Introduction
And we’re back to the annual temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. Just like the Transfiguration, each year we get a synoptic version of this temptation text.
One of the first things we have to do as preachers is decide whether or not this text is informative about how we should resist temptation (as that’s the big historical connection with Lent) or if this “just” informs us about Jesus. I wrote about my perspective of this NOT being a “how-to” in my Matthew 4 preaching commentary. But I will say, there are ways to preach on this being informative about how prayer and spiritual disciplines guard and protect us for our faith journeys.
But there are also ways to look at this text that prepare us for the Lenten journey with Jesus toward the cross. So, how do we preach on this Lukan version? While all three synoptic Gospels have this scene, only Luke and Matthew have the extended version. While these two are similar, each is using this scene for a different purpose.
Luke’s Version (in Contrast to Matthew)
Luke’s account of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13) shares much in common with Matthew’s version (Matthew 4:1-11), but Luke presents the story with key differences that shape its theological and narrative impact. These differences are not just structural. They reveal Luke’s deeper themes of the Spirit’s guidance, Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, and the ongoing nature of temptation and opposition.
One of the most striking differences in Luke’s version is the reordering of the temptations. In Matthew, the sequence moves from turning stones to bread, to throwing himself from the temple, and finally to receiving the kingdoms of the world in exchange for worshiping Satan (on the mountain). Luke, however, swaps the final two, ending with Jesus standing on the pinnacle of the temple. This corresponds with the ending of both Gospels. The ending temptation is where the end of the Gospel takes place. On the mountain in Matthew. In Jerusalem in Luke.
Luke’s shift in order is not arbitrary. Luke places Jerusalem at the center of his Gospel’s geography and theology. Although the margins get pushed further and further out, Jerusalem remains the epicenter throughout the Gospel (and becomes a wrestling point in Acts). And from the very beginning, Luke’s Gospel is concerned with the temple. It is where Zechariah first receives the announcement of John the Baptist’s birth, where Simeon and Anna greet the infant Jesus, and where Jesus, at the age of twelve, declares that he must be in his Father’s house. It is no accident, then, that Luke ends the temptation story at the temple, foreshadowing how Jesus’ ministry will lead him inevitably to Jerusalem, the place of both confrontation and redemption.
Another distinctive feature of Luke’s version is the strong emphasis on the Holy Spirit. While Matthew notes that Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Luke underscores that Jesus is “full of the Holy Spirit” and is “led by the Spirit in the wilderness.” This heightened emphasis connects Jesus’ time in the wilderness with his baptism just before this passage, where the Spirit descends upon him, and with his inaugural sermon in Nazareth immediately after, where he proclaims, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” Luke portrays Jesus as the one who moves through the world in the power of the Spirit, resisting temptation not through sheer willpower but by relying on the Spirit and on the Word of God. This emphasis on the Spirit also connects Jesus’ ministry with the church in Acts, where the disciples, filled with the same Spirit, will continue his mission.
The most haunting difference in Luke’s version comes at the very end of the passage. While Matthew concludes with angels ministering to Jesus after the devil leaves him, Luke includes a challenging detail: “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.” This suggests that the temptations are not over. Satan will return, not in the wilderness, but at another decisive moment. Now, the cinematic depiction of the “Last Temptation of Christ” puts this moment at the cross and many others have wrestled about whether or not this is an unknown or hidden temptation in the text. However, Luke tells us the moment is sooner. That moment comes in Luke 22, where Satan enters Judas, setting in motion Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. The phrase “an opportune time” reminds us that these temptations come when Jesus will be vulnerable. For Jesus, the real battle is not in the desert but in Jerusalem, where he will confront sin, death, and the powers of evil in their fullest force (even in the face of a trusted friend).
For Luke, this concept of temptation (or evil) returning extends even to demons. In Luke 11:24-26, Jesus says, “24When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25When it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. 26Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.” For Luke, there is a cosmic battle at play. Those who can resist are “filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Preaching Possibilities
If This is a “How-To”
If we approach this passage as a guide for resisting temptation, Luke’s version offers a perspective that is less about sheer willpower and more about deep spiritual grounding. Jesus does not resist temptation through his own strength alone but by being rooted in God’s Word and led by the Spirit. His responses to the devil come not from personal resolve but from a trust in what God has already spoken.
For those walking the Lenten journey, this passage invites us to consider: How are we being formed before the moment of testing comes? Jesus enters the wilderness “full of the Holy Spirit,” shaped by his baptism and God’s declaration of belovedness. His resistance is not just about saying “no” to temptation, it’s about saying “yes” to who he already is in God.
We often think of temptation as a test of our ability to resist, but Luke suggests that it is more about our relationship with God. Spiritual disciplines (prayer, scripture, fasting, acts of mercy) are not ways to earn God’s favor, they are how we remain connected to the Spirit who sustains us. When hardship comes, when we face trials, we don’t stand alone in the wilderness. The Spirit is already with us.
Lent, then, is an opportunity to deepen that relationship. Not as a season of self-improvement, but as a time to be shaped by God’s presence. How are we making space to listen for the Spirit? How are we being formed so that when trials come, we are not left grasping for strength but standing firm in the faith that has already been given to us?
The Hope
Luke also challenges us to see that Lent is not merely about self-denial or resisting temptation; it is about moving toward the cross. The temptation story sets the stage for Jesus’ ministry, which will ultimately lead to Jerusalem, where the forces of evil will once again press in on him. But the story does not end in the wilderness, nor does it end at the cross. The same Spirit that leads Jesus through the desert will raise him from the grave. For us, Lent is not only a time of struggle but a time of hope, a time of preparation for the resurrection that is to come.
Micah Krey 
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