The Temptations of Jesus in the Desert – Lent 2025

Summary

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The Temptations of Jesus in the Desert

The 40 Days of Lent invite us to step into Jesus’ experience of going into the desert before beginning His public ministry. In this talk, you will have the chance to reflect on the temptations of Jesus in the desert and how His strength was found, not through His Divinity, but through the human experience of being loved by the Father. 

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Reflective Study Guide Questions

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“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil…”

Matthew 5:1

1. Coming into these 40 days of Lent, to mirror Christ’ 40 days in the desert, do you truly feel and know that you are loved by the Father? How might God be asking you to more readily receive the love He has for you?

2. Do you hunger for God alone? What area of your life are you trying to fill or fix apart from God? 

3. Are you struggling with wanting to prove yourself? Whose approval are you seeking? What does Jesus’ words and actions in Scripture reveal about your true identity and ultimate end?

4. What areas of your life do you most feel a need to control? Where is God calling you to relinquish your need for control in exchange for “the labor of love”?

Text: The Temptations of Jesus in the Desert

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Hello friends, peace be with you and welcome to the Pray More Lenten Retreat. My name is Michelle D’ Silva and I’m joining you right now from Qatar. You know, this retreat has been on my mind and on my heart for a really long time and I really sense the newness of the spirit in it. You know, as we read in the scriptures, Isaiah 43, 18 to 19, the Lord says, forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past. I’m doing a new thing in your midst. Now it springs up. Do you not perceive it?

And so today really is about opening our hearts and minds to the life changing power of the Holy Spirit, because we really want to perceive and receive what the Lord has for us in the season. Amen. And so as we begin, you know, let’s assign ourselves. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen. 

An Encounter At the Desert

Friends, as I was preparing for this talk, I was reminded of a memory back in 2005. My parents were visiting Qatar for the first time, and I was about seven months pregnant. And as it is with anyone visiting the Middle East for the first time, we took a trip to the desert.

I remember being captivated by the beauty of the sand dunes, yet startled by the barrenness of the place. You know, that arid land seemed almost incapable of life. And while we were enjoying ourselves, suddenly we were caught up in a sandstorm. I remember running to the car, only to find it half buried in the sand, and then struggling to get in, my expectant belly getting in the way. Our phones lost network and we didn’t have equipment to tow the car. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere.

But then as we prayed in the car, I noticed something outside the window, buried among the sand. Dead rocks was a line of shrubbery, the brightest green I’ve ever seen. And I remember saying, wow, life is possible even here, even in a desert.

And that image of life, friends, emerging from a dead place, you know, has stayed with me through many personal desert experiences. Even, even today, it serves as a vivid reminder of what Christ is doing in our journeys. Transforming our hearts, breathing life into dead places and causing us to rise to greater things.And so friends, Lent is so much more than a time of strict discipline and self-denial. Lent is transformation. And Lent is a revelation of our belovedness. 

Today, we’re going to reflect on the temptations of Jesus in the desert. You know, we often think Jesus’s victory over temptation was simply because of his divinity. But the secret to Jesus’s strength and endurance in the desert lay not in the abstract power of him being divine, but rather in the human experience of him.

 Being loved by the father and so it’s so important for us to remember that before Jesus went into combat with Satan, he was baptized and we read that right in Matthew chapter three, we read that when Jesus immersed himself in the waters of Jordan, identifying with us. As sinners, the heavens opened and a voice was heard. This is my beloved son, whom I love. This love was a secret of his ability to resist temptation. This love is the secret by which we overcome.

Allow the Holy Spirit to Lead You

We read in Matthew chapter 4 verse 1, Then Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil in the desert. That word temptation there is a Greek word “peirazō”, which doesn’t imply, you know, a negative connotation like seduction, but rather to test or to try.

We read also in 1 Peter 1 verse 17 that our faith will be tested like gold is tested in fire. God’s intention to test us, friends, is not to destroy us, but rather to strengthen us [00:04:00] so we can emerge as overcomers. And who is it that brings about this testing? It is the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit.

And so that is what we’re going to do. We’re going to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us. We will not go alone. We will not go before the Lord. We will allow the Holy Spirit to lead us. And so take heart, brothers and sisters. Yes, the enemy is real. But so is the life transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

And so now let us take a look at each of these temptations. In the first temptation, Matthew chapter 4 verse 2, we read that after fasting and praying for 40 days and nights, the tempter approached Jesus. Notice that he didn’t come on day one or day ten. He waited until Jesus had been weakened by hunger, drained by thirst.

That is how he comes to us. When we are weak, vulnerable, emotional, sad, overwhelmed. And it is in such moments that we are called to be extremely vigilant. Satan said to Jesus, if you are the son of God, undermining his authority as a son, his identity as a son, Satan said to Jesus, turn these stones to become loaves of bread.

This great temptation to satisfy our physical appetites. But at the devil’s direction, you know, a couple of months ago, my husband lost his job after serving for 24 years. And of course, he began applying to places and talking to people. But somewhere along the way, he was tempted to trust people over God, relying on people in power.

He even encountered someone who was going to use deceitful means. And after days of stress, it was in weeks of stress, you know, one day as we prayed, we became very acutely aware of this lie. God doesn’t care about you. And so you need to fix what God is not fixing. I think when the pandemic robbed us of certainty, it also laid bare this idol that has been strangling us invisibly for years, this illusion to want to be in control.

And so whether it’s bills to pay or the satisfaction of our sensual desires, whether it’s careers or bank balances, we are all tempted to want more than we need. We’re all tempted to doubt God’s love for us. I mean, we take shortcuts, we listen to the lies, we refuse to wait, we forget God’s faithfulness in the past, we forget who we are.

Jesus Always Provides For People in the Desert

Friends, is there any area in your life right now where you’re trying to fill or fix a part from God? And notice, and notice how Jesus responds to Satan, you know, by quoting the Word of God. You know, he uses the word of God. Deuteronomy 8, recalling God’s promises to always, always provide for his people in the desert.

Jesus said to Satan, it is written, man does not live, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Matthew 4, verse 4. Notice that Jesus didn’t say, I don’t need bread, because he was just as human. But his response teaches us that we’re not sustained by bread, or drink, or career, or sex alone.

Jesus could turn those stones to bread, but he would hunger again. He could feed the multitude so they would follow him, but they would hunger again. Friends, Jesus didn’t come as bread Messiah. He came as our Redeemer. He came to redeem our disordered appetites so we could hunger and thirst for that which we are made for.

Jesus’ Second Temptation

God, and God alone. You know, after we had surrendered our hearts and really repented, God opened the door for us. You know, my husband was miraculously reinstated back in the company, even when the company is still struggling financially. And God is so good. In the second temptation of Jesus. Verses 5 and 6.

The devil told Jesus to Jerusalem hence stand on the pinnacle of the temple. He said to him, if you are the son of God, throw yourself down. And he even added a verse from Psalms 91 to go along with it. He will command his angels concerning you. On their hands they will bear you up so that you will not hurt your foot against a stone.

This great temptation for the spectacular. For the spotlight and don’t we love the spotlight, you know, a culture celebrates the spotlight. This great narcissistic temptation to have all eyes turned on us. I mean, we see that in the workplaces, we see that on social media, we see that even sadly within church pews.

In my own life, you know, I was called to serve the youth ministry back in 2010, there was no youth ministry then. And I remember being so zealous and so excited at this new assignment, you know, I was this young woman ready to run, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that I didn’t have the power to bring young people in.

You know, I didn’t get their language, I didn’t get their attire, and I remember struggling to find the next spectacular thing to do in order to win hearts. And over the years, you know, the Lord has humbled me, revealing my heart’s desires, using failure to expose my fleshiness. Of course, I know I have a calling, but I didn’t have a holy heart.

Deep within, woven within, zeal lay desires for significance, for recognition. I know today that the spotlight has a shelf life, you know, the spotlight may bring people in but it is the Holy Spirit who transforms hearts. How fittingly dying to the praise of men dying to Self-recognition and picking up the cross is at the very heart of Lent, that is why we fast.

We starve this infatuation we have with the spotlight. We deny ourselves so we can truly recognize and receive the one who It really sees us for who we are and loves us. And so friends in this season, you know, are you struggling with wanting to prove yourself? Whose approval do you crave for or care for the most?

And think about it, you know, what a spectacular feet jumping from that 600 foot pinnacle of a glorious temple in Jerusalem and landing straight into the arms of the angels would have been. It would have turned every eye. It would have tangibly confirmed Jesus as God’s beloved. No one would accuse him of being demon possessed or a covert collaborator of Rome.

But Jesus is not a performance artist. He’s the savior of the world. Jesus didn’t come to build a brand or a following of fans. No, he came to lay down his life. Far from sensationalism, Jesus warned his disciples that they would have to take up the cross and even be put to death. Jesus refuted. Satan’s lie using the weapon of the Word of God. You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.

Jesus’ Third Temptation

And finally, friends, in the third temptation, verses 8 and 9, we read that the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory with a promise. All of this I will give to you if you fall down and worship me.

His bait, worldly power. I believe that power is, you know, a great vehicle to effect change, but when power elevates self, when we misuse power to bring others down, that is when our spiritual lives erode. And you and I, you know, we may not relate all that well to political power, but we certainly can relate to the temptations we experience every day in our homes, for example, you know, the temptation to control our spouses.

The temptation to have the final word at the dinner table or to win an argument or the temptation to control those who work under us, you know, at our workplaces or drive our own agendas in church. We play right into the devil’s hands. And I’ve often wondered, you know, what makes this temptation of power so irresistible?

Could it be that it offers us an easy substitute for the hard labor of love? Perhaps it’s easier to be God than to love God. Easier to control people than to love people. Easier to win rather than obey. And you know, Jesus, you know, He, we just look at His life. You know, He defined power and authority as serving.

We lay down our lives because we don’t have to be any more than who God has made us to be. And friends in that long, utter straining in the desert, what was Jesus doing? You know, he was preparing to be the King of Kings, the Lord of heaven and earth, not through worldly means though, but through the humility of the cross.

The devil was proposing a shortcut, but Jesus went all the way, even unto death. And that really is the end of all power and control, isn’t it? And Jesus, who is in the very nature of God, Philippians 2, equal to God, He emptied Himself out for the sake of love on the cross. And that is what true love is.

It’s really about relinquishing power and our need to control in exchange for love. And so where in your life right now is God calling you to relinquish your need to control? In exchange for the labor of love, you know, Jesus refuted Satan’s lie. He said, be gone, Satan, it is written, you shall worship the Lord, your God, and him only shall you serve.

Remembering The Heart of What Lent Is

And so friends, as we come to a close, you know, this is wonderful, wonderful narrative, you know, and as we reflect, as we go back, you know, and once again reflect on each of these temptations, let’s remember the heart of what Lent is. You know, which is really our baptismal revelation. You are my beloved son.

You are my beloved daughter. Because this is where, this is where the battle really begins. Our greatest wounds stem from the lie that we’re not loved. Hence our need to control or fix or seek the approval of people. And Lent is a time of profound truth. And the truth is that at our baptism, you and I, you and I, we were sealed with an indelible mark on our soul as belonging to Christ.

And though sin may prevent the fruit of salvation, as Catechism affirms, nothing, nothing, no one can erase the mark that is placed upon our soul. We are forever marked, forever His. And so it is this truth, this truth of being a son and a daughter of God. It is this truth that truly brings conversion. It is this truth by which we overcome.

It is because of this truth that we know that we have the blessed assurance that the desert is not the final destination. The resurrection of Christ is, the resurrection of Christ is.

And so right now, let’s. Once again, right where you are, you know, let’s invite the Holy Spirit once again, and let’s just say to him Lord We really want to open wide the doors of our hearts and where we are weak where we are fragile where we are resistant Lord help us help us to truly open our hearts so we can experience your life changing power in every area of our human existence.

You know, in the beginning, I was telling you the story of us being stuck in the desert. Of course, we were stuck in the storm, stuck in the sand for a couple of hours. But after a couple of hours, we were sighted from afar by a locally, you know, a local Qatari gentleman. He saw us, and then he went out of his way to pull us to safety.

Life is possible, even in a desert, because the Holy Spirit is with us. The spirit of life, the giver of life is with us. Amen. And so right where you are friends, you know, we just pray for his life transforming power. We know that it is, it can be so challenging, you know, these weaknesses that we have.

whether they are, you know, the temptations to just fix something and not, you know, we refuse to wait, you know, especially when there are delays, disappointments in our life. You know, we just want to fix, we just want to be in control or we have this great sense, you know, to be valid, validated by, you know, people’s applause and appreciation.

You know, we have this. The sense of, you know, just this illusion of just wanting to be in control of our lives or just, you know, fill that void within, you know, whether it’s, you know, numbing our pain through addictions like pornography or just alcohol, uh, you know, all of the numbing mechanisms that we use, you know, the Lord knows us, the Lord knows us, he knows our weaknesses and he doesn’t judge us.

He doesn’t label us. You know, His, His desire for us is nothing, nothing less than freedom. And so as we invite the Holy Spirit in, you know, we just pray, we pray for His, His power. We say, Lord, you know, come and melt us, mold us, fill us, refine us, purify us. Open our eyes that we may truly see. Open our ears that we may hear.

And Lord, help us, help our unbelief. Help us, we pray. Come, Lord, we invite you. Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit, into this particular area that is so difficult for me to overcome. Come, Holy Spirit, in that place of loneliness, in that place of broken trust, in the place that I’ve just believed those lies that you don’t love me.

So we ask you to come, Lord. Come and renew. Renew our hearts, we pray. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen. And as we close, we just invite, you know, Blessed Mother, her intercession that is so powerful against the forces of evil.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. All glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Peace of Christ, and God bless you, friends.

About Michelle Karen D’Silva

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