The Temptation of Jesus: First Sunday in Lent
When confronted by Satan’s temptation, three times Jesus quotes exclusively from Deuteronomy 6-8. He knows he's standing in for Israel in these stories in order to re-tell it as God had intended. In the language of the school yard, Israel – through Jesus – gets a “do over” and so do we.
For a fresh meditation each Sunday of Lent, I refer you to my book, The Way of Grace: Gospel Stories for Lent. Co-written with my friend, Jim Stovall, it's not too late to get a copy to guide you on our journey with Jesus.
Here on The Rhythm of Grace, I will use our book each week, and point you to the appropriate chapter, print the gospel text, and give you something new, "This Week in Lent" – a bonus insight not found in The Way of Grace.
Jim and I wrote and published The Way of Grace to present this year's readings from the Gospels for each Sunday, Lent through Easter.
But we also packed in extra benefits for our readers, such as daily "Reflections for the Week Ahead," and 14 bonus devotionals for each Tuesday and Thursday. Add to that a complete Leader's Guide, making The Way of Grace suitable for either individual or group study.
As authors, we are gratified by the folks who have purchased a copy and supported this project, especially the churches using it for their Lenten study. I hope you'll join our community, with book in hand, as we walk the road with Jesus.
Now, let's get to this first Sunday of Lent, March 9, 2025 –
Week 1: Our Lenten Journey Begins with a Test
Book Location: Week 1, page 6, The Way of Grace: Gospel Stories for Lent
Scripture: Luke 4:1-13 NIV
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”
9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'
13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
This Week in Lent:
In The Way of Grace, I describe three lessons we can learn from the temptations of Jesus. But today, let's ask a different question –
Question: Why does Jesus choose scripture from Deuteronomy 6-8 to reply to Satan?
When confronted by Satan’s temptation, three times Jesus quotes exclusively from Deuteronomy 6-8. Why?
The answer is Jesus knows he's standing in for Israel in these stories in order to succeed in faithfulness to God where Israel had failed. In the language of the school yard, Israel gets a “do-over” through Jesus, and so do we.
Israel's Wilderness Story Revisited
After they are free from Egypt, it isn't long before God consigns the Israelites to spend forty years wandering in the desert because of their faithlessness. Forty years isn’t just time on the calendar, it's God's time – enough time to accomplish God's purposes.
Moses described it this way:
"Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart" - Deuteronomy 8:2 NIV
That wilderness journey was marked by repeated failures.
- When they were hungry, Israel grumbled.
- When they faced a Canaanite threat, they feared an enemy's potential more than they trusted Divine promises.
- When they lost sight of Moses on Mount Sinai, they crafted a golden calf and worshipped it, betraying their covenant loyalty.
Now Jesus enters a similar wilderness, faces similar temptations, but responds in a completely different way than Israel had.
- Jesus Rewrites Israel's Trust Story
When Satan tempts Jesus to turn stones into bread, he taunts him – “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Jesus responds by quoting a portion of Deuteronomy 8:3 - "Man shall not live on bread alone." – Deuteronomy 8:3
This is a direct reference to Israel's wilderness experience with manna. Moses was reminding Israel that God had deliberately allowed them to experience hunger before providing manna. God wasn't torturing them, but teaching them to depend on God's provision instead of their nostalgia for Egypt's bounty. When the Israelites hungered in the wilderness, they complained:
"If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted." - Exodus 16:3
They longed to return to Egyptian slavery with full stomachs, rather than remain free and trust God.
By quoting this specific passage, Jesus is consciously standing in for Israel in a replay of this wilderness test – but this time he gets the answer right. Where Israel complained about hunger, Jesus accepts it as a temporary part of God's formative process. Where Israel preferred bread to obedience, Jesus chooses to trust God's promise of provision instead.
- Jesus Rewrites Israel's Worship Story
In the second temptation, Satan offers to make Jesus ruler of all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus will just worship him – "If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
In reply Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:13: "Worship the Lord your God and serve him only."
This verse appears just after the Shema – "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one..."
This is Israel's core confession of faith, and directly reflects Israel's greatest wilderness failure – the Golden Calf incident. While Moses was receiving the covenant on Sinai, Israel grew impatient and crafted an idol under Aaron's direction, who falsely declared: "These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt" (Exodus 32:4).
Moses later reflected on this catastrophic failure in Deuteronomy, warning the new generation entering the Promised Land not to repeat their parents' idolatry: "When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God... Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God... Otherwise... your heart will become proud" (Deuteronomy 8:10-14).
By refusing Satan's offer with this specific scripture, Jesus rewrites Israel's idol worship experience. Though Israel exchanged God's glory for a Golden Calf, Jesus refuses to barter worship of The One God for alleged worldly dominion.
- Jesus Rewrites Israel's Doubt Story
In the final temptation, Satan himself quotes scripture – “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here" – and then adds a quote from Psalm 91:11,12.
Satan challenges Jesus to jump from the temple and force God to send angels to his rescue.
Jesus responds with Deuteronomy 6:16: "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."
This verse explicitly references the incident at Massah (Exodus 17:1-7), where thirsty Israelites quarreled with Moses, saying: "Is the LORD among us or not?" They demanded proof of God's presence and care, testing God's faithfulness instead of trusting it.
Jesus rejects this proposal as fundamentally misunderstanding his relationship with God the Father. A true son doesn't need dramatic proof of his father's care. God's true son trusts without testing. Where Israel demanded signs to confirm God's presence, Jesus affirms God's presence through relationship and obedience – no need for spectacular demonstrations.
To recap, Jesus intentionally chose each scripture he quoted. Although Jesus only quotes a short portion of each text, later readers of Luke's account knew the stories they referenced. Everyone would understand that Jesus was representing Israel in order to get it right. Jesus chose to be faithful where Israel (and we) had been unfaithful, to write a story of commitment to God, instead of failure under testing.
Update:
Jim and I are working on our next book on Genesis, which should be out in May, 2025. Then, we plan a book for Advent through Epiphany for 2025-2026.
So, more good things are coming, and we appreciate your support for our work. See you next week!
