We start at the very beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, just after his baptism in the Jordan by John (cf. Luke 3:21).

^4:1Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

For whatever reason, God often uses the wilderness to refine his saints, to prepare them for ministry. [C.1] Even Jesus, though He was already perfect, had to learn obedience though suffering (cf. Hebrews 5:8) — both spiritual and physical:

²being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

As he is fond of doing, the devil seizes the opportunity to tempt us in an area of both our pride and our need:

³And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

Jesus had just had His Sonship confirmed by a heavenly voice (cf. Luke 3:22), so obviously He knew who He wa). And surely, Jesus had both the ability and the authority to create His own food — at least in principle.

Yet, Jesus had a reason for withdrawing from human company (and human nourishment). Though He knew what it was to be God, He had to learn when it meant to obey God the way we mortals do. Which meant giving up His natural — and supernatural — privileges in submission to God’s word:

⁴But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'”

[C.2]

Perhaps this act of self-denial and submission helped prepare Him for the next test:

⁵Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for [this] has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. ⁷Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

We know from the Great Commission that all authority is ultimately given to Jesus, yet we also know that Satan (in some sense) is the “ruler of this world” (cf. John 14:30). The devil is apparently offering Jesus a shortcut, a way to achieve His earthly kingdom without having to pay the price of suffering and death.

Yet Jesus — perhaps fortified by forty days of meditating on God’s ultimate purpose for His life — rejects the easy way out:

⁸And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ “

[C.3]

Perhaps in desperation, the devil tries one more ploy:

⁹Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. ¹⁰For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ ¹¹and, ‘In [their] hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ “

It is sobering to realize that the devil can even quote scripture (cf. Psalm 91:11) when it serves His purposes. That is why it is essential to not just know the letter of the law, but also to understand the heart of the Father, so we don’t abuse His love for us:

¹²And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'”

[C.4] That response is sufficient to win the battle — though the war continues:

¹³Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

For the moment, though, the combination of time alone with the Spirit and victory over the devil seems to unleash an expanding wave of spiritual power:

¹⁴Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. ¹⁵And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Which comes to a head when Jesus visits His hometown:

¹⁶So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. ¹⁷And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

And encounters a Word spoken centuries before:

¹⁸“The Spirit of the LORD [is] upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to [the] poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to [the] captives And recovery of sight to [the] blind, [To] set at liberty those who are oppressed; ¹⁹To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

that came true that very day:

²⁰Then He closed the book, and gave [it] back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Much to their incredulous amazement:

²²So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

Which Jesus anticipates, and responds to quite strongly:

²³He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’ ” ²⁴Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.

²⁵But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; ²⁶but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, [in the region] of Sidon, to a woman [who was] a widow. ²⁷And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

Though it earns Him no friends:

²⁸So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, ²⁹and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. ³⁰Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

Their negative reaction doesn’t appear to slow Him down any, for He continues teaching:

³¹Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. ³²And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.

And not merely with an intellectual sort of authority:

³³Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴saying, “Let [us] alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are–the Holy One of God!”

³⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in [their] midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.

³⁶Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this [is]! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” ³⁷And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Which also manifests in physical healing:

³⁸Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. But Simon’s wife’s mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. ³⁹So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.

⁴⁰When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.

These miracles are an incredibly powerful witness to who Jesus truly is — yet He doesn’t let those who know share that information:

⁴¹And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” And He, rebuking [them], did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.

Why?

Because just as the devil can quote scripture, demons can twist truth to their own ends. While their confession may have arisen spontaneously out of their duress, Jesus knew who He was, what He was doing, and when and how and to whom He would reveal Himself. He didn’t let Himself become distracted by even seemingly positive nuisances. [C.5]

Jesus knew who He was because He had spent time along with Himself, and with His Father — a practice He continued throughout His ministry:

⁴²Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.

Which gave Him the courage and focus to follow the path of God, rather than that of the crowd:

And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; ⁴³but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” ⁴⁴And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

Which path will we follow?