The life of Jesus – 7
Luke 4:9-13And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, 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. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
As we continue to look at the temptation of Jesus we see the last temptation that was recorded. This time satan took Jesus to the top of the temple and challenged him again on his identity as a son. More than that satan challenge the integrity of his Father. Would your Father do what he promised he would do? This is so pivotal for our understanding and I will explain why.
So many times I have heard people question the integrity of God. So many times I have seen people who has turned their hearts against God because they have believed the enemies lie about God not doing what they thought he should do. The enemy is a master at making accusations against God. He is a master at turning or defiling a truth. He is a master at presenting a half-truth. He tried the same thing with Jesus here. Let me show you.
Enemy speaking: Luke 4:10 For it is written, 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.
Enemy added “at any time” and deleted “in all thy ways” when you look at Psalm 91:11-12
God speaking: Psalm 91:11-12 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Can you see what I see? There are some things left out and some things added. What satan left out is the words: “in all thy ways.” and he added the words; “at any time.” What he does is question if God is where you are and if God is on time when you need Him. That is important because the first question people ask in a difficult time is: “where was God?” The enemy wants you to believe God abandoned you when it was too hard and tough to handle. God deserted you when you needed Him the most. He was not there in all your ways. How do I know that this is a lie from the enemy. Look at what David said in Psalm 139.
Psalm 139:1-10 O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
If the enemy can’t attack your identity he will attack the integrity of God. He will attack the one you worship and have allegiance too. How do I know that is true? Jesus clearly states that satan should not tempt the Lord God. This was more than attacking Jesus. This was attacking God.
The second thing that satan does is make you believe that God’s timing is off. Anytime also means that He is available 24/7. So when it looks like God is not on time then His integrity needs to be questioned. The enemy questions God commitment to us. Is he a good Father? Does He love us? Will he be there when I need Him?
God is never late! He is now, He is yesterday and He is tomorrow at the same time. I love the way Jesus deals with the issues that satan had. They were not Jesus issues that He had with God. Temptation is what the enemy owns and he wants us to be a part of what he is struggling with. Don’t make his struggles your struggles. God cannot be tempted. Don’t side with the enemy and his accusations that are not founded in the truth.
James 1:13-18 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
