the First Sunday in Lent --- 5 March 2017

Matthew 4:1-11

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." 4 But he answered, "It is written, "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, "He will command his angels concerning you,' and "On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.' " 7 Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' " 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9 and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." 10 Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.' " 11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.  

"If you are the Son of God …

·        The story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert is one of my favourite stories in the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all have a version of it, although Mark’s isn’t quite so detailed.

·        Scholars say that Jesus “was led by the Spirit into the wilderness” following his baptism by John as a way of being the perfect Israel. The people of Israel were lost in the desert for 40 years and is still considered a time of testing. It was seen as both the best time since they relied purely on God and received the commandments while, at the same time, as the worst time since they turned against God to worship the golden calf. God went so far as to tell Moses that he’d destroy the people and raise up a new people for Moses to lead, a people who would hear the direction of God through Moses. Moses reminded God of God’s promises to be faithful. How exactly that all played out would be another sermon for another time.

·        I like this story because it shows that Jesus was like us. The Letter to the Hebrews says Jesus is our faithful high priest who in every respect has been tested (tempted) as we are, yet without sin. He was not immune from temptation. This struggle with temptation shows itself in the episode in the wilderness with the devil and in the agony in the garden before Jesus was arrested.

·        Jesus in the wilderness does not succumb to temptation, but he IS tempted. The temptation is quite real.

·        There are a few things that need to be said about temptation. First of all, temptation is NOT sin.

·        Another thing about temptation is that temptation presents choices. No temptation is ever to the bad, but always to the apparent good. It’s just a matter of what each of us might consider ‘good.’

·        Thirdly, temptation also shows itself in ways that are appropriate to individual. As an example, I don’t know about you, but I am not tempted by liver, Brussels Sprouts, or whiskey, but I AM tempted… and often. Every last one of us is.

·        There are small temptations – like “one more cookie” or “one more hand of bridge.” Then there are bigger ones – like “one more piece of gossip” or “one more little betrayal.” There are really huge temptations and today they’re best left to the imagination. All of these temptations remind me of a rabbi’s remark, made a few years ago, that the first commandment is the primary one; the other nine are commentary. All sin is, at its base, an attempt –big or small- to make ourselves God.

·        For Jesus the temptation was three-fold and those temptation were his alone, although they are reflected in our own tempataions. He was tempted by the devil over his body and its needs (Command these stones to become loaves of bread), over his relationship with the Father and the possibility of presumption (throw yourself down; for it is written, "He will command his angels concerning you,'), and over who wields real power (All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.) [There is a secret here that you and I should know. Psalm 24 begins The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it… Dare I say that the devil is a con artist: the kingdoms of world never really were the devil’s to give.]

·        The temptation for Jesus is to trade is obedience and dependence on the Father for the simple needs of life, for miraculous power, or for submission to the devil and the empty promises that come with him. Really, the devil is pointing to himself in all those temptations. “Get bread… and be happy I reminded you! Prove yourself… to me! Come and worship… me! Show that you know better than the Father! If you are the Son of God, show yourself to be God! I can’t wait to see it!”

·        Jesus did not fail this test. He is the Son of God and saw through the temptation for what it was. He faced real temptation just as we do and he did not falter. He was to face more temptations each time the crowds wanted to make him king or when he asked that “this cup” might pass from him.

·        The final answer, both in the wilderness across Jordan and in the Garden of Gethsemane is “Not my will, but yours be done.”

·        That then is the good news for us. Because Jesus greatly desired to do the Father’s will even to the point of death on a cross, we may live lives of grace, reconciled to God and called as adopted children.

·        In the grace of God, even our temptation can be used by God to purify us, first by identifying those temptations, then through God’s gracious gifts, to depend more and more on God. If we are never tempted, we might never know what tests us and we might believe we can overcome them by our own power. The biggest test is trusting in God’s promises and grace.

·        That’s a hard lesson and one not easily learned. Always remember, Jesus was tempted too and knows what we got through. By his example and his help and his grace, we too can say “not my will, but yours be done.”

·        We’ll end this not with the devil’s taunt “If you are the Son of God…”, but with the uplifting words of the first letter of John: Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.