Answer something for me. Why do you always link yourself, Jesus, with trouble? It’s like you’ve got something eating at you all the time, and you’ve got to smack it down. Are you looking for a fight? Or is there a fight looking for you?

Good insight there, as if Jesus was always looking over his shoulder for something no one else can see. True, the world gave him enough trouble of its own, but there was more to it, an internal, spiritual battle that would divide him from what he was called to be. It came early in his ministry and hung over him constantly from there.

It had been forty days. No food, no friends, just him with his thoughts, prayers, trying to sort out what had happened. His mind resembled the desert in which he’d spent these days, empty except for a dry wind that blew through. He gave meaning to retreat, get away and wrestle with what was stirring in the deepest parts of who you are and what it meant.

It happened after Jesus convinced John to baptize him. John thought it should be the other way around. Jesus was going by the book here, wanting to be right, to fulfill or be filled with this power. As John was bringing him up from the water, something like a dove landed upon him. A voice said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”

Whether this revelation was only known to Jesus or evident to the crowd around them could be argued, but it is of no consequence. The human part of the “Word made flesh” was meeting his divine destiny. He was compelled to know what that would be. That’s what drove him to the desert.

The Devil in the Details

Forty days then with nothing but the struggle, likely doubt comingled with fear. You’d think Jesus could just resolve it in his mind and go from there. It’s never like that. To settle it with certainty, he had to test it, prove it, show himself and all in the heavenly realms who he was and who he wasn’t.

All heroes have an antagonist, one who pushes hard against the best parts of who you are and what your purpose is. Fitting then, God’s beloved Son would face the total antithesis of who he was before he even got out of that hot place, a kind of hell.

Not surprisingly, the great tempter showed up for a fight. “The devil is a better theologian than any of us,” warned Aiden Wilson Tozer, “and is a devil still.”  Swords are drawn on both sides.

Make Your Deal with the Devil

By this time, it had been forty days since Jesus had eaten. An obvious weakness, it’s an easy play for his enemy. “Son of God? Change this stone into bread!” Hunger is one thing, but this cheap shot is aimed to prove his power. Pride is a big target and a shattered bullseye on many backs. But as one schooled in the ancient Scriptures, Jesus retorts, “People need more than bread for their life.” (Deuteronomy 8:3) 

Then go for the glory. Showing him the whole world in a vision, his nemesis makes his deal. Just worship me, make me your God, and it’s yours. But it’s an easy turn down; Jesus rejects it all with a basic commandment, “Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” (Deuteronomy 6:13)

Ok, then, his adversary makes it personal. The vision gets larger. Show him a life ending that doesn’t mean sacrifice and pain. Jump off the highest point of the Temple itself, and let the angels hold you from the fall. You’ll have the people in the palm of your hand, and you don’t have to end your life with a cross full of trouble and pain. Except Jesus knows what his enemy wants: to cut him off before Jesus gets to the place where this devil will taste defeat. With implied threat, Jesus comes back, “Do not test the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 6:16)

Whereas his adversary aimed for what could have been Jesus’ weakest points, this devil didn’t realize how strength is gained in weakness. Hunger, isolation, spiritual wrestling of humanity with divine destiny took away the desire to protect oneself. Longing to love those whom God loves and restore each being so as to know and be known deeply by the other would drive Jesus to deny himself and suffer all costs for it. With the ancient words of the truth of God, Jesus is fortified from attack.

Our hero and his antagonist who embodies trouble will meet more than once. The devil backed down this time. Even so, the victory was made in not succumbing to the wisdom of the world, an offer to grasp power at any price, even if it was not pure. Instead, Jesus battled for the will of God, promising good news for the poor, the captive, the blind and downtrodden.

The devil didn’t win this one but still struck with another blow. A return to Jesus’ hometown was met with rejection and an attempt on his life.  The fight was on.

Luke 4:1-13

The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings

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