Well, would you open your Bibles to Luke chapter 3, the end of Luke chapter 3. Our passage this evening is Luke 4, verses 1 through 15, but we'll start our reading tonight at Luke chapter 3, verse 23. Again, that's Luke chapter 3, starting at verse 23. Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about 30 years of age, being the son, as was supposed, of Joseph, the son of Hali, the son of Motha, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jonai, the son of Joseph, the son of Matthias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Asli, the son of Nagai, the son of Moth, the son of Matthias, the son of Semen, the son of Josek, the son of Jodah, the son of Johanan, the son of Resa, the son of Zerubbabel. the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, the son of Melchi, the son of Adi, the son of Cosim, the son of Elmedam, the son of Er, the son of Joshua, the son of Eleazar, the son of Joram, the son of Martha, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, the son of Meliah, the son of Mena, the son of Mattha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salah, the son of Nashun, the son of Abinadab, the son of Admon, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Sareg, the son of Rel, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shalah, the son of Canaan, the son of Arphaxet, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Canaan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. And now we come to our text. And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by the devil and he ate nothing during those days and when they were ended he was hungry and the devil said to him if you are the son of god command this stone to become bread and jesus answered him it is written man shall not live by bread alone and the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time and said to him to you i will give all this authority in their glory for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you then will worship me, it will be all yours. And Jesus answered him, It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only you shall serve. And he took him to Jerusalem, and 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 will command his angels concerning you to guard you, and on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone and jesus answered him it is said you shall not put the lord your god to the test and when the devil had ended every temptation he departed from him until an opportune time and jesus returned in the power of the spirit to galilee and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country and he taught in their synagogues being glorified by all may the lord bless the reading of his word brothers and sisters in our lord jesus christ luke presents to us here at the inauguration of jesus ministry a cosmic rewind and rewrite of history he presents jesus to us as the last adam who obeys where first adam didn't and who gains for us the right to be in his new creation jesus is the one who emerges from this trial victoriously where first adam and where israel had failed and because of his victory he earns the right to begin his ministry and because jesus won this victory in this desert showdown we can rest in the hope that he can and will bring about the new creation that he has earned for us we can rest because of his victory in the hope that he can and will bring about the new creation that he has earned for us we'll look at this in a couple points this evening three points specifically the first being the backdrop of this showdown the backdrop of this showdown the second being the battle that takes place the battle that takes place. And the third being the breaking in of new creation. The breaking in of new creation. So first, let's look at the backdrop of this showdown. Look with me again at verses 1 through 2 of chapter 4. And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days and when they were ended he was hungry jesus has just been baptized in the jordan and then he's led in the wilderness for 40 days being tempted by the devil think about sorry think back with me now to the old testament what other group of people does the new testament say was baptized and then led by the Spirit in the wilderness. It's the people of Israel. They were led in the wilderness for 40 years by the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. And Exodus 13, 22 says, The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from the people. The Lord was always with them as he led them by his Spirit in the wilderness. In our passage this evening, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, is led by the Spirit in the wilderness after being baptized. And then he is tempted by the devil. As the true and better Adam, Jesus here is going through the same ordeals that Israel went through and failed. Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness and is hungering. Israel was led by the Spirit into the wilderness and hungered. Israel was tempted by the devil in the wilderness and failed so that God loathed that generation and they did not share in his rest. Jesus goes through 40 days of hunger in the wilderness, still full of the spirit, still trusting in his father's provision. And he passes the test and ends those 40 days in victory. But notice how little Luke records for us here. And the wilderness wanderings of the Israelites took four books at the beginning of the Old Testament. The Israelites are tempted at every turn, and they try God at every turn. Immediately after God brings them through the sea, and they sing the song of the sea in Exodus 15, and they're praising God for the deliverance and for killing their enemies and bringing them through the sea, immediately after that episode, the song of praise dies out on their lips. As they thirst and they complain. And so God turns the water sweet for them. But then they get hungry and immediately they complain and they threaten to turn back. They want to go back to Egypt rather than follow God by his spirit through the wilderness to the promised land. So God feeds them with manna from heaven. He feeds them with quails and they are satisfied. But then they thirst again. And so God has to, and they complain again. And so God gives them water from the rock. But that's just the first three chapters before Sinai. That's 16 through 19. They haven't even gotten to Sinai yet. They've barely spent two months out of Egypt, let alone 40 years, and they've complained the whole way. But that's not what Jesus does. Jesus here gets two verses. He's full of the Holy Spirit. He follows the spirits leading into the wilderness. He hungers, and then he's tempted. But he eats nothing, and when they're ending, he comes out. He trusts the Lord without complaining. That's the bottom line. He trusts the Lord without complaining, and he gets two verses about his not complaining. Luke shows us the stark contrast between what Israel did and what Jesus did to show us that he has absolutely succeeded where Israel failed. But this rewind doesn't just this. So this rewind continues where Israel died in the wilderness. Jesus sends his time and prepares to come out. But then this rewind continues to the point where Jesus is brought to the place of first Adam's failure. look back with me in the genealogy we just read what does how is it structured right it starts in 23 with jesus and it goes backwards in history to verse 38 ending with adam the son of god but now look with me if you will right before the genealogy in verses 21 through 20 22 and now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, you are my beloved son, with you I am well pleased. We're given the genealogy of Jesus back to Adam, the son of God, but also at Jesus' baptism we're told Jesus is the son of God. And God the Father has just sent his spirit down to give Jesus an official, inspired declaration of who he is and whose side he is on. Jesus, or whose son he is and whose side he is on. Jesus has just been put in the spot where he is the one man representing all humanity, alone and given directions about what he's supposed to eat, or rather what he's not supposed to eat. And then given a time where the devil has been allowed to test him. This rewind of history has brought Jesus to the point of Adam's failure. But this is why Jesus is now also in a wilderness. Jesus is also in a wilderness because Adam had a garden that he lost. Where Adam was given a garden where he was supposed to expand it and bring it under his dominion after he passed the test. Jesus is in a wilderness where there's not even a starting point for that dominion. Where Adam was fed by God from every tree, except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Jesus is called to fast. This is a place of utter desolation. This is a desert instead of a garden. There are rocks, there are sand where fruit trees are supposed to be. But standing in the place where Adam, first Adam earned for us, Jesus, the last Adam, wins for us what first Adam didn't. He wins for us what first Adam didn't by going through the test that Adam did. He goes through a test of whose side he is on based on whose word he believes. But this brings us to our second point. The battle that takes place. This is our second point. The battle that takes place. Jesus is called to undergo the same exact test Adam was called to undergo. The test of whether he would believe the Lord's declaration of reality or listen to the devil's lies. Turn back with me to Genesis 2. Genesis 2. We'll look at Genesis 2, 15 through 17. Genesis 2, 15 through 17. Genesis 2, 15 through 17. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. For in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. What's the temptation that Adam and Eve face? Well, we look at then, so this is the declaration of God's reality. We now look at the temptation that Adam and Eve face in chapter 3. Chapter 3, 1 through 5. Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the fruit trees in the garden. But God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden. Neither shall you touch it, lest you die. But the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened. And you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Now what did we read at the scene of Jesus' baptism? The Holy Spirit descends in form of a dove. And the voice from heaven says, You are my beloved son. and you am well pleased. Now we come to 4 verse 3 of Luke. Luke 4 verse 3. And the devil said to him, If you are the son of God, command this stone to become bread. So the problem here is not what Satan is asking Jesus to do, but why he's asking Jesus to do it. Not what he's asking Jesus to do, but why Satan is asking Jesus to do it. Jesus is the Lord of the Old Testament. He's the one who stood on the rock and made water come out of it when Moses struck the rock. Jesus is the Lord of Psalm 81 who promises honey from the rock for his people. Later on in Luke, we're going to read that Jesus tells the Pharisees that if the people weren't praising him, the stones would. And as Pastor Gordon reminded us last week, the testimony of John the Baptist was that God is able to raise, even from these stones, children of Abraham. At any other point in time, Jesus would have been well within his right and within his power to make the stones provide nourishment or glory for himself, but not at this moment. At this moment, Satan is asking Jesus to do more than just turn a rock into bread he's asking him to doubt God's word Satan is asking Jesus to doubt the declaration the special revelation from God that just came from heaven at his baptism that he is God's son Satan is asking Jesus the same question he asked in the garden did God really say can we really trust what God said to be true and can we test this but in response what does Jesus say jesus responds with scripture jesus says it is written man shall not live by bread alone jesus responds to the question of whether or not he trusts has god really said by repeating what god has said with confidence that the word holds authority think about this for a minute jesus is the word of god made flesh Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. He could have come up with special new revelation right there on the spot and given it to counter Satan's commands, but he doesn't. Jesus quotes the scripture because he has absolute confidence that what has been written is nothing less than the revealed will of God. Jesus passes this test where first Adam had failed because he gives the response that first Adam did not. Yes, God has really said, and yes, God's word is true and the rule for my life. And yes, Jesus is saying, yes, I really am the son of God, not because I have to prove it to you, but because the father said so. Man shall not live by bread alone. Jesus is also telling the devil that the word that came from God's mouth at his baptism is what sustains him, even when there's not a whole lot of physical food to go around. And unlike Israel, Jesus refuses to put the devil's words of complaint in his mouth rather than trusting that the Lord will provide. And this is because Jesus trusts the character of God. He trusts God's character. The character of God as revealed in his word is that God is a faithful provider. Jesus trusts that the word is sufficient to reveal God as the one who will provide and that the scripture can be trusted because it is true. But this brings us to the next temptation. And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time and said to him to you I will give all this authority in their glory for it has been delivered to me and I give it to whom I will if you then will worship me it will be all yours many people ask the question of whether what Satan is exactly offering here because it's a question of whether Satan ultimately rules the world and the answer to that question is no Satan doesn't ultimately rule the world but as our passage says at this time all the kingdoms had been delivered to him we know that paul calls him the god of this world in second corinthians 4 verse 4 and the prince of the power of the air in ephesians 2 remember also or we'll see in john we'll see in john very shortly that jesus declares that his hour has come and the ruler of this world will be cast out. Jesus calls Satan the ruler of this world again in John 14. And in John 16, Jesus says that the ruler of this world is going to be judged. So Satan doesn't rule the world in an ultimate sense, but he does hold the hearts and minds of those who do not believe in captivity. Christ's work on the cross freed those who believe in him from the captivity of Satan. Ephesians 2 says we were dead in our trespasses and sins in which we once walked following the course of this world following the prince of the power of the air but that God made us alive together with Christ. Psalm 68 also tells us that when Christ ascended on high he led a host of captives in his train. What Satan is trying to do is to tempt Christ away from the whole plan of salvation. He's asking Christ to join him in tyranny over all the souls he's kept dead in sin and slaves to himself instead of redeeming them. Satan is asking Jesus to avoid the cross and still get the glory. This is a real temptation for Jesus. Satan could have given over to Christ a share in all the false worship of every reprobate idol worshiper that ever lived because anyone not serving god is worshiping satan whether they know it or not satan was ruling in the hearts and minds of every pharaoh and xerxes and caesar that ever lived and all their subjects until the coming of christ if the old testament israel was a theocracy a place where god was reigning then the old testament nations that were not israel were diabocracies a place where the devil was sovereign lord whether they knew it or not but again we know this is a real temptation for jesus he went through the struggle in the garden praying that the cup would pass from him if it were the father's will the temptation to be crowned without the cross was a real temptation for jesus but that's not all that's going on here by tempting jesus to get glory without the cross satan is again testing jesus and tempting him to doubt god's word satan is saying here if you're really god's son then why is he making you go through humiliation be the king without being the suffering king god isn't treating you like the thing I say you're not or like the thing he says he you are if you bow to me I'll treat you like the thing I say you're not so it's asking him to doubt God's word in order to get the result of what God's saying he is but Jesus again replies with absolute trust in the word of God instead of the devil's lies he knows that the father has said that he alone is supposed to be the object of worship. Jesus trusts the Father to glorify him in the time and place and way in which he chooses to do so. Jesus once again succeeds where Adam has failed. He trusts the word of God over against the empty promises of Satan. But this brings us to the final temptation. Read with me again verses 9 through 12. And he took him to Jerusalem and 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 will command his angels concerning you to guard you and on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone and Jesus answered him it is said you shall not put the Lord your God to the test so this is Satan's final attempt to get Jesus to doubt God's word but this time he's brought out the craftiest weapon in his arsenal he's brought out the weapon that worked on adam and eve he's brought out scripture twisting think back with me to genesis 3 what did we read in genesis 3 what does satan do well satan tells eve that it's precisely because the tree is what god says it is a tree of knowing good and evil that god doesn't want them to eat from it he's taken the published revelation of god that's supposed to inspire humble confidence and trust in the father's will and he's used it to try to get them to act in presumption and self-exaltation but that's what satan's doing here too he's taken psalm 91 he's taken a psalm that's supposed to inspire humble confidence and trust in the father's care he who dwells in the shadow or shelter of the most high will abide in the shadow of the almighty i will say to the lord my refuge and my fortress my god in whom i trust he's taken that psalm and he said jump to the wrong conclusion but more than that think who else is in the temple between two angels who live between two cherubim on top of the ark of the covenant it's god himself satan is again fully and finally asking jesus to test god's word to him at his baptism he's saying if you're really the son of god then why don't you go be the one behind the veil if you're really the son of god why are you being forced to learn through what you suffer if you're really the son of god why are you shuffling around in a hungry and tired and dusty frame when you could be flying if you're the son of god make use of your majestic dignity and stop voluntarily going through a life of weakness and suffering. But once again, Jesus responds with absolute confidence in the published word of the Father. He trusts the Father at his word. He trusts that this word is true and doesn't need to be tested. And he trusts that the Father's will for his life is better than any glory that he could gain from following satan's commandments look at his response in verse 12 jesus answered him it is said you shall not put the lord your god to the test where the devil has just tempted jesus to doubt whether god's word is really true jesus responds by taking his stated confidence in the word up a notch for the past two temptations jesus has responded with it is written it is written but now notice that satan has jumped on the it is written wagon at verse 10 he says for it is written he will command his angels concerning you so jesus has taken his stated confidence up a notch by saying it is said it is said i submit to the word of god as authority for my life because it's god breathed and it's true i am the lord your god whom you're not supposed to be testing i don't stand in judgment over this word it stands in judgment over me this is a stark contrast with the people of israel and with adam Adam and Eve joined the serpent in deciding that they were judges of God's word Jesus says what my father says it's true and I'm not going to test it where Israel had decided to complain and doubt whether what God said was true whether God was really with them and whether they could really trust God as provider Jesus trusts the words testimony about the father's character completely. Jesus won this test as the last Adam, the Adam that was better than any other type and shadow of the Old Testament who failed to trust God's published word and obey it and cast the serpent out. Where Adam and where the people of Israel had failed to inherit the land permanently, Jesus won this desert test and secured the right to inherit new creation forever. This brings us to our third and concluding point, the breaking in of new creation. The third point, breaking in of new creation. Read with me again verse 13. And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. Satan knows at this moment that Jesus has already won. He knows that Jesus is already one, and he needs to retreat until an opportune time. When Satan quoted Psalm 91, he quoted verses 11 and 12 to Jesus. But he forgot, conveniently, to quote verse 13. Verse 13 is what we sang a minute ago. you will tread on the lion and the adder the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot satan knows what's going to happen as a result of christ's victory here he knows that the promise that his head that satan's head will be crushed the same promise that was given to eve in genesis 3 satan knows that this is the promise that's now going to take place. The one who walks about as a roaring lion knows that he needs to shut up and flee because he has just been defeated. Jesus has passed the test that Adam and Eve failed. Jesus has resisted the serpent's temptation and now the serpent is fleeing because he's been cast out of the desolate desert garden that Jesus has just won back. Our passage this morning began in verse 2 by saying that jesus's time in the desert ended but now it ends by verse verse 13 by saying that the devil's temptations ended christ's victory means the devil's defeat the beginning of christ's reign means that satan's reign is now over in this world and he needs to retreat christ's conquest of the new creation that he has won starts the moment he sets foot back in galilee and that's what we read in the next couple verses of our passage and jesus returned in the power of the spirit to galilee and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country and he taught in their synagogues being glorified by all in the very next verses jesus returns in his in power to begin his conquest of the territory that he just conquered jesus returned in the power of the spirit to galilee and news about him goes all around the beginning of his rightly gotten glory jesus's rightly gotten glory starts the moment his temptation to get it wrongly ends where jesus has just resisted getting glory wrongly in the temple he's now being glorified in the synagogues where Jesus has just rejected the offer of all the illegitimate honor in the world he now receives recognition the word about him spreads throughout the whole countryside and even at the end of chapter four Jesus begins to bind the strong men and cast out demons as a result of the victory that he's won here in this desert showdown in revelation 21 we get to see finally and fully the consummation of the new creation that christ has won but the basis and the foundation for the bringing about of that new jerusalem begins with the breaking in of new creation that happens here at the place where christ earns back the first foothold of his new creation so what we take from this passage is that we can trust this last adam to accomplish fully and finally all that first adam failed to do because he began his ministry in the same way that he completed it which is in perfect obedience to the father's will we can trust this last adam as our better covenant head because he accomplished for us the obedience that first adam never did the call today from this passage is to trust it's the same call that comes from every passage of scripture that screams at us from every passage of scripture to call it the call to trust this better adam to be our perfect righteousness and holiness before god because he has won that for us through his obedience which is ours by faith alone so where we have failed to keep god's law and to trust god's word christ has kept and christ has obeyed and christ has trusted on our behalf in adam we died but in christ's obedience here and by his sacrifice we are now made alive and counted righteous before god because of christ's works we failed in adam to stay in the garden and earn the right to build the kingdom of God, but Christ has one and is building what we never could. So in our failures this past week and in this next week, the call is to look to the Christ who earned for us, not just by his death, but by his life, the reward that we never could. In looking to him, we can know that through christ's finished work this god whom he trusted is now our god we can trust that god the father is the one whose character is to provide for us and we can trust that though we have failed to resist the devil even perhaps this afternoon he is the one who is working in us by his spirit to conform us into the image of his beloved son so that one day we will be like him in the new creation that he has earned for us amen let's pray father we thank you for your son who has won for us the right to be in your presence to be members of your glorious new creation bless us as we go into this next week and give us the strength and comfort in the victory that he has won and bring us back safely again to your house next week to worship and to hear your word to worship you and to hear your word yet again bless us as we go now when we pray these things not because of our own merit but because of christ and it's in his name we pray amen