Luke 4:1-13 (ESV)
The Temptation of Jesus
4 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”
9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’
11 and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
The season of Lent begins this Wednesday. This week’s devotional readings are selected to help your heart to move into this season of repentance. We begin with the traditional Gospel reading for the beginning of Lent, the story of Jesus being sent into the wilderness to be tempted. As you read this, keep these thoughts in mind: Throughout the Bible, the wilderness is a place where people meet God. The wilderness is a quiet place, away from the distractions of our daily lives, and that opens our ears up to God’s voice. The wilderness is a challenging environment, which forces us to turn to God for help and to trust God. The wilderness is also like a training ground (like boot camp is for soldiers), where we get prepared for greater challenges. Jesus experienced all these things. In the wilderness he learned to trust in God’s word, and was prepared for his future journey to the cross. We can experience wilderness in several ways. The time of Lent is like entering into a wilderness, where we turn away from distractions to grow closer to God. Furthermore, God invites us to think of the challenges and trials of our lives as a wilderness experience where we learn to lean on God