TEMPTATIONS OF JESUS #2
Luke 4:5-8
By David J. Riggs
Intro.
A. Satan takes Jesus into an exceedingly high mountain and shows
Him all the kingdoms and the glory of them.
1. No doubt Jesus could see Jerusalem, the center of Jewish
power, and many Roman cities with their legions of soldiers.
B. Satan said, "All these kingdoms have been delivered to me."
1. Satan does have domain.
a. He is the ruler of this world. John 12:31
b. He is the god of this age. 2 Cor. 4:4
c. He is the prince of the power of the air. Eph. 2:2
2. Satan has subjects.
a. All who sin become his subjects. 1 John 3:8-10
C. When Satan showed all the kingdoms to Jesus, he said, "All
these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship
me." Matt. 4:9
1. There has been much speculation over whether or not Satan
could have given Jesus anything.
2. Satan makes many false promises; he's a liar who can't be
trusted.
D. In this second temptation, we want to examine how modern man
tries to justify sin and apply it to Jesus' situation.
I. MODERN MAN THINKS THAT SOMETHING CANNOT BE SIN WHEN IT DOESN'T
HURT ANYONE.
A. Some college professors are teaching that as long as no one
gets hurt there's nothing wrong with sex (outside of marriage).
1. Someone said that he heard one of those teachers say that
sexual relations between two consenting adults was nothing
more than a handshake.
2. In a psychology class, one young lady said to the teacher,
"Don't you agree that we are part of the generation that has
finally been relieved of the consequences of pre-marital sex
relations: we can avoid disease, and if a person doesn't
want to have a baby, that too can be avoided."
a. In other words, they think that if there are no ill-
consequences (no one gets hurt), it is perfectly
acceptable.
B. Brethren sometimes try to defend social drinking in this
manner: "If one goes into his back room and drinks, what harm
does it do? He takes care of his family. He doesn't take away
from what they need. He doesn't get out on the highway. He
doesn't jeopardize the lives of his neighbors."
1. The problem is, they are trying to defend something on the
basis, "It doesn't hurt anyone."
C. For Jesus to bow down to Satan would not hurt anyone;
nevertheless, it was wrong.
II. MANY OTHERS ARE DOING IT.
A. People today judge what is moral or immoral on the basis of
what society accepts as a whole.
1. Many rationalize that their sin is no worse than what others
are doing.
2. Young people want to do the things other young people are
doing.
3. The Israelites wanted to have a king like the nations around
them.
4. Divorce is readily accepted today because it is common
everywhere.
5. There is a strong drive in our time to make homosexuality
socially acceptable.
6. Some brethren argue that mixed bathing is not wrong
because it is the accepted thing.
7. In all of these things man forgets God.
B. If the "many others are doing it" is a legitimate excuse, Jesus
could have bowed down to Satan.
1. Many others are bowing down to Satan. They are doing his
will, not God's.
2. Jesus would not bow down to Satan because it was against
the will of God.
III. NO ONE WILL KNOW.
A. Satan uses the "no one will know" tactic repeatedly.
1. Most evil deeds are done under the cover of darkness so that
no one will know. 1 Thess. 5:4-8
B. Once sin is committed, people will try to cover up or hide
their sin.
1. This usually leads to more sins; e.g., lying.
2. There was probably not a more godly man than king David,
but he succumbed to this. His cover-up only led to more
sins, even murder.
3. Cover-up never works; it only makes matters worse.
Nevertheless, men keep on trying it.
4. Prov. 28:13
C. Jesus could have yielded to, "No one will know."
1. He was there alone in the mountain. Who would have
known?
D. Again, in these things man forgets God.
1. We need to remember that God knows everything. Prov.
15:3; Heb. 4:13
a. We cannot escape the presence of God. Psalm 139
2. Also, the one doing the deed will know. You can't run away
or hide from yourself.
a. "To thine own self be true." 1 John 3:20-21; 2 Cor. 1:12
b. We need to be thankful when we have a good, strong
conscience.
IV. IT WILL BE JUST ONE TIME.
A. No doubt, Satan has often used the tactic, "Just this once."
1. For example, when a young couple is in love, they think that
they are about to get married anyway, and what could a one-
time sex adventure hurt?
a. What would one time hurt?
2. Think of how often people have thought, "Just one drink," or
"Just one drug!"
B. After people sin, they like to leave the impression, "I did it
just one time," and "my sin was such a little thing," "I'm not
like others who live in sin."
1. They minimize it: "It is all just a big misunderstanding,"
or reverse the situation, "the righteous are at fault; they
didn't use good judgment in handling the situation."
C. Again, Jesus could have easily succumbed to this excuse. Satan
was not asking Him to bow to him over and over.
1. "Just one time" was all he was asking.
V. IT WILL DO SOME GOOD.
A. This is "Situation ethics" or "the end justifies the means."
1. Joseph Fletcher, in the book "Situation Ethics the New
Morality," tells of a woman in a Nazi labor camp. The
German soldiers made a rule that if a woman got pregnant,
she could go home. Thus, the woman seduced a German
guard, got pregnant, was sent home, and everyone in the
family was happy.
a. He mentions many similar hypothetical situations, all of
which are designed to excuse sin.
b. The Herald of Truth sponsoring church arrangement in
their brochures always wanted to depict that they were
making numerous converts.
(1) An older preacher once said that in all of his
travels in preaching meetings, visiting and talking
with brethren, he had never met a single Christian
who said he was converted by the Herald of Truth.
2. Someone once said, "It's always right to do right, and
always wrong to do wrong."
a. This is true. Two wrongs don't make a right, nor does a
hundred wrongs make a right.
b. When one must choose the lessor of two evils, the lessor
one is still evil.
B. Jesus could have reasoned, "If I rule over these kingdoms, it
will be easier to make disciples."
1. No, He knew that no matter what good might come out of it,
it was still wrong to give in to Satan.
Concl.
A. Jesus would not worship Satan because it was wrong to do so.
B. He did not reason like many people:
1. It won't hurt anyone.
2. Others are doing it.
3. No one will know.
4. It will be just once.
5. It will accomplish good.
C. Instead, He said, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written,
'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall
serve."
Chart:
Jesus did not reason like many people:
1. It won't hurt anyone.
2. Others are doing it.
3. No one will know.
4. It will be just once.
5. It will accomplish good.