And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.' " And the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 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. If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours." And Jesus answered him, "It is written,
'You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.' "
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; for it is written,
'He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you,'
and
'On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.' "
And Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' " And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. Luke 4:1–13 (RSV)
There is much to be learned in this passage of Luke's Gospel. Before His ministry begins, Jesus is led into the cauldron of the evil one's temptations. The devil does not attack right away. He bides his time, looking for the moment when his wiles can have the most effect.
He begins with the most wicked and vile weapon in his arsenal, 'if'. We think the devil prefers horrific attacks, nightmarish visions of evil that terrorize his victim. No, the evil one comes quietly, almost gentle, even concerned for Jesus' welfare.
Jesus has fasted for forty days, and as Luke correctly notes, 'and when they were ended, He was hungry.' The devil draws his weapon to go at Jesus where His physical body is weak. 'If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.' Jesus' hunger was real. Jesus has the power to make a stone into bread. It would not be a sin to do so. The danger lies in the 'if'.
The devil wants to lead Jesus to doubt the Father. As he did to Eve in the Garden, the devil seeks to draw attention from God to nearly anything else. To paraphrase C. S. Lewis: 'A sandwich is better than murder if it draws a Christian from God.' The evil one wants Jesus to forget HIs Father and doubt the Father truly cares and acts apart from God.
Jesus will not succumb to the wiles of the devil. Jesus does not give up His trust in the Father regardless of the temptation the father of lies puts before Him. Luke notes that the devil ended his temptations until an opportune time.' The devil does not quit. He waits until the moment is right to try again.
That 'opportune time' will come when Jesus is at Gethsemane. He struggles with what lies before Him as He seeks to do the Father's will. Jesus asks for another way. Still, Jesus seeks to do the Father's will. The final temptation comes as Jesus is dying on the cross. Voices all around, mocking Jesus, cry out, 'Come down from the cross and we will believe you!'
'Come down, let the pain end, show everyone your divine power, cast fear into the hearts of even the Romans.' You can hear the echo of 'if' in those taunts. The cruelest thing the devil can do is to cause doubt in the heart about the Father's faithfulness.
Jesus would not surrender to the 'if'. He would keep His trust in the Father's will. Jesus would die on the cross, be laid in a tomb, and rise in three days. In those days, in that 'opportune time,' the schemes of the devil are shattered. His lies are dismissed forever, and Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life for all who believe.