Day 16: Which Jesus? (Luke 4:1-13)
Today’s Passage: Luke 4:1-13
At times when I read this chapter, I struggle. Which Jesus faces Satan and wins? Is it the divine Jesus—God incarnate? Is it Jesus the fully human man?
Why is that important? Because there is a part of me that wants to say, “But of course, of course Jesus could resist temptation—after all, he is God.” But if I allow myself to believe that, then two things follow. First, it means I am ignoring the Bible (Hebrews 2:5–18). Second, it means that Jesus doesn’t understand my struggles, the temptations that pull at me.
The Bible makes it clear: Jesus was tempted in every way that we are tempted. Jesus overcoming Satan was as the perfect human. To reinforce my belief about this, think of the story. Luke has not yet presented that Jesus is God incarnate (the way John’s Gospel does). No, at this point in the story, we simply know of a man born of a virgin.
What has Luke told us? Well, he has made “no bones” about us living in a spiritual world. Early in Luke’s Gospel he introduced us to angels, and now we are front and center with Satan.
To thrive in our physical world, we equip ourselves in all sorts of ways. Consider the skills you possess to thrive in this physical world. But what if, what if we live in a spiritual world? What skills must we be able to wield at a moment’s notice? Jesus shows us in this segment—the Word of God.