The Bible CourseSample

Temptation, healing and preaching – the ministry of Jesus

Reflect:

God is not distant. He doesn’t keep us at arm’s length, even when we might expect him to. Involving ourselves in the mess of this world doesn’t always seem worth it but, when it comes to God, Luke’s Gospel bats that notion away.

Luke wants us to know that Jesus is the saviour of all people. And, in order to save people, he had to get his hands dirty. We have a God who doesn’t turn his nose up at our mess but rather takes it on himself.

What did the temptation of Jesus (verses 1–13) mean for him then and for us now?

God’s Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil. Hoping that Jesus’ resolve would be weakened after 40 days without food, the devil tried to entice him into various sins: from using his power to satisfy his own desires, to worshipping someone other than God, to putting God to the test.

Jesus left the wilderness victorious, ready to begin his public ministry. And the suffering he experienced wasn’t without purpose. Hebrews 4.15 speaks of Jesus being a leader who is not ‘unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses,’ because he was ‘tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin’. When we turn to him in our struggles, he truly can understand what we’re going through.

Equally important is the fact that Jesus successfully resisted the devil and did not sin – not in the wilderness or at any time afterwards. In an echo of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden, the devil tempted Jesus to turn a stone into bread and eat. But where they sinned, Jesus did not. Jesus is the new Adam, and in him humanity gets a new start. Where once the relationship with God was broken, Jesus makes a way for it to be restored.

What do we learn about the priorities of Jesus' ministry in verses 14–44?

Jesus knew what it was to be busy, but he never lost his compassion for people. He healed the sick and drove out evil spirits because he cared deeply for individuals. Both his teaching and his actions provided a glimpse of how the world is meant to be and how it one day will be.

Jesus poured himself out for the people, and we get a subtle hint of the toll this took on him when Luke records that ‘at daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place’ (verse 42). When people found him and made yet more demands, he had to stick to his priorities: ‘I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent’ (verse 43). Jesus was focused on reaching as many people as possible.

Respond

Ask God to help your life reflect the priorities of Jesus and equip you with everything you need.