Today’s Sermon Notes: 8-25-2026
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“The Temptations of Jesus”
A Sermon Series
“Overcoming Temptation”
Luke 4:1-4
Introduction
The First Temptation (v. 1-4)
“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness[1] 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 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.’”
Watch Out If You Beginning Something New/Big.
Acts 1:4-5 “And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
John 14:15-16, 14:26 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,” . . . “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
Galatians 1:8 “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”
Who Is Leading You?
John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
Watch Out When You Are Tired (Emotionally, Physically, Mentally, etc).
Genesis 3:1 “Did God actually say, . . .” Satan uses Scripture to not to teach but to deceive.
Deuteronomy 8:2-3 “And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
Hebrews 4:15-16, Jesus was tempted (as a man) but did not yield to the sin, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Fight Against Temptation by
Remembering and Trusting What God’s Word Says.
God has given us two major weapons to fight temptation, the attacks of the enemy; 1) The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and 2) the Word of God. “It is written. . .” Jesus attacks the temptations with Scripture. Ephesians 6:17 says to take “. . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,”
God wants to fill us with His presence (Holy Spirit),
guide us in our purpose (more than bread), for His glory (not our own).
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[1] This account is given here in Luke 4:1-13, and Matthew 4:1-11. It must be Jesus’ account of what happened since there were no witnesses.
[2] See John 1:33.
[3] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (Minneapolis, Minnesota; Augsburg Publishing House, 1946) 224.
[4] Hobbs, 80.
[5] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Luke 1-5 (Chicago, Illinois; Moody Publishers, 2009) 255.
[6] Matthew 14:13-21
[7] Lenski, 229.
[8] David Lyle Jeffrey, Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible, Luke (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Brazos Press, 2012) 66.
[9] 1 Corinthians 15:22
[10] R. Kent Hughes, Luke, That You My Know the Truth (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2015) 135.
[11] Lenski, 231 “What succeeded in Eden, in the land of plenty, failed in the destitute desert.”
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