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When you start to think about the evil that exists in this world, it is easy to despair. The problems are just so big, who can solve them? Think of all the corruption and oppression that occurs around the world. It’s a tangled mess where the most vulnerable are prey. It’s astonishing to see how the strong will prey on the weakest and seek to squeeze all they can out of them.
Our church has dealt with the issue of scams. It’s amazing how creative people can be trying to steal. I have helped people deal with this. However, last week, I was almost victim of one. I actually could have lost some money, but the app didn’t work. The evil in this world is relentless.
The problem is not just out there. The battle against evil is waged in our own hearts. And when we look closely at the situation, we see our own weakness. We know we have been often deceived. We find ourselves in a fog and not able to act correctly. We have fallen into sin again and again and been only a few missteps away from disaster. In the face of the relentless challenge of evil in the world, we need a champion.
And that’s what this text teaches us. We have a champion.
The Battle
In the first three accounts of Jesus’ life, we find that immediately after the baptism of Jesus, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tested. It was the guidance and leadership of the Spirit the brought Jesus to battle. In our own lives, we should recognize that after our baptism, the Spirit will lead us into testing as well. We should not be surprised if the Christian life is a battle. We follow in the steps of Jesus.
The similarity between Jesus and the Christian is not the main point of the text. The main point is the difference between us. Beyond that, it is the difference between Adam and Jesus. Adam was placed in a Garden with an easy test: don’t eat from one tree. Jesus was placed in hard conditions with 40 days of fasting in a very challenging test. The contrast could not be greater.
Just like with Adam, the devil came to tempt Jesus. Remember that beyond the evil of men in this world, there is the devil. We need to see that the evil in this world is not just the cause of humans. It is the work of a malevolent and powerful being that God created but who revolted against God and now seeks to wreck what God has done.
The Father had spoken to Jesus and confirmed that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God. He said, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” The question in all these temptations was, would Jesus trust the Father and the destiny that the Father had for Him, or would He try to take a shortcut? That was the same issue in the Garden. God had promised Adam a glorious future. All he had to do was trust God and obey Him in a very easy test.
Just like with our first father Adam, the devil tried to sow doubt. He does not say, “turn these stones to bread.” Rather, he says, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread” (emphasis mine, Luke 4:3). This was a subtle way of sowing doubt in what the Father had said. It was particularly challenging because Jesus was hungry. Did God really say . . . ? Satan might have said here. Jesus knew exactly how Satan was trying to emphasize the “if” that would bring doubt in God’s Word. He rejected what Satan said and went back to the Word of God in the book of Deuteronomy, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” The rest of the verse says that it is on every Word that comes from the mouth of God. Jesus would not need to prove that He was the Son of God. He would rely on the word that came from the mouth of God.
The second test was to take a shortcut to the end that God had proposed for Him. The Father had promised the Son the kingdoms of the world, but he would first have to go to the cross. Satan offered an alternative. He showed him the kingdoms of the world. Then, he said, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours” (4:6–7). A simple act of obeisance to Satan, and all would be His. He would not need the cross. However, Jesus rejected it, again going to the Word. “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only’” (Luke 4:8). He would only give His heart and life in worship to the Father in heaven.
The third and final test was similar. He could show who He was by jumping off the temple pinnacle down to the valley below, about 420 feet. This would be a powerful demonstration that He was indeed the Son of God. Satan used Scripture to make his point. “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’” (Luke 4:10–11). Satan backed up his words with the very Word of God. However, Jesus knew that this was not the way both because it would not work and because it was against God’s Word. The promises of God are not designed as ways to put God to the test, and that is strictly forbidden. That’s what Jesus said quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, it is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” He would rely on what God said and not demand anything further.
In this way, Jesus won. He defeated the devil. He succeeded where our first father Adam failed. He held fast to the Word of God; whereas, Adam doubted it. He obeyed the Father in a difficult, challenging, and complex temptation; whereas, Adam failed in an easy one. This is our champion. He is the one who defeats the devil!
The Aftermath
Imagine the exhilaration that Jesus must have felt after defeating the devil. “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.” In addition to the natural exhilaration, He was experiencing the power of the Spirit. He was preaching everywhere, and he got all sorts of positive reaction. “He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him” (Luke 4:15). He was getting momentum.
Jesus made his way to Nazareth, which was his hometown. Our text says, “There, he went into the synagogue as was His custom. Jesus took the scroll and found the place where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18–19).
After Jesus read that passage, everyone was wondering, what will He say? Their eyes were fixed upon Him. Then, Jesus told them something rather astonishing but which they might have guessed: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). This is the day of healing and liberation. This is the day of the Lord’s favor!
Jesus was seeing that this was being fulfilled before His very eyes. He had the very Word of God, and He had experienced it. He had seen people being liberated. He had experienced what God was doing. He could see the Lord’s favor and blessing on the lives of the people.
The Rejection
Now, how do you think they would react to this message? We could read this in a positive way, “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son?’ they asked” (Luke 4:22). It may mean that they were impressed and considering His message.
However, Jesus recognized what was really going on. They were rejecting His message. They doubted Him because of their familiarity with Him. Before we look at how Jesus describes this, consider this rejection in context. They doubted Him, but Jesus had just defeated the devil. They rejected the champion they were looking for! They did not know about the temptation, but Jesus had triumphed. How often do we miss the unseen realities of what God is doing?
Jesus knew what they were thinking: if you are really the healing doctor, heal yourself. In other words, why aren’t you coming to us with power and strength? Show your works like the ones you did in Capernaum, a nearby town where Jesus spent much of His time.
Jesus told them that no prophet was accepted in his own hometown. This was symbolic of all of Israel that had continually rejected the prophets. Elijah was rejected by the people of Israel, and so God sent him to a widow in Phoenicia instead of to one of the widows of Israel. Elisha was rejected, and so God sent him to heal a leper from Syria instead of to one of the lepers of Israel. This is the way things had gone. This should have made the people of Nazareth think more carefully about what was going on here.
But that’s not what happened. Instead of repenting, they were furious. “They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff” (Luke 4:29). They wanted to kill him! Look at how quickly a crowd can move from love to hatred! Look at how fickle the praise of man is!
The Triumph
And what did Jesus do? He did not permit them to kill Him. He was going to die, but His time had not yet come. “He walked right through the crowd and went on his way” (Luke 4:30). Jesus triumphed over the crowd of sinners who wanted to end His life.
16 years ago, I was preaching through the book of Luke. I preached on this passage for Easter because it was the next passage in the book of Luke, and I was preaching through the book of Luke. In hindsight, I don’t think that this was the best choice.
However, I do think that we have a vision here of the triumph of Jesus. The crowd of sinners tried to kill Him, but He walks right through them unscathed. That is the glory of the Jesus who would die on the cross but who would walk right out of the grave. That is the strength of the Jesus who had the power to lay down His life and power to take it up again. Here is the Jesus who defeated Satan and would defeat death in His resurrection.
Here is our champion. For those who struggle with the evil in the world, with the evil in their society, with the evil in their families, with the evil in themselves, we do not have to despair. We do not have to rely on ourselves. We have a Champion. Amen.
Benediction: As you look at the challenges within and without, don’t rely on yourself and don’t give up. We have a champion who has already defeated the enemy. Here is the promise: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you” (Rom. 16:20).
Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith—to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.