Psalm (all your ways) “he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Once again Jesus combats the Devil’s temptation by quoting Scripture.  “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

During these 40 days in the wilderness Jesus went toe to toe with the devil and he won! Looking at the temptations that Jesus faced, they may seem unique to Jesus. But at their core, the essence of the temptation, they are the same that you and I face. The devil attacks the relationship that exists between God and his children (If you are the son of God v 3,9), He does so by claiming to offer those children something God himself has promised them; provision (Just turn this into bread) glory, (I will give you all this), protection (just jump off and prove you are God). He then offers a counterfeit version of the blessing that God gives and packages them up trying to make them more appealing than God’s. He offers them quickly and easily taking away the opportunity for God’s children to trust in him.

We see this in our lives, don’t we? Turning from God’s promises, and trusting the devil’s lies… It’s ok for you to prioritize work over worship you are providing for your family. Go along with your friends who are sinning, you will be better friends, and they will praise you. God wouldn’t withhold something that makes you feel so good, or its ok to give into temptation, you know that God will forgive you.

Yeah… we have seen where we have failed. We see our sin. But I think one of the greatest misdirection the devil can do in our lives is to get us to think that we are strong enough to fight him on our own. Think about it. If he appears weak, if he gets us to think that we can overcome him on own, then we are missing the one thing we need most. The one person who actually can win and has already won. Jesus. If we don’t see or have Jesus, our eternity is at stake.

Here is what is most important part of this lesson. It isn’t a how to fight the devil lesson. But it is a lesson showing us how Jesus overcame temptation with the same obedience we were meant to give. He didn’t go into the wilderness with a special weapon to beat the devil that was unique to Jesus, but he went in with the same weapon that you and I have, God’s Word.

Jesus battled temptation, not only here in the wilderness but for his entire life. Jesus did what we are supposed to do, never sinning not even once. Jesus perfectly followed his Father’s will, which allowed him to be the perfect sacrifice. To pay the penalty we deserve. To die in our place. And rise victoriously.

My family in Christ, what is our role in all of this? We simply sit and watch. Lent is watching Jesus make that journey for us. Watching Jesus do what we could not do. Because Christ fought that battle as one of us, he won that battle for all us. You stand forgiven because won. This Lenten season let us sit and watch our savior win salvation for us! Amen.