Chapter 4
I love hiking in nature. Growing up, I had the chance to live in different places across different states, and that gave me the opportunity to hike all kinds of terrain—mountains, deserts, forests. Each place had its own kind of beauty, its own pull.
Sometimes there were well-worn paths to follow. Other times, I had to make my own way. Some hikes were easy, others were tough. But each one offered its own unique reward at the end. And honestly, I didn’t hike just to reach the end. The journey itself was part of the reward.
Sure, standing at the top of a mountain is amazing—but if a helicopter just dropped me off there, I don’t think it would feel the same. There’s something powerful about working your way up, step by step, challenge by challenge. That process changes you. (Of course, I know there are some mountains where the helicopter might be the only safe option!)
Funny enough, that brings me to Luke chapter 4, where Jesus is tempted in the wilderness. The devil offers Him a series of shortcuts to fulfill His role as the Messiah.
First, Satan tells Him to turn stone into bread—essentially tempting Jesus to give up His human experience to satisfy a hunger. But Jesus didn’t take the bait. He chose to stay fully human, to feel what we feel, to suffer like we suffer. He refused the shortcut.
The other two temptations were shortcuts too—offers of glory, power, and recognition without the struggle of the cross. But Jesus knew something that we tend to forget:
The journey matters more than just getting to the end.
As believers, our eternal destination is already secured. Heaven is our home. But in this short, temporary life, the journey is where everything happens. The path is where we learn, grow, struggle, and serve. And most importantly—it’s where we meet others who are still searching for the truth.
Some parts of the path will be smooth. Others will be hard. Sometimes, we’ll have to make our own way through the brush. But no matter where we are, this is the journey God has set us on, and He is with us the whole way. As you read this chapter, look at the effects Jesus had on those around him. None of this would have occurred had he taken the short-cuts offer to him. The journey is where our Godly blessing resides.
Maybe you took a short-cut and are now feeling lost. It’s okay. Seek the Father and He will redirect you back to the path. It may be hard, but it’s worth traveling. It’s the only path worth traveling!
Taking the enemy’s shortcuts might make life easier in the moment—but this life isn’t about personal comfort. It’s about living in a way that points others to God. So be careful with shortcuts that only serve you. They might look good, but more often than not, they’ll pull you away from God, not closer to Him.
Jesus Tested in the Wilderness
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.'” [Jesus used scriptures to battle Satan, not some extravagant spiritual power unreachable to us.]
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'”
9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: ” ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'” [(Psalms 91:11-12) Not everyone who quotes God’s Word uses it correctly. This was used to manipulate in order to get what the enemy wanted, not to glorify God.] 12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'”
13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked. 23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ”
24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed–only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
Jesus Drivers Out an Impure Spirit
31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.
33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”
35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
Jesus Heals Many
38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
40 At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.
42 At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” 44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
