Read Luke 4:1-13 with your family.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, as soon as he came out of the water and the Holy Spirit came upon him, as soon as God said Jesus was the beloved son, Jesus did something different than most people expected. He did not rush out to share his experience with everyone. Instead Jesus went away from everyone and spent time praying and thinking.

Often when we hear the word “satan”, we think of a horrible, evil being. But in Jesus’ day, “ha-satan” only meant the tempter, the one who asked questions and made false promises, and pushed a person to really think about what they wanted to do and how they wanted to do it.

Jesus meeting ha-satan was not a bad thing. It was a way for Jesus to make sure he was doing what God expected to be done, and to do it for the right reasons. Jesus was temped with wealth, and he said no. Jesus was tempted with power over others, and he said no. Finally he was tempted to test the power of God, and Jesus said no.

Jesus made good choices, and ha-satan left him alone. This was how Jesus prepared to make sure he was doing the work of God.