Closer - "Sympathetic Jesus" - Luke 4:1-30 - Mike Maglish

LifeSpring Christian Church Sermons

Sympathetic Jesus
Luke 4:1-30
Mike Maglish

Part of Closer - A Study in Luke

January 21, 2024

1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. —Luke 4:1-2

God chose temptation

Temptation #1

Turning Stones to Bread (vs 3-4)

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ ” (Quote: Deut. 8:3) —Luke 4:3-4

What we learn:
Satan tries to divert our eyes from God’s purpose/plan

Temptation #2

Bowing to Satan (5-8)

5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ” (Quote: Deut. 6:13) —Luke 4:4-8

What we learn:
Satan Offers Shiny But Ultimately Delivers Moth and Rust

Temptation #3

Putting God to the Test (9-12)

9 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, 10 for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ (Quote Psalm 91:11) 11 and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” (91:12)12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” (Quote: Deut. 6:16) —Luke 4:9-12

What We Learn:
Christ overcame temptation with scripture
Satan knows scripture and uses it to deceive

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Quote: Isaiah 61:1) —Luke 4:16-1928 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away. —Luke 4:28-30

Christ esperienced rejection

—Hebrews 4:15-16

Sympathize (συμπαθέω) - Suffer With. Share in suffering.

“If sympathy is all that human beings need, then the Cross of Christ is an absurdity and there is absolutely no need for it. What the world needs is not “a little bit of love,” but major surgery. If you think you are helping lost people with your sympathy and understanding, you are a traitor to Jesus Christ. You must have a right-standing relationship with Him yourself, and pour your life out in helping others in His way— not in a human way that ignores God.” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest)

Closer: We can not become God. So God became us.