The wilderness scene in Luke 4 teaches us something about the identity of Jesus, the identity of our enemy, and the identity of our struggle.
The Identity of Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God. This was pronounced at Jesus’ baptism, and seen in how the devil attacked Jesus in the wilderness. Twice the devil says, “If you are the Son of God” (Luke 4:3, 9). The Son stands in our place to defeat the devil and the temptation that so often defeats us. He did not necessarily do this to be an example — as if merely quoting the Bible always defeats temptation. Instead, we find in this story a source of endless hope. When we fail, we are assured Jesus has defeated the devil. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
The Identity of Our Enemy. The devil is a transcendent evil intelligence. Satan may not replicate the same exact temptations with us — especially since we are not the unique Son of God. But, he does use the same tactics to exploit our inclination to act independently from God. It’s about faithfulness. Jesus’ responses are insightful (Luke 4:4,8, 12).
The Identity of Our Struggle. We so often misdiagnose our real problems and struggles. The baptism (“you are my Son”) and the temptation (“if you are the Son of God”) are never separated in this life. As children of God, our ultimate enemy is not physical. Our struggle is primarily spiritual. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Jesus responded to each of the three temptations with scripture which teaches us that loyalty to God involves loyalty to God’s Word.