Time of Preparation

MEMORY VERSE: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” —Luke 4:8

LUKE 3:21,22; 4:1-13

JESUS was thirty years of age when he presented himself to John the Baptist to be baptized. John was baptizing those who responded to his call to repentance from their sins against the Law of God which had been given to the nation by Moses. John knew that Jesus was not a transgressor of this Law and he hesitated to baptize him, saying to him, “I have need to be baptized of thee.” (Matt. 3:13-15) But Jesus insisted, and John baptized him.

However, Jesus’ baptism was not for the remission of sin, in contrast with the others whom John immersed. It was at this point in Jesus’ earthly life that he dedicated himself to do the Father’s will, and his burial in water was a symbol of the burial of his will into the will of his Father as it had been outlined in the Old Testament Scriptures. We are told that in connection with his baptism Jesus was praying. His prayer might well have been the one expressed in Psalm 40:7,8: “Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”

With this presentation of himself in consecration to his Father, “the heavens were opened” to Jesus. (Matt. 3:16) This suggests a divine revelation of truth relating to the Father’s plan, the truth which was to guide Jesus throughout his ministry.

We are told that when Jesus “returned from Jordan” he was filled with the Holy Spirit, and that by that Spirit he was led into the wilderness. Later in his ministry Jesus described the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of truth.” Evidently what occurred at his baptism was such a revelation of truth through the Spirit, or power, of God that Jesus felt impelled to isolate himself for a time in order to comprehend fully the Father’s will for him.

Jesus fasted in the wilderness for forty days, and naturally he became very hungry. Satan used this circumstance to suggest to Jesus that he use his God-given power to turn stones into bread. Jesus received this power when the heavens were opened to him, but he knew that it was not to be used to satisfy his own cravings or desires, but for the blessing of others. And how wonderfully he used it in this manner throughout the course of his ministry!

Jesus replied to Satan, saying, “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” (Deut. 8:3; Luke 4:4) While material bread might sustain Jesus’ life temporarily, he knew that his eternal existence depended on his obedience to the Word of God. Obedience called for the sacrifice of his life, so apparently it would have been disobedience to use the miraculous power with which he was now endowed to satisfy his natural craving for food.

Then Satan presented another temptation to Jesus. He took him, in his mind, up into a high mountain and showed him “all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the Devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: … if thou … wilt worship me.” Jesus knew that he had come into the world to be eventually a great king over all the peoples of the earth. He also knew, however, that he had to earn the right to this high position of power by faithfully laying down his life to redeem mankind from death. To attempt to become a ruler by bowing down to Satan, the prince of this world, would have been disobedience to his Heavenly Father; so again he quoted the Scriptures to turn the Devil aside: “Thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

Then Satan tried the third time. He suggested to Jesus that he cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and depend upon his Heavenly Father, through his angels, to save him from injury. In this instance Satan quoted a text of Scripture: “He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.”—Ps. 9:11,12; Luke 4:10,11

Satan introduced two of these temptations with the statement; “If thou be the Son of God.” He knew that Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God would provoke the religious leaders, and that Jesus knew this also. But Jesus did not propose to demonstrate the validity of his claim by yielding to Satan’s temptations. Jesus had heard the voice from heaven saying, “Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” To expect further proof of this from his Father would have been tempting him, and he said so: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

QUESTIONS

What was the significance of Jesus’ baptism?

What great blessing came to Jesus at the time of his baptism?

How did the Holy Spirit impel Jesus to go into the wilderness?

Explain why it would have been wrong for Jesus to yield to any of the three temptations Satan presented to him.

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