Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the lord promised on oath to your ancestors. Remember how the lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the lord.

DEUTERONOMY 8:1–3

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

The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’

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

LUKE 4:1–4

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Following the spiritual ‘high’ of his baptism, the Spirit leads Jesus into the ‘low’ of the wilderness, where he is tempted by the devil.

This episode mirrors the larger story of Israel. Just as Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness, often failing to trust God, Jesus spends 40 days in the wilderness, facing the same kinds of trials but succeeding where Israel fell short. It’s as though Jesus is retracing Israel’s steps, returning to the place where it all went wrong to make it right.

After fasting for 40 days, Jesus is physically weak. It is in this moment of vulnerability that the devil appears to tempt him: ‘Tell this stone to become bread’ (Luke 4:3). On the surface, this seems harmless enough – Jesus would later turn water into wine and use a small meal to feed thousands (John 2:1–11; Luke 9:10–17). But the real temptation lies deeper: using power for personal gain rather than trusting God.

This was Israel’s recurring sin – grasping for control instead of relying on God’s provision. And while it’s easy to think of power as something only leaders hold, the truth is, we all have it in some form – at work, at home, or in our communities. How do we use it? Do we trust God to meet our needs, or do we take matters into our own hands?

Think of a parent who demands obedience through guilt rather than guidance, or someone who manipulates a situation at work to protect their own interests. Instead of relying on God’s wisdom, they abuse their power and use control to secure the outcome they want.

Friedrich Nietzsche saw power as a fundamental driving force behind human behaviour, not just in terms of political or physical dominance but as a deeper force shaping ambition, creativity, and the struggle with oneself (‘self-overcoming’ to use Nietzsche’s term). But Jesus responds differently. He refuses to use his power selfishly and roots himself in the Scriptures: ‘People do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord’ (Deuteronomy 8:3, NLT). Jesus’ strength is not in self-reliance but in surrender to God.

Temptations to misuse power are real, but true strength lies in trusting God and using our power to serve rather than to take. Jesus shows us a better way—one that bears witness to a God who provides, sustains, and calls us to use what we have for the good of others.

Paul Woolley
CEO, LICC

What might it look like for you to resist using power for personal gain, instead using it to benefit others?