“The Allure of Temptation”
(Luke 4:1-13)
Every year, the Gospel reading for the First Sunday in Lent
is the Temptation of Jesus. Jesus has
just exited the waters of the Jordan after having been baptized by John. He is full of the Holy Spirit. And it is the Holy Spirit who leads Jesus
into the wilderness. This was all part
of God’s plan. This meeting with the
devil was no surprise ambush. This was
all prearranged by God. Nothing catches
him off guard.
It was in the wilderness where the children of Israel had so
miserably failed to keep their covenant promises to be faithful to Yahweh. So Jesus is thrust back into the wilderness
to be the only truly faithful Israelite.
Jesus was born into the wilderness of this world to be the only sinless
Man. He was born to succeed where Adam
failed … where all of Adam’s descendents failed. Adam was kicked out of Paradise because of
his sin and was sent into the wilderness.
Jesus was faithful in the wilderness so that those who are baptized into
his death and resurrection and who trust in him are welcomed back into Paradise.
Jesus was out there for forty days. Forty days in the Bible was typically a time
of trial and testing. Think of the flood,
when it rained for forty days and forty nights.
The Philistines oppressed the people of Israel for forty years before Yahweh
sent Samson as their deliverer. After
their baptism into Moses at the Red Sea, the children of Israel were tested and
tried for forty years in the wilderness.
They were on the very borders of the Promised Land when Moses preached
today’s words from our Old Testament lesson.
Finally, God fulfilled his Word and brought them into the Land of Canaan. But even there, they continued to fall into
the sins of the nations around them. God’s
own chosen people were unfaithful to him.
St. Luke says that Jesus was tempted by the devil during
those forty days he was in the wilderness.
What was the nature of those temptations? We’re not told, except for those three
temptations at the end of his time in the desert. Whatever they were, you can be sure that Satan
brought his A-game. He knew this was no
ordinary man. He probably was present at
the baptism of Jesus. He saw the Holy
Spirit descend on Jesus. He heard the
voice from heaven proclaiming Jesus as the beloved Son of the Father. It was as if a target was painted on Jesus,
saying to Satan, “Come on. Hit him with
your best shot. Let’s see what you’ve
got.” And Satan mustered all his
craftiest and deceitful plans to try to derail Jesus from his mission and
ministry as the Messiah.
When I was looking for an image for the cover of the service
folder this week, I had a hard time finding one that depicted Satan the way I
would have expected him to appear to Jesus.
Some showed him with the stereotypical horns, forked tail, and cloven
feet. One did not show his face, but
showed a reptile-like claw emerging from his cloak. Even the one I chose for today does not quite
capture the idea in my head. This one is
by a Belgian artist from around the time of the Reformation. Notice the bird-like foot and his face which
looks like an evil version of Shrek.
I expect Satan appeared in a much more appealing
way. Like a handsome, well-dressed
salesman, if you will. Trying to cozy up
to Jesus, make him comfortable, befriend him, make his suggestions to Jesus
seem right … reasonable … even religiously acceptable. In 2 Corinthians 11:14, St. Paul says that
“Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”
He makes what is sinful seem good and right. And his usual modus operandi is to not make
it obvious that he is at work. He keeps
himself hidden and lets your sinful nature go to work. By that time, he’s already defeated you. Before you even get the chance to act on any
particular temptation, your sinful mind has already toyed with the idea of
acting on it. Boom! Too late.
You sinned. Again. And you need to repent. Again.
Tempation comes your way and you say things like this to
yourself: “It’s my right” … “I deserve
it” … “I need it” … “It’s okay just this once” … “It feels so good” … “It feels
so right” … “It’s beautiful” … “It’s the loving thing to do” … “I’m only human”
… “God will understand because he knows how weak I am” … “Everyone else does it”
… “Times have changed. That part of God’s
Word doesn’t apply any longer.” You know.
Because you’ve thought those things or said those things. Me, too.
Satan is really good at alluring us with temptation. He’s good at it because he takes something
God created as good and distorts it or causes us to misuse it in some way.
He also knows exactly when to strike. At the end of those forty days of fasting,
Jesus was at his most vulnerable. And so
the devil tempts Jesus to turn away from trusting in his Heavenly Father. You can imagine him saying, “You are the Son
of God, right? Why not use that power as
the Son of God to turn these stones into bread?
It’s just bread. Bread is
good. It’s a wonderful gift from
God. Go on. Do it.
What could it hurt? Just look how
hungry you are. Don’t you think your
Father in heaven would want you to do this?”
But Jesus was determined not to use his divine power for his own
advantage. Rather, he was determined to
continue in his humbled state on the way to the cross. And so, even with a stomach that was
screaming out for food, Jesus still fully trusts in his Father’s goodness and answers
with a word straight out of Scripture, “Man shall not live by bread alone.”
Next, the devil shows him a vision of all the kingdoms of
the world at once. He says in effect, “Hey,
Jesus. Whaddya say? How about you and I go into a
partnership. Bow down to me, and I’ll
give you authority over this whole planet.”
Whether or not Satan knew that suffering, crucifixion, and death were
ahead for Jesus is unclear. But Jesus certainly
knew what was ahead. This would be a sure
way out of all that. Skip the
suffering. Jump right ahead to
glory. But Jesus also had you in mind
when he rejected Satan’s offer. He knew
that he had to finish his mission of going to the cross to die for your
sins. He knew he was sent to die for the
sins of the people of all those kingdoms laid out before him in that moment of
time. And he told Satan to stuff his
offer. “You shall worship the Lord your
God and him only shall you serve.”
Lastly, the devil took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple
in Jerusalem. Once again he appeals to
Jesus and his relationship to God the Father: “If you are the Son of God…” He also misuses Scripture (like so many false
teachers today) to get Jesus to put on a little circus act. “Jesus, throw yourself down from here. Of course God’s angels will protect you. That’s a promise right out of the Bible, right? And just think, once everyone sees you
floating down into the courtyard, your place as Messiah among these people will
be cemented forever. Everyone will be
sure to worship you then.” Once again, Jesus
rebuffs Satan with a word of Scripture: “You shall not put the Lord your God to
the test.” And with that, the devil left
Jesus “until an opportune time.” He wasn’t
done with Jesus, just yet. There were
many more words of temptation left … words that Jesus heard while hanging on
the cross: “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matt. 27:40) …
“He saved
others; he cannot save himself. He is
the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe
in him” (Matt. 27:42) … “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
(Luke 23:37). In a split second, Jesus
could have changed everything. He could
have come down from the cross. He could
have ended all his suffering. He could
have closed up his wounds. But had he
done that, then he would have closed heaven to you and me forever. Had he done that, he could never have said, “Father,
forgive them.” Because there would be no
forgiveness for anyone. Ever. Only the forsakenness of hell because you and
I have fallen again and again to temptation and need a Savior.
But as you know, that didn’t happen. Jesus endured the pains of hell and the
punishment for your sin to the bitter end.
St. Peter wrote, “When he was
reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten,
but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our
sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet. 2:23-24).
As soon as you were baptized, you were sent out into the
wilderness of a world that is opposed to God.
You left the font with a target painted on you. You were marked with the sign of the cross. Since Jesus was tempted, don’t be surprised when
you are tempted. And give thanks that Jesus
was tempted in your place and remained faithful in your place. Therefore, you can always come to him for
forgiveness and righteousness when you fail.
He understands how
difficult the battle is. You can come to
him for mercy and compassion. Hebrews
4:15 teaches us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted
as we are, yet without sin.” And Hebrews 2:18 promises, “For because he
himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being
tempted.”
Jesus defeated Satan’s
temptations by standing up to him and not falling to those temptations … all
the way to the cross. Therefore, Satan is
a defeated enemy for you, too. Relying
on the strength and power of Jesus through the Holy Spirit, you can stand up
when you are tempted. Jesus used God’s
Word in battle with Satan. You can use
God’s Word, too. It’s as simple as
opening up the Bible and reading it. It’s
as simple as listening to it read and preached in the Divine Service. The Word of God is the best
defensive weapon in the universe. It is the
most powerful tool to strengthen your faith and to assure you that Jesus has
already won the battle over sin, death, and hell for you. With
God’s Word, you can recognize what is good and true and what is sinful and
false. With God’s Word, you can rebuke
and resist the devil who twists and distorts the good things of God and makes
sin seem so alluring. James 4:7 says, “Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you” (Jas 4:7).
“Though devils all the world should fill,
All eager to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill;
They shall not overpow’r us.
This world’s prince may still
Scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none.
He’s judged, the deed is done;
One little word can fell him.” (LSB 656.3)
Amen.
Artwork courtesy of the Getty Museum, © 2013 The J. Paul Getty Trust. All rights reserved.
Link: http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=4299
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