This wasn’t the first time He had encountered the enemy. Not the first time that the one who opposed Him was before Him. But before, the lines had been clearly drawn. He inhabited the throne with the Father, the enemy could only approach so close. He was the high and exalted King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and his opposition was a defeated rebel on borrowed time. But, reading Luke 4 this morning, this encounter was different . . . very, very different . . . this time Satan was in His face!

“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, He was hungry. The devil said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.'” (Luke 4:1-3 ESV)

The “playing field” had changed. It was their first encounter outside the heavenly realms . . . the arena was the desert . . . the field was a wilderness on a small planet in the universe. But more importantly, the Creator and Sustainer of all things (Col. 1:16-17) entered this one-on-one battle with skin on. He had released His equality with God in order to be born in the likeness of men . . . to take on human form (Php. 2:6-8). He who was Omnipotent chose to clothe Himself with the weakness of the flesh. And in that state, He entered hand-to-hand combat with the Adversary . . . the devil . . . the enemy of our souls.

And as I’m hovering over this passage this morning, I can’t help but imagine what it was like for the Son of God to experience Satan’s opposition as the Son of Man. Divested of His heavenly glory . . . fully entering into the human experience . . . physically weakened by 40 days in the wilderness without food . . . and then face-to-face with the one who “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1Pet. 5:8). And Satan gives it his best shot . . .

“If You are the Son of God, command these stone to become bread . . . feed Yourself. If You are the Son of God and if this world is eventually to be Your kingdom anyway, worship me and I’ll give it to you right now . . . exalt Yourself. If You are the Son of God then why go through all this? Cast Yourself off the top of the pinnacle and let God send His angels to guard You . . . prove Yourself.”

What was it like for the Son of God to have endured such taunting and temptation? He was Immanuel . . . God in flesh . . . and as such He experienced the attack of the enemy in the context of the weakness of the flesh. Oh, what humiliation He endured! And why would He, who had command of 10,000 angels, allow Himself to be drawn onto enemy territory in such a “compromised” state? It was that He might, “in every respect,” be tempted as we are . . . “yet without sin.” That He would be able to enter into and sympathize with our weaknesses in order to advocate effectively on our behalf as high priest (Heb. 4:15). “For because He himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Heb. 2:18)

And so, with skin on, taking up only the resources available to man — the filling of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God — He stood firm before the enemy. Jesus fully submitted Himself to the Father, resisted the devil, and the devil departed (James 4:7).

And as I meditate on Jesus’ “wrestling match” . . . not 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” (Eph. 6:12) . . . and consider His willingness to endure such humiliation that He might model for me how to endure . . . and wonder at the depths to which He would descend that I might be lifted out of the mire and seated in heavenly realms . . . I can’t help but respond with gratitude and praise. To say, “Thank You Jesus” . . . for taking on flesh that You might lead me to life in the Spirit . . . for taking on the devil that I might see how to stand fast in the evil day. To You be all glory, Lord! Amen.