Ep. #04 "Satan" [Series: Luke]

Characters:
Satan

Primary Scriptures:
Luke 4: 1-13

Story Summary:
Jesus in the wilderness, Satan's story

Location:
Kingdom of Judea

Time:
Circa 30 AD

In the Old Testament, Satan is only discussed by name these three times: the testing of Job, the counting of David’s fighting men, and the matter of Joshua the high priest. In the New Testament, Satan is referred to by name quite often. It appears that much of the insight about spiritual beings happened in the period between the Old Testament and New Testament, and through Jesus himself.

The ministry of Jesus starts when he is tempted by Satan in the wilderness. There are few places on Earth as desolate as the wilderness just a few miles east of Jerusalem. It is a light beige, desert-dry landscape of rocks, canyons and mountains, and when you stand in the midst of it, you feel as if you are a million miles away from the nearest human being or body of water. It is no wonder Satan chose to spiritually attack Jesus in the wilderness after he had fasted for forty days.

Throughout the New Testament, Satan is portrayed as a living personality who relentlessly attacks humans physically and spiritually. Modern society has effectively destroyed fear of Satan by portraying him as a comic character or rendering him harmless, if not non-existent. In contrast, the New Testament writers consistently warned of Satan’s power to destroy.

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