FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT- YEAR-C

I Reading: Deuteronomy 26:4-10: The Creed of the chosen people.

II Reading: Romans 10:8-13: The creed of the Christian.

Gospel: Luke 4:1-13: Jesus was led by the Spirit through the wilderness and was tempted there.

The Temptation of Jesus: Victory Over Temptation, Lk 4:1-15

Victory over temptation is essential before we can live and minister for God. No temptation has ever confronted the man that Jesus Christ has not confronted. This is seen in this passage. In Him confrontation, Jesus reveals what lies behind each temptation and how to conquer it. Once it has been conquered, we can then live a victorious life and serve God effectively.

1. Being prepared to serve God (v.1-2)

a. By being filled with the Spirit

b. By spending time along with God

c. By being tried and tested

d. By fasting and prayer and almsgiving

e. By reading the Word of God

2. Tempt. 1: To meet the necessities of life by His own power (v.3-4)

a. Satan’s temptation: To misuse His power

b. Jesus’ answer: Man needs more than bread-he needs God’s life or spiritual food

3. Tempt. 2: To seek His ambition by compromise (v. 5-8)

a. Satan’s enticement: He shows the world’s possessions and glory

b. Satan’s claim: He controls the world and its glory

c. Satan’s offer: He will give the world to anyone he wills

d. Satan’s condition: A person must worship and follow him

e. Jesus’ answer: He must worship and follow God alone

4. Tempt. 3: To prove himself through sensationalism (v.9-12)

a. Satan’s temptation

  1) To choose another way

  2) To misuse and twist the Scripture to suit his own ends

  3) To give people sensations-a religion of feelings

b. Jesus’ answer: God is not to be tempted-God’s way alone is to be followed

5. Conclusion: Satan left Jesus for a while (v.13-15)

a. Jesus’ great power

b. Jesus’ great fame

c. Jesus’ great ministry

Thought: Jesus overcame the three types of temptations by prayer and fasting, through the Word of God and led by the Spirit doing the will of God alone than his own will. The first parents Adam and Eve in the garden and the Israelites in the desert misused their freedom and failed to obey the will of God and became unfaithful and went away from God; whereas Jesus did not misuse his divine power but obeyed and did the will of God and became faithful to his Father always even on the cross, redeemed the humanity.

There is nothing wrong with ambition and desiring to fulfill one’s calling in life. The wrong is found in following Satan (evil) when tempted to satisfy one’s desires and ambitions instead of following God.

Thought: The armor of God is the glorious provision God provides for the believer’s victory over temptation (Eph 6:10-20).

“God does not tempt anyone” (Jm 1:13) but allows the devil to tempt us. Jesus said to his disciples, “pray, that you will not fall into temptation?”(Lk 22:40)

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