Sunday
Morning Bible Study
April
19, 2015
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Regular: 2900
words Communion: 2500 words Video=75wpm
Luke was a doctor and a travelling companion of the apostle Paul.
He wrote this book while Paul was in prison.
In writing his book, Luke made use of other older documents like the Gospel
of Mark, as well as extensive eyewitness accounts.
We’ve made our way through the birth of Jesus, and the ministry of John the
Baptist. When Jesus was baptized, God
spoke up and said,
(Luke 3:22b NKJV) “You are My
beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
4:1-4 First Temptation
:1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
:2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate
nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
:1 being filled – pleres
– full, i.e. filled up (as opposed to empty); full, i.e. complete
:1 was led – ago –
to lead, take with one
Imperfect passive indicative
:1 wilderness – eremos
– solitary, lonely, desolate, uninhabited; a desert, wilderness
:1 into the wilderness
The word for “wilderness” means literally “desert”.
When you leave the area of the Jordan, everything for miles around is
desert.
Video: Jericho map video
Jesus was baptized at the Jordan
River near Jericho.
You don’t have to go far to find
“wilderness”, or “desert”.
Everything for miles around is
nothing but desert.
:1 being filled … led by the Spirit
Lesson
The Spirit and Temptation
Just because you’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean you won’t
struggle with temptation.
Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit even led Him into the wilderness where He would be tempted.
I’ve seen it over the years with men and women who have been the filling of
the Holy Spirit. It comes as such a surprise
when they find themselves being tempted and falling into sin.
The Holy Spirit is not some magic genie that will take away your sin
nature’s ability to experience temptation.
Did you notice that the fellow’s wish to get rid of his
spare tire was actually going to be met, but it was through exercise, not by
the genie snapping her fingers?
That’s actually a lot like how the Spirit works.
He may not magically snap His fingers. He may actually want you to do some of the
work when it comes to temptation.
Paul wrote,
(Galatians 5:16
NKJV) I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill
the lust of the flesh.
Your “walk” in life is the direction you are heading.
Walking involves taking a series of steps.
That’s like the choices you make in life. Each time you
make a choice, you are taking a “step”.
The “trick” to not giving in to temptation of “fulfilling
the lust of the flesh” is to make your choices, your decisions, in the sphere
and power of the Spirit.
:2 being tempted – peirazo
– to try whether a thing can be done; to try, make trial of, test: for the
purpose of ascertaining his quality, or what he thinks, or how he will behave
himself; to try or test one’s faith, virtue, character, by enticement to sin
Present passive participle
Sense: to be tested v. — to be put to the test in
order to ascertain the nature of someone, including imperfections, faults, or
other qualities.
:2 being tempted for forty days
by the devil
Since Luke is using a present
tense, it seems that Jesus was tested/tempted for the entire forty days.
:2 when they had ended – sunteleo
– to end together or at the same time; to end completely
:2 He was hungry – peinao
– to hunger, be hungry
:2 He was hungry
They say that when you fast, you are hungry for the first three days or
so. Then your body goes into a state
where it doesn’t feel hungry for a long time.
It’s around the forty day mark that you again start to feel hungry, and
that’s the warning sign that you need to stop fasting or you might die.
It’s at this point that these next temptations take place.
Lesson
Tempted when weak
Not every temptation comes when you’re weak, but when you are weak you need
to pay attention.
It might be when you haven’t eaten and you’re hungry.
It could be after an especially hard day and you’re just dead tired.
It might be after an emotionally draining argument with someone.
It might be because you feel you are being “deprived” from something you
expected.
Paul talked about how Satan can use a married couple’s
sexual needs to bring in temptation.
(1
Corinthians 7:5 NKJV) Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you
may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that
Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Does this mean that when you are hungry, tired, drained, or deprived, that
you are justified when you give in to temptation?
Absolutely not.
One of the purposes of “fasting” is to show you that you
can be “hungry”, and draw near to God instead of giving in to temptation.
When you are weak, you need to be on your toes and be prepared to face the
potential for temptation.
:3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this
stone to become bread.”
:3 command – epo –
to speak, say
Aorist active imperative
:3 command this stone … bread
The land of Israel has a lot of stones.
A lot of those stones are about the same color as bread.
We talked about this last week when
we heard Jesus say,
(Luke 11:11a NKJV) If a son
asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?
Now Satan is challenging Jesus to speak to the stone and command it to turn
into bread.
Could Jesus do that?
Of course He could.
He is the Son of God.
The question is, should He?
Should He use His own power and abilities to satisfy some
inner hunger?
Should we use our own power or abilities just to satisfy
our own temptations of the flesh?
:4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
:4 live – zao –
to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead); to enjoy real
life
This isn’t just simple biological
life (bios), but real life, deeper
life.
:4 word – rhema
– that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken,
word; what one has said; subject matter of speech, thing spoken of
:4 Man shall not live by bread alone
Man does need food to live, but that’s not the only thing man needs.
People who live their lives solely on the plane of the physical are not
truly “living”
Lesson
The Word and Life
What is going to be the priority in my life?
Am I going to live life on the level of an animal that lives solely to meet
its physical needs?
Is my life going to be about what and when my next meal is going to be?
Is my life going to be about when I can get to bed and sleep?
Is my life going to be about when I’m going to have sex next?
Is my life going to be about finding that emotional support I am desperate
for?
Or will there be a higher tugging on my heart and mind?
Will I learn to let God’s Word be the thing that guides me in the choices I
make?
Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy.
(Deuteronomy 8:2–3
NKJV) —2 And you shall remember that the Lord
your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you
and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would
keep His commandments or not. 3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna
which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know
that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
All through the wilderness, God was “testing” Israel to
find out if they were going to be faithful to keep God’s commandments, His
“Word”.
Even when God fed them with manna, God gave certain
guidelines to “test” the people to see if they would learn to follow God’s directions.
God was teaching the people that they needed more than
just bread to exist, they needed to learn to follow God’s directions in order
to survive.
Jesus displayed His own dependence on God’s Word when He answers each
temptation with Scripture.
He says “it is written” and then quotes the Scripture.
It’s His “tool”, His “weapon” in dealing with temptation.
The Rifleman’s Creed is a part of being a Marine.
Video: Rifleman’s Creed
The Rifleman’s
Creed
This is my
rifle. There are many like it, but this
one is mine. My rifle is my best
friend. It is my life. I must master it as I master my life.
My rifle without
me is useless. Without my rifle I am
useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is
trying to kill me. I must strike him
before he shoots me.
My rifle and
myself know that what counts in this war is not the rounds we fire, the noise
of our burst, nor the smoke we make. We
know that it is the hits that count.
My rifle is human,
even as I, because it is my life. Thus I
will learn it as a brother. I will learn
its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its
barrel. I will keep my rifle clean and
ready even as I am clean and ready. We
will become part of each other.
Before God I swear
this creed. My rifle and myself are the
defenders of my country. We are the
masters of our enemy. We are the saviors
of my life.
God’s Word is like our “rifle”. We must master it. We are useless without it. We need to aim correctly at the enemy,
Satan. We need to use God’s Word to hit
the target, not just shoot wildly in the air.
The writer or Hebrews says,
(Hebrews 4:12 NKJV)
For
the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Sometimes life is pretty confusing and it’s hard to know what
we are supposed to do. It’s hard to
understand our own motives when it comes to our actions.
God’s Word is able to help us make the right decisions if
we will learn it and do it.
4:5-8 Second Temptation
:5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the
kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
:5 taking … up – anago
– to lead up, to lead or bring into a higher place
:5 showed – deiknuo
– to show, expose to the eyes
:5 the world – oikoumene
– the inhabited earth
:5 moment – stigme
– an instant (i.e. a moment) of time
:6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and
their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to
whomever I wish.
:6 I will give – didomi
– to give
Future active indicative
:6 authority – exousia
– power of choice; the power of authority (influence) and of right
(privilege); the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and
commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)
Sense: domain ⇔ authority n. — a domain understood by
the authority necessary to exercise such dominion.
:6 glory – doxa
– opinion, judgment, view; in the NT always a good opinion concerning one,
resulting in praise, honor, and glory; splendor, brightness
:6 for this has been delivered to me
Satan is the “ruler of this world” (John 12:30-33)
(John 12:30–33 NKJV) —30 Jesus
answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world
will be cast out. 32 And I, if
I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
He gained that authority when Adam sinned in the garden.
:6 I give it to whomever I wish
There will be a day when Satan will give this authority to another who will
worship him – the antichrist.
(Revelation 13:2
NKJV) Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the
feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him
his power, his throne, and great authority.
:7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
:8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is
written, ‘You shall worship the Lord
your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
:7 worship – proskuneo
– to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence; among the
Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with
the forehead as an expression of profound reverence; in the NT by kneeling or
prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to
express respect or to make supplication
I’ve heard it said that the three
biggest areas of temptation that a man faces are sex, money, and power.
When you’re younger, the greatest
temptation is sex.
When you get a little older, the
temptation is about money.
When you get older still, your
biggest temptation is about gaining power.
:7 all will be Yours
Lesson
Shortcuts
Who doesn’t like shortcuts? I love
shortcuts. Anything to save a few
minutes. How about this for you chefs
out there…
David had the chance to take a shortcut.
God had already told David that he would one day be king.
Yet until that time, he had to serve wicked, grumpy King
Saul.
There came a day when David had the chance to kill King
Saul and take his place (1Sam. 24:4-7), but David would not take things into
his own hands.
(1 Samuel 24:4–7 NKJV) —4 Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will
deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to
you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because
he had cut Saul’s robe. 6 And he
said to his men, “The Lord forbid
that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s
anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed
of the Lord.” 7 So David restrained his servants with these words, and did
not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his
way.
Eventually God took care of King Saul, and David did
become king.
Absalom also had a chance to take a shortcut, and he took it.
He was David’s son.
As David got older, Absalom felt it was time that he became king.
He turned the people against David and ran David out of town. (2Sam. 15)
(2 Samuel 15:1–6 NKJV) —1 After this it happened that Absalom provided himself with
chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. 2 Now Absalom would rise early and stand beside the way to the
gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a lawsuit came to the king for
a decision, that Absalom would call to him and say, “What city are you
from?” And he would say, “Your servant is from such and such a tribe of
Israel.” 3 Then Absalom would say
to him, “Look, your case is good and right; but there is no
deputy of the king to hear you.” 4 Moreover
Absalom would say, “Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who
has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice.” 5 And so it was, whenever anyone came near to bow down to
him, that he would put out his hand and take him and kiss him. 6 In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the
king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
During the civil war that followed, Absalom died in battle, and David
prevailed.
The problem with shortcuts is that some things in life don’t work when you
take the shortcut.
Satan is promising to give Jesus authority over all the nations of the
world in exchange for worshipping him.
To be honest, Jesus was already destined to become “king of the world”.
(Isaiah
60:3 NKJV) The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to
the brightness of your rising.
All Satan is asking Jesus to do is take a little shortcut.
If He worships him now, Jesus can become king immediately.
The problem is that God had another plan in mind for Jesus.
God’s plan involved the cross.
God’s plan involved Jesus dying to pay for the sins of the world.
Yet after Jesus rose from the dead…
(Philippians
2:9–11 NKJV) –9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name
which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in
heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father.
What if Jesus had taken the shortcut?
He still would have been king of the world, yet we would have still
remained in our sin.
We would have ended up in hell.
With some things in life, there are no shortcuts.
If you want to be more spiritual, you have to learn spiritual discipline.
You have to learn to read your Bible every day.
You have to learn how to pray every day.
You have to learn to submit yourself to God every day.
:8 Get – hupago
– to lead under, bring under; to withdraw one’s self, to go away, depart
:8 behind – opiso
– back, behind, after, afterwards
:8 worship – proskuneo
– to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence; among the
Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with
the forehead as an expression of profound reverence; in the NT by kneeling or
prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to
express respect or to make supplication
:8 serve – latreuo
– in the NT, to render religious service or homage, to worship; to perform
sacred services, to offer gifts, to worship God in the observance of the rites
instituted for his worship
4:9-13 Third Temptation
:9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,
and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
:9 set – histemi
– to cause or make to stand, to place, put, set
:9 pinnacle – pterugion
– a wing, a little wing; any pointed extremity; of the top of the temple at
Jerusalem
:9 temple – hieron
– a sacred place, temple
:10 For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To
keep you,’
:10 charge – entellomai
– to order, command to be done, enjoin
:10 to keep – diaphulasso
– to guard carefully
:11 and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your
foot against a stone.’ ”
:11 bear – airo
– to raise up, elevate, lift up; to take upon one’s self and carry what has
been raised up, to bear
:11 dash – proskopto
– to strike against; to strike one’s foot against a stone
:9 the pinnacle of the temple
It could have been the southeast corner of the wall overlooking the Kidron
Valley, or perhaps it was the southwest corner of the wall at the “place of
trumpeting”, which would have been seen by many more people if Jesus had jumped
from there.
:10 For it is written
Notice that Satan has now taken to quoting Scripture.
He is quoting from Psalm 91:11-12
(Psalm 91:11 NKJV) For He
shall give His angels charge over you, To keep
you in all your ways.
(Psalm 91:12 NKJV) In their
hands they shall bear you up, Lest you
dash your foot against a stone.
Scripture can be misused to confuse and misdirect God’s people.
Just because someone is quoting the Bible to you doesn’t make them right.
We’ve seen on Thursday night in the book of Job that Job’s friends have
very good things to say. Some of the
things they say will be quoted in other parts of the Bible. The problem is, even though there is truth in
them, the truth they quote doesn’t apply to Job.
:12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall
not tempt the Lord your
God.’ ”
:12 said – ereo
– to utter, speak, say
:12 It has been said
This time instead of Jesus using
the formula “it is written”, since Satan has just used this formula, Jesus
simply said, “It has been said”.
He will still quote Scripture, but
He isn’t going to stick to a formula.
:12 tempt – ekpeirazo
– to prove, test, thoroughly; to put to proof God’s character and power
From the word for “tempt” or “test”
used in verse 2 (peirazo).
:12 You shall not tempt the Lord
your God
Jesus isn’t quoting this because He’s saying that Satan shouldn’t be
tempting Him, but that Jesus shouldn’t be tempting the Father.
Lesson
Manipulating God
Some of us have grown quite good at manipulating others.
Sometimes we try to manipulate by throwing a tantrum, like a kid in a
grocery store.
Video: Wonderful Halos – Store Tantrum
or what kids might do at home
Video Wonderful
Halos – Little Pony
Well that might be more classified as
“passive/aggressive”…
Sometimes we try to manipulate with passive/aggressive behavior, leaving
“hints” but never really outright confronting others.
Video: Passive Aggression – Office
Problem #75
Sometimes we try to manipulate by pretending to be all loving, like how a
cat gets you to do something for it, but when you’re gone, how does your cat
treat your house?
Video: What your cat does when
you’re not home
The truth is that when we manipulate others, we don’t
really care about them, we care mostly about ourselves.
Sometimes we carry these same behaviors in our relationship with God.
If we were to be totally honest, we probably don’t care for what God wants
as much as what we want.
The Scripture Jesus quotes comes from
(Deuteronomy 6:16
NKJV) “You shall not tempt the Lord
your God as you tempted Him in Massah.
“Massah” was an incident in the wilderness where the
people were running out of water and they were complaining and pushing Moses
about it to the point where Moses felt his life was in danger.
God commanded Moses to take his rod and strike the Rock
and water came out to satisfy their thirst.
(Exodus
17:7 NKJV) So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of
the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
The Psalmist writes,
(Psalm
95:8–9 NKJV) —8 “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in
the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work.
The point is that the people knew full well that God was
with them. They had seen His hand in the
plagues in Egypt. They had seen God part
the Red Sea. They saw the army of
Pharaoh drowned in the Red Sea. They
have eaten the miraculous manna provided by God for them in the wilderness.
And now they question that God is with them?
It’s just like the ways we manipulate others, sometimes
saying, “Well you don’t really love me…”
Jesus doesn’t need to throw Himself
off the Temple pinnacle to prove that He’s God’s Son.
He already knows it.
Do you realize that God loves you?
Do you need for God to prove He loves you?
If you would take some time studying what Jesus did for
you on the cross, you would realize that God has already proven He loves you.
(1
John 3:16a NKJV) By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.
So what do I do when I have a need or a problem?
You simply ask the God who loves you.
And you ask God to answer your request however He sees is
best.
You trust Him to do what’s right.
But you don’t need to question His love.
:13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him
until an opportune time.
:13 ended – sunteleo
– to end together or at the same time; to end completely; to finish
The same word is used in verse 2
“when they had ended…”
:13 opportune time – kairos
– due measure; a measure of time, a larger or smaller portion of time,
hence: opportune or seasonable time
:13 every temptation
Lesson
Jesus understands
Jesus knows what it’s like to be tempted.
(Hebrews 4:15–16
NKJV) —15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet
without sin. 16 Let us
therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need.
Illustration
Joseph Mallord Turner (b.1775), English painter, invited Charles Kingsley
to his studio to see a picture of a storm at sea. In rapt admiration, Kingsley exclaimed, “It’s
wonderful! It’s so realistic! How did you do it?”
The artist replied, “I went to the coast of Holland and engaged a fisherman
to take me out to sea in the next storm. Entering his boat as a storm was
brewing, I asked him to bind me to the mast.
Then he steered his boat into the teeth of the storm.
“The storm raged with such fury that at times I longed to be in the bottom
of the boat where the waves would blow over me.
I could not, however. I was bound
to the mast. Not only did I see the
storm in its raging fury, I felt it! It blew into me, as it were, until I
became a part of it. After this terrible
ordeal, I returned to my studio and painted the picture.”
-- Told by
Bishop Slattery
Jesus has been there and done that.
There may be times when you are tempted to think that nobody around you
understands what you’re going through.
There is one who understands.
Because He understands, He knows how to help
(Hebrews 2:18 NKJV)
For
in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are
tempted.