What sorts of things do you find tempting? Now, to be sure, there’s nothing wrong with pleasure in itself – after all, God invented it! But when we let our desire for any sort of pleasurable sensations override our understanding of right and wrong, that’s when we’ve allowed temptation to turn into sin.

And sometimes, we can be tempted just to have something good at the wrong time. That was the case for Jesus in the first part of this passage. The Father had wanted Him to spend some time in the desert, fasting and praying. But before that time was up, the devil showed up and encouraged Jesus to use His miraculous powers to have a snack. Again, there’s nothing wrong with bread in itself, and our hunger is a helpful signal to remind us to nourish ourselves. But Jesus understood that listening to God’s directions, paying attention to what God wants us to do, is even more important than food.

But there’s another common kind of temptation: to get the right thing in the wrong way. That’s what was happening when the devil offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world: after all, as the Son of God, Jesus does deserve the loyalty and allegiance of all people throughout space and time. But for Him to get that authority by submitting Himself to the devil – no way.

And there’s a third way in which we are all tempted at times: to take the easy way out. If Jesus really had displayed His miraculous power by floating down from the top of the Temple, it would have been impossible for the religious leaders to convince the Jerusalem crowd that He was nothing but a lying blasphemer. Yes, in such a way Jesus could have become the ruler of all His people without going through all the pain and shame of the cross – but then, none of us would have been saved from our sins.

So, what should we do when we are tempted in any of these ways? We can do the same thing that Jesus did: we can appeal to the Scriptures to help us sort out what is really right and wrong. But we can also remember that Jesus understands all our temptations, so we shouldn’t hesitate to cry out to Him for help and strength to resist. After all, if He loved us enough to die for us, surely He will help us overcome whatever temptations come our way.

Luke 4:1-13 (NASB)

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness
2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days; and when they had ended, He became hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.'”
5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
7 “Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'”
9 And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand 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 give His angels charge 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 and said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'”
13 And when the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.