Jesus began his ministry as the voice from heaven announced, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." (Luke 3:22 NIV) If Joseph was his biological father, Jesus would have been able to trace his genealogy back to Adam and as Luke noted, he would have been a descendant of God's as we all are through Adam. But Joseph was not his biological father, Jesus was the only son of God the Father.
How does the son react on hearing that his Father, the creator of the universe, is pleased with him. God's only son chose to begin his ministry by confronting his very enemy, the devil, face-to-face. When he became hungry, Satan tempted him with the idea of turning the desert stones into bread, to which Jesus replied, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone. (Luke 4:4). As he was standing on a high place from which he could view all of the kingdoms of the world, he was offered authority over all of them. Jesus rejected that authority. "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only (Luke 4:8) There is no other authority. And finally, as Jesus stood in the highest point in the Temple in Jerusalem, Satan challenged him to throw himself down, to show that he would not be hurt, to which he replied, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test. (Luke 4:12)
After all of these tests, Jesus' ministry could begin. He would not disappoint the Father. He would not consider the daily cares of life that important: what he should eat, what he should wear. He knew God would provide. He would not yield authority to any other living person. He would only serve God. He would not consider himself invincible. He knew the limits that had been placed on him when he came to earth as the Son of Man. With that framework, with the right relationship to God established, he could begin his ministry.
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