Luke 4:2-4 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungry.… We learn much of Satan, our great adversary, from the different ways in which he attempted to lead our Lord astray. I. THE POVERTY OF SATAN. How little he has to offer Christ — not so much as bread, only stones. II. HIS IMPUDENCE. Repelled once, he returns to the attack, and asks for adoration to be given him, a lost and fallen angel, by the Lord of heaven and earth. III. His weakness. He did not cast our Lord down: not even bind Him; no power to force — he can only try to persuade. Sin is not so strong as it is often represented. IV. HIS CRAFT. 1. He attacks the Lord's weakness by fasting. As the general surveys the most likely time to raise the siege of a beleaguered city, so the devil always watches his opportunity. 2. He pretends to ask a most simple request, when it is really hard and most difficult. 3. He graduates his temptations. In the first temptation, he places himself before man; then, before an angel; lastly, in the place of God. All sin is graduated. V. HIS LIES. He promises — 1. That which he has not to give. 2. That which he has no intention of giving.CONCLUSION: 1. Fear not this devil. 2. Ever watch for him. 3. Meet him boldly, and you will overcome him. (M. Faber.) Parallel Verses KJV: Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. |
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