Before reading the sermon, please read the lessons from God's Holy Word.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
A forty-day fast. Can you imagine? I mean, I get tired and weak after a twelve hour fast to get my cholesterol checked! Forty days in the wilderness, with probably nothing but water. You ever wonder why? What's the point of Jesus beginning His ministry with this self-imposed suffering and weakness? The answer is clear. According to St. Luke it was so that Jesus could be "tempted by the devil" (v.1). I mean, think of it: WE pray "lead us not into temptation," but Jesus —hungry, weak, vulnerable Jesus— is led into temptation.
It's an epic battle. The devil desperately trying to get the sinless Son of Man to sin and so derail the Father's plan for our salvation. Just get Jesus to sin once... and so disqualify Him as the Lamb of God... just get Jesus to think about Himself first, instead of us... just get Jesus to choose just once the easy path, take the shortcut... and if ever Jesus was vulnerable, this was it. Because Jesus was hungry.
I mean, Jesus was hungry! Hungry with a hunger you and I have never known. Forty days without food and Jesus must have been hungry to the point of delirium. And so, enter [stage left], "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread" (v.3). It's almost a dare, if not a taunt. "You ARE the Son of God, aren't you? You're hungry, aren't you? You can do anything with a word, can't you? You made the whole universe, didn't you? If you really are Him, go ahead, who's gonna know? Speak to this stone and make it fresh baked bread and fill that starving, painfully empty belly of yours. Spare yourself this pain, this self-imposed suffering. You can do that, can't you, if you are the Son of God?"
And, you know, the devil's right. It wouldn't take any work at all for Jesus to change stone into bread. All He had to do was speak. And why not? He's hungry, why shouldn't He? Why didn't He? He didn't for this reason: "Man [does] not live by bread alone" (v.4). What He means is this: Bread, the things we need to live... yes, it's important for this life. It's important, but it's not ALL-important. Daily bread (that is– food, shelter, and clothes)... it's doesn't last. Nor can it give you what you really need. We cannot (we dare not!) live by bread alone. For that would, in the end, only bring us death. Jesus will do much for daily bread— because He knows it's important, but that doesn't mean He'll do ANYTHING for it. He knows our eternal bread is much much MUCH! more important.
And yet... by contrast, WE will do almost anything for bread. To get ahead in this life, to provide for ourselves... how readily we sacrifice our principles. How readily we sacrifice our relationships. We sacrifice unborn children who aren't affordable and elderly people who aren't convenient. Heck, we'll even trade the Word and the Supper of Christ for the Sunday paper and Sunday brunch. How quickly we put aside the things that last for that the fleeting.
But Jesus resists the temptation. He refuses to sin. Jesus refuses to turn aside from His mission. He will not use His divine power for personal gain. His mission is to do the will of His Father, to lay down His life as a sin offering for the world. He will not take a shortcut, he will not turn aside from things of eternity for the fleeting pleasures of this life. Jesus knows the stakes and He stands firm on the Word: "Man [does] not live by bread alone."
But the devil is not done. He brings Jesus up to a high mountain and shows him all the kingdoms and powers of the world. He proposes a deal. "It's all yours, Jesus. All the authority and splendor of the word." "If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours" (v.7). Oh, and not just for yourself, Jesus. Think about how you could change the world. You could bring about world peace and solve the problem of world hunger and you could do it on a Monday afternoon. Who needs Good Friday and the cross when you have money and influence and power and can pull all the right strings? All for one little act of worship.
Tempted? Maybe you don't have the kingdoms of the world dangling in front of you, but even a small slice of the kingdom will bring us to the bargaining table. George Washington once said, "Few men have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder." It's an eloquent way of saying, "Everyone has his price." The price dangling before Jesus was enormous— all the wealth and power and influence in the world, all for one act of worship. Bend the knee, bow the head.
How easily we fall into it, as easily as Adam and Eve biting into forbidden fruit with the promise that they'd be wise as God. The same reflex is there in each of us. The man who says, "I would never be tempted to cheat on my wife," hasn't met the right woman. The woman who says, "I would never take a bribe," hasn't seen a big enough bribe. The old Adam is more than happy to bargain and cut a deal for anything promising power.
But Jesus refuses. Again, He stands squarely on the Word: "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve'" (v.8). Worship? Absolutely— but worship the true God of heaven and earth. The One who made you and redeemed you. The One's whose kingdom of grace comes with a cross and a tomb. With a death and a resurrection. Anyone who promises glory without a cross and a kingdom without a death is a fraud. It may be great for a while, but in the end it won't last and it certainly won't save you.
Finally the devil takes Jesus to Jerusalem, brings Him to the peak of the temple. "If you are the son of God, throw Yourself down from here," the devil says. He even quotes the Bible. From Psalm 91: " 'He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone'" (Luke 4:10-11). "So go ahead. Jump. It's right there in the Bible. The angels will protect You. You have God promise You won't even stub Your toe. Or, don't you believe that? Did God really say that?
It's the temptation to doubt, to test God's Word. God says, "Trust me," and the devil says, "Make Him prove it." Did God really say you'll die if you eat from the tree? Did God really say the angels will guard you? Did God really say your sins are forgiven in the death of Jesus? Did Jesus really say this bread is His body, this wine is His blood?
Again Jesus resists the temptation with the Word. "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test" (v.12). Jesus knows, as we do too, that God never goes back on a promise. And because we can trust that God will keep His promises. we don't need to have Him prove it. Besides, hasn't he already proved it by sending His Son Jesus to die and rise for our sins? What's more, we know from history that the angels really were watching over Jesus. Even in His death the angels were there. They sat on the rock outside His tomb. They attended His resurrection. They're watching over you too. God never goes back on a promise.
We are tempted, you and I, every day of our lives. Tempted in all the areas of our lives... tempted in our strengths, but especially tempted in those place where we're the weakest. We are wide open and vulnerable to temptation, and if anyone here thinks he or she is strong enough to overcome temptation, be very careful. Every time you think you're strong, you're on the edge of a fall. The devil, who is very real and very active and very truly conspiring against you, to lead you astray.
And don't think for a moment that being a Christian makes things easier. If anything, being a disciple of Christ makes it harder. The devil works extra extra hard to tempt us. In fact, He focuses all his attention on Christians. The baptismal sign of the cross upon your forehead and upon your heart marks you not only as redeemed by Christ the crucified... it also serves as a bullseye for the devil's work. You are marked men and women. You, too, will be driven out into the wilderness of the world. But know this and remember this. You do not go there alone. Jesus has gone ahead of you. He waged war against Satan and conquered him with the Word. You have that Word too. The sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith "with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one" (Eph. 6:16–17).
The good news today is that Jesus was tempted for you. Tempted in every way as you are. And you, in Him, have been led through the wilderness of temptation to victory and life. Lean on Jesus, who has withstood temptation already on your behalf. And if you fail, don't despair, repent and turn again to Him. Remember that Jesus, despite being hungry and weak, and vulnerable, succeeded against all the devil's temptations. He has won your eternal life. Romans chapter 10: "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (v.13). In Jesus' name, Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment