1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And 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. 7If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

8Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

9The 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. 10For it is written:

“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you

to guard you carefully;

11they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

12Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

13When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

Questions for Reflection:

What is a mystery to you about what Christ accomplished on the cross? What question do you have for Jesus when you see Him?

How do you think, from what you read here, did Jesus triumph over the powers and authorities when He died on the cross?

What sentence or phrase in this section is “good news” for you today?

Prayer of the Week:

Jesus, we are so very thankful in this moment that You won against sin and Satan. And we give joyful thanks to You Father, for You have qualified us to share in the inheritance of Your holy people in the kingdom of light. For You have rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son You love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Hallelujah! (Col. 1)

Jesus, You are worthy to have all authority in heaven and earth because You were slain, and with Your blood You purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.

We join all of the company of heaven in saying, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and

honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Revelation 5)

Father in heaven, we pray that Your name be treated as Holy, that Your Kingdom reign would come, that Your will would get done on earth here and now in our lives and situations (name any specific situations where you long for kingdom break through) as if it were happening in heaven.

Father, deliver us from the evil one and to that end I now bring the kingdom of God, the authority rule and dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ against Satan and against His kingdom and against every force of evil coming against me, my family, my kingdom and domain this day. I renounce all sin and all evil (name any sins and evil influence you sense coming against you) and bind and banish them away from me, my family, my kingdom and domain in the mighty name of Jesus I pray these things. Amen