Luke 4:9-13

The theme here obviously is protection. All of us know at least the general theme of Psalm 91 and that is what Satan quoted here. Luke 4:10-11 are verses 11 and 12 of Psalm 91, and so he is quoting back to Jesus the very words that Jesus Himself inspired. But he did it without quoting the whole thing, I don't mean all of Psalm 91; he missed part of the verses that are given there in verses 11 and 12. What he left out was one phase that says "in all your ways". Very interesting that he left that out. Jesus immediately came back and showed him that he had misapplied it and what Jesus is saying is that God does not guarantee He will protect us in all our ways.

Look at this: is Jesus going to protect us in rebellion—in our rebellion? Is Jesus going to protect us if we are downright foolish in what we are doing? God does expect us to do things in faith—I should say involving faith in Him. The unconverted may even consider this faith to be foolish or dangerous. But willfully exposing ourselves to any danger, presuming that God is going to protect us, is tempting Him. Man has no right to dictate to God what God should do.

It's as if Satan said this to Jesus: "Since you are God's son, certainly He will protect you from whatever danger you may go into. His angels will always be there to help you. You cannot be hurt. Deliverance will always be there, you can trust Him." It sounds good, but it is built upon a presumption.

Luke 4:1-12

On Satan's temptation of Christ, the usual elements are present, including a subtle tempter who can quote Scripture to serve his purpose. In this back-and-forth encounter, the intended victim consistently thwarts the tempter, and the test ends with Satan slinking away in defeat. This had a positive ending because Jesus stayed close to God and always remembered God's sovereignty.

How can a sinless person be tempted? We cannot be drawn to an object unless the object seems desirable to us. Examine each temptation of Christ. In every instance, the appeal was a genuine call to a completely innocent instinct or desire.

In the first temptation it was to hunger. In the second it was to faith. In the third it was to power as a means of establishing righteousness. In each case, Jesus felt the tug and pull of His human instinct. And we know how insistent the hunger demand is on the Day of Atonement.

Christ had fasted for 40 days when this happened, and yet He was able to resist, having God's Spirit. But when Jesus understood that fulfilling these desires was wrong in those situations, He immediately declined the request. He demonstrated that He could overcome the tempter and resist temptation. It was not that He was physically not able to sin, but that He is so pure that He was not able to sin. Titus 1:15 says,