1. Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to fast and be tempted by the devil for 40 days. 2. The devil tempts Jesus three times - to turn stone to bread when hungry, worship the devil in exchange for power over the world's kingdoms, and test God by throwing himself from the temple. 3. Each time, Jesus resists temptation by quoting scripture, remaining faithful to God's will.

1. Luke 4:1-13
Jesus is ever
faithful, resisting
the temptations to
abandon his
Father’s mission.
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2. 1 Filled with the holy Spirit,
Jesus returned from the
Jordan and was led by the
Spirit into the desert
2 for forty days, to be tempted
by the devil. He ate nothing
during those days, and when
they were over he was
hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you
are the Son of God,
command this stone to
become bread.”
4 Jesus answered him, “It is
written, ‘One does not live by
bread alone.’”
5 Then he took him up and
showed him all the kingdoms of
the world in a single instant.
6 The devil said to him, “I shall
give to you all this power and
their glory; for it has been
handed over to me, and I may
give it to whomever I wish.
7 All this will be yours, if you
worship me.”

3. 8 Jesus said to him in reply, “It is
written:
‘You shall worship the Lord, your
God, and him alone shall you
serve.’”
9 Then he led him to Jerusalem,
made him stand on the
parapet 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,’
11 and: ‘With their hands they will
support you, lest you dash
your foot against a stone.’”
12 Jesus said to him in reply, “It
also says, ‘You shall not put
the Lord, your God, to the
test.’”
13 When the devil had finished
every temptation, he departed
from him for a time.

4. Some Biblical translations say,
“he [the devil] departed from
him for a time.”
The more accurate translation is,
“he [the devil] departed from
him until the opportune time.”
The devil tempts us at times when
we are the most vulnerable.
There is even a catchy acronym
for “opportune time,” it is
H.A.L.T. when you are:
Hungry,
Angry,
Lonely, or
Tired.
These are the times that the devil
or Satan will have his greatest
success in tempting you.
In today’s reading we see Jesus
being baptized and filled with the
Holy Spirit who led him into the
desert to do spiritual combat with
the devil.
Why would the Father send the
second and third persons of the
Holy Trinity into the desert to
battle with the devil?

5. Jesus was born both human and
divine and about to begin His
public ministry.
The desert experience would
mentally prepare Jesus’ human
side for what would follow.
The first temptation came when
Jesus was hungry.
Jesus was indignant, righteously
angry, that the devil would
tempt Him.
He was certainly lonely having
been in the desert for 40 days
without another human.
He was certainly tired from His
ordeal.
The Israelites were faced with, and
succumbed to, the same
temptations presented to Jesus
by the devil, hunger, worship
(false gods) and trust.
But Jesus rose above them by
quoting from the Israelite desert
experiences in the Old
Testament.

6. You might like to memorize this
biblical passage, it will come in
handy to recite in times of
temptation.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation
has overtaken you that is not
common to man. God is faithful,
he will not let you be tempted
beyond your strength, but with
the temptation will also provide
a way of escape, that you may
be able to endure it. (RSVCE)