Luke Chapter 4

Directly after Jesus baptism He went into the wilderness for forty days where He fasted and prayed. It was at this time that the devil thought that Jesus was vulnerable, and he could attack him. While it was true that Jesus was hungry, the devil was no match for Jesus, and he never will be. Keep that in mind when the devil tries to attack you, when he tries to tempt you to sin; remember he has no hold over you because you have the Spirit of the living God inside you if you are a true follower of Jesus Christ.

I John 4:4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Let's Reflect

1. The devil’s problem has always been his pride. The temptation of Jesus was a manifestation of the devil’s pride wanting Jesus to bow down to the power of the devil. When the devil suggested that Jesus command the stone be turned into bread what phrase did he mock Jesus with in verse 3?

2. When the devil suggested that he worship him and the devil would reward Him by giving Him all the kingdoms of the world, who did Jesus powerfully remind the devil who he was speaking to?

3. As you think on the power of God or of Jesus over the devil, what did Jesus Himself quote to the devil when He was tempted?

4. Jesus had come to declare His kingdom and the devil knew it. He knew that Jesus had come to die for the sins of the world and so he offered Jesus a way out. All Jesus had to do was bow down to him. Jesus reminded the devil of the only one that is deserving of worship. Who is that?

5. In the temptation of asking Jesus to throw Himself off the pinnacle of the temple, the devil quoted scripture himself from Psalm 91:11-12. The devil was twisting scripture to try to get Jesus to do something that would make a spectacle of Himself, but Jesus did not come to do that, He came to be a sacrificial lamb. When Jesus told the devil to leave, the Bible says that he left, but it also tells us something about the devil that we need to keep in mind. What is it we should remember and be prepared for?

Jesus was already full of the Spirit but having defeated the devil and having spent time with the Father, He felt stronger in the Spirit. This is exactly the way we will defeat the devil too. We will grow closer to the Father through prayer in the Spirit of God and by reading His Word. We need both to win the battle.

6. The people marveled at Jesus’ teachings in the synagogues. He spoke with authority. After reading from the book of Isaiah what did He declare to those in attendance?

7. Did the people accept His declaration? What did they try to do to Jesus?

8. Jesus left His hometown of Nazareth and went to Capernaum. What miracle did He perform there?

9. We read about the miracle of healing Simon Peter’s mother-in-law and many other healings. In verse 41 as it talks about Jesus commanding evil spirits to come out of people; He commanded them to be quiet. What were the evil spirits saying that Jesus did not want them to be heard? Jesus did not want the evil spirits to be the ones to make this declaration about Him.

10. When Jesus left the people, He had been ministering to, what did He say was His reason for needing to leave?