Psalm. 91:1-2, 9-16 / Luke 4:1-13

Rather amazingly (at least to me), when I was out walking on Sunday, and feeling the Holy Spirit press upon me, the Scripture I knew I must preach from on the First Sunday in Lent is Luke 4:1-13. Then, to my surprise, I found that very passage not only to be the lectionary Gospel for the First Sunday in Lent, but the one I had chosen several months ago, when I was outlining my sermons!

Luke 4:1-13 is the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. As you read, note how this time of testing was really a time for Jesus to discover just how powerful this Holy Spirit, whom he received in baptism, really is.

What, precisely, are the three temptations? How do you see the devil trying to turn Jesus away from God?

If you were to rephrase these three temptations for today, how would you describe them?