It's Wild Out There

Don’t Skip the Sunscreen
The Temptation of Jesus. We often pass over the first few verses of this experience and jump straight into stones becoming bread, the promise of kingdoms, and some sort of angelic trust-fall. As if the only thing we need when Satan shows up with wild and bombastic ideas is to say “no” and spout off a few Scripture references. First of all, the texts from Mat. 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4 read more like Jesus experienced temptations throughout the duration of the forty days of fasting. Forty days, temptations, and fasting are mentioned prior to any further descriptions.
However, when we skip over the first two verses, we read the rest of the section as if it took the devil forty days to drum up three diabolical master temptations. Not only is that unlikely, but the text itself doesn’t structure the story this way. No doubt, the disciples of Jesus chronicle the temptation accounts in Luke and Matthew with the same specific temptations, but only after the forty days of fasting and temptation and hunger.
Jesus has specific experiences before and leading into the temptation encounter. There is important information to take with us before we jump into the rest of Jesus’ temptations. Much like discovering mid-journey how much you needed the sunscreen that you left in the cabinet—don’t skip the prelude. Take it with you. So, let’s take a look at what happens with Jesus before He journeys into the wilderness and how we can learn from His example.

Gear-up: Filled with the Spirit
Luke 4:1 says, “And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness” (ESV, italics added for emphasis). In all of the temptation accounts, Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River and the Holy Spirit descends on him in full view of everyone gathered there. Before Jesus went into the wilderness, he was full of the Holy Spirit. This wasn’t limited to just himself; Jesus and his disciples taught others to also receive the Holy Spirit (John 3:2-5, Acts 2:33-39, 8:14-17, 10:44-47, Rom. 8:2-5). Jesus even told his disciples it was better for them to gain the Spirit than for Jesus to stay with them and not receive the Spirit (John 16:7).
Receiving the Holy Spirit—it’s part of God’s plan for His followers. Yet, we sometimes convince ourselves that other things are just as necessary to our journey, such as prosperity, safety, and control. Having the Spirit of God dwelling in us and with us is how God desires us to be equipped. The Spirit is exponentially more sufficient than the “essentials'' we desire to hold on to so tightly.
Our desire to have well-made plans, maps, and details of the journey is not something that we are promised as followers of Jesus. We have to be equipped with the Spirit before we journey into the wild. The fruit of the Spirit is the outward signs of the work and presence of the Spirit. It is also what sustains us through our journey and temptations. Have you ever considered that Jesus was sustained through temptation by countering it with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”(Gal. 5:22-23)?

Faithful Guide: Led by the Spirit
The next thing to observe in the temptation prelude after Jesus is equipped with the Holy Spirit is that he was led by the Spirit (Luke 4:1, Matthew 4:1). The Spirit not only equips us with what we need for any of life’s terrains, it also guides us as we sojourn into new territory. The book of Mark seems even more emphatic. It says, “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness” (Mark 1:12). You would think that after a big public display of the presence of God, it would be time to publicize, network, and minister. Not so fast! Like Jesus, we need to be able to be led by the Spirit, too. 
We may even find ourselves in unexpected places. But if we are following the Spirit’s lead, it will be the right path through uncertain places, nonetheless. The Spirit navigates our way if we’re willing, listening, and trusting. However, that does not mean that the path will be easy and smooth.

Desert Desires
Security, in its many forms, is often a temptation against God’s will for us. Let’s see how this may be applicable to Jesus’ temptation narrative. There are two things that come up before the authors detail any of the three specific dialogues between the devil and Jesus: temptations and fasting. Both things require submitting the desires of the flesh to the desires of the Spirit. Galatians 5:16-17 states plainly, “...walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh”. This is a simple concept, but not an easy one.

Self-Preservation
Most of the temptations within the dialogue of Jesus and the devil come down to this: unhealthy self-preservation. The temptation to end the fast and feed Himself (Luke 4:3-4) points to the way we want to save ourselves from hunger. The temptation against wanting the power and authority of the kingdoms of the world (Luke 4:5-8) points to the way we want to save ourselves and use power over others (political, militarily, or otherwise). The temptation about commanding angels to protect him from harm (Luke 4:9-12) points to the way we want to save ourselves from suffering harm. Notice a theme? 
This comes back around at Jesus’s crucifixion. When they came to arrest Jesus and asked if he was Jesus of Nazareth (John 18: 3-8, Luke 22: 3-6, 47-53), you can easily imagine Satan tempting him again saying, “Save yourself”. Later, when Pilate asked “Are you King of the Jews?” (Luke 23:3), you can almost hear the devil whispering again to Jesus, “Save yourself”. As Jesus hangs on the cross, He is ridiculed and mocked while others yell, “Save yourself!” (Luke 23:35-39). However, Jesus was in unison with the Spirit and the Father, committed to God’s rescue plan of redemption and salvation, even if it meant He would have to give up His own life.
While our journeys will most likely not lead to a crucifixion, Jesus does tell great crowds, “...whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). He also tells whoever follows Him to “...deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:22-24) . This is definitely not a promise that following Him will be a walk in the park or the easiest thing you will ever do. Have you ever noticed that Jesus didn’t calm the wind or waves before calling Peter to walk with him on the sea (Mat. 14:23-33)? We should not submit ourselves to worshiping safety and security, but we should trust the Savior that loves us enough to save us by giving up His life.

Hunger
The last thing mentioned in both Matthew and Luke before the temptation dialogue is hunger. After being filled with the Spirit, being led out in the wilderness by the Spirit, and fasting, Jesus was hungry. It’s only after He was hungry that the devil tempted Him to break His fast and dependency on the Spirit by getting Him to feed His belly. 
But Jesus understood something that the devil did not. Hunger is a gift. It reminds us that we need a God to provide what we are lacking. Humility, humbleness, and dependency on God are a must in order to worship God properly because it puts us in the position of proper subordination. If we are not mindful, we may end up worshiping the supply instead of the supplier. Or even worse, we may convince ourselves that we need no one—let alone God. We are self-sufficient and the most important god we know is ...ourselves. This is not a New Testament thing either. God used manna in the desert to teach the Israelites trust and healthy dependence, too (Ex.16:10-31, Num. 11).

Spirit-Filled, Spirit Led, Selfless, Hungry People
That is what we should be: Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, selfless, hungry people. It was sufficient for Jesus through His temptations, and He is our example to follow. Yes, Jesus did know Scripture, but so did Satan. Scripture is the vessel he used to deliver his temptations against Jesus, in fact. This was nothing new though, it is the devil’s oldest trick: “Did God really say?” (Gen. 3:1). 
It’s not that hard to have “Biblical answers”, but it is much harder to have Godly ones. This is why we need the Spirit. Let our reading be Spirit-filled and Spirit-led while we selflessly consume God’s Word. If we are to walk in the Spirit and by the Spirit through life’s trials and tribulations, do not expect to run anywhere without the Spirit.