January 13, 2020

Courage Under Fire

Luke 4:1–30

Patricia Simmons
Monday's Devo

January 13, 2020

Monday's Devo

January 13, 2020

Central Truth

As a man, Christ faced temptation, trials, betrayal, beatings, and even death but passed every test courageously. There are no shortcuts to glory. Jesus hung on a cross before He sat on a throne.

Key Verse | Luke 4:1

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.

Luke 4:1–30

The Temptation of Jesus

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written,

‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
    and him only shall you serve.’”

And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    to guard you,’

11 and

‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

18  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind,
    to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

19  to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers 1 4:27 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.

Footnotes

[1] 4:27 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13

Dive Deeper | Luke 4:1–30

Today's passage begins with Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness and ends with Jesus' rejection in Nazareth. Jesus was "led by the Spirit" for 40 days of testing. Our Savior is tempted in three ways we understand: 

1. The temptation to allow physical cravings to rule life;

2. The temptation to give your heart to someone or something other than God; 

3. The temptation to manipulate the will of God for your own purposes.

"For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world." (1 John 2:16) Jesus resisted temptation because He walked with the Word and in the Spirit, two resources available to all believers. If we want Satan to leave us alone, we must KNOW the Word of God and APPLY it to a heart that's indwelled by the Holy Spirit. One does not work without the other.

The second half of the passage takes us to Nazareth where Jesus continues to walk in the power of the Spirit after experiencing victory. Satan may use temptation to defeat us, but it can be God's way to strengthen and build us up in the faith. Jesus teaches in the synagogue, but the people demand a miracle and do not like what they hear instead. A hometown welcome turns into an angry mob trying to toss Jesus off a cliff. Christ shows restraint and that God's miraculous power operates in unexpected and sovereign ways.

So, what can we learn from these two very different incidents in the life of Christ? Jesus has the courage of conviction to stand strong, facing Satan and man. He is God in the flesh and has come to redeem all of mankind with His death. No temptation, trial, or angry mob will change the focus of His purpose. As believers and the recipients of His sacrifice, we must emulate HIS courage. Are we prepared to face Satan and his mob? The Word and the Spirit give us all we need to be victorious. 

Discussion Questions

1.  Are we allowing something other than the soul/spirit/will to rule our life? Are we so complacent with our flesh and its desires that we feel defeated? Take heart. We are falling for a temptation that Jesus was tempted with as well.

2. If an objective third party viewed our lives and our hearts, would they say our hearts truly belonged to God, or is someone or something more important? Do our hearts and lives belong to a relationship? A hobby? A career? A sports team? Material wealth? An addiction? 

3.  How often do our prayers sound like requests to get God to sign off on what we've already decided we want to do? Who's really in the driver's seat in our lives? Is it us or God?

4.  Who or what is the "angry mob" in life? Is it old friends before life with Christ? Is it a workplace that is hostile to Christianity? Is it a family that grew up without Jesus? Are we courageous enough to speak the truth and face the consequences of their wrath to share Jesus?

5. Do we spend time feeding and nourishing the Holy Spirit that lives within us? Do we study God's Word like we are preparing for our final exam? Our lives depend on it!