Series: Luke: Following the World Changer (Week 1 of 3)
Dr. Woodrow Kroll
November6, 2009

Woodrow Kroll: Life comes with temptations. I mean, it's just part of the human package. So how can you win the day over temptation?

Well, who would know better than the Lord Jesus? And we're going to see how, today on Back to the Bible. Hi, I'm Woodrow Kroll.

Tami Weissert: Welcome, everyone. I’m Tami Weissert. And we hope that this program will help you today and through the weekend in any temptations that might arise as you go through that.

Now here's the question, Dr. Kroll: Why is that? That we come to the weekend particularly, it just seems that there's temptation all over.

Woodrow Kroll: Yes, maybe because for most of us it's the end of the work week, we want to just kick back and relax and sometimes we let our guard down. And Satan knows that. Satan is very opportunistic so often temptation will come to us on the weekend.

Tami Weissert: Now it's really important today that we're going to see that Jesus was tempted, because we're tempted. The difference is that He didn't give. And what we see is that He really fought that temptation with the power that we have available to us right now. We're going to talk about that today.

Woodrow Kroll: Yes, He actually knew what to do when He was tempted and He proves to us what to do. We're also going to see something about rejection. Jesus went back to His hometown, to His own people, and He's rejected by them. Now if you've ever experienced rejection, I think you're going to appreciate what we learn from Luke 4, today on Back to the Bible.

Well, throughout the course of this week we are looking at the Gospel of Luke, most especially at Jesus the world-changer. And today in chapter 4, we're going to see two very different things that prove that Jesus is the world-changer.

Now if you have a Bible at home and want to follow along, let me encourage you to do that. I want to start reading at Luke 4, right at the very first verse, verses 1 and 2. "Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy [Ghost, the Holy] Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry."

Now there are some things in there that are very ordinary; some things in there that are very extraordinary. Some things you would expect; some things you would not expect. For example, you would expect Jesus to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. He is God Himself; the whole incident with the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove in the previous chapter--you would expect that.

Returning from the Jordan, being led by the Spirit back to wilderness? That's probably not something you would expect so much. He actually was led to temptation by the Spirit of God. That's not to say that He was tempted by the Spirit of God. It's just that this event occurred because God wanted it to occur. And I think it occurred because God wanted you and me to see how Jesus handled temptation.

And then here's the third thing that seems a little strange. He was tempted 40 days by the devil; He ate nothing during those 40 days and guess what? When it was finished, He was hungry. I can't conceive of going for 40 days and still being alive, let alone and not being hungry.

Well, notice the temptations of Jesus here are by His arch-enemy, Satan himself. This temptation came directly on the heels of Jesus being baptized and the Son of God being ID-ed by God through this voice from heaven. So, we're right fresh on all these positive things in the ministry of Jesus and it leads immediately to temptation.

Be aware that sometimes that the greatest temptation you and I will ever face is right after the greatest victories we have.

Let's notice what this temptation is all about.

In 1 John 2--not Luke, but 1 John 2 (1 John is all about refraining from sin because sin ruins our lives), listen to just a couple of selected passages I want to read to you to prepare your thinking for the temptation of Jesus.

Listen to this: 1 John 2:1-2: "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."

Verses 15, 16, and 17: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."

Now, check the balance here. Things that take place in the world are passing away; things that take place for God last forever.

The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life--those are the things of the world. Those are the things that get us into trouble. Overcoming the temptation of these things is what makes us the kind of saint we need to be. Now what I want you to see here in Luke 4 is the three temptations of Jesus represent the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Let's take a look at them.

Luke 4:3, "And the devil said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God . . . '" Isn't that pretty much the same approach that Satan used for Eve? "Has God really said…" You know, introduce doubt. "If You are the Son of God . . . " We just heard that from the voice of God.

"'If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.' But Jesus answered him, saying, 'It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God"'" (Luke 4:3-4, NKJV).

Now the first temptation here is the lust of the flesh. "Take these stones and make these stones into bread." Simple thing. "Jesus, you're hungry, it's no big deal; You have the power if you really are the Son of God. You have the power to do it; just go ahead and do it. Satisfy your hunger." Temptation 1, lust of the flesh.

Temptation 2, verse 5: lust of the eyes. "Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 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. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.' 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'" (Luke 4:5-8, NKJV).

So the first temptation, "make these stones into bread." That's the lust of the flesh. You need food, eat!

The second temptation: the lust of the eyes. "Look at all the kingdoms of the world, they could all be yours."

Temptation number 3, verse 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. For it is written: "He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you," and "In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone."' And Jesus answered and said to him, 'It has been said, "You shall not tempt the LORD your God"'" (Luke 4:9-11, NKJV).

OK, that's the third temptation. That's the pride of life. The pride of life says, "Hey, I'm going to take you up the highest point, the highest building in the whole city of Jerusalem. Now since you believe you're God, why don't you just throw yourself off this pinnacle of the temple, knowing full well Psalm 91 promises that the angels of God will come and bear you up so you won't kill yourself at the bottom of the ravine. Why don't you just do that prove to yourself you are who you claim to be? You can really be proud of that."

The lust of the flesh; the lust of the eyes; the pride of life.

Now you can understand each of these three temptations in those categories and you and I can see that all three of them happen to us.

Let me go back to the first one: "Make these stones bread."

Now on the surface that seems pretty harmless. After all, He was hungry; He'd been 40 days in the wilderness; He had nothing to eat. No big deal to use His power to turn a few stones into a loaf of bread . . . except the reason behind that would have been sin.

See, the devil is trying to get Jesus to take a shortcut. The devil was trying to get Jesus to take the easy way out. Jesus had purposefully withheld food for 40 days. Satan says, "Give in."

Satan often works that way. He persuades us to do something, even something that maybe OK, something good. But he persuades us to do it for the wrong reasons. Just, just give in.

Temptation 2: "All the kingdoms of the world," you know, the lust of the eyes.

Well, Jesus was taken up to this high mountain. Satan accompanied Him. And basically what Satan wants Him to do is Satan wants Him to have what was promised to Jesus. I mean, the kingdoms of the world belong to Jesus anyway. What Satan wants Him to do is accept them now rather than wait until God presents them to Him.

Why is that important? It circumvents the cross. You get the crown without the cross. And basically what Satan wants to do is keep Jesus from that cross. So if he can get Jesus to worship Satan now and get all the kingdoms of the world, Jesus is not qualified to go to the cross and die for you and me.

The third temptation is "Throw yourself down from here," you know. Now by this time Satan is sharp enough to recognize that Jesus always responded to his temptation by quoting Scripture. Every time. I want to say something about that in just a minute, but Satan at this point says, "OK, if He can do it, so can I." So in his temptation, Satan quotes Scripture, quoting actually Psalm 91. Now he quotes it out of context; he doesn't say what the verse actually means. But he says, "Throw yourself down from here and I'm sure God will take care of you."

Now listen, God will take care of us. But there's a difference between being presumptuous and having faith that will take care of us. God says, "I will take care of you," but He doesn't tell me to jump off of cliffs just to prove it. God says, "I will take care of you," but He doesn't encourage me to fly with drunken pilots just to prove it. That's being presumptuous.

Now what are some of the lessons we can learn from these temptations of Jesus.

Well, some of them just jump off the page, don't they? One of them is this: It doesn't matter who you are, you can be tempted. I mean, if Satan is going to take a shot at Jesus, why would you think he wouldn't take a shot at you? You never get beyond the point where you can be tempted by Satan.

And Satan's temptations are always going to fall into one of these three categories: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life. You can identify the ones that come to you, just like Jesus could here.

But notice that Jesus was more than ready for Satan's temptations because He had a command of Scripture. When Satan was tempting Jesus, Jesus didn't have to rush off and look up a verse. And one of the reasons why your consistent reading of God's Word is so important to you is that's what helps you win the day against temptation. It’s been proven again and again and again, and it certainly proven in this passage right here.

Here's one of the things I learn--I love this about the story about temptation. Temptation may come hot and heavy but eventually it ends. You know, finally Satan says, "No luck here," and he leaves Jesus. "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." See, let the Spirit of God and the Word of God deal with the temptation in your life and that temptation will stop.

Now that's the good news. One last lesson I want to leave with you and that is this: Just because it stops doesn't mean it won't come back. Satan would be back, and he'll be back in your life. But you know what? You win against temptation the second time exactly the way you win the first time. Your command of Scripture; your closeness to the Lord; your ability to withstand that temptation and resist the devil; and the strength that you get from the Spirit of God--there isn't any temptation you and I ever need to fall into.

Well, I said there are two very different things in this passage that show Jesus as world-changer. One of them is the way He handled temptation; wait till you see what the next one is. We'll be right back with that.

Tami Weissert: You're listening to Back to the Bible with Bible teacher, Woodrow Kroll.

Hi, Tami Weissert here. Now isn't Luke's orderly account amazing? His detailed writings tell us so much about Christ. So keep listening. And to help you soak in this study even more, why not order Dr. Kroll's new study guide. It's called Luke: Glory to God in the Highest.

Now it's just a great addition to all we are learning in this series. Let me tell you a little more about it. First of all, Dr. Kroll wanted this study guide to be convenient. That's why we've included the Scripture passages in the lessons. That way you can just grab it and go.

Now each lesson starts with a Bible passage followed by background details and biblical insight, then questions, important questions--the type that help you consider and then apply God's Word to your life. So remember, Luke: Glory to God in the Highest, Dr. Kroll's latest study guide. To order it right now, you can go to backtothebible.org. Or we'd love it if you'd call us. The number is 1-800-759-2425. Now, let's get back to our study.

Woodrow Kroll: Luke 4 is probably best known for the temptation accounts of the Lord Jesus. But there's something else at the end of Luke 4, actually about the middle of Luke 4, that I want us to see. And that is, there's another way that Jesus proved He's the world-changer.

Let me just read some Scripture to you, beginning at verse 14 of Luke 4. "Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"'The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to preach [proclaim] the acceptable year of the LORD.'

"Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him" (Luke 4:14-20, NKJV).

Now get this; this is His hometown. And He goes to Galilee and He's pretty well received. He's now in the town He grew up in. He goes into the synagogue of that town, the attendant hands Him the scrolls to read. He reads from the Book of Isaiah, closes the book and sits down. And everybody waits. And then He says this, verse 21, "'Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing'" (Luke 4:21, NKJV).

Notice here, Jesus returns to His own people, verses 14-16. He reads the Scriptures and applies it to Himself, verses 18-21.

Look at the response: Verse 22, "So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, 'Is this not Joseph’s son?' He said to them, 'You will surely say this proverb to Me, "Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country."' Then He said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.'

"Then all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled…" (Luke 4:22-28, NKJV) [facetiously] with just great joy and delight. What a wonderful lesson that was! We'll be back next week to hear more.

What is it that ticked these people off so much? Was it the fact that He said, "What I read to you out of Isaiah is being fulfilled right before your eyes, right now"? I don't think so. What ticked these people off so much was Jesus said, "Look, my message, like the message of all other prophets, will be accepted everywhere but in my hometown, everywhere but among the people who ought to listen to me." And they know that He is saying their unbelief is going to be the greatest unbelief He encounters.

Now here's what teaches me about Jesus as the world-changer here. Yes, the first half of the chapter, He shows me how to deal with temptation, how to beat back temptation. This half of the chapter, He shows me how to deal with rejection. Because He goes back to His own people, He's ridiculed by His own people.

Look down at verse 30 [31] of this same chapter. "Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?'" (Luke 4:31-34, NKJV).

In Capernaum, they recognized the authority of Jesus of Nazareth. In Nazareth, they don't recognize Jesus' authority.

Now, I'll tell you what, one of the deepest, most hurtful things that you will ever experience in your life is when the people who ought to love you the most show their love the least. And you know what it shows me about the character of the Lord Jesus here is He was able to be rejected by His hometown people and immediately go to the next town and do the wonderful thing He does here. He speaks with authority. He drives demons out of this person. And I think I learn from that, that when I give a message that God has given through His Word and that message is not received, I don't throw up my hands and say, "Oh well, I'd better go do something else."

We have to learn to receive rejection by the people who love us the most or we will never be able to be accepted by those who don't. So if right now your family doesn't appreciate the fact you're following the Lord Jesus, don't give up. Hang in there. Pray for them. Let your light shine. And continue to live your life for Him.

It will be worth it all when we see Christ.

I'll be right back.

Tami Weissert: You're listening to Bible teacher, Woodrow Kroll, here on Back to the Bible.

Hi, this is Tami Weissert. I hope you are excited and inspired by our study today. This series in Luke lasts three weeks. That's 15 complete studies and I hope you'll be able to catch all of them. But if that's just not possible, we have the complete series on CD or DVD; you just need to order it. That way, you can take it in and review it whenever and wherever you want.

I'll give you our 800 number in a moment, but first, I want to remind you that the printed study guide for Luke is also available. This is a great stand-alone study, but it's also a good companion to the Luke series.

So give us a call and ask about our current Luke series on CD or DVD and about Dr. Kroll's printed study guide called Luke: Glory to God in the Highest. Now get your pen; here's the phone number to call. Again, this is for our Luke series on CD or DVD and for the Luke study guide. Here's the phone number: It's 1-800-759-2425.

Well, Dr. Kroll, really good lesson today. And probably the "light bulb" moment for me was just remembering that we're all going to be tempted and it's pretty clear too we're all going to face rejection.

OK, we talked about temptation pretty thoroughly early on, so let's look at rejection here as we kind of close out the day. How do we prepare for it because it is going to come?

Woodrow Kroll: You know, sometimes we can't prepare for it because we don't know where we're going to get it. We feel that we have a very close friend, a colleague, who will stick by our side, and they're the ones who reject us.

However, I think what we can learn is that our response to their rejection of us should never be a rejection of them. Because if we do that then there's no way for us ever to win that person back.

Jesus didn't reject the people of Nazareth; I mean, He had to move on, but this was always His hometown. And there were people from Nazareth who did come to know Him as Savior. But we need to be absolutely certain that when we get the shock of our lives and the person that we don't anticipate rejects us, we don't retaliate or we don't respond in such a way that we cut the cord or burn the bridge that will restore that relationship.

Tami Weissert: Part of that too then is there's a healing process almost too, once we get in that situation. Any words of wisdom in that?

Woodrow Kroll: Yes and that healing process almost has to work inside out. You know, it works from us to them because they're not in a position yet to heal. Until they see our response to their rejection--that's what brings healing.

Tami Weissert: Now we're not done with Luke. We actually have three weeks and this was week 1. So, Monday, we start week 2 and kind of a fun message, I think, "Choosing the Team."

Woodrow Kroll: Yes, we're going to talk about how Jesus chose those 12 guys who became His disciples. And remember, they were the original motley crew. They just did not seem to be the kind of people you would expect Jesus to choose.

Now the weekend is here. You're going to want to be in your home church, supporting your pastor and your church this weekend. Let me encourage you to be back here at this same time, this same fine station on Monday because we're going to talk about team building and leadership. In fact, I'm going to run through all twelve of these people and give you kind of a thumbnail sketch of who they are and how they fit together and you may be surprised at what you think you know about these people that may not even be true. We'll do that on Monday.

Thanks to all of you for being a part of our study group today; and to you at home joining us as well. God bless you. I'm Woodrow Kroll and my prayer for you is the same everyday at this time, that you would have a good and godly day. For of what lasting value is a good day if it is not also a godly day?