St. Luke 4:1-13
March 10, 2019
Lent 1C
Dear Saints of Our Savior~
We’ve come a long way since last Sunday. Last Sunday—Transfiguration Sunday—we were up on the mountain with Jesus, seeing the Savior in glorious majesty. But on Wednesday we descended into the depths of repentance. Today we’re in the wilderness of temptation. Inspiration last Sunday; temptation this Sunday. Today we’re on the battlefield where the Christian life plays out in the trenches of
Still dripping wet from His baptism and filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert. For forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them He was hungry. In that moment of delirious hunger, the devil comes calling. Whatever else you might say about the devil, it’s clear that he has a very shrewd sense of timing. He knows precisely when Jesus will be at His most vulnerable; and he knows the same about you. The devil can’t read your mind, but he does observe everything about you and uses that information to his advantage. Timing is everything in the game of temptation.
In the book of Hebrews it says that Jesus was tempted in every way, just like us. Today we only hear about three of those temptations. The first is the temptation of appetite: If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread. Jesus was delirious with hunger. None of us have ever known the agony of a forty-day fast. What harm would there be in following Satan’s suggestion? We’ve all got appetites—God-given appetites—appetites for food, for fun, for knowledge, for pleasure. These appetites inspire us and motivate us. They give us a reason to get out of bed in the morning.
But the same appetites that motivate us can also control us. The devil has perfected a terrible technique which turns normal appetites into controlling addictions—idols that demand everything from us while giving back less and less: the thrill of placing a bet, the glimpse of pornography, the high of a drug, the buzz of alcohol, the flirtatious emotional affair with the potential for more. All it takes is a little re-wiring for these appetites to consume our lives completely in sin and shame.
One of my weekly challenges is finding appropriate artwork to put on the cover of our Sunday bulletin. This first Sunday in Lent is always challenging. A lot of the artwork on the temptation of Jesus includes a depiction of the devil. In my opinion, no matter how you try to draw and depict the devil, he always comes out looking far less threatening than he really is. That’s because we don’t know the devil by appearance; we only know him by his work—by his fingerprints—by the temptations he sends our way. How would you draw the devil? Horns and a pitchfork just don’t cut it.
Jesus knows and recognizes this enemy. And Jesus is not derailed by the temptation of appetite. Jesus came to serve, not to be served—and not to serve Himself. It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone.” Jesus is quoting the Old Testament here. Notice how Jesus doesn’t draw upon His own power to fight against temptation; HE draws upon the power of the Word. It’s the same Word that you and I have at our disposal. One little Word can fell him. You don’t need super powers to resist the devil. You just need the Word. That we don’t use the Word—that we don’t honor and respect the Word—that we barely even know the Word—all this just goes to show that we’re no different than our first parents. We prefer hearing the devil’s lies over the Word of God.
The devil next took Jesus to a high place and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. The splendor, the glamour, the glory of this world and its kingdoms. This is the temptation of power. “If you worship me,” the devil says, “it will all be yours.” It’s an intriguing temptation—Jesus running the kingdoms of this world. What would that look like? One world government, one world religion. It would certainly mean the end of poverty, disease, oppression, crime and terrorism. Utopia, really—heaven on earth. And all of this without so much as a drop of divine blood being shed.
We know this temptation too. We know what it feels like to bow down to whomever or whatever it takes to increase our power and control. We’ve compromised our principles to get ahead. We’ve re-defined our morals. We’ve clarified our values—all so that we can get richer faster. We’ll do whatever it takes to be more popular and powerful. Rather than doing things the hard way—rather than living under the cross of Christ—we prefer the shortcuts Satan sets before us.
But Jesus refuses the deal for your sake. Again, drawing upon the Word: Worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. There is only one way that the Son of God will get to the top. There is only one way that Jesus will take His seat on the throne as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and that is to be lifted up and enthroned as a corpse on a cross. Only by dying and rising will all authority in heaven and earth be given to Him. Only by His death and resurrection will it come to pass that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
The final temptation is to test the Word of God. For this temptation the devil cracks open his Bible. Maybe you weren’t aware that the devil is a great student of the Bible. He knows the contents well (much better than you) and uses them to suit his purposes (like here with Jesus). You are the Son of God, aren’t you? Well, you know that the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God says in Psalm 91 that God’s angels are watching you like a hawk. If you slip, they’ll catch you. You won’t even stub your pinky toe. Whatsay we put the Word of God to the test? Why don’t you take a flying leap from the top of the temple, and let’s see what happens?
We’ve been tempted to do that—to put God’s Word to the test—to challenge it—to splice it and dice it so that we can make it say what we want it to say—so that we can justify ourselves and our sin. I know that gossip is wrong, but as long as I’m speaking truthfully and lovingly it’s okay. . . . I know that sex outside of marriage is wrong, but God made me a sexual being and all my friends are doing it. . . . I know that I’m supposed to honor my mother and father, but no one has parents as dysfunctional as mine. They don’t deserve to be honored and so I won’t do it.
But hear how Jesus responds to the Bible-quoting devil: You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. To test God at His Word—to call into question or contradict the very words of God—is always a refusal to trust Him—a refusal to believe Him—an act of faithlessness. Jesus will have none of it. God gives us His Word because He loves us—for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that we may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. So let’s take God at His Word instead of testing Him.
Beloved in the Lord, temptation is a depressing topic. It’s not enjoyable. Because we’ve all been on the receiving end. We’ve battled against the devil and the world and our own sinful nature, and we haven’t always emerged victorious. In fact, we’ve frequently folded like a cheap suit; and sometimes we’ve surrendered without even offering up token resistance.
But no matter how often temptation has gotten the best of you, there’s good news running through today’s Holy Gospel from beginning to end. If all you see here is a string of personal achievements for Jesus, you’re missing the good news. Jesus’ victory is your victory. He’s your stand-in substitute. His perfect record when it comes to temptation becomes the perfect record for all who trust in Him. Through faith in Jesus, you don’t have a checkered past, stained and littered with lost battles against temptation. You have a string of victories won for you by Jesus Christ. You are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. His honor, His merit, His bravery, His valor—it has all been awarded to you. His record is your record. His death and resurrection define you as one redeemed and forgiven. Your baptism empowers you for your own daily battles against temptation and sin. And when you are tempted, He always provides a way out so that you can stand up and resist the devil’s schemes. The Lord Jesus is in your corner. His grace has you covered. And in Him eternal victory is yours.
Though devils all the world should fill,
All eager to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill.
They shall not overpower us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment