David Bahn – Reflections

For your personal meditation and reflection on this Lord’s Day.

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[Jesus] rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. ²¹ Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

²² Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

²³ Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ ²⁴ But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.

²⁵ “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. ²⁶ Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. ²⁷ And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”

²⁸ When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. ²⁹ Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, ³⁰ but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way. – Luke 4:20-30 [NLT]

We were working on the installation of a new/rebuilt organ. That required renovating the choir loft and designing some things that needed decisions in order to proceed. The man doing the work was not my biggest fan, and yet for some reason had taken it upon himself to do the work. He was rebuilding the risers, and making a way for the organ to be positioned in a new configuration. During that process, he looked at me and asked, in effect, “Who’s in charge of these decisions?” I suppose it was a good question, but it was not unbiased. In fact it was his way of challenging me and some of the decisions that had been made. 

The people in Nazareth did not ask who was in charge on this occasion. They simply took matters into their own hands – or at least tried to – and took Jesus to a nearby cliff in an attempt to throw him off. They were asserting their power and “in-chargeness.” They had decided that Jesus could not be allowed to be in charge of them and their religion. 

As if. As if people could tell God what to do. As if Jesus will let anyone but the Father in heaven determine his moves and manner. As if they had any idea of what they were wishing for. As if Jesus was going to let anyone take his life from him apart from his will. He shows it here when they attempt to throw him off the cliff. And he makes it clear when he speaks of himself as the Good Shepherd later in his ministry: “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (John 10:18) 

It’s not that Jesus is unwilling to die. In fact he will die for the sins of the world. He will give his life willingly – even for his enemies. His death will be far worse and more horrific than a fall from a cliff. But it will be on his terms. It will seem as though the devil and all who wished to end Jesus’ life and influence had won. It will appear to be a remarkable and lamentable defeat. And when Jesus walks through the crowd in defiance of their desire to throw him off the cliff, it looks like a remarkable and glorious win for Jesus and his reign and rule. 

But things are not always as they seem. And that includes also Jesus’ intent in challenging his hometown folks. He isn’t interested in inciting a riot. He doesn’t want merely to make them angry. He wants to point out their need for a different attitude toward God, faith, repentance, and grace. 

Sometimes we live under the illusion that we are in control of all things. In fact we have control over very little. And the sooner we recognize this, and align ourselves with God’s truth and purposes, the sooner we will experience the abundant storehouse of God’s grace. He is not only in charge. He is full of grace and truth and love and faithfulness. I, for one, am glad he’s in charge. 

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And [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
¹⁹ To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

²⁰ And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him. ²¹ Now He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” – Luke 4:16-20 [NASB]

I believe it’s a two-fold problem. Maybe it’s only my issue. But I know for certain that I’m at least part of the problem. My hearing isn’t what it used to be. It’s very sad. I love beautiful music. I appreciate fine audio equipment. I even have some fancy earbuds that allow me to hear music in a very immersive manner. But my hearing acumen is waning. Get me in a crowd and I struggle to pick out one voice. Let someone speak too softly and I will not understand them. Have someone speak too fast, and I’m at a loss to understand. So when Diane says something under her breath, or doesn’t face me directly, I will either not hear her at all, or possibly worse, misunderstand what she actually does say. I think it’s mostly on me, but once in a while I wish she would speak more clearly…and maybe louder.

Jesus has no problem speaking clearly. Nor do the people of his hometown have a problem hearing him. In fact, clear speaking and acuity of hearing team up to set the table for conflict and a look into people’s hearts in Jesus’ home town. 

Jesus speaks clearly. He chooses the passage to read. He tells them that the prophecy of Isaiah was being fulfilled as he speaks. This is an astounding claim. But it would soon prove to be true. Jesus would heal the blind. He would release the oppressed (think demon-possessed man living among the tombs). He embodied the Lord’s favor. Then he says that the words of Isaiah were fulfilled (literally) “in their ears.”

As Jesus spoke the people were initially impressed. I’m not sure they really understood it, since they attributed him as being Joseph’s son. Then Jesus speaks even more clearly. He reminds them of how God’s love and grace came to gentiles during the days of Elijah and Elisha. He even puts words in their mouths saying that they would surely want him to show his power there as he did in Capernaum. On other occasions Jesus would say that whoever has ears to hear should listen. 

All the while the eyes of the people were on Jesus. Sadly, however, it seems that their eyes were focused on what might disqualify Jesus and unseat his claims. And through it all, hearts are revealed. And, again sadly, their hearts lead them to try to throw Jesus off the nearby cliff. 

My question is what do you focus your eyes on as you think of Jesus? What do you hear him say? Do you listen for his word in humility? Do you seek to see who he really is? And when your heart is revealed to be broken, corrupt, and faithless, do you try to throw him off the cliff? Or does this take you to a place of repentance at the foot of the cross? Do you seek his mercy and rejoice in God’s favor shown in Jesus? And do you let him reveal his true self to you and seek to hear his full counsel?

Sadly we will show our brokenness all too often in the face of Jesus’ teaching and truth. But the fullness of that truth is seen in how Jesus really did fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah. It would cost him incredible pain and suffering, and even his very life. But this was the means of God’s favor coming to us. 

That’s what I want to see and hear. Lord Jesus, open my eyes, ears, and heart by your Holy Spirit so that I may see and hear your grace and truth always! Amen.

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And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding region. ¹⁵ And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

¹⁶ And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
¹⁹ To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

²⁰ And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him. ²¹ Now He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 

²² And all the people were speaking well of Him, and admiring the gracious words which were coming from His lips; and yet they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” ²³ And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! All the miracles that we heard were done in Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” ²⁴ But He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. ²⁵ But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a severe famine came over all the land; ²⁶ and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ And there were many with leprosy in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” ²⁸ And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; ²⁹ and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and brought Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, so that they could throw Him down from the cliff. ³⁰ But He passed through their midst and went on His way.– Luke 4:14-21 [NASB]

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And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding region. ¹⁵ And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

¹⁶ And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
¹⁹ To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

²⁰ And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him. ²¹ Now He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” – Luke 4:14-21 [NASB]

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And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. ¹⁵ And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

¹⁶ And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. ¹⁷ And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind,
    to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹ And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” ²² And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” ²³ And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” ²⁴ And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. ²⁵ But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, ²⁶ and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” ²⁸ When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. ²⁹ And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. ³⁰ But passing through their midst, he went away. – Luke 4:14-30 [ESV]

Please be gracious when you learn this about me. But I graduated from high school with Rush Limbaugh. We were not friends, but he knew me and I knew him. That’s less important than the fact that both he and I made our way and experienced whatever success we experienced far from our home town. I actually called in to his radio program once and asked him what the people “back home” thought of him. His answer was not what I expected. He said that he thought he expressed the sentiments of many people. You can agree or disagree with that as you wish. But it is often the case that a prophet is not honored in his home town. 

Jesus goes to his home town and reads from Isaiah in the Synagogue, telling the people that he was doing the very thing Isaiah prophesied. The words of Isaiah were being fulfilled “in their ears.” They were hearing it for themselves. First hand. Right then and there. 

The initial reaction seems to be quite positive. They spoke well of him. They thought that this hometown son of Joseph was making quite a name for himself. But by the way Jesus responded to this praise, it seems they were ready to brag about how their town had produced such a powerful preacher. And he would have nothing of it. In fact he seems to stir the pot with them. 

He will not kowtow to their presumptions of what he should do, when and where. He was not willing to be an on-demand trickster. He was not concerned about his fame or their claim to be the city from which he had come. He was wanting something far better for them. 

When he reminds them that Elijah’s and Elisha’s work was done for gentiles! He tells them, in effect, that they could expect no special favors because they were from his home town. In fact his agenda will not be thwarted by those who presume upon his goodness and grace. Nor will it be set aside by those who wish to kill him before his time. 

I don’t know too many people who presume upon God’s grace. Or do I? Perhaps you and I do this all the time. Maybe we think we deserve special treatment because we’re God’s people. We think that because we believe in Jesus we get to go to the front of the line when it comes time for God to hand out favors. We might look at others less deserving in our own estimation thinking God owes us before he gives anything good to them. 

One thing is for sure though. Jesus came to proclaim good news to the poor. He was sent to “proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Unless we are willing to admit our neediness, and rejoice in God’s favor to others in need, we will find no joy in Jesus’ presence. If we do admit our need for his favor, and rejoice in that favor to others we will find great joy in Jesus’ gifts of sight, freedom, release, and good news of God’s favor – no matter what town we’re from. 

For your personal meditation and reflection on this Lord’s Day.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness ² for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. ³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” ⁴ And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” ⁵ And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, ⁶ and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. ⁷ If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” ⁸ And Jesus answered him, “It is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
    and him only shall you serve.’”

⁹ And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle 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

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

¹² And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” ¹³ And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. – Luke 4:1-13 [ESV]

We were in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. For three Sundays in a row we had been unable to be in public worship. We had taken the opportunity to pray, to sing, and to read and discuss God’s word, but our travel schedule in combination with being previously in non-English-speaking areas conspired to prevent gathering in public for worship. But that day, at noon, there came an interruption to the goings on in the Cathedral. The priest informed us that since St. Paul’s is a house of worship, they would pause for a time of prayer. They asked everyone there – maybe 500 or more exploring the massive building – to pause and observe a time of silence, in respect for the time of prayer.

The priest then mentioned praying for various people: mothers and fathers, children, the ill, the lonely, the homeless, those fraught with worry, and those in the throes of war. Then he simply invited us all to pray the Lord’s Prayer. I could barely get the words out. It was a powerfully refreshing few moments.

I pray the Lord’s Prayer often. Many times a day. At night when I cannot sleep. As I go to sleep. When I first wake up in the morning. As I think of others who are on my heart. I love the way Jesus taught his disciples to pray. 

And as I think of the petitions, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from [the] evil [one], and stand those up against this encounter with Satan, new appreciation dawns within me. Jesus teaches us to pray, “lead us not into temptation,” because he knows what it is like to face temptation. He teaches us to pray, “deliver us from [the] evil [one],” because he has encountered Satan face to face. Jesus calls Satan the father of the lie, and he knows how deceptive and deceiving he is.

The same is certainly true for all of the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus lived in the fullness of hallowing the Father’s name, embodying his reign and rule, depending on the Father for daily bread, and forgiving the sins of sinners. This was his life. And right now he is experiencing the incredible difficulty of being led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 

Jesus was led into the wilderness, the abode of Satan, the realm of wandering. When the Israelites were led into the wilderness to escape Egyptian slavery, they gave into temptation. They fashioned an idol of gold. They grumbled. They refused to believe. They criticized their leaders. Jesus is being led to face temptation by the devil and he will not give in to it. He will be all that Israel was supposed to be. 

I’m thankful for that, and have an ever deepening appreciation for Jesus’ stalwart faithfulness, the urgency of praying against temptation, and undying thankfulness for his help and presence in the face of Satan and his schemes. 

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Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ² where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.

³ Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

⁴ But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”

⁵ Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶ “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. ⁷ I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”

⁸ Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,

‘You must worship the Lord your God
    and serve only him.’”

⁹ Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! ¹⁰ For the Scriptures say,

‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
¹¹ And they will hold you up with their hands
    so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”

¹² Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

¹³ When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.

– Luke 4:1-13 [NLT]

It’s all about the bass, all about the bass, all about the bass… So goes the song that touts the importance of the bass voice, and celebrates how everyone is just fine “from the bottom to the top.” It might be worth a brief escape (see the link below). And as good as that may sound, I’m sorry to say it’s not all about the bass, or the treble, alto, or tenor. It’s all about Jesus, and how he stands up to Satan, and what we can learn from this encounter.

Most important we can learn that Jesus did successfully stand up against Satan. He was not taken in. He was not deceived. He was resolute in honoring God, obeying the Father’s will and perfectly obeying God’s word and commands. This should say something in terms of what that would properly include, by the way. Jesus wasn’t much on the ceremonial law. In fact he came to fulfill the Law of God so that we are no longer under its condemning judgment. Check out Romans 6 for that incredible teaching!

Jesus is true at his own peril and inconvenience. He will not fail you because he did not fail God. He will be true because he is truth incarnate. And he showed it here in this encounter with Satan. You can rely on Jesus. He is a man of principle. He is faithful to the core. And because he was subjecting himself to these encounters with Satan as true man, we can draw another conclusion. He didn’t have to do this for himself. He reigned over all things and powers at the right hand of God. He didn’t need to prove to Satan he was in control. He had to do that for us. For you and for me. 

We can also gain insights about life and living under Christ in his kingdom (to borrow Martin Luther’s phrase). In other words, this isn’t just theoretical. The insights we gain here are life-giving and life enriching. We’re better off when we take the lessons of Jesus to heart. 

Like not thinking that we will ever be totally done with Satan’s tempting – until that Great Last Day. That day will come, but until then, we will face challenges and trials of various kinds. We won’t escape them. If Jesus had to deal with Satan, certainly we will too. We may even have to face him down more than once. 

But remember this as well: Jesus won the battle. And we can too. We don’t have to strike out on the first pitch. We don’t have to give in to the temptation. We don’t have to assume we’ll never win. We can resist. 

We do that by recognizing the three ways he comes at us: appetite, applause, and ambition. Satan will appeal to us almost always under one of those three cloaks. And when he does this, we can take the word of God that Jesus used as our weapon to defeat Satan’s schemes. We don’t have to fight with no weapons. We can also utilize the whole armor of God (cf. Ephesians 6). Keeping our head and hearts protected by what we think about and what we set our hearts on is part of that armor. Faith in Jesus’ promises and the goodness of God is yet another. We can hold all things together with the truth of God’s word and truth incarnate – Jesus himself. And we can be ready to go with the righteousness of Christ and the good news of God’s peace. 

One more layer of all this bears mentioning. We don’t have to be always in a defensive posture. It’s not that we wait for Satan to sneak up on us. We’ve got a calling to live under Christ in his kingdom and serve him in righteousness and purity (resisting temptation). But when Satan does come our way, we can stand firm with the armor of God, and fight him just as Jesus did with God’s word. 

Whether it’s praying the Psalms, reading and memorizing Scripture, or meditating on God’s word daily, Scripture is a powerful weapon against Satan and his schemes. We may fail. We may give in. That’s why Jesus’ victory is so precious. For he is our Savior. He forgives us when we fall, and empowers us to get back up and live to his glory and toward our eternal destiny – all secured in Jesus. 

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Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ² where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.

³ Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

⁴ But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”

⁵ Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶ “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. ⁷ I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”

⁸ Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,

‘You must worship the Lord your God
    and serve only him.’”

⁹ Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! ¹⁰ For the Scriptures say,

‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
¹¹ And they will hold you up with their hands
    so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”

¹² Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

¹³ When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.

– Luke 4:1-13 [NLT]

“I have just one question for you.” The statistical research firm was interviewing prospective researchers. “What is two plus two?”

“Four,” came the quick and confident answer.

“Thank you very much. We’ll be in touch.” And the first applicant was dismissed.

The second was like it. “What’s two plus two?”

“Four.”

Again, “Thank you very much. We’ll be in touch.”

The third comes in. Same question, “What’s two plus two?”

The third applicant responded, “What do you want it to be?”

“You’re hired!”

Someone once saw W.C. Fields reading the Bible. Fields was noted for many things. Being religious was decidedly not one of them. His friend asked, “What are you doing reading the Bible?”

“Looking for loopholes!” Fields relied.

Too often we – though much more subtle than the third applicant or the irreligious Fields – do much the same. We will ferret out verses that suit our personal bias, pre-conceived conclusions, and hobby horses, all the while ignoring the greater witness of the whole of Scripture. One of the basic rules of proper Bible interpretation is that Scripture interprets Scripture. In other words, if we don’t understand a particular passage, we look for other places in the Bible that speak to that same issue. It is also called the analogy of faith.

Here’s another way to consider it:

Does the Church interpret Scripture? In some traditions that is exactly what applies. The Church tells the people what to believe and urges the people to trust the teachings of the Church; or

Does the individual interpret Scripture? In reaction to obvious abuses in the Church, and a misguided effort to retain personal individualism people will say, “You have no right to tell me what to believe.” I’ll interpret the Bible for myself. Some even call this personal doctrinal autonomy. There is, however, a better way;

Scripture interprets Scripture. There are some difficult passages in the Bible. Some even appear to contradict one another. The rule that Scripture interprets Scripture helps us here, pointing us to the clear teachings of the Bible in place of the sensational or confusing passages.

Satan will have none of that. He will use Scripture for his own purposes. He quotes from the Old Testament Scriptures. He twists truth to his own agenda: deceive Jesus, taking him down, thwarting God’s plan. In every case – not just when Satan twists Scripture – Jesus appeals to the clear teachings of God’s word. 

Psalm 119:11 offers us great wisdom: I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Jesus’ example shows how this actually works. We do well to let God’s word speak to us so that we may resist temptation and thwart Satan’s efforts to deceive us. God’s word, after all, is a fountain of life-giving truth!