Having conquered the adversary and full of the power of the Spirit, Jesus continued in the miracle-working energy of the Spirit to show his power, divinity, and love to the people, so that they might believe and be saved. Those who, through the grace of God, resist and overcome temptation as Jesus did are always bettered by it. This is one of the wonders of God’s grace, that those very things which are designed for our utter ruin God makes instruments of our greatest good. Thus, Satan is ever duped by his own proceedings and caught in his own craft (Adam Clark paraphrased).
Luke and Matthew (Matthew 4:12-17) record that Jesus was “in the power of the Spirit” when he went to his hometown, Nazareth, in Galilee. The Holy Spirit coming in power in a person is in both the Old and New Testaments. (1 Samuel 11:6, 16:13; Isaiah 11:2; Micah 3:8; Luke 1:17, 35; Acts 1:8; etc. ) One key difference between before and after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and Pentecost is that in the past, the Holy Spirit was given only to a few people. In contrast, now the Holy Spirit is given to all who call on the name of Jesus, the Lord and Savior. The mysterious third person of the Trinity, through whom God acts, reveals His will, empowers individuals, and discloses His personal presence in all who accept Jesus into their hearts as their Savior and Master.
What did Jesus do while the power of the Holy Spirit was in him, the very Spirit that hovered over the waters at the dawn of creation (Genesis 1:1-3)? Samson tore apart a lion with his bare hands (Judges 1:6). Upon Samuel’s anointing, the power of the Spirit changed Saul into a different person, and he prophesied with the prophets (1 Samuel 10:6, 9). Jesus taught in their synagogues. The prophet Isaiah wrote in 11:1-2, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him– the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.” We can tell a person is full of the Holy Spirit when they tell others about Jesus as they teach the gospel. Do you have this sign of the Spirit? Or are you defeated when tempted and left powerless?
