IT IS WRITTEN
LUKE 4:1-4
LUKE 4:1-4 NKJ
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.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’
This passage establishes some important truths for us.
Jesus was tempted or tested by the devil. That lets us in on the fact that Jesus was every bit human as He was divine. If He was unable to be tempted, then He was not like us, and we could not follow His example.
There is a devil. I know that concept is not popular with the intellectual and cultural elite, but then I never made claims to be in either camp. Believing there is an enemy who is against God and against us helps us process all the evil that exists today. And Jesus was not talking to His imagination or concept of evil.
Jesus answered Satan with the words "it is written" and then quoted a scripture. This is highly revealing. Jesus, the strong, the wise, the sinless, and the empowered by the Holy Spirit, used God's word to address the devil's lies. He did not tell Satan "I am the Son of God. And you have nothing on me." He simply went to the scriptures.
APPLICATION
Now here is the beautiful thing. If this worked for Jesus, this will work for us. When lies and distractions come our way, we can say it is written. When temptations come knocking, we can declare it is written. Of course, it really helps to know what is written.
Sometimes when Joy and I have been up against problems and tests we have relied on, it is written, the Lord is our Helper (Heb. 13:6). It does not sound deep or complex, but it does not have to be. God's word is powerful truth that Jesus relied on, and we can too.
PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, for Your example and for Your word. It is written truth I can depend on.