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This week we looked at the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan in the wilderness. After Jesus was baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit he was led out to the wilderness to pray and fast. Even when he was really tired and hungry Jesus did not give into Satan's temptation because Jesus found his strength in the promises of God's Word. Take some time to read the story with your kids and make observations about what Jesus says and how Satan tries to trick him. Use this week's Family Worship Guide to help you and for this week's catechism question. Use these teaching points to help you:

Man does not live by bread alone—Moses spoke these words to Israel in his farewell address as they stood ready to enter the Promised Land. In the desert, God provided manna to teach his people that they do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Israel’s wanderings were meant to humble them and to test them to see if they would obey God’s commands. Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy to rebuke Satan and to signal that he would succeed where Israel failed. As the sinless Son of Israel, Jesus obeyed God and did not sin.

You shall only worship God—Satan asked Jesus to worship him. Israel had failed to worship God alone, but Jesus refused Satan’s temptation, rebuking him firmly with these words from Deuteronomy: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve” (Luke 4:8).

You shall not put the Lord to the test—Satan saved his most devious trick for last. First, he tempted Christ with food and immediate pleasure. Second, he tempted Christ with a shortcut to power. And finally, he tempted Christ with the Word of God. Satan quotes from Psalm 91:11, 12. Essentially he was saying, “If your Word is true, prove it.” Jesus saw right through Satan’s scheme and rebuked him a third time, quoting Deuteronomy 6:16. Defeated, the devil left Jesus until an “opportune time.” That time would come when Satan entered Judas’s heart, and Judas betrayed Jesus. What Satan did not count on was that God is always in control and was even using Satan’s manipulations to accomplish God’s predetermined plan. 

This story fits into the greater story of redemption because Jesus proved to be faithful to God when humans went astray. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and passed the test so that we who have failed could receive his righteousness. Now he stands before the Father as our high priest making intercession for us. This he does, full of grace and mercy, knowing the difficulty we face in our battle against sin and temptation. The passages from Luke 4 that Jesus quoted are all from the account of Israel’s wandering in the desert. They wandered for forty years, grumbling and complaining and ultimately failing. Jesus accomplished in forty days what they could not in forty years! 

 

 

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